SAUK R RAPIDS HERALD | SATURDAY, JUNE 15, 2019 | Page 1B
Serving rural Benton, Morrison, Mille Lacs and Kanabec counties
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Sauk Rapids Herald
| SATURDAY, JUNE 15, 2019
MDA issues advisory on cover crop seed Seed law must be followed on prevented planting acres
ST. PAUL – Poor planting conditions this spring are forcing some farmers to make decisions on prevented planting. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture is advising farmers about the legal requirements for selling and buying seed in Minnesota. This includes cover crop seed. There are several issues the MDA has found in past years that violate Minnesota’s Seed Law. Buying grain from an elevator for the purpose of sowing is not legal. It is also illegal to brown bag or sell grain out of a bin. Furthermore, all seed sold in the state must be labeled. “There are numerous reasons why Minnesota’s Seed Law restricts these activities,” said Denise Thiede, MDA’s Seed Unit Supervisor. “Farmers could be bringing in weeds through unlabeled and untested seed, or they may not be getting the type or quality of seed they paid for.” In addition, almost all seed varieties have some form of intellectual property
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MDA page 2B
White Honey Tree Farm provides sweet sales BY DANNA SABOLIK STAFF WRITER
ST. CLOUD – The Whites have a sweet hobby as honey farmers. Three and a half years ago, Clay and Rebecca White, along with their daughter, Mallory, 9, began keeping bees in their backyard. “There’s quite a learning curve to go from keeping them alive to stealing their honey,” Rebecca said. “It takes a little while to know how to deal with bees and their intricacies.” The Whites, of St. Cloud, raise 40 hives of bees on 23 acres. This year, they are selling honey at farmers markets in Sauk Rapids and Sartell. Clay is also a deputy at the Sherburne County Sheriff’s Ofce. “It’s a learning process,” Clay said. “This is our rst year selling at farmers markets.” The Whites said they enjoy the exposure and communication aspect of selling local produce. “It puts us in the community,” Rebecca said. “People go through different amounts of honey, so you
have to have your name out there so when they go through their quart of honey every other month they know where to nd us.” The Whites sell honey in pint and quart sized jars, as well as 16 ounce and 32 ounce bottles. During the rst year of production, the Whites made enough honey for themselves and gifts for friends and family. The second year was similar, but last year they ended up with more honey than they could consume, so they looked into selling their product. “This is our rst year of more production,” Clay said. “The rst years we started with two hives and grew to 10, and this year we have 40.” Last fall, the Whites sent their honey bees to Texas for the winter. Overwintering colonies in a warmer climates is a proactive approach to ensuring bees survive. Minnesota winters can put bees at risk of die off due to starvation, condensation or cold. “If your bees stay here through the winter, you’ll probably lose 70%-75% of the hive,” Rebecca said. “If you’re a migratory beekeeper your bees will go south for winter.
Pollen to
production PHOTO BY DANNA SABOLIK
Clay and Rebecca White, and their daughter, Mallory, 9, stand in their backyard in rural St. Cloud. The Whites manage 40 hives and sell their honey at farmers markets under the business name of White Honey Tree Farm.
We don’t collect a honey ow in a different state, but they make more bees while they’re in a more temperate climate, and you bring them back here in the spring.” The Whites brought 15 hives to Texas in November; the number more than doubled. If those 15 hives had stayed in Minnesota, at least 40% would have died, Clay said. Another aspect of migratory beekeeping is the amount of honey that can be harvested in the fall. “They cluster to stay warm and won’t break away to get
feed, and if they can’t get to feed, they’ll starve to death,” Clay said. “That will happen if there’s a longer cold snap like we usually see in January or February.” The responsibilities of keeping bees do not stop there. Day-to-day, the bees require monitoring. “We make sure the queen is laying and doing what she’s supposed to do,” Clay said. “It’s also swarm season now so we watch to make sure our bees don’t swarm away. I’m also White page 2B
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