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Sauk Rapids Herald | Saturday, July 4, 2020

Jan’s Christmas Trees heating up for winter Employees shear hundreds of thousands of trees

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BY JAKOB KOUNKEL | STAFF WRITER

LEAR LAKE – Even in the heart and heat of summer, workers at Jan’s Christmas Trees are preparing for snowy holidays.

When it comes time to pick out and cut down a Christmas tree, some might see the venture as an enjoyable and meaningful family tradition. What many do not see are the 10 to 12 years of laborious devotion or the length it takes for an evergreen tree to fully mature.

College graduates are typically

not flocking to tree farms for the sentiment of good, old-fashioned hard work, and the farms typically do not garner much interest from investment firms. But for Jan Donelson, her son, Justin Donelson, and Justin “Juice” Zeroth, Jan’s Christmas Trees and every bit of work that goes along with it, even if sometimes stress laden and difficult, is much more than a day job.

Jan’s page 2B PHOTO BY JAKOB KOUNKEL

At the entrance to Jan’s Christmas Trees in Clear Lake, owner Jan Donelson takes a seat by her hard-to-miss sign June 22 just off Highway 25. She and her employees are hard at work in June and July, shearing trees to ensure they are healthy, green and shaped well for Christmas.

Farm Service Agency nominations open Public to elect county committee members

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WASHINGTON – The United States Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency is accepting nominations for county committee members. Elections will occur in certain local administrative areas for these members who make decisions about how federal farm programs are administered locally. All nomination forms for the 2020 election must be postmarked or received in the local FSA office by Aug. 1.

“I encourage America’s farmers, ranchers and forest stewards to nominate candidates to lead, serve and represent their community on their county committee,” said Richard Fordyce, FSA administrator. “There’s an increasing

need for diverse representation, including underserved producers, which includes beginning, women and minority farmers and ranchers.”

Agricultural producers who participate or cooperate in an FSA program, and reside in the local administrative area that is up for election this year, may be nominated for candidacy for the county committee. Individuals may nominate themselves or others, and organizations, including those representing beginning, women and minority producers, also may nominate candidates.

Committee members are vital to how FSA carries out disaster programs, as well as conservation, commodity and price support programs, county office

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SAUK RAPIDS HERALD | SATURDAY, JULY 4, 2020 | Page 3B

A pollinator propagating enterprise Theis’ bee yards a source of hives for beekeepers, hobbyists

PHOTOS SUBMITTED

Paul Theis stands next to his beehive boxes. Theis has more than 200 hives, each home to 60,000 to 70,000 bees.

BY SARAH COLBURN STAFF WRITER

S

ARTELL – The bees of Beau’s Bee Yards in Sartell have quite the life, spending summers in the fresh, crisp Minnesota landscape and wintering in the comparatively warm weather of Texas.

Paul Theis, proprietor, transports the bees himself, driving more than a thousand miles to take the bees to their winter destination each October and bringing them home again the first week of May. Six years ago, Theis began tinkering with bees as he toyed with the idea of retirement. Today, he has retired from his work in information technology services at the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University, and now watches over 200 hives, each home to 60,000 to 70,000 bees in his bee yard.

“I’ve always had an

when he sold nearly that many nucs as well as an additional 100 to a vegetable farm that needed them for pollination.

This year, Theis sold out of nucs; he has customer requests on a waiting list.

The winter trip to Texas is essential to the health of his hives. In Minnesota, Theis was losing half his bees each winter and in Texas, he loses only 5-10%. When it is time to head south, he nets them, loads the hives onto pallets and straps them down to be transported on a truck.

When they arrive back in Minnesota in spring, Theis checks each hive to make sure the queen is healthy and laying well before releasing them to customers. When the nucs leave his property, he is releasing a fullyfunctioning hive with a couple thousand bees, larvae and eggs already inside.

Theis acquires his hive boxes from Mann Lake, a bee supply company out of Hackensack.

He purchases them unassembled and assembles and paints them himself. The boxes are painted different colors to help the foragers recognize their home hive. Theis feels if all the boxes are white, the bees seem to drift more between the hives.

Customers come from across the Midwest including Minnesota, Wisconsin and the eastern part of North Dakota and Paul Theis occasionally gets calls to remove bees from an South Dakota. area. A number of people helped collect this swarm.

In addition to the interest in protecting the environment,” he said.

Theis’ business now focuses on propagating bees. At the end of March or first part of April, he splits the hives and creates a nucleus hive known as a nuc, or split.

This spring, he had already sold 180 nucs to other beekeepers and hobbyists. Most of his customers are repeats from last year,

nucs, the Beau’s Bee Yards sell honey, pollen and beeswax straight from their garage.

The honey is a family endeavor with many of Paul Theis and Marilyn Stanley’s 30 grandkids, helping out with the bees somewhere along the way.

When the kids come to visit, Theis takes the willing ones onto the farm. He dresses them in child-size bee suits for safety, and they work side-by-side checking the health of the hives.

Eventually, they all participate in harvesting honey.

Theis and Stanley lead the harvest around Labor Day each year and some of their adult children, including Mitch Theis and Holly Morehouse, help with the harvest. Outside of the harvest, Marilyn does all the bookwork for the business and keeps Paul Paul Theis shows his granddaughter, Ella, the queen bee in one of the many hives on his bee farm in Sartell. Family on track.

Theis page 4B

members help harvest the honey.

A queen bee sits at the center of a colony. Paul Theis, of Sartell, paints his hive boxes in assorted colors to help the foragers recognize their home hive.

Page 4B | SATURDAY, JULY 4, 2020 | SAUK RAPIDS HERALD

FSA from front employment and other agricultural issues.

Nationwide, more than 7,700 dedicated members of the agricultural community serve on FSA county committees. The committees are made of three to 11 members and typically meet once a month. Members serve three-year terms. Producers serving on FSA county committees play a critical role in the day-today operations of the agency.

Producers should contact their local FSA office today to find out how to get involved in their county’s election. Check with your local USDA service center to see if your local administrative area is up for election this year.

To be considered, a producer must sign an FSA-669A nomination form. The form and other information is available at https://www.fsa.usda.gov/ elections.

Election ballots will be mailed to eligible voters beginning Nov. 2.

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from page 3B For the harvest, they bring the super boxes which sit on top of the hives and fill with honey, into a warming house to warm the honey, making it easier to spin out. The frames go into an extractor with a centrifuge-like process, and the honey spins out of the frames.

They screen the honey but leave behind a bit of pollen.

In an average year, the farm produces 4,000 pounds, or close to 400 gallons of honey. Theis not only sells it out of his garage, but he also sells it to other beekeepers who bottle it and sell it under their own name.

The bee farm is a way of life and a way for Theis, who grew up on a farm, to return to agriculture.

Theis’ parents Raymond and Gertrude Theis, had a dairy farm north of Sauk Centre.

“I just like the outdoors, and I like being my own boss,” Theis said.

Much of what he has learned has been through research and his mentors at the TriCounty Beekeepers

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Kevin Carpenter stands near the extractor at Beau’s Bee Yards in Sartell. The extractor spins the bee frames like a centrifuge to remove the honey, and honey filters down through the inside of the tank and is pumped into barrels or a bulk tank.

Association, where he is a member. He has also taken classes at the University of Minnesota Bee Lab. When it comes to the grandkids who are interested, it has served as a way for Theis to teach them about the life cycle of bees and how their habitat is impacted by the environment around them.

“They know where their food sources come from,” he said.

A d d i t i o n a l l y, Theis said, he has seen firsthand the difference the bees make.

“You can sure see the difference with the bees doing the pollination,” he said.

Prior to having the hives, his apple trees would produce a few apples each a year and now, with the hives, the apple trees are so loaded with apples the branches break.

Paul Theis, proprietor of Beau’s Bee Yard in Sartell, dons protective equipment to search for a queen bee. Theis began his endeavor six years ago.

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Paul Theis leads the honey harvest with Marilyn Stanley and their family beginning around Labor Day. Beau’s Bee Yards produces on average 400 gallons of honey each year.

SAUK RAPIDS HERALD | SATURDAY, JULY 4, 2020 | Page 5B

HONORING 4-H Daniel Halverson Parents: Rick & Diane Halverson, of Gilman Age: 18 4-H club: Green Acres Years in club: 13

Tell us about your involvement in 4-H. I have been in beef, dairy, sheep, chickens, goats, rabbits and swine for livestock. For nonlivestock, I have done woodworking, baking, photography, canning, rockets and flower pots. I participate in the auction every year selling a pig or a steer. I was also a camper in my younger years and am now a head counselor for Camp Benton. Every year since I could, I have gone to the state fair showing dairy. My first two years I showed a crossbred heifer, and since then, I have brought the same Jersey cow.

What is your favorite 4-H activity? My favorite activity would be being a counselor because I can help kids have the fun memories of camp and want to come back. It is great to see them open up after the first day and really get out and make new friends.

Tell us about a memorable moment. Looking back, it really shows how much your family helps and works as one. When I was younger, I was trying to lead a heifer and she was being stubborn because it was her first time being haltered. Then, she decided to run, and I was always told to not let go, so she ran and was pulling me. It was not two seconds later, and my oldest brother grabbed the rope and my oldest sister was in front of the heifer to stop her.

Describe one of your favorite projects. I leased a heifer from my sister’s boyfriend and she had an attitude; it took me a while to break her to lead. I got her leadable two weeks before the county fair, and I had gotten attached to her. By the time we went to the state fair, I could lead her by walking next to her, and she would follow.

What have you learned during your time in 4-H? I have learned about the patience it takes to work with livestock. When preparing to show animals, you need to have a lot of patience when working with them because the hard work and dedication will create a bond with an animal that will last forever. I also have learned how to be a group leader. During my time as a camp counselor, I have learned it takes a lot of hard work to have fun. We as camp counselors take time to create fun activities for others to enjoy, and in the end, it is rewarding.

Who is your 4-H mentor, and what did you learn from them?

My brother, Brandon. He taught me how to break animals to lead and how to show them. He has also taught me woodworking.

Addison Dahler Parents: Nick & Sarah Dahler, of Foley Age: 12 4-H club: Cornerstone Clovers Years in club: 7

What have you learned during your time in 4-H? It has helped Describe one of your favorite projects. One of my favorite 4-H me with my leadership skills, self-confidence and how to talk with a projects was when I made an ice cream store out of a small Wendy’s large group of people. toy. I transformed this little house into a detailed ice cream store that would work for a miniature person. The judge asked me many Who is your 4-H mentor, and what did you learn from them? No questions about how I did my work and why. This is one of the big one specific, but the older 4-H camp counselors. They taught me how parts of 4-H. They like to make sure you are learning from each of to lead a group of people, how to inspire the younger members, and to your projects. be creative and have fun.

What have you learned during your time in 4-H? I have learned more about taking photos – how to use the rule of thirds and how to The 4-H motto: use different camera functions.

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Parents: Jim & Patty Granke, of St. Cloud Age: 12 4-H club: Running Rapids Years in club: 4

Tell us about your involvement in 4-H. I am the secretary of my Tell us about your involvement in 4-H. Photography, art and club. I participate in summer camp and clothing camp. My project plaque contest. area includes showing Holstein steers and showmanship. I am also in fashion review and other projects.

What is your favorite 4-H activity? I like helping at the lunch stand at the fair because it is fun to serve people, and it is like What is your favorite 4-H activity? Training and showing my owning a restaurant. prospect calves and steers because I enjoy training and working with them. I also enjoy 4-H camp because of all the fun activities and Tell us about a memorable moment. When I won first place friends. in the plaque contest. Everyone who sold their animals at the Tell us about a memorable moment. During the fair last year, it was my Benton County livestock auction received a plaque with the picture first time doing beef showmanship with my Holstein steer calf, and I I designed in the background. I also enjoyed participating in 4-H got reserve champion. virtual camp last week, where we made mug cakes, created a solar oven and learned about orienteering. I also have enjoyed three Describe one of your favorite projects. Fashion review. I am able virtual meetings with NASA engineers this spring, where they talked to use both purchased and my own sewn clothes. about the upcoming Mars mission.

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Page 6B | SATURDAY, JULY 4, 2020 | SAUK RAPIDS HERALD

Virtual 4-H camp is Benton County success

PHOTO SUBMITTED

The Gramke family – Emma (from left), 11 months, Jenna, 7, Elise, 11, Henry, 12, Katie, 9, and Sam, 3 – took part in the Benton County 4-H Virtual Camp June 15-19.

The family, which resides in St. Cloud, made mug cakes during the camp.

Over 200 members engage in online activity

BY ANN OLSON UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION

FOLEY – Benton County 4-H had over 200 members participate in its first ever 4-H Virtual Camp June 15-19. The weeklong opportunity partnered with staff and camp counselors from Benton, Washington, Dakota, Carver and Wright counties to offer a multitude of opportunities to those engaged.

Participants learned from Baker

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Activities ranged from learning survival skills, making slime and solar overs, playing games and more.

Benton County 4-H is active this summer despite the cancellation of most inperson events due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The public is welcome to participate in weekly science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics challenges, at-home project kits and handson day camps, available to those with or without online access.

For more information, contact the Benton County Extension Office at 320-968-5077.

Tri-county crops update

So far, this year is the best one I have seen since moving to Minnesota. That might not mean a whole lot given the last couple of years have been above average for rainfall.

Either way, it is nice to see crops progressing nicely as we enter July.

Although we have managed to miss many of the pest issues that have been seen in other parts of the state, we should be aware of the PHOTOS SUBMITTED next potential issues that might be headed Soybean gall midge larvae will appear pale and turn to bright orange as they mature.

The pests live in the lower stem of soybean plants. our way.

Starting with borders. They canopy and search the surface of the soybean armyworms, seldom feed ground for larvae. The stem, there have and visible on broadleaf economic threshold for symptoms occur after only been c r o p s . small grains is four to the V3 soybean stage. a couple of The risk is five larvae per square The feeding causes reports of increased in foot or once larvae blackened areas at the armyworms fields where begin to clip grain base of the stem with in the area, a live grass heads. The threshold infestations resulting in and both were cover crop or in whorl stage corn plants that are stunted, in Stearns grass weeds is 25% of plants with wilting and even dead.

County. There University of are present at two larvae per plant or Damaged stems will have been MN Extension some cases by Nathan Drewitz the time when 75% of plants with one break or lodge easily. moths are larvae per plant. of economic When looking for the The next potential larvae, peel and look thresholds being laying eggs. Because armyworms pest issue is the soybean under the outer layer of reached in Minnesota; true overwinter gall midge. While we the stem. however, the reports I cannot have heard indicate that in Minnesota, they have yet to identify This information has yet to happen here migrate into the state this particular pest in on armyworms and in central Minnesota. each spring. The larvae the area, we need to be soybean gall midge Lush grasses are the are active at night or diligent in scouting for was taken from the preferred sites for on cloudy days. Scout this pest. While you University of Minnesota egg laying. These using a sweep net in are unlikely to spot the Extension Crop News. can include stands of grassy borders and adult in the field due to Visit https://www.blogsmall grains, cover in small grains. Also, its size, the larvae are crop-news.extension. crops and grass field shake the small grain what you will notice. umn.edu for the more Earlier plantings of detailed articles on soybean are more these pests. likely to encounter this For local pest. The larvae are the information on the concern when looking above pests, integrated for damage. The adults pest management or lay eggs in the naturally general crops questions, occurring cracks in the contact me at 608-515lower stem of soybean 4414. In addition, if plants. This is where the you would like to have larvae will develop and a voice in future local where you will want extension programming, to scout. The larvae fill out my short survey https://z.umn.edu/ Armyworms have been detected in Stearns County and will appear to be pale at area producers should scout their fields for the pests. The and will become bright tricountycrops. economic threshold for small grains is four to five larvae orange as they mature. per square foot or once larvae begin to clip grain heads. They feed under the

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be great spots to find a farmer or you can call your local extension office, and we can help get you in touch with a producer. Another great resource is the internet and social media. Some farms are starting to reach out on these platforms to promote their products.

The best part of finding a farm that can sell meat directly is the farmer.

You will be able to build a relationship with the farmer and ask questions to how those animals are raised.

For the farmers that sell direct, use this platform to promote animal agriculture and how you raise your livestock and be proud.

University of Minnesota Extension has some great information sheets and videos available on buying cattle, hogs, sheep and goats at https://www.extension.

“With no space available at a local processor and a pig that is ready for butchering, many people are choosing to butcher the pig themselves.”

With few Extension resources available on how to butcher a pig for home use, Schieck Boelke and her colleagues, Ryan Cox, Dallas Dornink and Lee Johnston, created a video on how to butcher a pig for home use, including human safety, pig welfare and food safety discussions.

The video, along with additional resources can be found on the University of Minnesota Extension Swine blog at https://z.umn.edu/howtobutcherpig.

Further questions can be answered by contacting Schieck Boelke at schi0466@umn.edu.

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How to butcher a pig for home use WILLMAR – The University of Minnesota Extension Swine Team has released a video on how to butcher a pig for home use.

“With COVID-19 causing reduced operations at many pork processing facilities, pig farmers are experiencing a bottleneck of pigs on farms causing them to look for alternative market options,” said Sarah Schieck Boelke, University of Minnesota Extension swine educator.

One option is for a farmer to sell a live pig directly to a consumer.

“The consumer typically would book an appointment with a small-scale meat processor in Minnesota to get the pig butchered, but the problem is many small-scale meat processors are booked out for months,” Schieck Boelke said.

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Contact Stacey Caughey, interim extension educator for Stearns, Benton and Morrison counties, with any questions at 218-3305737 or butle269@umn. edu.

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If you are considering buying meat directly from a farmer for the first time, you might have some questions and uncertainties. First, you want to understand that when you buy from the farm you are going to be buying a share of the animal verses by the cut.

At the grocery stores, you buy individual portions of the animal like tenderloin and sirloin steaks. When you buy from a farmer, you will be buying a whole, half or quarter animal all at once. The butcher will cut your share any way you would like, but those cuts are not resalable. All that meat is yours; hopefully you have enough freezer space.

The benefits of buying this way are meat

is usually cheaper per pound (even though it is a large one-time purchase), purchasing is easy to budget, and you know where your meat came from.

The challenges of buying this way are you will end up with some cuts you would not normally buy, you will receive a large quantity at once, and finding a butcher who has room to fit your processing into their schedule. (Some challenges can be turned into positives; you can experiment with new cuts of meat and split large amounts of meat with family members.)

The key difference from buying local as opposed to the industry is you can talk directly to a farmer. So, now the question is: How do you meet a farmer in your area?

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Page 8B | SATURDAY, JULY 4, 2020 | SAUK RAPIDS HERALD

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Farmer support

As the nation struggles of consumer expectation is with the novel coronavirus up nearly 11%. While that and an economy that is in a is good news, the overall free fall, it is nice to know index is still 20% below people are supportive of last year’s levels. our farmers. An American As some states begin Farm Bureau Federation to reopen, consumer survey shows 84% of sentiment is expected Americans support to continue improving; governmental financial however, economists warn The Business assistance for farmers who that a continued increase of Farming are struggling because of in the spread of the virus or

by Roger Strom the pandemic. a second wave could easily American Farm Bureau push us back into a shutdown mode.

Federation President Zippy Duvall On another subject: Animal said, “The results of the survey rights groups are taking their attack indicate a growing understanding on animal agriculture to a new level. of how important a stable food Project Counterglow is an animal supply is to the health and well- extremist website that shows a map being of our nation. Shortages at with the physical addresses and GPS grocery stores and other food supply coordinates of more than 27,500 chain shockwaves caused by the large farms and animal agriculture pandemic gave many people a new facilities. Of that group, nearly 6,000 understanding of the crucial role include satellite images. of America’s farmers and ranchers The interactive map show farms and the importance of their survival with dairy, meat, poultry (meat and through the COVID-19 economic eggs), pigs, processing plants plus storm. It is so heartening to know that some horse facilities and medical through it all, the American people’s research facilities throughout trust in farmers is unwavering.” the United States. Many of these The survey also shows a majority locations do not appear in public of Americans, 59%, also believe the records. federal government should classify With the increased activities U.S. agriculture as a matter of of animal rights groups, the National national security to ensure a stable Pork Board is encouraging producers food supply. to put “No Entrance” signs on their While on the subject of property while working with state consumers, there has been a big associations to be aware of any jump in optimism about the economy local requirements for signs to be and personal finances. University considered legal notification of of Missouri’s Consumer Sentiment private property (e.g., a specific font index shows a 9% improvement over size, words or colors). They also last month. The index measures how encourage reporting any suspicious optimistic consumers feel about their activity to law enforcement and the finances and the overall state of the local FBI field office. economy. … just sayin’.

The economic conditions side of that index is up 6.7% and the index

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