BENTON AG Plus
Sauk Rapids Herald | Saturday, July 16, 2022
Serving rural Benton, Morrison, Mille Lacs and en en ntto on n, M Mo orrison, Mi eL La ac css a nd n d Kanabec counties
Concern for Landing on phytophthora rot, white mold in soybean
a farm BY MAGGIE MOLITOR STAFF WRITER
KAITLYN CZECK
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION
As summer goes on, it seems weather is only getting wetter. While most people do not have an issue with rain, it does pose a problem when elds are excessively wet or ooded for a long period of time. The warm, saturated soil we see in many elds has the potential to harbor phytophthora root and stem rot. This disease is found in many areas where soybean is grown. It is a soil borne disease that can kill and damage seedlings and plants throughout the growing season up until harvest. Later in the season, stems can appear bruised and soft, and secondary roots will rot. Leaves will start to turn yellow and brown. Plants can later wilt and die and continue to do so throughout the season.
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Soybean page 3B
Waking up to bellowing calves and the hustle and bustle of chores on a dairy farm creates a new daily routine for Julia Kolb as she becomes accustomed to life in rural Minnesota. The 24-year-old from Wörnitz, Germany, is a participant in the International Farming Youth Exchange where she is spending three months this summer with four families from across the state of Minnesota. Kolb’s rst three-week stay has been with Mark and Natalie Schmitt on their dairy farm in rural Rice. “I got involved with IFYE to gain more insights on agriculture in other countries and experience their cultures rsthand,” Kolb said. “I want to take the things I learn home and adapt them.” Upon her arrival in Minnesota, Kolb immersed herself in the day-today happenings of the Schmitts as if one of the family members – a unique aspect of the exchange program. “Part of the program is to become one of the family,” Natalie Schmitt said. “In this family, we are dairy farmers and Julia gets to help with chores.” Kolb did not grow up on a farm, but has been enthusiastic to learn the operations of the dairy. She helps with daily chores in the barn and around the household. Her main duty is to help Schmitt feed the calves.
“I have learned so much already and I have only been here two weeks,” Kolb said. “It is so cool to see how other people live.” Throughout her stay with the Schmitts, Kolb has traveled to Schmitt family reunion in Illinois, and to the National Holstein Convention in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She also attended various local festivals and Fourth of July celebrations with the family.
Kolb page 2B
Germany exchangee spends time in central Minnesota PHOTO BY MAGGIE MOLITOR
Natalie Schmitt and Julia Kolb stand with a calf on the Schmitts’ dairy farm July 10 in rural Rice. Kolb is a part of the International Farming Youth Exchange program, and the Schmitts are one of the four host families she will be staying with this summer in Minnesota.
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