15 minute read
Calendar of Events
By KRISTIN KVENO
The Land Staff Writer
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Karolyn Zurn’s passion for agriculture runs deep. She may not have grown up on a farm, but once she got a taste of the farm life she was hooked. Whether it’s spending time in the tractor or traveling to Washington D.C. for ag policy and Karolyn Zurn leadership opportunities, Zurn never stops advocating for agriculture. Zurn lived in Ogema, Minn. the first few years of her life. “When I was three my parents moved out to California.” It was the gold rush for aerospace and her dad went out west to find career opportunities. When Zurn was 20 she visited relatives back in Minnesota. It was then when she met her husband, Bill.
They soon married and began farming together in the Callaway area. “I always hated the term farm wife. I drove combine, tractor, I loved working in the field.” Zurn and Bill raised five children. In addition to the work on the farm, Zurn was a hairdresser when the kids were young. She also volunteered with 4-H and FFA. After the youngest daughter was born in 1985, Zurn went back to college.
After graduating with a degree in marketing, Zurn worked for a variety of different foodservice companies, she retired from Proctor Gamble. After retirement, Zurn became focused on her talents to be an effective voice for agriculture and became involved in a multitude of ag organizations. “I never liked to be appointed just because I’m a woman.” She searched out opportunities in ag that allowed her to utilize her skills in advocacy.
Zurn has lent her time and abilities to so many agrelated organizations, one of those is Common Ground North Dakota. According to their website, “Common Ground, North Dakota is focused on starting a conversation between farmers who grow food and the people who buy it.” Zurn was involved for four years. “I got to sit in on the planning on how they were going to start common ground. She serves on the University of Minnesota Crookston Campus Advisory and Advancement Board. The role of the board is to strengthen the connection to the college and the region. She is also on the Northern Crops Institute council in a six-year term.
She is currently the president of American AgriWomen, which deems itself as the largest group of agribusiness, farm and ranch women whose mission is to promote agriculture. Her time as president ends in November after that Zurn plans to focus on fundraising as that’s an important part of the AAW past president’s role.
Zurn has 13 grandkids. When she travels to Washington D.C., she tries to take at least one grandchild with her as there’s so much there to learn and she wants to allow her grandchildren to experience first-hand ag-advocacy in our nation’s capital. Zurn farms with her husband and two sons Eric and Nick and their families. They raise wheat, corn soybeans and alfalfa. She believes that her experience on the farm differs from her husband. “We have a different view of the farm.” Each partner is important in the success of the farm and having those voices heard is vital.
Zurn has felt a calling to step up and be a part of the ag leadership providing the opportunity to lend her enthusiasm for agriculture to these organizations that are crucial to her. “I don’t know if there were as many women being heard.” Zurn’s leadership has been integral in so many organizations, giving voice to vital issues. “My advocacy will help my sons keep farming.” v
Visit www.TheLandOnline.com to view our complete calendar & enter your own events, or send an e-mail with your event’s details to editor@thelandonline.com.
Nov. 9 — Taking Charge of Your Finances: How to
Survive and Thrive — Melrose, Minn. — Participants will learn how to organize and use financial records; develop and analyze financial statements; and make informed decisions regarding finances and production. A case study farm will be used to help practice interactions with lenders. Contact Dana Adams at adam1744@umn.edu or (320) 204-2968.
Nov. 10 — Taking Charge of Your Finances: How
to Survive and Thrive — Little Falls, Minn. — Contact Dana Adams at adam1744@umn.edu or (320) 204-2968.
Nov. 10 — Agricultural Market Situation and Out-
look Webinar — Online — Hear from North Dakota State University Extension economics specialists on a variety of timely issues related to agricultural markets. Contact david.ripplinger@ndsu.edu.
Nov. 11 — Cover Crop Field Day — Nashua, Iowa
— Event will focus on new research examining the potential for using perennial ground cover like Kentucky bluegrass as well as ceral rye and early interseeded cover crop mixtures in a corn system to reduce runoff, enhance soil organic matter and reduce nitrogen leaching. Contact Liz Ripley at ilf@iastate.edu or (515) 294-5429.
Nov. 16 — Taking Charge of Your Finances: How
to Survive and Thrive — Melrose, Minn. — Contact Dana Adams at adam1744@umn.edu or (320) 2042968.
Nov. 16 — Land Rent Meeting — Melrose, Minn.
— Topics include local historic and projected farmland rental rate trends, current farmland values and sales, and a worksheet that will help determine a fair rental agreement. Contact Nathan Drewitz at ndrewitz@ umn.edu or (608) 515-4414.
Nov. 16 — Farmers Night Out: Should they stay
or should they go? — Greenwald, Minn. — Farmer panel will answer questions and share experiences with a variety of heifer raising practices. Contact Dana Adams at adam1744@umn.edu or (320) 204-2968.
Nov. 16 & 17 — National Cover Crop Summit —
Online — Eight sessions featuring cover crop establishment, building biomass, weed management, pest control, plus a soil health panel featuring experienced cover crop growers. Contact Cover Crop Strategies at info@covercropstrategies.com or (866) 839-8455.
Dec. 2 — Rural Forum: Weathering the Extremes
from Farm to Main Street — Mankato, Minn. — GreenSeam’s annual reception and dinner event connecting public leaders and a wide range of attendees from the agricultural sector, such as producers, manufacturers, educators, researches, and more. This event is a great opportunity for conversations about key issues facing the rural economy, as well as brainstorming potential solutions. Contact GreenSeam at info@greenseam.org or (507) 385-6672.
Dec. 9 — Agricultural Market Situation and Out-
look Webinar — Online — Hear from North Dakota State University Extension economics specialists on a variety of timely issues related to agricultural markets. Contact david.ripplinger@ndsu.edu.
Dec. 11 — FEAST! Festival — Rochester, Minn.
— 100 regional food businesses on display. Most use locally-grown ingredients. Contact Elena Byrne at elena@rtcinfo.org or (608) 712-8340
Jan. 21 & 22, 2022 —Farm Couple Retreat —
Faribault, Minn. — Learn about creative communication skills, personality differences, and resources to help each couple reach their goals and attain better management of the stresses of farming and family relationships. Learn how to communicate with your partner and children more effectively and enjoy a mini-vacation as a couple from the farm. Contact Leah M Bischof at leahbischof@gmail.com or (320) 4290611.
Feb. 4 & 5 — Farm Couple Retreat — St. Cloud,
Minn. — Contact Leah M Bischof at leahbischof@ gmail.com or (320) 429-0611.
Feb. 11 & 12 — Farm Couple Retreat — Thief
River Falls, Minn. — Contact Leah M Bischof at leahbischof@gmail.com or (320) 429-0611.
Feb. 15 & 16 — 2022 Minnesota Pork Congress
— Mankato, Minn. — The state’s largest swine-specific trade show features exhibits, seminars and networking. Contact Lauren at lauren@mnpork.com.
By DICK HAGEN
The Land Staff Writer Emeritus
RENVILLE, Minn. — With betterthan-expected yields for many Minnesota corn and soybean producers, it looks like much the same — maybe even better — for sugar beet farmers in southwest Minnesota.
Yes, a record sugar beet crop is almost a certainty for the 450 growers harvesting about 121,000 acres this season for Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative, said Todd Geselius, Vice President of Agriculture, in a brief telephone visit on Oct. 20.
“We’re about 56 percent harvested at this time,” Geselius said. “Yes, rains today are shutting us down for a while … perhaps a couple days before guys get back into their fields. But yes, this harvest is the biggest in our history! Despite the droughty season until late August, timely rains since then are producing record tonnages. I’m hearing several 40-plus tons per acre. We’ll easily go 30-plus tons this season.”
Right now hundreds of semis, averaging about 25 tons of beets per semi, are delivering directly to the factory location, or to 14 other piling sites in 16 southwest Minnesota counties where SMBSC beet farmers are located. Beets then are reloaded from these piling sites and delivered to the factory during its 8 to 10-month processing schedule.
What keeps the beets from spoiling in these outdoor piles? A typical beet weighs 2 pounds and is 75 percent moisture — which sounds perfect for spoilage conditions. But technology (common sense too) to the Todd Geselius rescue! Perforated steel piping gets placed on the ground first, so freshly harvested beets get unloaded upon these pipes. When temps sink below 32 degrees, huge fans fastened to the ends of these pipes crank up and eventually the entire pile of beets are frozen.
SMBSC employs about 300 people in the factory another 100 in administrative functions. Plus, upwards of another 100 people assist at the piling sites during that frenetic harvesting season.
Explained Geselius, “Factory run time is about 250 days. Last year that went well into May. This season may be even longer. We’re having some mechanical problems within the factory. We do about 16,000 tons a day; nonstop 24 hours per day. So that leaves just a couple months to fix and/or replace everything needed before the next lift kicks into gear.”
Yes indeed, America’s largest sugar beet processing facility gets tremendously busy during this harvest ‘crunch time.’ The U.S. Department of
Financial mgmt. workshop set
ST CLOUD, Minn. — “Taking Charge of YOUR Finances: How to Survive and Thrive” financial management workshop, will be taught in central Minnesota to community members. This short course will teach participants how to organize and use financial records; develop and analyze financial statements; and make informed decisions regarding finances and production. Producer teams will act as loan review committees and learn about these concepts as they review a case study farm. The concepts covered promote better internal decisions for farm management and stronger relationships with external partners, such as farm lenders. The participants will learn the components of a balance sheet, income statement, cash flow, and the importance of records.
In Little Falls, the program is offered on Nov 10 at Little Falls Chamber of Commerce at 12:45 p.m. with the class running until 3 p.m.
In Melrose, the program is offered Nov 9 and Nov 16 at True North Marketplace at 9:45 a.m. with the class running until noon.
The program will be offered at both sites as two, sequential sessions. Attendance is free and each participant will receive a binder full of handouts and resources to take home.
Register through https://z.umn. edu/2021SurviveAndThrive or by contacting Dana Adams at adam1744@ umn.edu or (320) 204-2968.
This article was submitted by Dana Adams, University of Minnesota Extension. v Agriculture’s yearly production allotment for SMBSC is currently at 5.4 million 100-pound. bags of sugar. That equates to 3 percent of the entire U.S. domestic market! America’s sugar industry is closely monitored by USDA to maintain a fair and competitive environment for each of the several dozen sugar beet and sugar cane processing facilities in America.
Geselius wraps up, ‘Safety is always a concern during the harvest season. Our growers put lots of semi trucks on the roads as they move from field to field harvesting their beet crop. So too the firm hauling beets from our 14 piling sites to the factory. And we know as the season wraps up, bodies and machines get tired. It’s a busy, busy season, so everyone please pay attention at all times.”
This side note: Beet sugar is produced in 27 countries worldwide. Russia leads the world in sugar production; Germany ranks second. America’s farmers produce enough sugar to meet the needs of 330 million Americans. Minnesota ranks number one in sugar beet production. Minnesota and North Dakota growers grow about 550,000 acres of sugar beets each season. Collectively, about 11,000 U.S. family farms in 2017-18 produced 8.1 million metric tons of sugar. v
Pandemic, safety grants ready
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced a request for applications for the new Pandemic Response and Safety grant program. Approximately $650 million in funding is available for the PRS grants.
The PRS Grant program will assist small businesses in certain commodity areas, including specialty crop producers, shellfish farming, finfish farming, aquaculture, and apiculture; specialty crop, meat, and other processors; distributors; and farmers markets. Small businesses and nonprofits in these industries can apply for a grant to cover Covid-related expenses such as workplace safety measures, retrofitting facilities for worker and consumer safety, shifting to online sales platforms,
transportation, worker housing, and medical costs. The minimum funding request is $1,500 and the maximum funding request is $20,000. Applications must be submitted electronically at https://usda-prs.grantsolutions.gov/usda by Nov. 22. Eligible entities are required to obtain a free DUNS Number from Dun & Bradstreet before applying for this program. USDA has created a custom PRS DUNS number portal at https://support.dnb. com/?CUST=PandemicResponse. For more information, contact the PRS help desk at (301) 238-5550 or usda.ams.prs@grantsolutions.gov. This article was submitted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. v New insurance option available for farmers who sell locally
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is rolling out a new insurance option specifically for agricultural producers with small farms who sell locally. The new Micro Farm policy simplifies record keeping and covers post-production costs like washing and value-added products. The policy will be available beginning with the 2022 crop year. No expense or individual commodity reporting needed, simplifying the recordkeeping requirements for producers. Revenue from post-production costs, such as washing and packaging commodities and value-added products, are considered allowable revenue
The Micro Farm policy is available to producers who have a farm operation that earns an average allowable revenue of $100,000 or less, or for carryover insureds, an average allowable revenue of $125,000 or less.
To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.
This article was submitted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. v
Pioneer Brand Enlist E3 Soybeans: Highquality Seed Delivers Leading Agronomics and Stronger Yields
By Whitney Nesse
For 95 years, Pioneer has built a legacy of industryleading agronomics, research and innovation that provide growers with the highest quality seed. Josh Shofner, Pioneer agronomist and strategic account manager in southeast Minnesota, says growers can continue to expect that as Pioneer brand Enlist E3 soybeans become more widely available. “We really work hard to pair high-yielding soybean genetics with industry-leading agronomics,” Shofner says. “Looking at the Enlist E3 soybeans, Pioneer will lead the way on high-yielding, strong agronomic soybeans in the next year and into the future.”
Pioneer brand Enlist E3 soybeans will continue to bring the same characteristics from the best white mold, SDS and IDC tolerance as well as brown stem rot resistance and improved standability. Shofner says all of these agronomic traits are in a bag of Pioneer brand Enlist E3 soybeans, and Pioneer will continue to improve on its historically strong foundation in the coming years.
Industrywide, Pioneer is known for providing growers with the highest quality seed. Those demanding quality control standards continue as Pioneer more widely rolls out Pioneer brand Enlist E3 soybeans. “When our growers plant Enlist E3 soybeans, we’re delivering the same quality product in the bag that they are used to and that is not going to change,” Shofner says.
Pioneer brand Enlist E3 soybeans are also setting high benchmarks in yield plots. “Early in this transition, we are already putting together a high-yielding portfolio,” Shofner says. “I think the yield is going to speak for itself.”
Although growers tend to be cautious when learning about a new trait package, Pioneer is providing many opportunities to see firsthand the benefits of Pioneer brand Enlist E3 soybeans.
“We like to take our commercial lineup and put it into as many real-world situations, on farm, with customers as we can,” Shofner says. Pioneer puts its products to the test in extensive on-farm trials with numerous locations and Enlist E3 soybean varieties, where growers choose the management practices. “That really helps show growers that Enlist E3 soybeans have been planted in my backyard, and the results were very strong.”
Shofner is especially thankful for the ability to work in person with producers again. “Day in and day out, we spend time with our local producers,” he said. “Being oneon-one with producers, listening to what their challenges are and helping producers be more successful is key for a Pioneer agronomist.”
ENLIST MORE BUSH3®LS.
Pioneer® brand Enlist E3® soybeans have a proven yield advantage.1 And that’s on top of benefi ts like near-zero volatility and reduced potential for drift that come with the Enlist™ weed control system. Learn more about why Pioneer brand Enlist E3 soybeans is simply a better choice.
Pioneer.com/PickYourSystem
1 Data is based on an average of 2020 comparisons made in US for Pioneer’s top 10 volume forecasted Enlist E3® soybean products with 973 comparisons through December 10, 2020. Comparisons are against all competitors, unless otherwise stated, and within +/- 3 RM of the competitive brand. The foregoing is provided for informational use only. Please contact your Pioneer sales professional for information and suggestions specifi c to your operation. Product performance is variable and depends on many factors such as moisture and heat stress, soil type, management practices and environmental stress as well as disease and pest pressures. Individual results may vary. ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW LABEL DIRECTIONS. The transgenic soybean event in Enlist E3® soybeans is jointly developed and owned by Corteva Agriscience and M.S. Technologies L.L.C. Pioneer® brand products are provided subject to the terms and conditions of purchase which are part of the labeling and purchase documents. ™ ® Trademarks of Corteva Agriscience and its a liated companies. © 2021 Corteva.
