Calendar of Events

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. 23 — Farmland Rental Workshop — Buf-

falo, 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 Dave Bau at bauxx003@umn.edu or (507) 360-0664.

Nov. 23 — Annie s Project: Farm Business Man-

agement — Clarion, Iowa — Course participants will learn effective strategies to make good decisions in the five key risk management areas of: financial, human resources, legal, marketing, and production. Contact Missy Loux at louxm@iastate.edu or (515) 532-3453.

Nov. 29 —Farmland Rental Workshop —

Hutchinson, Minn. — Contact Dave Bau at bauxx003@umn.edu or (507) 360-0664.

Nov. 29 —Farmland Rental Workshop — Gay-

lord, Minn. — Contact Dave Bau at bauxx003@umn. edu or (507) 360-0664.

Nov. 30 — Farmland Rental Workshop — Will-

mar, Minn. — Contact Dave Bau at bauxx003@umn. edu or (507) 360-0664.

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. 8 —Farmland Rental Workshop — Litch-

field, Minn. — Contact Dave Bau at bauxx003@ umn.edu or (507) 360-0664.

Dec. 8 —Farmland Rental Workshop — Olivia,

Minn. — Contact Dave Bau at bauxx003@umn.edu or (507) 360-0664.

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. 10 — Crop Management Input Seminar —

Hutchinson, Minn. — Topics include weed control; improving fertilizer return on investment; managing corn rootworm; and markets. Contact Karen Johnson at ande9495@umn.edu or (320) 484-4303

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

Dec. 14 & 15 — Soil Management Summit —

Mankato, Minn. — The Summit features presentations and Q&A sessions with researchers, farmers and agricultural advisors, information from sponsors and conversations with farmers experienced in different soil health practices. Contact Jodi DeJongHughes at dejon003@umn.edu

Jan. 21 & 22 —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. — 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. 11 & 12 — Farm Couple Retreat — Thief

River Falls, 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) 429-0611.

Mower SWCD, USDA seek partners to enroll cropland

AUSTIN, Minn. — After a big rain, Wayne DeWall would see soil from his Mower County cropland washing away in the headwaters of the Root River’s south branch.

However, in recent years that has changed where DeWall has established sections of native vegetation called “prairie strips” in strategic spots of his cropland south of Grand Meadow. With those in place, he has seen a difference.

“Sometimes when you get a bigger rain event, you’ll have soil get trapped right in the edges of the prairie strip there,” DeWall said, “but that’s as far as it goes basically, which is exactly what we wanted and that’s good to see it actually working.”

Prairie strips are a way of conserving soil, improving water quality and providing habitat for wildlife and pollinators. Ranging from 30 to 120 feet in width, prairie strips are highly effective at reducing the loss of sediment, nutrients and pesticides when stormwater runs off cropland.

Farmers and landowners can sign up to establish prairie strips through the federal Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) under a 10- or 15-year conservation contract that keeps those acres from being used for cropland. CRP provides landowners with $258 to $300 per acre annually under the prairie-strip program, with most of the costs covered through costshare assistance for preparing the site, purchasing seed, seeding the land and establishing the practice.

With this specific CRP program, farmers can drive equipment on the strips, which is not allowed in most other CRP programs.

More than 10 years of research has shown prairie strips can yield strong benefits for reducing excess amounts of sediment, nutrients and pesticides in stormwater runoff when integrated in small amounts into strategic spots within corn and soybean fields. Iowa State University research shows planting dense, diverse and deeply rooted strips of prairie next to corn and soybean fields has environmental benefits.

These small amounts of prairie come in the form of in-field, contour buffer strips and edge-of-field filter strips. Prairie strips provide strong benefits to a greater degree than other types of perennial vegetation because they incorporate a diverse array of native plant species with deep, multi-layered root systems and stiff stems that hold up during runoff from a driving rain.

Prairie mixes have a high density of flowers that promote pollinators and look colorful throughout spring, summer and fall.

DeWall has been pleased with what he has seen growing in his prairie strips.

“I’m very happy – we’ve got lots of native grasses, lots of flowers,” DeWall said. “It’s exactly what we were looking for when we started this. It took a few years to get to this point so you just have to be patient with it.”

DeWall’s prairie strip was implemented as part of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s Root River Field to Stream Partnership program, with partners closely monitoring and measuring each stormwater runoff event at the site.

This article was submitted by the Mower Soil and Water Conservation District. v

ST. PAUL — Online applications are now open for anyone wishing to grow or process hemp in Minnesota in 2022. A license from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture is required for individuals and businesses.

Applications must be submitted by April 30, 2022, and a license is good for the 2022 calendar year.

The application can be found on the MDA website at www.mda.state.mn.us/industrialhemp. Along with the online form, first-time applicants need to submit fingerprints and pass a criminal background check.

There are several changes to the 2022 program. The tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) testing fee per grower sample has been reduced from $125 to $100 each. Previously, growers were not invoiced for the cost of the first sample. However, fees now will be charged for each sample collected. The MDA will begin inspecting processor locations. This was not done in the past. Finally, the processor license fee remains at $250; but each processing location will cost $250. Therefore, the minimum cost of a processing license will be $500.

The fee changes bring Minnesota into better alignment with other states and will help adequately fund the MDA’s hemp program.

Those actively growing hemp plants indoors past Dec. 31 must renew their license before expiration at the end of the year.

Questions about the MDA’s Industrial Hemp Program should be sent to hemp.mda@state.mn. us; or call (651) 201-6600.

This article was submitted by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. v

USDA funds aid organic transition, certification operations

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will provide pandemic assistance to cover certification and education expenses to agricultural producers who are certified organic or transitioning to organic. USDA will make $20 million available through the new Organic and Transitional Education and Certification Program.

Certified operations and transitional operations may apply for OTECP for eligible expenses paid during the 2020, 2021 and 2022 fiscal years. For each year, OTECP covers 25 percent of a certified operation’s eligible certification expenses, up to $250 per certification category (crop, livestock, wild crop, handling and State Organic Program fee). This includes application fees, inspection fees, USDA organic certification costs, state organic program fees and more.

Crop and livestock operations transitioning to organic production may be eligible for 75 percent of a transitional operation’s eligible expenses, up to $750, for each year. This includes fees charged by a certifying agent or consultant for pre-certification inspections and development of an organic system plan.

For both certified operations and transitional operations, OTECP covers 75 percent of the registration fees, up to $200, per year, for educational events that include content related to organic production and handling. Additionally, both certified and transitional operations may be eligible for 75 percent of the expense of soil testing required under the National Organic Program to document micronutrient deficiency, not to exceed $100 per year.

Signup for 2020 and 2021 OTECP is through Jan. 7, 2022. Producers apply through their local Farm Service Agency office and can also obtain one-on-one support with applications by calling (877) 508-8364.

Visit farmers.gov/otecp to learn more.

This article was submitted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. v

New edition of cover crops field guide released

AMES, Iowa — Cover crops can enhance soil health by capturing nutrients, slowing erosion and reducing the need for herbicides. Growers face many different decisions in the field, and the latest edition of the “Cover Crops Field Guide” will assist in some of those choices.

The pocket-sized, in-field reference guide helps growers select, use and grow cover crops effectively. Topics covered in the guide include everything from cover crop selection to cropping system recommendations and the impacts of different cover crops.

This 162-page guide includes nearly 30 pages of new material, including cover crop suggestions for common rotations, up-and-coming cover crop species, effects on yields, climate considerations and more.

The third edition field guide costs $6 and a 10 percent quantity discount is available on boxes of 25. It is available to purchase through the Iowa State University Extension Store at https://store.extension.iastate.edu/product/14198.

This article was submitted by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. v