From The Fields

POOCH, from pg. 7 yet, but will discover more as summer develops especially if a significant weather event occurs.

Pooch continues to attend monthly meetings as an FSA committee member. In his ninth year, he enjoys working with folks on the local level and commented how vast the industry is. “Agriculture is not a cookie cutter deal.”

Bandit is proving to be the highlight of the Pooch boys’ summer. Playful and wearing everybody down; they’re having a great time with the pup. v

HAGEN, from pg. 7

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Pork is not the only consumer good that has seen historically high prices in the last three years of Covid-related supply chain issues and runaway inflation; but many suspect there is more at work with pork prices. “Larger members of the pork supply chain are artificially inflating the price of pork”, says James Gordon, market president for Pioneer Bank in Mapleton.

Last September, the federal court in Minneapolis approved two major consumer class price-fixing settlements against JBS and Smithfield Foods — two of the largest pork producers in the country — totaling 95 million dollars.

Large producers do not likely bear full fault for price hikes as companies like Tyson and Smithfield have had to significantly downsize their pork operations since 2022 (according to the Wall Street Journal). The impact of high input costs and decreased demand have made a significant local impact with the Hylife Foods pork plant closure in Windom, Minn. in April of this year.

July 19 is GreenSeam’s fourth annual “Celebration of Ag” at ISG Field in Mankato, Minn. This event is an opportunity for us to thank our investors while attendees’ network with agricultural business leaders, hear remarks from entrepreneur speakers, and enjoy a MoonDogs baseball game as they face the Bismarck Larks.

Tickets include food and beverages with a view of the park from the DogPound. Booths featuring southern Minnesota food and ag businesses will be set up along the walking path — including interactive displays like a realistic John Deere combine simulator from the Southern Agricultural Center of Excellence, and Christensen Farms’ pig trivia featuring real pigs. A pound of pork will be donated to local shelters for every question asked. Yard games and activity packets will be available for children of all ages.

Entrepreneurial speakers include founders Collette Drager and Molly Byron of The Meatery; Kevin Born of Environmental Tillage Systems; and John Schwartz of Schwartz Farms. They will outline the challenges and triumphs of running a business. We are also very excited to welcome members of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture to give an update on the last year of agriculture in Minnesota.

Tickets are available at www.greenseam.org. Hope to see you there!

ALREADY ON AD THE LAND 3.417 x2”

80 acres, and has been clearing some trees. He has also stayed busy with bus trips. In Iowa, high school baseball and softball schedules doesn’t start until school is out, so he has an upcoming trip to drive a team to their playoffs.

Small producers are forced to scale up cut costs wherever possible. Jace Vetter, a hog farmer in Kasota, Minn., is faced with repositioning his farm to keep up with production cost increases. “We probably won’t be farrowing for much longer because it’s not feasible. Large operations have more sows than the number of finishers we put out in a year. We plan to add a few barns and focus on just finishers.”

Consumer demand for pork has dipped while prices continue to soar. For a silver lining, prices are

The Land

Hagen has an exciting event coming up: meeting a recent addition to the family! His daughter from California is coming to visit with her two daughters, and he’ll meet her youngest for the first time. They have a few upcoming celebrations they’ll be attending in July, which Hagen is also looking forward to. v

GreenSeam believes that working together as an agricultural community helps us better navigate the challenges in our industry and attract more people to consider careers in agriculture, food and natural resources. GreenSeam Economic Development Coordinator Holly Callaghan can be reached via email at hcallaghan@greenseam.org. v