March 2012 Archives

Minnesota farm incomes showed continued strength in 2011, a new joint analysis by the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) and the University of Minnesota shows. But incomes did not soar as might have been expected given extremely high crop prices.

Most of Minnesota cropland experienced below normal rainfall in the past six months. As a result, soil water levels are low. Normally, soils "recharge" moisture during the fall season when rainfall occurs and plant uptake is nearly non-existent.

The timing has never been better for the farm to school movement. One out of three children are overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National health care costs continue to rise, fueled in part by more total cases of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Homeowners still need to help their trees and lawns make up for a record soil moisture deficit to mitigate damage done by a dry fall and winter.

This week's wet weather is providing much-needed moisture to parched soils, but it isn't enough to pull the state out of its moderate to severe drought classification, according to University of Minnesota Extension climatologist Mark Seeley.

Corn stocks are tight and it shows in two different ways; an inverted futures market and a strong basis. What does this suggest for cash corn price direction into the spring?

Paging through plant catalogs in search of exciting new cultivars is a time-honored tradition during Minnesota's long winter. But Kathy Zuzek, a University of Minnesota Extension horticultural educator, advises: "Before investing, find out if the cultivars you desire have been shown to perform well in Minnesota gardens."

Radio Transcript from Minnesota Farm Network, On the Farm radio show with Tom Rothman

This is Bev Durgan on the Farm. Traditionally, Asian buyers tended to discount Minnesota soybeans because of low crude protein numbers. Today these buyers are learning to look at more than crude protein and that is good news for Minnesota soybean growers.

They may look fine from the road, but winter may have done some damage to your alfalfa stands. You'll want to get a close-up look at any plant injury, so you can make good decisions going forward into the growing season.

Alfalfa will likely break dormancy in the next week to 10 days with forecasted temperatures 10 to 20 degrees warmer than normal, according to University of Minnesota Extension climatologist Mark Seeley.

Radio Transcript from Minnesota Farm Network, On the Farm radio show with Tom Rothman

This is Bev Durgan on the Farm. There are teenage boys growing up in this state who have no idea what a potato looks like. They have seen plenty of french fries and potato chips, but they have never seen a raw potato. I saw this example in a recent video about Farm to School programs in Minnesota.

Today, most soybeans are processed to separate the oil from the high-protein meal fraction. These two 'co-products' make the seed valuable to the end user and make the soybean a profitable crop for U.S. producers.

Cold, gray weather got you down? Get a jump on spring by attending a University of Minnesota Extension Master Gardener Horticulture Day workshop near you.