Production questions to be addressed at cover crop and soil health learning tour

By Lizabeth Stahl

Extension educator in crops

What impacts can we expect on soil health and productivity with cover crops, reduced tillage and/or a more diversified cropping system? Should I adjust my weed or nutrient management program when interseeding cover crops into corn or soybean? How can I best fit cover crops and/or reduced tillage into my operation?

Learn about these questions and more from researchers, farmers and educators working with cover crops and soil health by attending the “Cover Crop and Soil Health Learning Tour” on Friday, Sept. 8, at the Bruce and Mary Brunk farm, 23068, 220th St., by Rushmore.

Registration and check-in will start at 8:30 a.m., and the program will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Registration is requested at http://z.umn.edu/cover-crops-tour by Sept. 1. A registration fee will be collected at the door to help cover program costs, including lunch.

The tour will include demonstrations, hands-on activities, research updates, a farmer panel, and equipment demonstrations. A more detailed agenda is available at http://z.umn.edu/cover-crops-tour. The site is located 2.5 miles north of I-90 (exit 33), at the intersection of County Road 13 and 220th Street.

This program is supported in part by a Conservation Innovation Grant from the USDA-Natural Resource Conservation Service and funding from MN North Central Region-Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education. Contact Liz Stahl at 507-372-3900 Ext 3912 or stah0012@umn.edu if you have any questions.

USDA authorizes emergency haying and grazing of CRP acres for Lyon County

The USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) has authorized emergency haying and grazing use of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres for Lyon County. This authorization only applies to certain CRP covers.

The emergency haying authorization became effective July 25 and ends Aug. 31. The emergency grazing authorization became effective July 25 and ends Sept. 30.

The eligible CRP acreage is limited to acres located within the approved county. Eligible producers who are interested in haying or grazing CRP under the emergency authorization and current CRP participants who choose to provide land for haying or grazing to an eligible livestock producer, must first request approval to hay or graze eligible acreage from FSA and obtain a modified conservation plan from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to include haying or grazing requirements.

Since Lyon County is authorized for emergency haying and grazing, producers are reminded that the same CRP acreage cannot be both hayed and/or grazed at the same time. For example, if 50 percent of a field or contiguous field is hayed, the remaining unhayed 50 percent cannot be grazed; it must remain unhayed and ungrazed for wildlife. In addition, participants are limited to one hay cutting and are not permitted to sell any of the hay.

Please contact the FSA office at 507- 537-1401 for more information.

Mega farm restrictions ease in Minnehaha County

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The most populous county in South Dakota is easing restrictions on big livestock operations.

The changes in Minnehaha County will allow concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, to expand more easily. Commissioners revamped zoning laws Tuesday to reflect an overall trend that fewer farmers are feeding more people and that the new mega farms can be built with odor and manure containments.

The Argus Leader said opponents cite concerns about driving other types of businesses away if the mega farms expand. Others raised concerns about runoff and clean waterways. Dana Loseke of Friends of the Big Sioux River told commissioners better protection for rivers and streams and enforcement against polluters needs to be a priority.

Drought hay donation lottery program now offered in 3 states

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A hay donation lottery program set up in North Dakota to help drought-stricken ranchers is being expanded to producers in South Dakota and Montana.

The effort was launched last week by North Dakota’s Agriculture Department, North Dakota State University and the Michigan-based nonprofit Ag Community Relief. Officials set up a site near the NDSU campus to accept hay donations that will be doled out to needy producers through a lottery process.

North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring on Tuesday said the lottery will be opened to ranchers throughout the tristate area. The application deadline is Aug. 31.

Ag Community Relief is organizing a large hay donation convoy to North Dakota later this month. The first hay drawing will be in early September. More drawings will be held as donations allow.

Farmers in 14 Michigan counties eligible for flood loans

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Farmers and ranchers in 14 Michigan counties are eligible for emergency loans due to widespread damage amid severe storms and flash flooding in June.

The update from the U.S. Department of Agriculture comes after President Donald Trump last week made a disaster declaration for four Michigan counties.

Trump’s declaration made federal funding available to residents and business owners in Bay, Gladwin, Isabella and Midland counties for things such as temporary housing, repairs and low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses. The assistance also aids the Saginaw Chippewa tribe within Isabella County.

Monday’s announcement includes those four counties and the Indian tribe, as well as other counties declared contiguous disaster areas. Those counties include Arenac, Clare, Gratiot, Mecosta, Montcalm, Ogemaw, Osceola, Roscommon, Saginaw and Tuscola.

Wisconsin farmer wins stray voltage case against Xcel Energy

GALESVILLE, Wis. (AP) — A western Wisconsin farmer could be awarded up to $13.5 million after winning a five-year legal battle against an electric services company over stray voltage.

Paul Halderson told the La Crosse Tribune that his dairy farm herd of nearly 1,000 cows dealt with illness and decreased milk production for more than a decade because of Xcel Energy’s improperly grounded power lines.

Current that leaks from neutral wires in the ground are referred to as stray voltage. Animals can receive small shocks when they come into contact with a grounded object, such as a watering trough. Research from the U.S. Department of Agriculture has found that it can cause cattle to avoid eating, become stressed and produce less milk.

The lawsuit said Northern States Power Company, a subsidiary of Xcel Energy, found excessive voltage in one of Halderson’s barns in 1996 but failed to report it. Halderson hired a consultant in 2011 and found that the high levels of electricity were coming from the utility’s distribution system.

Xcel Energy installed equipment to reduce stray voltage in 2011.

“It’s like night and day,” Halderson said in a statement released by his attorney. “When we had stray voltage, we could never get the production we wanted and the cows were struggling with health problems. Now it seems effortless. Production is way up and the cows are doing great.”