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Ag Briefs

Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage Enrollment for 2020 USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) encourages agricultural producers to enroll now in the Agriculture Risk Loss (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs. The deadline to enroll for the 2020 crop year is June 30, 2020. By enrolling soon, producers can beat the rush as the deadline nears. FSA offices have multiple programs competing for the time and attention of our staff.  Because of the importance and complexities of the ARC and PLC programs; and to ensure FSA meets your program delivery expectations, please ...

Geranium seeds

Generally speaking, it is about now that we can begin to gather our equipment and start planting seeds for the growing season. The most important thing to do is to make sure to follow the packet guidelines to help ensure that you know how exactly each individual seed likes to be raised. A good example of this is geranium seeds. Geranium seeds have a hard coat on them and need to be scuffed up a bit in order for the new plant to emerge. There are a few things to consider as you get going with this fun project. Remember to use soil that is meant for starting seeds. This is because using ...

Spring management of prevent plant acres

University of Minnesota Extension The spring planting season is soon upon us.  Prevent plant acres, or fields that were too wet to be planted to a cash crop last year, may need some special attention this season. As final preparations are made for planting, suggested strategies will depend on how these areas were managed in 2019.  In fields where a cover crop was planted: Be sure to have a termination plan for cover crops that overwintered, such as cereal rye. To protect yield, a general guideline is to terminate the cover crop 10 to 14 days prior to planting the cash crop, ...

University of Minnesota Extension has new cow podcast, ‘The Moos Room’

The University of Minnesota Beef and Dairy Teams are now producing a cow podcast called, “The Moos Room.” The podcast is hosted by Joe Armstrong, Brad Heins, and Emily Krekelberg, and is made for both beef and dairy producers. “The Moos Room” is free to stream or download and available on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts. The cattle focused podcast discusses relevant topics to help Minnesota beef and dairy producers be more successful. The information is evidence-based and presented as an informal conversation between the hosts and guests. “Our goal with ‘The Moos ...

‘Essential Row Crop Management’ spring 2020 webinar series offered

Extension specialists in Iowa and Minnesota are collaborating to provide a series of short, daily webinars for farmers, ag professionals, Extension personnel and other interested parties from April 6 to April 10. The theme is “Essential Row Crop Management for Spring 2020”, with a focus on key topics to be addressed prior to the planting season. Each webinar will start at 1 p.m. with a 10- to 15- minute discussion followed by time for questions and answers. Since fieldwork and planting season upon us, sessions will be limited to 30 minutes. These webinars are free and open to ...

Farm Management Profitability Conference now available online

The 2020 Farm Management Probability Conference is now available to view online free of charge. Since the in-person conference had to be canceled, presenters recorded their presentations for interested producers and ag professionals to view from home. To view the recorded conference on your computer or mobile device, visit: https://swfm.umn.edu/educational-opportunities The program features Monica Kramer McConkey, rural mental health specialist with MN Dept. of Agriculture, exploring unique stressors affecting farmers, warning signs that may indicate they are struggling emotionally, ...