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Ag and Extension

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, ...

Online gardening activities

We are all at home looking for things to do while we wait out this virus. There are a few gardening things that you can do in your own home to bring a little spring in and help us all with an activity that is positive. I want to lead parents to the Minnesota Extension webpages, not only for gardening but for the 4-H program as well. There are activities being posted from 4-H for kids to do at home and the Extension has all sorts of information on so many things — many of which are videos to watch. For adults, this also includes tips on canning or preserving and even drying, which can ...

New plant materials

According to the All-American Selection Winners website, “AAS is the only national, nonprofit plant trialing organization in North America. All-America Selections is an independent nonprofit organization that tests new, never-before-sold varieties for the home gardener. After a full season of anonymous trialing by volunteer horticulture professionals, only the top garden performers are given the AAS Winner award designation for their superior performance.” There is all sorts of information regarding new plant material that is sold for gardeners throughout the U.S. We have to make ...