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Ag and Extension

I-29 Moo University Dairy Beef Short Course to focus on animal health and carcass traits

The I-29 Moo University Dairy Beef Short Course will be on Tuesday, March 24, as part of the pre-educational events for the Central Plains Dairy Expo. The short course will be held in the Denny Sanford Premier Center, Sioux Falls, S.D., in rooms 8, 9, and 10. This year’s program will focus on dairy beef carcasses at the farm, processor and consumer end, along with targeting health considerations for maximum performance. The Dairy Beef Short Course, hosted by I-29 Moo University, is a collaboration of South Dakota State University, the University of Minnesota, Iowa State University, ...

Ag and Extension Briefs

Farm Bill crops meetings offered in Ivanhoe, Marshall The 2018 Farm Bill is bringing about changes for crop producer’s risk management. University of Minnesota Extension and the Farm Service Agency are holding free educational events to help crop producers understand decisions regarding the 2018 Farm Bill reauthorization of ARC and PLC programs. Under the 2018 Farm Bill, crop producers must make a selection by March 15, 2020, of either ARC-County, PLC or ARC-Individual for all covered commodity base acres on a farm. This election will apply to the farm for 2019 through 2020. ...

Corn and soybean planting date survey: Seeking your help

The extremely wet conditions of 2019 in Minnesota led to planting delays and unprecedented levels of prevent plant acres. Where planting delays continued late into the growing season, farmers needed to decide whether or not to plant a crop during or after the late planting date for crop insurance. Historical planting date information was helpful but limited for planting dates in June (corn for grain) and July (corn for silage and soybean). University of MN Extension is asking farmers to share their experiences from 2019 to help increase our knowledge base on the impacts of late ...

Ag and Extension Briefs

LSP Community Forum on the Farm Crisis is today As the farm financial crisis deepens in our rural communities, the Land Stewardship Project is offering special workshops and forums for farmers and rural communities, including from 5:30-8:30 p.m. today at the Kilowatt Community Center in Granite Falls (600 Kilowatt Drive). The event is free, but RSVPs are appreciated for planning purposes. To reserve a spot, request childcare, or for more information, contact LSP’s Scott DeMuth at 320-269-2105 or sdemuth@landstewardshipproject.org. Farmers in Minnesota and across the country are ...

Private Pesticide Applicator Recertification workshops scheduled

WORTHINGTON — If you need to renew your Private Pesticide Applicator certification, you can do so by attending one of the upcoming recertification workshops sponsored by University of MN Extension. These workshops offer a great opportunity to review regulations and safety issues related to pesticide application, as well as provide you with the latest University research on integrated pest management. You need to renew your private pesticide applicator certification in 2020 if you: • Apply pesticides to land or sites you own, rent or lease for the production of agriculture ...

Ag and Extension Briefs

Get registered for PorkBridge and SowBridge programs Registration for both PorkBridge and SowBridge distance education programs is now open. PorkBridge is aimed at those who own, manage or work in swine grow-finish facilities. SowBridge is for people involved in managing or caring for sows, and/or their litters, and boars, including operation owners, employees, technicians, managers and technical service providers. Both programs begin in early February 2020. University of Minnesota Swine Extension Educator Sarah Schieck Boelke said the programs offer accurate and timely information ...