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Ag and Extension

Lighting for plants

As we have moved our gardening indoors, it may be necessary to provide some better or more lighting for some of our plants. Due to space, most of my house plants are sitting near windows in the basement of my home and they seem to do just fine with some exceptions. The first is that the basement is probably little bit cooler than the plants appreciate and the second is that there are a couple of houseplants that need more light than what they will get from the windows. This brings up the idea of whether or not LED lighting will work for houseplants and what bulbs you would need to ...

What to do with all of the leaves

The wet summer we had has benefited many things but particularly our trees. If you have noticed, there seems to be a lot more leaves on our lawns right now. The question is what to do with all of those leaves. Leaves can be left on the lawn but there are a few things to know before you finally decide on what to do with those leaves. Do you leave them on the lawn? Do you mulch them and leave them on the lawn? Do you remove them and compost them? What is the best way to handle them? The answer may lay in what to do if you seem to have too many leaves. The first step to consider is if ...

Ag and Extension Briefs

What is a fair farm rental agreement? Landlords, farmers and agri-business professionals should make plans to attend one of the informative fair farm rental agreement meetings being held across Minnesota. These free meetings are being provided by the University of Minnesota Extension. Farm land rental rates are the largest input cost the farmer has. Determining a fair farm rent agreement is a challenge in today’s economy with current low corn and soybeans prices in 2019. Negotiating a fair rental agreement that satisfies the land owner and the farmer is a challenge. David Bau ...

Raising a potato in a bag

There are many things to do yet in the garden. We need to get our gardens ready for winter and yet, we need to think ahead to spring as well. There is one task that many of us are undertaking right now, which includes digging up potatoes. As promised, I had taken a picture of a potato plant that we were raising in a bag system for potatoes. We placed one seed potato into the bag and at the end of the growing season, we were able to just tip the bag over into an adjacent garden instead of digging up the potato plant. We had planted a russet seed potato in this bag system and I have the ...

Ag Briefs

Klobuchar, Smith announce open enrollment for 2020 Dairy Margin Coverage program WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, D-MN, and Tina Smith, D-MN, both members of the Senate Agriculture Committee, announced that dairy producers are now eligible to sign up for the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program for calendar year 2020, which helps dairy producers better manage the volatility of milk and feed prices. The Senators encouraged dairy producers to sign up at their local Farm Service Agency (FSA) office. Enrollment ends Dec. 13. “Dairy farmers continue to face low prices and ...

Redwood County 4-H’ers participate in 4-H State Horse Show

Five 4-H youth from Redwood County participated in the Minnesota 4-H State Horse show Sept. 13-16, 2019. This year, 634 youth from across the state participated in the annual event at the Minnesota State Fair. 4-H’ers demonstrate their skills and knowledge in hippology (showing knowledge and understanding of equine science and husbandry), horse judging (study of an animal, measuring it against an accepted ideal), horse training and achievement, speech and demonstrations about interest in horses or the horse industry, showmanship and drill team skills. Youth who participate in ...