Breaking News

Ag and Extension

Lincoln County Corn and Soybean Growers and their checkoffs are hosting a “Farmers Share” breakfast from 7-10 a.m. Saturday at the Lincoln County Fairgrounds. “We want to raise awareness of the actual monetary amount farmers receive,” said Tim Jerzak, president of the Lincoln County Corn and Soybean Growers Association. “It is important for us to share our story and connect consumers with producers.” The breakfast will include pancakes, sausage, eggs and a drink, all for 35 cents to replicate the amount a farmer actually receives. This event is open to all ages and is done in part with the Lincoln County Fair and the Lincoln County 4-H. “We welcome everyone to come out to the county fair and support our area farmers and county 4-H program,” Jerzak said. “We look forward to sharing our message while supporting our youth program through the Lincoln County 4-H.” The Lincoln County Corn & Soybean Growers Association is affiliated with the Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council, which oversees the investment of soybean checkoff dollars on behalf of the nearly 28,000 farmers in Minnesota. The Council is governed by the rules of a federally mandated checkoff program that requires all soybean producers pay a fee on the soybeans they sell. Checkoff dollars are used to promote, educate and develop market opportunities for soybeans.

Lincoln County Corn and Soybean Growers and their checkoffs are hosting a “Farmers Share” breakfast from 7-10 a.m. Saturday at the Lincoln County Fairgrounds. “We want to raise awareness of the actual monetary amount farmers receive,” said Tim Jerzak, president of the Lincoln County Corn and Soybean Growers Association. “It is important for us to share our story and connect consumers with producers.” The breakfast will include pancakes, sausage, eggs and a drink, all for 35 cents to replicate the amount a farmer actually receives. This event is open to all ages and is ...

MN Soybean showcasing innovation at 2019 Farmfest

The Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council (MSR&PC) and the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association (MSGA) are laying out the blueprints for innovation throughout the state. The dual organizations will be highlighting their product developments and various successes in booth #620 during the 2019 Farmfest Aug. 6-8 at Gilfillan Estates in Morgan. “We wanted to highlight the many uses of soybeans, and you can literally walk on one of these when you enter our tent,” said Minnesota Soybean CEO Tom Slunecka, referencing the asphalt road protectant RePLAY. A pad of asphalt with a ...

The Master Gardner program

The Lyon County Master Gardener program is always looking for area residents to join our group and volunteer as a University of Minnesota Extension Master Gardener volunteer. We will soon be taking applications for the program. We can really use your skills that you have as a gardener or even as someone who is learning how to garden. There are so many ways to volunteer within your own neighborhood or city and especially within our county. I started with the Master Gardener program after watching PBS’s show, “Prairie Yard and Garden.” I watched the show and pointed the program out ...

Japanese beetles

It is interesting that we have two pests that are metallic green that cause so much widespread problems in the gardening world. They are also both invasive pests too. For the purpose of this column today, I am not going to go into any detail about Emerald Ash Borer except that the Minnesota Department of Ag is keeping an eye on it. We know that for Lyon County the closest place that has it is Sioux Falls, S.D. It is also in Stearns County and Martin County, with all of Iowa being also quarantined for it. This week the metallic green insect that we are focusing on is Japanese beetles. ...

Extension Briefs

Outlook 2019 with weather and price variables By Dave Bau Extension Educator The spring of 2019 will go down as one for the memory books. Wet, cool and late spring left many farmers cramming to get their crops planted. Many were unable to get all the crop planted on time and continued planting even after final planting dates lowering their level of insurance coverage. Many fields were not planted at all and many acres applied to prevented planting acres. Last winter I prepared crop budgets for corn and soybeans to total $722 per acre for corn and $469 for soybeans with cash rents ...

Alternative ways to raise vegetables

This summer is a trial of sorts for our family when it comes to finding alternative ways to raise vegetables. We are trying the vegetable bags that have been available for a couple of years in area stores. These bags are made up of a heavy Tyvek material and have a small Velcro door toward the bottom of the bag. This is so you can harvest potatoes (sweet or regular) from the bottom while keeping the plant alive and growing well. This year we decided to try one tomato plant and one potato plant to see how it works. The tomato plant is a celebrity, which was chosen because they only get ...