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Ag and Extension

Cleaning up

The heavy ice storms we recently had took a toll on our trees. There were some people who had hardly any damage and others who had significant damage. The ash trees and silver maples in my yard took a big hit. We were lucky that no big branches damaged our house. We do, however, have a big mess to clean up. There are several questions to ask before digging into your clean up. The first is to make sure that all of the larger tree branches have fallen so that no one who is working under the trees is exposed to a possible accident waiting to happen. The second question is if a tree is ...

Ag and Extension Briefs

Beef Quality Assurance & Secure Beef Supply trainings set Today’s consumers are more interested than ever before on where and how the food they purchase is raised, which has led to an increased focus on our beef production systems — how we handle cattle, our use of pharmaceutical products, our feed management practices, and having an accurate and reliable record keeping system. University of Minnesota Extension along with Minnesota Beef Council will host three Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) and Secure Beef Supply (SBS) training sessions in southwest Minnesota. Producers attending ...

Emerald ash borer

Patience in more ways than one right now. The weather will get better to some degree or another; it always seems to even itself out. Stearns County is also having its patience tested because they have now found Emerald Ash Borer there too. City workers in the area were cleaning up and noticed some of the signs of EAB infestation and called authorities. EAB was first found in Minnesota in 2009 and Stearns County is the 18th county in Minnesota to have found this pest. The nearest site to the Stearns County site that became infected was 50 miles away. EAB can only travel a mile or two on ...

All-american Selection Winners

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 ...

Ag and Extension Briefs

Women in Ag Network Spring Workshop in St. Cloud April 11 The University of Minnesota Extension Women in Ag Network’s spring workshop is scheduled for Thursday, April 11, at the St. Cloud Regional Extension Office, 3601 18th St. S. #113, St. Cloud. This half-day workshop will feature two speakers from UMN Extension. Liz Stahl will share more about how to interpret research to help make effective farm level decisions, and Joleen Hadrich will share more about her innovative research looking at dairy farm profitability. We will also have ample time during the workshop to network with ...

Garden Smarter

The sunnier days and warmer temperatures are getting the gardener inside all of us ready to go and pumped up for another summer of gardening in Minnesota. We made it through probably the worst winter has to offer, and I am finding that there are many gardeners who have been starting their seeds indoors. This is truly exciting news. Remember, that there are many avenues to get your gardening questions answered this growing season. The first route to go is contact your local Master Gardener. A list of gardeners is usually kept at your local U of M Extension office. Master Gardeners go ...