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Ag and Extension

Strategic Farming: Field Notes talks corn development, soybean insect pests

ST. PAUL — Dry conditions continue to intensify, impacting crop and insect pest development. Despite delayed planting, corn development is ahead of normal. According to Dr. Jeff Coulter, University of Minnesota Extension corn agronomist, warm temperatures during the early summer accelerated corn growth, compensating for the late spring. “The heart of the pollination period will occur next week,” he said. While temperatures are expected to be favorable, it has continued to be very dry. Drought stress during this critical pollination period has the potential to reduce yield. ...

Nominations open for the 2023 county committee elections

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) is now accepting nominations for county committee members and encourages all farmers, ranchers, and FSA program participants to take part in the Lyon County Committee election nomination process. Elections will occur in certain Local Administrative Areas (LAA) for members. LAAs are elective areas for FSA committees in a single county or multi-county jurisdiction. For Lyon County, elections will take place in LAA #1, which consists of Amiret, Custer, Lyons, Monroe, Shelburne, Sodus, and Rock Lake townships. Customers ...

Ag and Extension Briefs

Common tree concerns and suitable tree replacement options for SW MN Pipestone and Murray County Extension Offices and Pipestone County Master Gardeners invite the public to an informational tree program focused on common tree diseases, pests and suitable tree species replacement options for southwest Minnesota. Homeowners, farmers and industry professionals should make plans to attend this free program presented by Regional Forestry Extension Educator Gary Wyatt. He will discuss the most common tree issues affecting southwest Minnesota trees, how to recognize and diagnose common ...

Soil health

While the following topic can seem somewhat boring to many, the need to understand soil health is a big one. Healthy soil makes healthy and productive plants. Healthy and productive plants make healthy and productive gardeners! As this is true for those who are farming, it is also true for those who are gardening. Data driven research through the U of M over many years, finds that our garden and lawn soil does not need phosphorous. Garden and lawn soils have an average of around 68 parts per million (ppm) while our farm fields are around 26 ppm. 20 ppm is enough to raise a healthy lawn ...

Register now for Strategic Farming: Field Notes

Registration is open for the Strategic Farming: Field Notes program. The Field Notes program is designed for farmers and agricultural professionals as a weekly webinar program addressing all your crop-related questions in real-time in an interactive, discussion-based format. The Field notes program will begin on May 11 and will continue throughout the 2022 growing season on a weekly basis from 8-8:30 a.m. on Wednesday mornings. The program will feature a live webinar with interactive discussion with attendees, addressing in-season cropping issues as they arise. Weekly topics will be ...

USDA offers CLEAR30 option for agricultural producers to enrolll Land

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the signup period for its Clean Lakes, Estuaries, And Rivers initiative (CLEAR30) — a nationwide opportunity for certain landowners and agricultural producers currently implementing water quality practices through the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) to enroll in 30-year contracts, extending the lifespan and strengthening the benefits of important water quality practices on their land.  Producers may apply for CLEAR30, a voluntary, incentive-based conservation program, through Aug. 5    “Farmers, ranchers, and agricultural ...