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Ag and Extension

Gardening challenges

Gardening, particularly vegetable gardening certainly can be challenging. A good example of this is set around the experimentation of a new variety of green bean. I don’t like them. It could be the heat and the dry weather (even though I did water continuously) but the green beans came out flat and somewhat woody. I don’t think I will try this variety again. I am glad that I also grew one of my tested and true green bean varieties along with the new variety. In hot weather, plants such as peppers will drop their flowers and even sometimes, their small beginning fruit because the ...

Will our lawns recover?

The goodness of our vegetable gardens is coming in quickly now. If you are into canning and preserving, there is a lot to do in the garden. There are even some flowers, depending on if you are in an area that has had rain, that are still coming on strong. The rains are a hit and miss even in our area. It seems that it is a story of the haves and the have nots. The biggest question that I have been fielding is will our lawns recover. Lawns are dormant now and may remain so into winter provided it doesn’t rain. It is not a time to panic. Instead, be aware that there are other things ...

Keeping weeds under control

The drought continues to roll on in our area. It is becoming the haves versus the have-nots. Meaning, some places get the rain while others have seen little to no rain. The conversation around whether or not someone was able to see some rain from the latest go around has now started with being lucky for what you may have received even if it was just a few tenths. The drought has even has some hardy Minnesotans saying, “Hopefully, it will snow this winter” to help ease the drought. You know it has to be getting bad when people start wishing for snow! As the summer keeps turning on, ...

Ag & Extension Briefs

Attend ‘Cover Crops: Setting up for Success’ Aug. 17 in Lamberton Plan to attend “Cover Crops: Setting up for Success” on Aug. 17, at the Southwest Research and Outreach Center, Lamberton. Check-in starts at 8:30 a.m., and the program will run 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., with lunch included. Plan to arrive on time as a field tour of cover crop research trials will commence promptly at the start of the event, weather permitting. The event will be held, rain or shine. While cover crops have the potential to provide many benefits, they are currently planted on a limited number of ...

What to do during hot spells

Minnesotans like to talk about the weather. If we think how hot it will be in July and compare it to January — there is almost a difference of 160 degrees between the two months. The hot weather, besides causing problems with just trying to keep up with watering, will cause poor pollination in many of our plants. This means different things to different plants and causes we gardeners to think we have diseases in the garden. In fact, right now, most of our problems are caused by the high temperatures. There is little to nothing that we can do for some of the stranger things that ...

USDA to provide pandemic assistance to livestock producers for animal losses

Livestock and poultry producers who suffered losses during the pandemic due to insufficient access to processing can apply for assistance for those losses and the cost of depopulation and disposal of the animals. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the Pandemic Livestock Indemnity Program (PLIP) in (recorded) remarks at the National Pork Industry Conference in Wisconsin Dells, WI. The announcement is part of USDA’s Pandemic Assistance for Producers initiative. Livestock and poultry producers can apply for assistance through USDA’s Farm Service ...