Grand Forks Herald - Ag Day 2010

AG DAY 2010

American agriculture: Abundant. Affordable. Amazing!

A true co-op

Supplement to the Grand Forks Herald, Sunday, March 14, 2010

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Mike Morgan credits elevator’s success to good employees, and expansion and improvements to its facilities.

By Ann Bailey

Special Features Staff Writer

THOMPSON, N.D. – Puffs of steam arise from the dryer at Thompson Farmers Co-op Elevator as grain trucks wheel in and out of the driveway.

On this late winter day famers are hauling in last year’s soybeans and wheat so they can make room for this year’s harvest.

Thompson area farmers had a good year in 2009, Mike Morgan said. “The wheat crop was tremendous, other than the protein being on the low side,” he said. The elevator also handles soybeans and corn.

Thompson Farmers Coop Elevator, founded in 1919, has 291 stockholders and about 300 more farmers from across the area haul their grain to the elevator. The elevator draws customers from a 35-mile radius of Thompson, Mor-

gan said To be a stockholder, farmers have to purchase at least one stock at a cost of $10 per share. Being a stockholder gives the person voting rights and an invitation to its annual meeting. The elevator is governed by a nine-member board.

Anyone who hauls grain to the co-op elevator receives an annual dividend check. The amount farmers receive is based on the number of bushels they sell to the elevator. This year Thompson Farmers Co-op Elevator will give out $1.2 million in dividends at its annual meeting Tuesday.

“We are a true co-op.

The money goes back to the growers,” Morgan said.

“We had the money to expand, and that put more money in farmers’ pockets,” Morgan said.

CO-OP: See Page 2

Looking ahead

Jackie Lorentz, Special Features staff photographer

Luther Meberg farms north of Park River, N.D., on a farm he calls Alkali and Rock Bottom Farms. Find out how the farm got its name at http:www2.polarcomm.com/~meberg/

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Although there’s still snow on the ground, Luther and Ike Meberg are gearing up for spring planting

By Ann Bailey

Special Features Staff Writer

Jackie Lorentz, Special Features staff photographer

PARK RIVER, N.D. – Luther Meberg is ready for the 2010 planting season.

In fact, the Park River area farmer and his farming partner and brother, Ike, purchased their seed and chemicals, repaired their machinery and spread fertilizer on about half of their fields before they bid adieu to 2009.

“We’re on pace where we like to be,” Meberg said on an early March afternoon. He and Ike, who together farm about 2,000 tillable

Reaping what they sow

Mike Morgan, manager of Thompson (N.D.) Farmers Co-op Elevator, stands in front of some of the new concrete elevators used for storage.

■

acres, plan to plant soybeans, pinto beans, oil sunflowers and hard, red spring wheat this year.

They like to rotate their crops because they believe it is good for the land and it works with their marketing plan.

Meanwhile, the rotation also spreads out the harvest throughout the fall so the Mebergs don’t have to hire additional labor.

“We do our rotation pretty tightly, no matter how good the market looks or how bad the market looks, we stick to the same rotation… We know how much we

can sell ahead or how much risk we can take,” Meberg said. He already has forward-contacted some of his new-crop soybeans.

The 2010 planting season will be Meberg’s 35th. He started farming with Ike several years after graduating from the Walsh County Agricultural School in Park River and from UND.

In the beginning

“We rented our first quarter of land in the spring of 1976,” Meberg MEBERG: See Page 2

While Wayne and Kevin Capistran run their seed cleaning operation 10 months of the year, March typically is the busiest month

By Ann Bailey

Special Features Staff Writer

CROOKSTON – No matter the weather, the spring seeding season begins early for Wayne and Kevin Capistran.

The father and son, who operate Capistran Seed, clean grain and row crop seed for farmers in an 80mile radius of their farm near Crookston. The Capistrans also grow certified, identity-preserved and

commercial seed.

This year the Minnesota Crop Improvement Association named Wayne Capistran a Premier Seed Grower. The MCIA presents the award to individuals who demonstrate a long-term commitment to the production and promotion of high-quality certified seed and who have been active in the association.

Wayne has farmed since

1968 when he entered a partnership with his father and uncle. After his father died in 1979, he farmed in partnership with his uncle, and then in 1986, began farming on his own. Kevin began farming with him in 1999 after graduating from

SEED: See Page 2

Wayne Capistran, left, and his son, Kevin, are certified seed growers near Crookston.

Jackie Lorentz, Special Features staff photographer

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Farm land values increase slightly Grand Forks Herald/Sunday, March 14, 2010

By David Bau

University of Minnesota Extension

Farm land values continued to rise last year and are once again reaching all time record levels, according to a survey I conduct annually on bare farm land sales. However, the recent increase across the fourteen Minnesota counties surveyed was only 0.8 percent.

I often receive requests for this information from across the state, although all counties surveyed are in southwestern Minnesota. Surveyed counties include: Chippewa, Cottonwood, Jackson, Lac qui Parle, Lincoln, Lyon, Martin, Murray, Nobles, Pipestone, Redwood, Rock, Watonwan and Yellow Medicine.

Data from these counties indicated prices increased from an average of 3,702 in 2008 to $3,733 in

CO-OP/

Continued from Page 1

Success

Morgan, manger of the elevator since 1998, credits the elevator’s success to good employees, and expansion and improvements to its facilities. During the last 12 years the elevator’s handling capacity has increased from 1.6 million bushels to about 6 million.

In 2003, Thompson Farm-

SEED/

Continued from Page 2

NDSU with an agricultural engineering degree.

Seed

The Capistrans got involved in growing certified seed after Wayne, who had sold seed for many years, was offered a franchise. In 1992, he built a seed cleaning plant and began processing. The Capistrans have expanded the plant over the years and now have 50 bins, which vary in capacity from 3,000 to 10,000 bushels.

The seed cleaning plant, which has capacity to process 200,000 bushels of commercial, certified and organic certified, handles mostly soybeans and wheat seed, but also processes some specialty crops.

The Capistrans process seed from August through May. During those 10 months Kevin, Wayne and an employee divide up the seed cleaning plant duties.

While the Capistrans run their seed cleaning operation 10 months of the year, March typically is the busiest month.

“As you get closer to spring and the workload is still there, you ramp up the hours,” Kevin said.

Though running a seed cleaning plant and a production farming operation can be hectic, it’s worth it because it adds value, the Capistrans said.

2009, or an increase of 0.8 percent. This increase is significantly smaller than last year’s 30 percent increase. There was a lot of variability from 2008 to 2009. The largest increase was in Lac qui Parle County with an increase of 26.8 percent while Cottonwood County experienced a decline of 36.7 percent Four of the counties experienced declines in farm land values. The two counties with the largest declines, Cottonwood and Lyon, were those with the largest percentage increases from 2007 to 2008.

Assessed values became closer to sale values. Historically, the assessed value would be 75 to 80 percent of the sales value, but the survey showed the new average for the fourteen counties increased to 94.78 percent. Three counties experienced av-

erage sales prices that were less than the average assessed values.

There are several factors that have an effect on land values. Farm income, grain prices, interest rates, return on other investments and 1031 exchanges are often mentioned as reasons for the increase. Farm profits continued to be good in 2009 although down slightly from the year before. In 2008 profits were good, but not at record levels. This trend will probably continue, depending on good corn and soybeans yields. Many livestock producers experienced a tough year in 2009, with losses instead of profits due to poor prices for their commodities and high feed costs.

How high can farm land values go? Supply and demand will determine this.

The simple return on in-

vestment, determined by rental rates, will determine how competitive farm land is compared to other investments. If interest rates rise or farm rental rates fall, the value of land is sure to be affected in a negative way.

Barring those scenarios, the price of farm land will continue to climb.

If you would like a copy of a two-page document on the trends in farm land sale prices, and you live in one of the fourteen counties surveyed, the document is available at no cost at your University of Minnesota Extension county office (contact information for Extension offices can be found at http://www.extension.umn. edu/offices/). If you reside in another county and would like the document sent to you, contact me at (507) 372-3906 or bauxx003@umn.edu.

ers Co-op Elevator built a shuttle facility with the capacity to load 110-car unit trains and increased its holding capacity by 660,000 bushels.

“The minute we built that we went from 3 million to 6 million bushels in handle,” Morgan said.

Meanwhile, profits have increased from $632,000 in 2003 to $2.3 million last year. The number of farmers who haul to the elevator increased after the elevator expanded its handling capacity, Morgan

said, and meanwhile, freight rates declined slightly after the shuttle facility was built, which resulted in an increase in the elevator’s margins.

The elevator built additional storage facilities in 2008, which increased its capacity by another 440,000 bushels.

Now the Thompson Farmers Co-op Elevator is making improvements on its facilities in Fisher, Minn., Morgan said. The elevator is expanding its storage capacity in Fisher

and plans to increase the elevator’s handling rate from 5,000 bushels per hour to 15,000 bushels per hour.

Morgan and his employees, like the elevator’s farmer-customers, are optimistic as he looks forward to the growing season.

“We’re excited. We’ve got fertilizer to spread, a lot of grain to handle. It’s always fun to see that new crop come it. It’s just the anticipation, it gets a guy fired up.

“With the seed plant, we’re retailing part of our production,” Wayne said.

challenging time getting their crops harvested last fall. Wet weather during October delayed the harvest, but a dry November allowed them to finish it up and get their fall work completed.

“We ended up all right, but there were times along the way, it didn’t look good,” Kevin said.

Ideally, he and his dad would like to be in the field by next month, he said.

“I like to roll some wheat in, in April. If we started April 25 and were

done by May 25, it would be just fine. It seldom works out that way, though,” Kevin said.

No matter what the spring weather holds in store, though, he and his dad are looking forward to the new farming season.

“It’s nice to be out working the soil and see things grow,” Wayne said.

Says Kevin: “There’s no monotony to it. You’re usually doing a different task and a different challenge.”

Farming

When it comes to production, the Capistrans and a part-time employee handle the farm responsibilities. Because they grow certified seed, their farming equipment must be cleaned each time they seed or harvest a different crop or variety.

“We typically don’t go a day without switching varieties,” Kevin said. He and Wayne grow about 2,000 acres of certified and registered wheat, barley and soybeans. They also grow sunflowers, corn and sugar beets.

The Capistrans conduct their own research trials and test plots and hold meetings with farmers to inform them of the results, Wayne said.

Wayne and Kevin, like many northwest Minnesota and northeast North Dakota farmers, had a

MEBERG/

Continued from Page 1

said. They put their wheat crop in the bin that year and ended up losing money on the crop when the markets went south as result of a grain embargo.

Instead of getting discouraged, though, he and Ike, took farm management classes and learned to be better marketers and managers.

“It’s just another challenge that you have in farming,” Meberg said. “In the long run, it was a good thing. My brother and I are very focused on the business side of farming.” Over the years, the Mebergs attained more land and now have about 3,000 acres, which includes about a thousand of pastureland and CRP, besides the tillable acres.

Ideally, he likes to get in the field by April 20, Meberg said.

“Any work in April is a bonus. Anything you can get done in April takes a lot of pressure off of May.”

Ready and waiting Whether he and Ike will

be out in the field by the target date this year, of course, remains to be seen.

Fields were wet last fall before freeze-up and are still covered by several inches of snow.

Meberg isn’t getting anxious, though, because he has learned over the years that farming often is a waiting game.

“Mother Nature tells you when you’re ready, you can’t force it,” he said. In a few weeks, he and Ike will start hooking up their farming equipment to their tractors and give everything a final check over.

Once the snow melts and the fields dry, they will start working the ground.

“We’re going to get out there and get after it.” Despite the uncertainty of the weather and the markets, he’s looking forward to the challenges of another farming year.

“Every year is different.

You never stick with a job for a very long period of time. It’s just a multitude of tasks.”

“I like spring, the grass greening up and a promise of a better tomorrow….

The renewal of life, how can you not look forward to it?”

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A history of American agriculture Grand Forks Herald/Sunday, March 14, 2010

Agday.org

17th century

Small land grants commonly made to individual settlers; large tracts often granted to well-connected colonists.

1607: First permanent English settlement at Jamestown, Va. 1619: First African slaves brought to Virginia; by 1700, slaves are displacing southern indentured servants.

18th century

English farmers settle in New England villages; Dutch, German, Swedish, Scotch-Irish, and English farmers settle on isolated Middle Colony farmsteads; English and some French farmers settle on plantations in tidewater and on isolated Southern Colony Farmsteads in Piedmont; Spanish immigrants, mostly lower middle-class and indentured servants, settle the Southwest and California.

1776: Continental Congress offers land grants for service in the Continental Army.

1785, 1787: Ordinances of 1785 and 1787 provide for survey, sale, and government of northwestern lands.

1790: Total population: 3,929,214; farmers 90 percent of labor force; U.S. area settled extends westward on average of 255 miles; parts of the frontier cross the Appalachians.

1796: Public Land Act authorizes Federal land sales to the public in minimum 640-acre plots at $2 per acre of credit.

19th century

1800: Total Population: 5,308,483.

1803: Louisiana Purchase.

1810: Total population: 7,239,881.

1819: Florida and other land acquired through treaty with Spain.

1820: Total population: 9,638,453; Land Law allows as little as 80 acres of public land for a minimum price of $1.25 an acre; credit system abolished.

1830: Total population: 12,866,020; Mississippi River forms the approximate frontier boundary.

1830-37: Land speculation boom.

1839: Anti-rent war in New York, a protest against the continued collection of quitrents.

1840: Total population: 17,069,453; farm population; 9,012,000 (est.); farm-

ers 69 percent of labor force.

1841: Pre-emption Act gives squatters first rights to buy land.

1845-55: Potato famine in Ireland and the German Revolution of 1848 greatly increase immigration.

1845-53: Texas, Oregon, the Mexican cession, and the Gadsden Purchase added to the Union.

1849: Gold Rush.

1850: Total population: 23,191,786; farm population; 11,680,000 (est.); farmers 64 percent of labor force; Number of farms: 1,449,000; average acres: 203.

1850s: Successful farming on the prairies begins; with the California gold rush, the frontier extends to the Pacific coast.

1850-62: Free land is a vital rural issue.

1854: Graduation Act reduces price of unsold public lands.

1860: Total population: 31,443,321; farm population: 15,141,000 (est.); farmers 58 percent of labor force; Number of farms: 2,044,000; average acres: 199.

1862: Homestead Act grants 160 acres to settlers who have worked the land 5 years.

1865-70: Sharecropping system in the South replaces the old slave plantation system 1865-90 Influx of Scandinavian immigrants.

1866-77: Cattle boom accelerates settlement of Great Plains; range wars develop between farmers and ranchers.

1870: Total population: 38,558,371; farm population: 18,373,000 (est.); farmers 53 percent of labor force; Number of farms: 2,660,000; average acres: 153.

1880: Total population: 50,155,783; farm population: 22,981,000 (est.); farmers 49 percent of labor force; Number of farms: 4,009,000; average acres: 134; Most humid land already settled; heavy agricultural settlement on the Great Plains begins.

1880-1914: Most immigrants are from southern and eastern Europe.

1887-97: Drought reduces settlement on the Great Plains.

1890s: Increases in land under cultivation and number of immigrants becoming farmers boost agricultural output.

1890: Total population: 62,941,714; farm population: 29,414,000 (est.); farmers 43 percent of labor force; Number of farms:

percent of labor force; Number of farms: 2,439,510; average acres: 426; irrigated acres: 50,350,000 (1978) 1980s: For the first time since the 19th century, foreigners (Europeans and Japanese primarily) begin to purchase significant acreages of farmland and ranchland.

1986: The Southeast’s worst summer drought on record takes a severe toll on many farmers.

1987: Farmland values bottom out after a 6-year decline, signaling both a turnaround in the farm economy and increased competition with other countries’ exports.

1988: Scientists warn that global warming may affect the future viability of American farming; one of the worst droughts in the Nation’s history hits Midwestern farmers.

1990: Total population: 261,423,000; farm population: 2,987,552; farmers 2.6 percent of labor force; Number of farms: 2,143,150; average acres: 461; irrigated acres: 49,404,000 (1992).

1991: Farm entrepreneurial population: 5,024,000.

1998: Number of farms: 2.19 million; average acres: 435.

1990: Rural counties gain population after losing ground in the 1980s.

2000: Total population: 275,000,000 (est.)

Source: USDA.

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From horse drawn plows to the super powered farm equipment of today, technology has been a driving force throughout agricultural history.

4,565,000; average acres: 136; Census shows that the frontier settlement is over.

1891: President authorized to set aside public lands as forest reserves.

20th century

1900: Total population: 75,994,266; farm population: 29,414,000 (est.); farmers 38 percent of labor force; Number of farms: 5,740,000; average acres: 147 1900-20: Continued agricultural settlement on the Great Plains.

1902: Reclamation Act. 1905-07: Policy of reserving timberlands inaugurated on a large scale.

1905: Forest Service created.

1910: Total population: 91,972,266; farm population: 32,077,000 (est.); farmers 31 percent of labor force; Number of farms: 6,366,000; average acres: 138.

1909-20: Dryland farming boom on the Great Plains.

1911-17: Immigration of agricultural workers from Mexico.

1916: Stock Raising Homestead Act. 1920: Total population: 105,710,620; farm population: 31,614,269; farmers 27 percent of labor force; Number of farms: 6,454,000; average acres: 148.

1924: Immigration Act greatly reduces number of new immigrants.

1930: Total population: 122,775,046; farm popula-

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tion: 30,455,350; farmers 21 percent of labor force; Number of farms: 6,295,000; average acres: 157; irrigated acres: 14,633,252.

1932-36: Drought and dust-bowl conditions develop.

1934: Executive orders withdraw public lands from settlement, location, sale, or entry; Taylor Grazing Act. 1940: Total population: 131,820,000; farm population: 30,840,000; farmers 18 percent of labor force; Number of farms: 6,102,000; average acres: 175; irrigated acres: 17,942,968.

1940s: Many former southern sharecroppers migrate to war-related jobs in cities.

1950: Total population: 151,132,000; farm population: 25,058,000; farmers 12.2 percent of labor force; Number of farms: 5,388,000; average acres: 216; irrigated acres: 25,634,869.

1956: Legislation provides for Great Plains Conservation Program.

1960: Total population: 180,007,000; farm population: 15,635,000; farmers 8.3 percent of labor force; Number of farms: 3,711,000;

average acres: 303; irrigated acres: 33,829,000.

1960s: State legislation to keep land in farming increases.

1964: Wilderness Act. 1970: Total population: 204,335,000; farm population: 9,712,000; farmers 4.6 percent of labor force; Number of farms: 2.780, 000; average acres: 390.

1972: Clean Water Act. 1980: Total population: 227,020,000; farm population: 6,051,000; farmers 3.4

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Agriculture: Celebrating its horsepower Grand Forks Herald/Sunday, March 14, 2010

AgDay.org

From a team of horses in the early 1900s to tractors with the power of 40 to 300 horses today, American farmers provide consumers with more and better quality food than ever before. In fact, one farmer now supplies food for about 144 people in the United States and abroad compared with just 25.8 people in 1960.

The efficiency of American farmers pays off in the price American consumers pay for food as well. U.S. consumers spend roughly 9 percent of their income on food compared with 11 percent in the United Kingdom, 17 percent in Japan, 27 percent in South Africa and 53 percent in India.

This great value is due in large part to improved equipment efficiency, enhanced crop and livestock genetics through biotechnology and conventional breeding, and advances in information management.

All Americans are asked to enjoy and admire the wonders of American agriculture as National Agriculture Day is celebrated on the first day of spring.

Equipment changes boost farm output

Today’s farmers work nearly three-and-one-half times more land than their predecessors from 1900.

Their needs are different, the crops are different and the rules governing production practices are different.

“There is an on-going consolidation in agriculture that results in fewer farmers farming more acres,” says Doug DeVries, Sr. Vice President Agricultural Marketing for North America, Australia and Asia at John Deere in Moline, Ill. “Their needs for equipment are changing.

Their expectations for what the equipment will do for their farming operation are also changing.”

DeVries adds that John Deere has had three of its largest product introductions ever in the last four years – despite tough economic times. “We’ve almost revamped our entire product line to provide more efficient production

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Research and technology advancements have also resulted in new uses for commodity crops like corn, soybeans and various grains. solutions for farmers,” he says. “When we sell a planter, we’re really selling the ability to plant a crop. Farmers want solutions in the form of bigger, faster equipment that provides them with better information about their farming operations.”

Information management

John Deere also provides technology services to farmers that include wireless information transfer and satellite guidance systems for driving equipment. With JD Link farmers can have information about their equipment and production operations transferred directly from the equipment in the field to a Web site for easy access later. This can greatly improve their efficiency and increase the life of their equipment by ensuring more timely maintenance.

GreenStar AutoTrac is a satellite guidance system introduced to farmers by John Deere in 2002 and expanded in 2003. This assisted steering system is extremely accurate (within 4-inches pass to pass accuracy) and guides the trac-

tor in a straight line down the row. The operator still turns the tractor at the end of each pass, and must also steer around obstacles such as trees, ditches, and waterways. This technology helps farmers by reducing fatigue and benefits consumers by reducing input costs so the end product costs less when it reaches the retail shelf.

Overall, new technology, such as Field Doc, an agronomic data collection system that uses KeyCard software and three common GreenStar components, provides farmers with better, more timely information to ensure quality, efficient crop production. The information infrastructure also allows growers to track their crops and the production processes used to produce those crops better. A key factor as biotechnology and traceability of specific crop varieties become even more important in food production.

Biotechnology

Biotechnology is another factor in the efficiency of American farmers and their ability to provide more, higher quality food and livestock. Biotechnol-

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ogy provides benefits similar to traditional plant and livestock breeding, but does so in a more controlled environment and with faster results.

Advancements made in plant biotechnology provide consumers with better quality products in many areas. And those benefits are just beginning. There are many products in the biotechnology research pipeline that will provide better livestock feed resulting in leaner meat for consumers. Many of these same products will lessen the environmental impact of livestock production, by reducing waste and/or the chemicals found in animal waste.

Pharmaceutical companies are actively working with farmers to develop crops that can go directly from the field to pharmaceutical production – eliminating some of the processing steps that occur in today’s operations. This research will significantly reduce the costs required to produce many life-saving drugs.

New uses benefit consumers, farmers alike

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Research and technology advancements have also resulted in new uses for commodity crops like corn, soybeans and various grains. Use of products like ethanol and soy-diesel will reduce American independence on fossil fuels and improve air quality throughout the United States and the world.

Ethanol is the largest industrial use of these commodity crops, but soydiesel and other uses are emerging every year. According to DeVries, resins from corn and soybeans are used in some of the panels that go into John Deere equipment. “We’ve really just seen the tip of the iceberg in the use of renewable resources,” says DeVries. “The more we can use commodity crops in industrial applications, the better off we’ll all be.”

Programs, technology preserve environment, advance productivity

American agriculture can also be celebrated for its efforts in environmental conservation. Farmers and ranchers provide food and habitat for approximately 75 percent of this nation’s wildlife. The current farm bill has provisions for farmers to create environmental habitats that will ensure protection of the land and water resources of this country.

Farmers use computer and satellite technology to map their fields for production inputs. This increases yields and reduces crop inputs like fertilizer and crop protection chemicals. “Most farmers use some form of mapping process in their operations,” says DeVries. “What we at John Deere have done is provide them with

5

advanced technology through Field Doc and JD OfficeT to efficiently use those maps and track their production information to help make wise, data-driven decisions about their farming operation.”

With today’s technology, farmers are better able to match seed characteristics and production practices to soil type and climate conditions. The result is higher yields with lower input costs from more efficient use of chemicals, fertilizers and tillage.

Ultimately, that results in more food at a lower cost for consumers.

Today’s farmers understand the importance of improving the quality and quantity of food available to the world. According to the US Census Bureau, it is estimated that there will be 7.5 billion people in the world by the year 2020 (we’re currently at 6.2 billion). It’s agriculture’s job to find a way to feed those people. Advancements in crop technology, equipment technology and information management will make that possible. American farmers and others involved in the agriculture industry have met and will continue to meet this challenge again and again.

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Grand Forks Herald/Sunday, March 14, 2010

Economic impacts of agriculture in North Dakota

Special Features Staff Reports

Agricultural sales from North Dakota’s 31,970 farms exceeded $6.1 billion in 2007, ranking 18th among the 50 States.

Three counties – Cass, Richland, and Grand Forks – accounted for 12.9 percent of the state’s sales, with Cass alone accounting for over $300 million. Agricultural sales are highest in the eastern and north central parts of the State. North Dakota’s top agricultural exports in 2008 were wheat, soybeans, feed grains, feeds and fodders, and their related products. North Dakota is a top-10 exporter of wheat, feed grains, feeds and fodders, and vegetables.

Employment and income

Agriculture employed

about 36,455 workers in North Dakota – 4,365 in urban (metro) counties and 32,090 in rural (nonmetro) counties in the State. Although these jobs represent just 7.6 percent of all jobs in the State, and 13.6 percent of rural jobs, agriculture also affects North Dakota employment indirectly by supporting closely related industries such as agricultural services, agricultural processing and marketing, and industries that provide farm inputs. These industries employ an additional 15,678 workers, including 9,157 in rural and 6,512 in urban areas of the state.

North Dakota agriculture contributes $1.7 billion in personal income, including both wage workers and farm proprietors.

Community-farm linkages

The economic performance of the local community is often vital to farm household well-being.

Approximately 54 percent of North Dakota’s farm operator household income is derived from nonfarm sources, primarily wage and salary employment and self-employment. The majority of North Dakota’s farmers work in areas some distance from urban centers: about 11.7 percent of the State’s farms are located in metro counties, compared with 88.3 percent in nonmetro counties.

Farm operators in the Northern Plains farm production region of the U.S., of which North Dakota is part, were most likely to work in construction; wholesale trade, warehousing, utilities, &

transportation; and agriculture, forestry, fishery, hunting, or mining.

Additional impacts

In addition to providing jobs and income, farming contributes to the state in many other ways: ■ Farmland covers 89.8 percent of North Dakota.

Some 3,434,036 acres, or 8.7 percent of the state’s farmland, are in conservation or wetland reserve programs.

■ Most rural development experts believe that rural communities can benefit economically from entrepreneurs who start local businesses.

North Dakota farmers are more likely than farmers nationally to have highspeed Internet access, which can facilitate entrepreneurial activity.

Source: USDA.

Economic impacts of agriculture in Minnesota

Special Features Staff Reports

Agricultural sales from Minnesota’s 80,992 farms exceeded $13.2 billion in 2007, ranking seventh among the 50 states.

Three counties – Stearns, Renville, and Martin – accounted for 10.2 percent of the State’s sales, with Stearns alone accounting for over $500 million. Agricultural sales are highest in the western and southern parts of the State. Minnesota’s top agricultural exports in 2008 were soybeans, feed grains, wheat, live animals and meat, and their related products. Minnesota is a top10 exporter of each of the above products.

Employment and income

Agriculture employed about 97,263 workers in Minnesota – 25,797 in urban (metro) counties and 71,466 in rural (nonmetro) counties in the state. Although these jobs represent just 2.7 percent

of all jobs in the state, and 8.1 percent of rural jobs, agriculture also affects Minnesota employment indirectly by supporting closely related industries such as agricultural services, agricultural processing and marketing, and industries that provide farm inputs. These industries employ an additional 87,633 workers, including 42,889 in rural and 44,680 in urban areas of the state.

Minnesota agriculture contributes $2.3 billion in personal income, including both wage workers and farm proprietors.

Community-farm linkages

The economic performance of the local community is often vital to farm household well-being.

Approximately 69 percent of Minnesota’s farm operator household income is derived from nonfarm sources, primarily wage and salary employment and self-employment. The ma-

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jority of Minnesota’s farmers work in areas some distance from urban centers: about 25.3 percent of the State’s farms are located in metro counties, compared with 74.7 percent in nonmetro counties.

Farm operators in the Lake States farm production region of the U.S., of which Minnesota is part, were most likely to work in manufacturing; construction; and retail trade and personal services.

The industries that added the largest number of jobs in Minnesota statewide from 2006 to 2008 include health care and social assistance (26,169); professional and technical services (6,249); educational services (5,630); management of companies and enterprises (5,237); and public administration (3,894).

Additional impacts

In addition to providing jobs and income, farming contributes to the state in many other ways:

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When is Ag Day?

Ag Day is celebrated on March 20, 2010 – the first day of spring. National Ag Day falls during National Ag Week, March 14-20, 2010.

Who hosts Ag Day?

The Agriculture Council of America hosts the campaign on a national level.

However, the awareness efforts in communities across America are as influential - if not more than the broad-scale effort.

Again this year, the Ag Day Planning Guide has been created to help communities and organizations more effectively host Ag Day events.

What is Ag Day all about?

Ag Day is about recognizing – and celebrating – the contribution of agriculture in our everyday lives. The National Ag Day program encourages every American to: ■ Understand how food and fiber products are produced.

■ Value the essential role of agriculture in maintaining a strong economy.

■ Appreciate the role agriculture plays in pro-

viding safe, abundant and affordable products.

Why celebrate agriculture?

Agriculture provides almost everything we eat, use and wear on a daily basis. But too few people truly understand this contribution. This is particularly the case in our schools, where students may only be exposed to agriculture if they enroll in related vocational training.

By building awareness, the Agriculture Council of America is encouraging young people to consider career opportunities in agriculture.

Each American farmer feeds more than 144 people ... a dramatic increase from 25 people in the 1960s.

Quite simply, American agriculture is doing more and doing it better. As the world population soars, there is an even greater demand for the food and fiber produced in the United States.

What can I do to help?

Put simply, get involved!

Your participation in Ag Day is critical in helping us spread this positive message about agriculture.

If you are interested in planning an event, download your Planning Guide today. Of course, there are other ways you can lend your support, including sending a letter to your local newspaper, calling your Congressional representatives or simply sharing information about agriculture with youngsters in your community.

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■ Farmland covers 52.9 percent of Minnesota.

Some 1,929,007 acres, or 7.2 percent of the state’s farmland, are in conservation or wetland reserve programs.

■ About 6.9 percent of Minnesota farm acreage is in woodland, benefiting the environment and wildlife. The open space, forests, and other scenic attributes of farmland are particularly associated with attracting new residents, including members of the “creative class” (artists, writers, scientists, etc.) who are an important ingredient in rural development in today’s “knowledge economy.”

■ Most rural development experts believe that rural communities can benefit economically from entrepreneurs who start local businesses.

Minnesota farmers are more likely than farmers nationally to have access to high-speed Internet, which can facilitate entrepreneurial activity.

National Ag Day FAQ’s

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World population growth is creating needs for food and fiber

■ World population is at 6.2 billion today, and is expected to reach 7.5 billion by the year 2020.

■ There will be millions of new mouths to feed, many of whom rely on United States food production to meet this need.

The United States is best positioned to meet this growing need ■ Agriculture is America’s No. 1 export.

■ About 17 percent of raw U.S. agriculture products are exported yearly.

■ The United States is out front in technological advances.

■ U.S. farmers and ranchers produce more than 200 raw commodities yearly for domestic and export markets.

■ In 1999, one farmer produced enough food to feed about 144 people each day.

Agriculture generates 20 percent of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product.

■ One-fourth of the world’s beef and nearly one-fifth of the world’s grain, milk and eggs are produced in the U.S. ■ The United States exports $43.5 billion in agriculture products and important $26.4 billion in farm products, equaling a positive net trade balance of $17.1 billion.

■ One in three U.S. farm acres is planted for export, and 25 percent of gross farm income comes directly from exports.

■ Through research and changes in production practices, today’s food producers are providing Americans with the widest variety of foods ever.

■ Research and advancements in biotechnology are now in the marketplace with tastier fruits and vegetables that stay fresh longer and are not damaged by insects.

■ Consumers derive health benefits from changes in farm production including less fat in meat and longer lasting fresh fruits and vegetables. As well, tofu, a soybean product, has been shown to reduce the risk of some cancer

and heart disease.

■ For every hour, the U.S. exports $6 million worth of agricultural products.

Technology leads the way in today’s agricultural production ■ Precision farming boosts crop yields and reduces waste by using satellite maps and computers to match seed, fertilizer and crop protection applications to local soil conditions.

■ Sophisticated Global Positioning Systems can be specifically designed for spraying herbicides and pesticides. A weed detector equipped with infrared light identifies specific plants by the different rates of light they reflect and then sends a signal to a pump to spray a preset amount of herbicide onto the weed.

■ Biogenetics is another technology that is being utilized in crop production. A particular trait is implanted directly into the seed to protect the seed against certain pests.

■ Artificial insemination of livestock is producing more and better meat supplies.

■ Farmers are utilizing 4-wheel drive tractors with up to 300 horsepower requiring fewer passes across fields - saving energy and time.

■ Huge combines are speeding the time it takes to harvest crops.

■ With modern methods, one acre of land in the U.S. (about the size of a football field) can produce: 42,000 lbs. of strawberries, 11,000 heads of lettuce, 25,400 lbs. of potatoes, 8,900 lbs. of sweet corn, or 640 lbs. of cotton lint.

America is producing not only more food, but higher quality and lower cost ■ Two out of every three bushels of corn in the world originate in the United States.

■ In 2001, 45 percent of the world’s soybeans were grown in the United States.

■ American consumers spend the lowest percentage of their annual income on food – just 9.3

percent.

■ Nearly 19 billion pounds of pork - the most widely eaten meat - were processed in 2001.

■ Cotton is by the far the most dominant fiber produced in the United States and is used for apparel, home fabrics as well as industrial uses.

Fertilizers and pesticides contribute to increases in production ■ Crop protection products have tripled the output of resource-intensive food, like cooking oil, meat, fruits and vegetables.

■ Crop protection products have doubled the production of world food calories since 1960.

■ Without synthetic crop production chemicals, American farmers cannot feed the world.

■ Farmers are Good Stewards of the Land and Environment ■ Farmers and ranchers are the first environmentalists, maintaining and improving the soil and natural resources to pass on to future generations.

■ Farmers maintain over 1.3 million acres of grass waterways, allowing water to flow naturally from crops without eroding soil.

■ Countour farming, planting crops on hillsides instead of up and down, keeps soil from washing away. About 26 million acres in the United States are managed this way.

■ Cattle ranchers and others control water run-off with sod waterways and diversions, erosion control structures and catch basins.

■ Just as urban families recycle grass, newspaper and aluminum, farm families have practiced recycling for a long time by applying manure to fields to replace nutrients in the soil.

■ Food service food scraps are used to make animal feed.

■ Agricultural land provides habitat for 75 percent of the nation’s wildlife.

Limit risk when selecting corn hybrids for 2010

Grand Forks Herald/Sunday, March 14, 2010

By Jeff Coulter

University of Minnesota Extension

You can reduce risk when selecting corn hybrids by using information from many sources, including universities, grower associations, seed companies, and on-farm strip trials. Results from unbiased, replicated trials are especially important.

Selecting grain hybrids: ■ Hybrid selection begins with maturity. Identify an acceptable maturity range based on the number of growing degree days required for a hybrid to reach physiological maturity (black layer). Selected hybrids should reach maturity at least ten days before the first average frost to allow time for grain drydown and to provide a buffer against a cool year or late planting.

■ Plant multiple hybrids of varying maturity to spread risk and widen the harvest interval.

■ Very full-season grain hybrids do not consistently out-yield mid-season hybrids in Minnesota. There is more variability in yield among hybrids within a given relative maturity rating than there is between maturity groups.

■ Hybrids should also be selected for standability, disease tolerance, emergence, and the need for transgenic resistance to insects and herbicides within a given production system. Standability is critical for ensuring that the grain produced is harvestable. Since corn has a narrow optimum plant population, unharvestable ears due to stalk and root lodging will have a large impact on yield.

Selecting hybrids for silage: ■ Again, maturity is one of the first things to consider. Longer-season hybrids tend to have higher silage yields. A general rule of thumb is that hybrids planted for silage should be 5 to 10 days longer in relative maturity than the hybrids planted

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■ Consider planting hybrids with a range in maturity, as this reduces the probability that the entire crop will experience hot and dry conditions during pollination. This can also widen the harvest window.

■ Other important considerations include standability, dry-down, herbicide and insect resistance, and tolerance to drought and disease. If hybrids with strong ratings for stay-green are selected, growers should be aware that whole-plant moisture will likely be higher than normal when harvested according to kernel stage.

■ Since corn silage is an energy source for animal performance, producers should consider both yield and quality when selecting hybrids.

More details, including 2009 University of Minnesota corn grain and silage trials results, are available at www.extension.umn.edu/corn. Or, for this information as well as new variety trial results for other Minnesota crops, visit the variety trial pages on the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station Web site at http://www.maes.umn.edu/1 0varietaltrials/.

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PO Box 301 East Grand Forks, MN, 56721 Phone: 218-773-3633 • Fax: 218-773-6227

G8 Grand Forks Herald/Sunday, March 14, 2010

www.grandforksherald.com

North Dakota and Minnesota Thank Valley Operators Farmers

Argyle Co-op Warehouse Assn.

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Cummings Ag Inc. FARMERS ELEVATOR Buxton, ND Gary Fuglesten, Manager 701-847-2622 • 1-800-286-2623

F ARMERS E LEVATOR OMPANY C 33461 340th Ave., SW, Eldred, Minnesota 56523 Danny Grunewald, Manager

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