Nicollet County Ledger April 9, 2023

April 9, 2023 | South Central News & Media

Public Notices Pages 3 and 4

Courtland Baseball Page 6

Sports Page 4

Summer Weather Temps Arrive in Early April to be Followed by Possible Snowfall

By Robert Lawson Publisher 612-460-5851

The first few days of April were unusually hot. Temps were in the high 80s near 90 for a couple of days in the beginning of April.

This weather is to be followed by several days in the 30s and 40s and there will be many periods of precipitation that include some snow and rain. The river levels have also been rising from the several feet of snow that accumulated over the past winter. Next month, several campsites will be opening in the area as the weather warms. The next few weeks, however, will include several low temps.

North Mankato

Digital Publishing Delays This Past Week Continued NicolletCountyLedger.com

By Robert Lawson Publisher 612-460-5851 The Nicollet County Ledger is facing a major budget deficit as well as some organizational issues that need to be resolved.

The publisher is currently working on creating a plan to save the paper and ensure weekly publication without delay, including running in print again. The publisher has had to work on numerous tasks during the month of April.

There are some payroll and printing expenses that need to be brought current.

Storage and archival of the old newspapers needs to be arranged.

Software for the computers needs to be completed.

Website maintenance needs to be completed.

Invoices need to be sent and

updated.

This is no easy feat at the moment considering the transition from the LafayetteNicollet Ledger to the Nicollet County Ledger was rough after fallouts with the previous two owners, Lee Zion and Michael Lemmer.

This month's newspapers will be delayed in their digital and print formats until such other issues are taken care of. The first of which will involve raising some more money for the newspaper.

There also is a need for an advertising sales professional to be added to the staff at the Nicollet County Ledger. This person will help us raise the needed funds to continue publishing content and news that is useful to the communities of Nicollet County and the surrounding area. We are seeking someone immediately.

There are several planned upgrades and some changes to the Ledger's advertising programs that will become available to local businesses as well. We look forward to being able to continue serving the community with local news and perspectives from voices in the community.

Stay tuned for more announcements from the Nicollet County Ledger by visiting us online at nicolletcountyledger.com.

We will continue to publish the digital edition for free as a courtesy to our readers and subscribers during this difficult time. Keep checking back on our website and our Facebook page to stay aware of any new developments or changes in our publishing schedule for the time being.

Detour for Highway 22 Mapleton to Wells project begins April 17

By Robert Lawson

The project will include resurfacing Highway 22 from Motorists traveling on Highway approximately a quarter of a 22 between Mapleton and Wells mile south of Mapleton to the can expect a detour beginning intersection with Highway Monday, April 17, weather 109/Faribault County Road 29 in permitting, as crews resurface Wells. The project will go the highway. through Minnesota Lake where Nicollet County Ledger P.O. Box 212, Lafayette MN 56054

Highway 14 Project

Construction on Highway 14 from New Ulm to Nicollet resumes April 10

By Robert Lawson Publisher 612-460-5851 info@nicolletcountyledger.com The second and final year of construction on Highway 14 from New Ulm to Nicollet is expected to resume on Monday, April 10.

MnDOT is reconstructing Highway 14 from New Ulm to Nicollet to improve safety and travel for this important freight and trade corridor. Overall, the project is expanding approximately 12.5 miles of Highway 14 from two lanes to four lanes between New Ulm and Nicollet to complete a continuous fourlane road between New Ulm and

Rochester.

Improvements will include: Converting the existing two-lane highway to a four-lane divided highway Bypassing Courtland by realigning Highway 14 north of the city Constructing new interchanges in Courtland and at County Road 37 in New Ulm Constructing safer intersections at New Ulm Quartzite Quarries and Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School Adding turn lanes CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

Nicollet Girls and Boys Track and Field Both Won Valley Conference at MSU

Americans with Disability improvements will be made by adding new curb ramps, updating existing sidewalk, and adding a short segment of sidewalk.

Traffic will be detoured until late The LCWM-Nicollet girls and boys track Indoor Track and Field Meet teams both won the Valley Conference Continued on Page 4 July 120th Year • Number 3 ©2023 Nicollet County Ledger

Phone: 507-246-6248 • Fax: 507-228-8779 Website: http://nicolletcountyledger.com/ Email: info@nicolletcountyledger.com

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Sunday, April 9, 2023

Nicollet County Ledger

Pastor's Corner Column Pastor Paul Meitner Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church

Going back can be a good thing I will admit it. I am a bit of an antiquarian. I love old things. I still write all my sermon studies out in the long-hand, cursive writing instilled in me by Miss Hawkins in that tiny, two-room school where I received my elementary education. I still prefer reading an actual book, to feel it in my hands, to smell the paper, then flip on the glowing, pixilated screen of a glossy Kindle or Nook e-reader.

One of my favorite pastimes is walking the woods of Fort Ridgley State Park, looking at the ruins of the fort, reading the fascinating inscriptions of some of the older grave stones in the adjoining cemetery, and letting my imagination run wild picturing the Dakota hunting their ancestral lands, the French fur traders trapping them for beaver, and the German, Norwegian, and Swedish immigrants clearing them for farms. But those days are done, right?

I mean, historical imagination is one thing, but it would be foolish to encourage modern farmers to trade their Case or John Deere combines for a team of oxen and an old-time plough. It would be foolish, indeed, damaging to all of a sudden go back to land-line, rotary phones, travel by horse and buggy, and reverting to a hunter-gatherer society. This is where my antiquarian disposition clashes most violently with that most American of American traits – the belief that the future is always brighter than the past, and we must keep pushing forward to that gleaming hope at all costs.

Family Living

We live in a time where many powerful, well-connected, and educated people sincerely believe not only we should push forward into the future, but it is our moral duty to excise from our present day every vestige of the past that might prevent that glorious hope we envision. Indeed, I see a growing chorus in our society that treats the past as unwanted wreckage that needs to be cut away or it will drag us down to a watery grave in this present storm. And this is not limited to technology, per se, but to any attitude that could possibly slow down our progress toward our future hope.

Managing a Financial Crisis

That places me in an awkward position. My whole ministry is to daily turn people toward a past event that all Christians confess changed the entire trajectory of the future. It is not a pastor’s job to make Jesus fit the times, but to make the times fit Jesus and the salvation he wrought for us. But frankly, after 21 years, I must admit that I have been doing a pretty bad job at that. After all, under my watch, I have seen church membership drop from 70% to 47% in this country, and the bottom does not appear to have dropped fully out yet.

Addressing family financial problems is complex because it is not just about dealing with dollars and cents. It is about dealing with finances, feelings, and relationships and how their interaction is played out in our use of money.

Is my congregation headed for the same fate as St. John’s Lutheran of Fort Ridgley Township, which has disappeared from the landscape but for a well-kept cemetery? In my youth, society did their best to court the church. Today, society does its best to keep the church at arm’s length, and more often than not holds up its nose in disgust at its “oppressive” teaching. Indeed, I find that the general attitude today is that Christianity is a force standing in the way of progress. It either must changes with the times, or it will be committed to the dustbin of history along with the hoopskirt, the chariot, and Phrenology.

Gail Gilman Family Life Consultant, M.Ed., C.F.C.S. and Professor Emeritus University of Minnesota What you need to remember:

Addressing financial problems means paying attention to how our values, attitudes, motivations, and expectations are played out in how we use money.

If you are putting money toward what you value, then you will usually feel a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. If that money is going toward something you do not value, then you will usually experience a sense of frustration and futility.

Family strategies to address financial problems include individual reassessments. Also, family members may compete for those resources due to conflicting goals.

What you can begin to do: People often feel several distressing emotions in the initial stages of a financial crisis. Those emotions include helplessness and hopelessness. Feeling trapped sometimes occurs because you believe there is nothing you can do to change the situation.

Acknowledge feelings and reframe the situation: How you perceive or see a problem or situation affects how you deal with it. How much stress you experience in a situation depends on the intensity of meaning you attach to it.

Reframing is the process of reinterpreting the meaning or significance of an event. It means seeing things from a different perspective. An example of changing or reframing priorities is going from “What we are losing is the most important part of our lives” to “Our family and our health is the most important part of our lives.”

$500 scholarship awards provided by the Adolph and Emily Lokensgard Scholarship Trust Fund and the Nicollet County Farm Bureau now available Applications are now available and being accepted for two, $500 scholarship awards provided by the Adolph and Emily Lokensgard Scholarship Trust Fund and the Nicollet County Farm Bureau. To receive an application, please contact the Nicollet County Farm Bureau by emailing nicolletcountyfarmbureau@gmail.com or by calling (612) 756-4421. The application deadline is April 1, 2023.

Applicants must be a high school senior or an undergraduate college student and be enrolled or planning to enroll on a full-time basis in a postsecondary school and major in or demonstrate a strong interest in the field of either Agriculture or Family and Consumer Science. Submitted applications must be complete and include a transcript of the applicant’s grades or a grade report with a cumulative GPA on the report.

The scholarship recipients will be notified in early summer. The scholarship awards will be presented at the Nicollet County Farm Bureau organization’s 2023 Annual Meeting in early September.

I stand at a crossroad. What am I to do? Well, perhaps before following the conventional wisdom, I should give Scripture one more reading: This is what the Lord says. Stand at the crossroads and look.

Ask about the ancient paths. Ask where the good road is. Walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls (Jeremiah 6:16).

The future of Christianity does not lie in its popularity. That should be clear from its central event– the crucifixion of Christ. It should also be clear in Christ’s own words to his followers: If anyone wants to follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. It should be finally clear from the history of Christianity. It has been the most persecuted faith in history, and even today, 80% of religious persecution in the world is against Christians.

The future of Christianity does not lie in its past achievements, such as the enshrining of the rule of law in codes of justice, the establishment of hospitals and advancement of medicine, the fight human rights, the value of the freedom of expression, the creation of the university, and the abolition of the slave trade. I believe all these things are good, but there are many kingdoms and societies that value none of these things and have gotten on quite well without them. Christians are fools if they think that the blessings produced in the past will buy them good-will in the future.

So, what is the future of Christianity? Well, is it not this – when we go back to the cross, when we go back to that singular event in human history, what is it we find? We find rest for our souls. There is no other place where a person can find their sin, their shame, their guilt, dealt with before God in a manner that results in their redemption and the satisfaction of God’s holy justice. The future of Christianity is, and will always be found when we go back to the promise given in Eden, the promise made to Abraham, the promise made to Israel, and the promise fulfilled on the cross: that God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

The future of Christianity is to get back to the past- people who gather around the forgiveness of Christ, and then, in view of that redemption, go and tell others what they have heard and seen, living out their faith regardless of what the society around them is doing or offering. Why? Because when we view the world from the standpoint of the cross, we find true hope and a future. We find not one that might be there, but one that is there – for Christ has gone into death for us and returned, to bring us through this life to the glory he has prepared, one that can never perish, spoil, or fade.

One Christian writer put it this way, “If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next. The Apostles themselves, who set on foot the conversion of the Roman Empire, the great men who built up the Middle Ages, the English Evangelicals who abolished the Slave Trade, all left their mark on Earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with Heaven. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven and you will get earth "thrown in": aim at earth and you will get neither.”

So, there you have it- the future of our faith lays, and always will lay, in the past. It lay in the promise that Christ made us through his innocent suffering and death on the cross, and his glorious resurrection and ascension in heaven. The world may change its language, its politics, its philosophy with the frequency that a teenager flips through the music of its Spotify account, but it is the old, unchangeable path of salvation, planned in eternity, forged at the cross, where our future is to be found.

Sunday, April 9, 2023 Nicollet County Ledger

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Hwy 14 Nicollet to New Ulm Continued from Page 1 Installing snow fence between Courtland and Nicollet to prevent excessive blowing and drifting snow Traffic has been detoured since the start of the project last spring. Traffic will continue to be detoured onto Highways 15, 68 and 169 until the completion of the project in October.

Detour routes and access points for local traffic are expected to change throughout different stages of construction. Detour maps can be found online at: https://www.dot.state.mn.us/d7/projects/14newulmtonmankato/index.html.

Hoffman Construction was awarded the project with a bid of $83,539,141.56.

Stay connected, informed Project information, detour maps, construction updates, a one-minute video to view the planned improved changes, and other videos can be found online at: https://www.dot.state.mn.us/d7/projects/14newulmtonmankato/index.html.

The public is invited to attend bi-weekly construction meeting held on Tuesdays at 1 p.m. at the Courtland Community Center starting April 18. Construction updates are also posted online following the meetings.

Stay connected with the project by signing up for email or text message updates through the project website.

Information will be shared on the MnDOT | South Central Minnesota Facebook group and the MnDOT District 7 Twitter account.

For real-time traffic and travel information in Minnesota, visit 511mn.org or get the free smartphone app at Google Play or the App Store.

Trash Talkin Is winter over yet? I’m thinking we gotta be half waste tons to the waste to way through…?

Right? energy system. There are another dozen Actually, it has been a great about winter for the Counties in Minnesota that snowmobilers, sledding and participate in waste to ski enthusiast! Even the ice energy systems and we fishing has been good consider ourselves lucky to locally so we shouldn’t be a part of this system as Counties (metro complain… Well, I was some invited to a City Council fringe Counties) have tried workshop recently to trash to get their waste into this talk and I have to say that I system but there is just not received a lot of trash enough capacity to handle talking back at me from the the extra tons of waste.

Council… haha! It must be When addressing the human nature to trash talk environmental aspects of because we had a lot of fun this process – I would like and positive discussion at to point out that our local the workshop and I was very incinerator operates at a grateful to be invited. More temperature of 1800 to specifically, the City 2200 degrees F, which contract for solid waste and ensures nearly complete recycling is up for renewal destruction of organic and it was asked of me to waste.

The emissions provide a solid waste and system use electrostatic recycling 101 of sorts to the precipitators, which Council. The Council was captures most of the fine well versed in many facets particles that try to escape. of these topics, which They also use a baghouse created a very robust filter system, which also discussion, which probably removes most of the took more time than any of suspended particles that us expected, but all agreed result from the combustion it was a beneficial trash- process. Some systems are talking event. I would like to even mining the ash for dive in to a few of the topics more metals after the we discussed with the first combustion process and one being our waste to sometimes the ash is clean energy commitment. In the enough to be used in late 1980’s our three cement products.

Counties of Sibley, Le Sueur One of the other items we and Nicollet came together discussed (which deserves with Blue Earth, Martin & more detailed information Faribault Counties to at another time) is organics commit our cities collection and composting. residential trash to the Recent waste surveys waste to energy system conducted by consultants the Minnesota where our garbage goes and through a process and then Pollution Control Agency turned into electricity. (MPCA) indicates that our Waste to energy is waste stream is comprised considered to be a more of 24 to 33 percent environmentally sound organics that could be method of disposing of our composted. So the next waste rather than putting it questions are how to in a landfill to decompose collect, how much does it over the centuries. Our cost and is there capacity Counties waste are a to process those tons. The smaller percentage of this “how to collect” would be a process as Ramsey and Blue bag collection system Washington Counties where residents would put their organics into a blue contribute the majority of

Find Your News Online at nicolletcountyledger.com

Construction on Highway 14

Trash Talkin' Continued From Left, Above

Jbag and place it in their trash cart. The blue bags would then be separated and transported to an organics processor and turned into compost. Our Cities could ask for a Blue bag organics collection bid but my sources tell me that the cost of processing, transportation and handling would not be affordable yet… The other big question is capacity. Or - is there enough capacity or organic processing locations that have enough room to process these tons into compost. These locations have to be permitted which can be very expensive and difficult and sometime acreage space is limited. The blue bag collection system is in its infancy and has more maturing to do for it to be environmentally sound and affordable but it will get there in time.

That’s all for now folks. Please do your best at embracing our wonderful winter, ha! Visit us - at www.tricountyrecycling.org or the Nicollet County waste wizard for recycling & waste information or give us a call at 507-381-9196. And remember to make every day Earth Day!

Public Notices

Nicollet County

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Nicollet County Ledger

Sunday, April 9, 2023

Public Notices

Nicollet County

Girls and Boys Track and Field Teams Continued

Monday at MSU-Mankato. The girls were led by Katelin Flack, who scored the maximum number of points possible, winning four events for 32 points. Michael Matteson led the boys with two firsts and two seconds for 28 points. Event winners for girls included Flack in the 55, 200, 400 and shot put; Lauren Cooper in the High Hurdles and Low Hurdles; Maggie Graupman in the Triple Jump; and Lucy Richards in the Pole Vault. Event winners for the boys included Matteson in the High Jump and Triple Jump; Izaak Thorson in the 55 and 200; Lucas Pietan in the 400; Christian Fells in the 800; Ethan Grannis in the pole vault; Logan Sandmeyer in the long jump; and the boys 4x400 relay team made up of Pietan, Sandmeyer, Jacob Cooper and Fells.Girls’ Team Scores: LCWM-Nicollet 149, Loyola/Cleveland 59, St. Clair/Immanuel Lutheran 50, MCW/B-O 45, M/T/GHEC/ML 13 Boys’ Team Scores: LCWM-Nicollet 154, Loyola/Cleveland 78, St. Clair/Immanuel Lutheran 41, M/T/GHEC/ML 32, MCW/B-O 27

Ask A Trooper

by Sgt. Troy Christianson of the Minnesota State Patrol

Question: I was wondering if you are stopped at a stop light in the left turn lane and an emergency vehicle with lights and sirens come in behind you (either in the turn lane or the lane to your right), what is the proper procedure? Thank you!

Answer: When it comes to encountering emergency vehicles while stopped at a stop light and the only place to move is the actual intersection, it is best to stay in place and let the emergency vehicle maneuver around your vehicle. Unless otherwise directed by law enforcemement.

Otherwise, for an emergency vehicle, such as an ambulance, fire truck or police car, displaying flashing red lights and sounding a siren or bell approaches your vehicle on a two-way road, you must pull to the right and stop. If you are traveling on a one-way road, you must pull to whichever side is nearest and stop. If you are within an intersection, proceed through it before stopping. Remain stopped until all emergency vehicles have passed.

A law enforcement officer with probable cause to believe a driver has violated this law may arrest the driver within four hours of the violation. You are not required to stop if the emergency vehicle that is approaching you is separated from your lane of traffic by a physical barrier such as a fence, wall, or median strip.

You can avoid a ticket — and a crash — if you simply buckle up, drive at safe speeds, pay attention and always drive sober. Help us drive Minnesota Toward Zero Deaths.

If you have any questions concerning traffic related laws or issues in Minnesota send your questions to Sgt. Troy Christianson – Minnesota State Patrol at 2900 48th Street NW, Rochester MN 55901-5848.

(Or reach him at, Troy.Christianson@state.mn.us)

Front Row: Christian Fells, Jake McDougall, Lane Hillesheim, Ethan Grannis, Adin Esqueda, Michael Matteson, Izaak Thorson Second Row: Lucas Pietan, Max Magnus, Logan Quade, Ryan Masters, Charlie Gengler, Caleb Dudgeon, Logan Sandmeyer Third Row: Nicholai Christianson, Braxton Dudgeon, Aidan Moeller, Drew Turgeon, Levi Freyberg, Jacob Cooper

Front Row: Jayden Hopkins, Ava Stading, Katelin Flack, Lauren Cooper, Maggie Graupman Second Row: Charis Hunt-Kietzer, Jaci Jordan, Megan Sickler, Maya Jones, Sophia Stading, Lucy Richards Third Row: Chloe Sargent, Grace Sandmeyer, Emma Sodeman, Sophie Nachreiner, Landre Noyes Back Row: Savannah Klockziem, Rushonda McDaniels, Lohoney Powell, Kelyse Engel

Sunday, April 9, 2023

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Nicollet County Ledger

Child Abuse Prevention Month in Nicollet County If you visit the North Mankato or St. Peter Public Libraries, the Nicollet County Government Center, or the Nicollet County Health and Human Services Buildings in St. Peter and North Mankato during the month of April, you may notice displays with pinwheels, pinwheel coloring pages, blue ribbons, and resource pages for families. These are placed in honor of National Child Abuse Prevention Month. This initiative is rooted in communities working together to serve children and their families in meaningful and impactful ways that provide families what they need to thrive through both calm and challenging times.

To increase support to families, Nicollet County Health and Human Services offers a variety of family home visiting programs. Visits provide families with information on healthy physical, social, and emotional development. Parents and caregivers who feel well-supported are less likely to become overwhelmed by their children and less likely to neglect or abuse them. In turn, when children feel well-supported by their parents and caregivers, they have a greater capacity to adjust to challenges as they grow and move through challenges in a healthy manner. Home visiting programs are available to any family who qualifies; eligibility is not income-based. A family can request to be part of the program as a referral from a doctor or social worker is not needed.

Why do we recognize Child Abuse Prevention Month? Child abuse is often hidden. All children deserve to have a childhood free of abuse and maltreatment. By bringing awareness, spreading information, and promoting engagement, we are better able to recognize the signs of child abuse, help parents who may feel overwhelmed reach out to resources, and offer nonjudgmental support to parents.

It is okay to ask for help, either for yourself or for someone else. If you believe a child is being abused or neglected, you can report that concern to Nicollet County Health and Human Services at 507-934-8559; or if a child is in immediate danger, call 911. We need to continue to work together to improve the lives of all children. For additional resources and information on preventing child abuse, visit www.childwelfare.gov. To request more information or make a referral to a home visiting program, please call 507-934-7226.

Michelle M. Zehnder Fischer, Nicollet County Attorney Cassandra Sassenberg, Nicollet County Health and Human Services Director Angela Obermiller, Nicollet County Child Protection Supervisor Bonnie Petersen, Nicollet County Victim/Witness Coordinator Bree Allen, Nicollet County Public Health Supervisor

NEW CLASSIFIED AD RATES FOR 2023 info@nicolletcountyledger.com

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Thursday, February 2, 2023

Focus on Ag

By KENT THIESSE Farm Management Analyst Vice President, MinnStar Bank The deadline for 2023 farm program sign-up is March 15, 2023, which is the same as the enrollment deadline for 2023 crop insurance. As a result, farm operators will need to consider SCO insurance coverage at the same time that they are finalizing their 2023 farm program choice. The federal government subsidizes 65% of the premium for SCO coverage, so farmlevel premiums are quite reasonable, which helps make SCO a viable option for producers that choose the PLC farm program option.

SCO allows producers to purchase additional county-level crop insurance coverage up to a maximum of 86% over and above the underlying crop insurance policy. SCO insurance coverage is available for both Revenue Protection (RP) or Yield Protection (YP) policies and will follow the underlying policy. This means that SCO with a YP policy will be based on yield only and a RP policy will be revenue based (price and yield). For example, a producer that purchases an 80% RP policy could purchase an additional 6% SCO coverage with revenue protection.

The most popular crop insurance coverage for Midwest corn and soybean producers is some type of RP insurance policy with either enterprise units or optional units. Enterprise units combine all acres of a crop in a given county into one crop insurance unit, while optional units allow producers to insure crops separately in each individual township section. Enterprise units typically have considerably lower premium costs compared to optional units for comparable RP policies. SCO insurance coverage is available for the same premium price with either enterprise or optional units on a given farm unit.

SCO is a county revenue-based insurance product that is somewhat similar to the area risk protection crop insurance products that are available. The calculations for SCO function very similarly to RP insurance policies since they utilize the same crop insurance base price and harvest

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Nicollet County Ledger

SCO Insurance Coverage Considerations for 2023

(FOCUS ON AG) Continued From Left price. The biggest difference between SCO and most RP insurance policies is that SCO uses county level average yields, rather than the farm-level APH yields that are used for most RP and YP policies. As a result, the SCO and RP insurance policies may achieve different results.

It is possible for a producer to collect on an individual RP policy, but not collect on a SCO policy, or vice versa. For example, a producer with an 80% RP policy may have a loss that qualifies for an insurance indemnity payment on a farm unit, while the county as a whole may not meet the threshold to qualify for a SCO payment. It could also be possible to collect a SCO payment for a county-level revenue loss, while not qualifying for a RP insurance indemnity payment at the farm-level.

SCO insurance coverage will use county yields that are very similar to the ARC-CO yield, since both programs utilize USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) yield data for calculations. The biggest difference in the calculations between ARC-CO and SCO is that ARC-CO utilizes the benchmark price, based on five-year national average price (2017-2021) and the 12-month average price (Sept. 1, 2023 to Aug. 31, 2024). SCO utilizes the 2023 crop insurance spring price, based on the average Chicago board of Trade (CBOT) prices in February of 2023 for December corn futures, November soybean futures, and September wheat futures and the 2023 crop insurance harvest price, based on the averages of the same CBOT futures months in October for corn and soybeans and August for spring wheat.

Following is brief overview of how the SCO insurance coverage option and farm program options might function for corn in 2023: The 2023 benchmark price for corn is $3.98 per bushel, compared to the 2023 PLC reference price of $3.70 per bushel. PLC payments are only made if the final MYA price is below $3.70 per bushel, while potential 2023 ARC-CO payments will be dependent on both the final 2023 MYA price and the 2023 county average yields. At a final 2023 MYA price of $3.98 per bushel, the final 2023 county yield would need to be 15% or more below the county benchmark yield to initiate a 2023 ARC-CO payment.

For example, if the county benchmark yield is 200 bu./A., the final 2023 county yield would need to be 170 bushels per acre or lower to initiate a 2023 ARC-CO payment. Another way to look at the ARC-CO decision for corn is to consider that if the final 2023 county average yield is the same as the county benchmark yield, the final 2023 MYA price would need to decline below $3.43 per bushel in order to initiate an ARC-CO payment. At a $3.43 per bushel final MYA price, there would be a $.27 per bushel PLC payment. The PLC program provides corn MYA price protection from $3.70 down to $2.20 per bushel.

One option for a producer to consider for corn in 2023, might be to enroll in the PLC program for very low-price protection, sign up for an 80% RP crop insurance coverage (either enterprise or optional units), and then sign up for SCO coverage (6%). This is especially a favorable option for a producer that is more worried about price risk than yield risk for the 2023 growing season. The SCO base price is the same as the crop insurance spring price (est. at $5.90/Bu. as of Feb. 1, 2023). Based on one estimate in a Southern Minnesota county, an 80% RP policy with enterprise units with 6% SCO coverage would cost $3.50 per acre less total premium than an 85% RP policy. If the final farm and county yield are close to the APH yields, there might be a slight advantage to the 6% SCO coverage with 80% RP coverage versus the 85% RP coverage, while still maintaining the PLC protection through the summer of 2024.

The SCO insurance option seems to be best suited in situations where a farmer: • Is more concerned with price decline than yield reductions for the 2023 growing season.

• Feels that there is greater chance for county yield reductions in 2023 than on their own farm units.

• Wants to maintain good insurance coverage (86%) at a slightly reduced premium cost.

• Already planned to sign-up for the PLC farm program option (required for SCO insurance coverage).

Farmers should contact their crop insurance agent for details and spreadsheets on crop insurance and SCO coverage. Two information sheets titled “2023 Farm Program Decision Cheat Sheet” and “2023 Crop Insurance Decisions” have been prepared. To request a free copy or either, send an email to: kent.thiesse@minnstarbank.com. Other good farm program and crop insurance resources include: • U of Illinois FarmDoc website at https://farmdoc.illinois.edu/ • Kansas State University at https://agmanager.info/ • Iowa State University at https://www.extension.iastate.edu/agdm/# • USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) at https://www.rma.usda.gov/ Corn The final National Ag Statistics Service (NASS) 2022 Crop Production Report was also released on Jan. 12. The report estimated the final 2022 U.S. average corn yield at 173.3 bu./acre, which increased by one bushel per acre from the December estimate. The 2022 corn yield estimate compares to 176.7 bushels per acre in 2021 and 171.4 bushels per acre in 2020. Minnesota is estimated to have a final 2022 statewide average corn yield of 195 bushels, while Iowa is projected to have a final corn yield of 200 bushels per acre for 2022. Other estimated average corn yields for 2022 included Illinois at the record yield of 214 bushels per acre, Indiana at 190 bushels per acre, Ohio at 187 bushels per acre, Wisconsin at 180 bushels and North Dakota at 131 bushels per acre. The drought-stricken states of Nebraska and South Dakota are projected to have final 2022 corn yields of 165 and 132 bushels per acre respectively.

The latest WASDE report showed a slight decrease in the total 2022 U.S. corn production, which is now estimated at 13.73 billion bushels.

This is a decrease of 200 million bushels from the December estimate and is over 1.3 billion bushels below 2021 corn production level. The latest USDA