Nicollet County Ledger April 16, 2023

April 16, 2023 | South Central News & Media

Public Notices Pages

3 and 4

Sports Page 4 Courtland Baseball Page 6

Saint Peter City Council Holds Public Hearing on Park Row Street, Utility Assessments

By

Robert Lawson Publisher 612-460-5851

The Saint Peter City Council met on April 10 in the Governors Room at the Saint Peter Community Center at 7 p m The council was set for a public hearing on utilities and street assessments for Park Row The council also discussed Refuse Hauling Bid; MPCA Grant Acceptance; Parks Master Plan; Old Fire Hall RFP; Park View Manor SCDP Grant; Lions Club Donation; Bituminous Materials Bid Award

The meeting opened with a public hearing prior to the start of the actual council meeting

The public hearing was to address the 2023 Park Row Street and Utility Improvement Assessments City staff reported that planned improvements and construction includes curb, gutter, street, sidewalks, approximately 18 sanitary sewers to be repaired and five water lines to be repaired The city has implemented the new assessment policy, according to staff, so homeowners’ costs will be reduced for this project Total project cost would be around $740,000 and around $103,000 in waivers are available on

private properties Notices were sent to property owners The council was expected to take action on the item Total base assessments are almost $228,000 The total city share is about $514,000 The resolution to adopt the assessments was passed The council discussed a refuse hauling contract that includes recycling The city received three different bids Those were reviewed City staff recommended West Central Sanitation The city is on an

CONTINUED ON PAGE

Digital Publishing Delays This Past Week Continued

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

Motorists

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 July

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

Highway 14 Project Indoor Track and Field Meet

Family Living

Managing a Financial Crisis

Gail Gilman

Family Life Consultant, M Ed , C F C S and Professor Emeritus

University of Minnesota

What you need to remember:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Saint Peter City Council Continued from Page 1

every other week recycling program and wishes to keep the contract that way

The council discussed the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) grant acceptance for climate change Saint Peter has an area that is set aside for water management and this grant will help do that The city partnered with ISG to study the area to improve drainage and retention west of Saint Peter Two major ditches carry water through a ravine They want to evaluate sediments and nutrients in the water The study costs around $61,000, around $57,000 covered by the grant Stormwater funds would cover the rest The study would take one year beginning this summer City staff believe hydrology processes that have improved could be discovered within the study to improve water quality The motion to accept the grant was carried One council member abstained

The council discussed the Parks Master Plan for the city of Saint Peter Bids went out for creating a parks master plan The city wants to collect data and achieve a better parks system They are addressing six areas and want to engage with residents The city has previously worked with ISG Six vendors submitted bids The city hopes to start this summer and finish by mid-January so they could be ready for either the 2024 or 2025 budget The city passed the motion to accept the formal written proposal for a parks master plan

The council also discussed requests for proposals for the purchase of the old fire hall in Saint Peter The city will sell the building and is seeking proposals for use of the property The council also discussed a grant for Park View Manor coming from SCDP The city accepted a donation from the St Peter Lions Club to fund installation of three flag poles at the new Fire Station and discussed a bituminous materials bid award to Nielsen Blacktopping and Midwest Paving & Materials

Trash Talkin

Is winter over yet? I’m thinking we gotta be half way through ? Right?

Actually it has been a great winter for the snowmobilers, sledding and ski enthusiast! Even the ice fishing has been good locally so we shouldn’t complain Well, I was invited to a City Council workshop recently to trash talk and I have to say that I received a lot of trash talking back at me from the Council haha! It must be human nature to trash talk because we had a lot of fun and positive discussion at the workshop and I was very grateful to be invited More specifically, the City contract for solid waste and recycling is up for renewal and it was asked of me to provide a solid waste and recycling 101 of sorts to the Council The Council was well versed in many facets of these topics, which created a very robust discussion, which probably took more time than any of us expected, but all agreed it was a beneficial trashtalking event I would like to dive in to a few of the topics we discussed with the first one being our waste to energy commitment In the late 1980 s our three Counties of Sibley, Le Sueur and Nicollet came together with Blue Earth, Martin & Faribault Counties to commit our cities residential trash to the waste to energy system where our garbage goes through a process and then turned into electricity Waste to energy is considered to be a more environmentally sound method of disposing of our waste rather than putting it in a landfill to decompose over the centuries Our Counties waste are a smaller percentage of this process as Ramsey and Washington Counties contribute the majority of

waste tons to the waste to energy system There are about another dozen Counties in Minnesota that participate in waste to energy systems and we consider ourselves lucky to be a part of this system as some Counties (metro fringe Counties) have tried to get their waste into this system but there is just not enough capacity to handle the extra tons of waste

When addressing the environmental aspects of this process – I would like to point out that our local incinerator operates at a temperature of 1800 to 2200 degrees F, which ensures nearly complete destruction of organic waste The emissions system use electrostatic precipitators, which captures most of the fine particles that try to escape They also use a baghouse filter system, which also removes most of the suspended particles that result from the combustion process Some systems are even mining the ash for more metals after the combustion process and sometimes the ash is clean enough to be used in cement products

One of the other items we discussed (which deserves more detailed information at another time) is organics collection and composting

Recent waste surveys conducted by consultants and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) indicates that our waste stream is comprised of 24 to 33 percent organics that could be composted So the next questions are how to collect, how much does it cost and is there capacity to process those tons The “how to collect” would be a Blue bag collection system where residents would put their organics into a blue

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

Constent Agenda from Saint Peter City Council April 10

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)

FrontRow:ChristianFells,JakeMcDougall,LaneHillesheim,EthanGrannis,AdinEsqueda,MichaelMatteson,IzaakThorson

SecondRow:LucasPietan,MaxMagnus,LoganQuade,RyanMasters,CharlieGengler,CalebDudgeon,LoganSandmeyer

ThirdRow:NicholaiChristianson,BraxtonDudgeon,AidanMoeller,DrewTurgeon,LeviFreyberg,JacobCooper

Second

Third

Back

Front Row: Jayden Hopkins, Ava Stading, Katelin Flack, Lauren Cooper, Maggie Graupman

Row: Charis Hunt-Kietzer, Jaci Jordan, Megan Sickler, Maya Jones, Sophia Stading, Lucy Richards

Row: Chloe Sargent, Grace Sandmeyer, Emma Sodeman, Sophie Nachreiner, Landre Noyes

Row: Savannah Klockziem, Rushonda McDaniels, Lohoney Powell, Kelyse Engel

Nicollet County

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

Digital Edition only $0 75 each

Print $1 00

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

CLASSIFIED AD RATES FOR 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

SCO Insurance Coverage Considerations for 2023 (FOCUS ON AG) Continued From Left

price ThebiggestdifferencebetweenSCOandmostRPinsurancepoliciesisthatSCOusescountylevelaverageyields,ratherthanthe farm-levelAPHyieldsthatareusedformostRPandYPpolicies Asaresult theSCOandRPinsurancepoliciesmayachievedifferentresults ItispossibleforaproducertocollectonanindividualRPpolicy,butnotcollectonaSCOpolicy,orviceversa Forexample,aproducerwith an80%RPpolicymayhavealossthatqualifiesforaninsuranceindemnitypaymentonafarmunit,whilethecountyasawholemaynot meetthethresholdtoqualifyforaSCOpayment ItcouldalsobepossibletocollectaSCOpaymentforacounty-levelrevenueloss,while notqualifyingforaRPinsuranceindemnitypaymentatthefarm-level SCO insurance coverage will use county yields that are very similar to the ARC-CO yield, since both programs utilize USDA Risk ManagementAgency(RMA)yielddataforcalculations ThebiggestdifferenceinthecalculationsbetweenARC-COandSCOisthatARC-CO utilizesthebenchmarkprice,basedonfive-yearnationalaverageprice(2017-2021)andthe12-monthaverageprice(Sept

1,2023toAug 31, 2024) SCOutilizesthe2023cropinsurancespringprice,basedontheaverageChicagoboardofTrade(CBOT)pricesinFebruaryof2023for Decembercornfutures,Novembersoybeanfutures,andSeptemberwheatfuturesandthe2023cropinsuranceharvestprice,basedon theaveragesofthesameCBOTfuturesmonthsinOctoberforcornandsoybeansandAugustforspringwheat FollowingisbriefoverviewofhowtheSCOinsurancecoverageoptionandfarmprogramoptionsmightfunctionforcornin2023: The2023benchmarkpriceforcornis$398perbushel,comparedtothe2023PLCreferencepriceof$370perbushel PLCpaymentsare onlymadeifthefinalMYApriceisbelow$370perbushel,whilepotential2023ARC-COpaymentswillbedependentonboththefinal2023 MYApriceandthe2023countyaverageyields Atafinal2023MYApriceof$398perbushel,thefinal2023countyyieldwouldneedtobe 15%ormorebelowthecountybenchmarkyieldtoinitiatea2023ARC-COpayment

Forexample,ifthecountybenchmarkyieldis200bu/A,thefinal2023countyyieldwouldneedtobe170bushelsperacreorlowerto initiatea2023ARC-COpayment AnotherwaytolookattheARC-COdecisionforcornistoconsiderthatifthefinal2023countyaverage yieldisthesameasthecountybenchmarkyield,thefinal2023MYApricewouldneedtodeclinebelow$343perbushelinordertoinitiate anARC-COpayment Ata$343perbushelfinalMYAprice,therewouldbea$27perbushelPLCpayment ThePLCprogramprovidescorn MYApriceprotectionfrom$370downto$220perbushel

Oneoptionforaproducertoconsiderforcornin2023 mightbetoenrollinthePLCprogramforverylow-priceprotection signupforan 80%RPcropinsurancecoverage(eitherenterpriseoroptionalunits),andthensignupforSCOcoverage(6%) Thisisespeciallyafavorable optionforaproducerthatismoreworriedaboutpriceriskthanyieldriskforthe2023growingseason TheSCObasepriceisthesameasthe cropinsurancespringprice(est at$590/Bu asofFeb 1,2023) BasedononeestimateinaSouthernMinnesotacounty,an80%RPpolicy withenterpriseunitswith6%SCOcoveragewouldcost$350peracrelesstotalpremiumthanan85%RPpolicy Ifthefinalfarmand countyyieldareclosetotheAPHyields,theremightbeaslightadvantagetothe6%SCOcoveragewith80%RPcoverageversusthe85% RPcoverage,whilestillmaintainingthePLCprotectionthroughthesummerof2024 TheSCOinsuranceoptionseemstobebestsuitedinsituationswhereafarmer:

•Ismoreconcernedwithpricedeclinethanyieldreductionsforthe2023growingseason Feelsthatthereisgreaterchanceforcountyyieldreductionsin2023thanontheirownfarmunits Wantstomaintaingoodinsurancecoverage(86%)ataslightlyreducedpremiumcost

•Alreadyplannedtosign-upforthePLCfarmprogramoption(requiredforSCOinsurancecoverage) FarmersshouldcontacttheircropinsuranceagentfordetailsandspreadsheetsoncropinsuranceandSCOcoverage

Twoinformation sheetstitled“2023FarmProgramDecisionCheatSheet”and“2023CropInsuranceDecisions”havebeenprepared Torequestafreecopy oreither,sendanemailto:kentthiesse@minnstarbankcom Othergoodfarmprogramandcropinsuranceresourcesinclude:

•UofIllinoisFarmDocwebsiteathttps://farmdocillinoisedu/ •KansasStateUniversityathttps://agmanagerinfo/ •IowaStateUniversityathttps://wwwextensioniastateedu/agdm/# USDARiskManagementAgency(RMA)athttps://wwwrmausdagov/ Corn

12 Thereportestimatedthefinal 2022US averagecornyieldat1733bu/acre,whichincreasedbyonebushelperacrefromtheDecemberestimate

ThefinalNationalAgStatisticsService(NASS)2022CropProductionReportwasalsoreleasedonJan

The2022cornyield estimate compares to 1767 bushels per acre in 2021 and 1714 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 estimatedaveragecornyieldsfor2022includedIllinoisattherecordyieldof214bushelsperacre,Indianaat190bushelsperacre,Ohioat 187bushelsperacre,Wisconsinat180bushelsandNorthDakotaat131bushelsperacre Thedrought-strickenstatesofNebraskaand SouthDakotaareprojectedtohavefinal2022cornyieldsof165and132bushelsperacrerespectively

ThelatestWASDEreportshowedaslightdecreaseinthetotal2022US cornproduction,whichisnowestimatedat1373billionbushels Thisisadecreaseof200millionbushelsfromtheDecemberestimateandisover13billionbushelsbelow2021cornproductionlevel The latestUSDA