Benton Ag Plus - October 21, 2023

BENTON AG

Stoney Brook Farms from page 1B “We were really blown away by how many people brought their kids with too,” he said. “It’s important to teach the younger generations where their food comes from. If they can come out and harvest it too, that’s great.”

As with every vegetable, many factors must work together before the nal harvestable result.

“We have our spring broccoli and fall,” Chmielewski said. “Our spring broccoli seedlings are grown in greenhouses beginning in midMarch. They need eight weeks to grow before the crop is transplanted.

They are sent to our farm for transplanting at the end of April or early May, right after the last frost.”

The fall crop is planted in July and staggered in 10-day increments, allowing the plants to mature periodically throughout the fall season.

Once transplanted in the eld, the plant grows around 3 feet wide and tall with large leaves.

Soon, the main plant stem reveals a small head of unopened green ower buds, called the

PHOTOS BY MAURA WENNER

(Above) Brad Chmielewski cuts a broccoli crown Oct. 11 from a rural Duelm field planted by Stoney Brook Farms Inc. Broccoli is ready to harvest roughly 50 days after eight-week transplants are sown.

(Left) Brad Chmielewski holds freshly harvested broccoli florets in his hands Oct. 11 in rural Duelm.

Broccoli must be harvested before the green florets bloom yellow.

crown.

“It takes about 50 days from the time of transplant until we can harvest, normally when the head is around 6-8 inches in diameter,” Chmielewski said. “When the ower buds start to open, it starts turning yellow, meaning it is not marketable anymore.

We have to keep an eye on it, so when it’s ready, we get out and get it picked.”

The weather tends to impact the length of time before the crown

owers, Chmielewski said. Warmer weather pushes the broccoli to ower faster, usually within 1-2 days after it is ready. In cool temperatures the mature head can last up to seven days.

“During that time, the heads will continue to get bigger,” Chmielewski said. “Because they are sold by the pound, you want the head as big as you can get it, yet you want to harvest them before the orets open.”

Within the growth period, too much moisture can make the plant susceptible to common diseases such as black rot. Often this can be avoided by not planting the same cold crops on the same ground and instead rotating crops every few years, he said.

“When the plant leaves start touching in the row, I start spraying insecticides to prevent cabbage looper, earworm, diamondback moths — things like

that,” Chmielewski said.

“I spray it three times during the growing cycle; then once the heads are formed, they give off their own insecticide in a way which wards off worms.”

Chmielewski uses a fungicide to help prevent black rot among other diseases.

“Many people are turned off by spraying,” Chmielewski said. “But we never spray directly on the head itself, and we have preharvest intervals called PHI. You must wait 1-3 days after spraying to harvest; I spray at least two weeks before we harvest allowing for plenty of time for rainfall and other natural occurrences to wash the spray away or for the plant to grow out of it.”

Once the broccoli heads are cut, they are brought back to the Stoney Brook Farms warehouse, covered with ice and stored in a cooler set at freezing.

“They can be stored for 2-3 weeks in the right environment and under the right circumstances,” Chmielewski said. “If they are not cooled right away, they

can become rubbery and not as crisp.”

If the plant is not harvestable, among other reasons, sometimes plowing under the crop is required. In this case, Stoney Brook Farms works together with Second Harvest Heartland in the cities.

“Through grants and funding, they are able to reimburse our labor to harvest the crop out of the eld,” Chmielewski said. “Then, they go through it and distribute it to different food shelves and underserved communities throughout the state.”

With the success of their rst pick-your-own broccoli event, the Chmielewskis are considering more similar events for the future.

“We are primarily a wholesale business, so we are not usually able to see customers like at farmers markets,” Chmielewski said. “It is cool to let people behind the grocery shelf to see where their food comes from, especially from a larger supplier like we are. It was rewarding talking to people who stopped and to see how far they came. We always want to invite the public out to do more of this stuff; we think it’s really important.”

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BENTON AG

SAUK RAPIDS HERALD | SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2023 | Page 3B

Dairy Margin Coverage Program provides critical support for dairy operations

A calendar of area events to expand agricultural knowledge

Growing

from page 1B This college experience I mention was a north to south, east to west tour of Jordanian agriculture and soils after a semester long study of the roots of our modern, western agricultural production systems and how they relate to this region in the world we refer to as the Fertile Crescent.

The Fertile Crescent is a region that stretches from the southwest side of Iran, through a better portion of Iraq, moving east through northern Syria and southern Turkey and stretching over Lebanon, touching Jordan and covering Israel and the Gaza Strip — a region currently embattled with con ict and heartbreaking violence.

The Fertile Crescent is a region that has been credited as the

birthplace of humanity as well as culture.

Many archaeological sites in the region contain thousands of layers of human history reaf rmed by both religious and secular texts that ultimately bring us into the modern age. Even as the sheltered farm boy I was, I learned in Sunday school early on about distant agricultural lands with Biblical attributes, owing with milk and honey.

The Middle East is where we can trace many of our modern day, cultivated crops.

These include, most notably alfalfa, and many of our cereals like wheat, barley, rye and more. So now follow me back home to the Midwest. After the introduction of alfalfa to Minnesota in 1857 and subsequent selection for winter-hardy strains by immigrant-farmer Wendelin Grimm, this crop has, at least in part made the Midwest dairy industry possible.

You might also know that in the late 19th century, wheat, brought to Minnesota by early pioneers, was planted on nearly 70% of the state’s farmland.

Long before corn and soybean rotations were commonplace, cereal grain and our production was an economic engine in Central Minnesota’s agricultural economy.

In the midst of heightened tensions in the Middle East, how is this region still critically important for those of us in rural Minnesota in light of our agricultural systems? Israel, Saudi Arabia and surrounding countries have been on the leading edge of water conservation, irrigation and water recycling. Technology like drip irrigation was rst developed there in 1959 to conserve water in arid and semi-arid ag production systems.

Middle East countries also supply a sizable portion of the world’s fertilizers. Close to

10% of the world’s supply of potassium and 19% of the world’s supply of phosphorus is derived from Middle East countries like Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Mostly due to the region’s vast supply of energy reserves, over a third of the world’s urea nitrogen, and almost 20% of ammonia nitrogen products are produced in the Middle East as well.

Regardless of the degree of impact, it is important to pay close attention to events on the world stage as it is to pay attention to events on our own land, and pray for peace.

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Farm transition and estate planning webinars

The University of Minnesota Extension is presenting four webinars on introductory farm transition and estate planning.

Webinars, which began Oct. 4, are Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to noon. There is no cost to attendees. Attend one or all.

David Bau, Nathan Hulinsky and Susanne Hinricks, extension educators in agriculture business management, will discuss several issues and ideas for farm transition and estate planning.

Attendees will receive a link to materials from each session. Participants can register at z.umn.edu/farm-transition-and-estate-planning23.

Remaining topics for each session are as follows: — Oct. 25 is Wills, Trusts, Ownership Titling; What Does it all Mean?

— Nov. 8 is Putting the Basics Together: Estate, Retirement, Healthcare and Business Transfer Planning.

Presentation on oak tree health

Join the University of Minnesota Extension and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to learn about issues affecting oak health in Central Minnesota, including drought, native pests and diseases as well as oak wilt. Also covered will be resources to help people identify oak issues and promote tree health.

The event takes place from 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 7, at the Stearns County Service Center, 3301 County Road 138, Waite Park.

Register by Nov. 3 at z.umn.edu/oakhealth. The event is limited to 90 participants.

Residents of Stearns, Benton, Morrison and Sherburne counties can direct questions to quincy@umn.edu or call 320255-6169, ext. 1.

Land rental agreement sessions

Farm land rental rates are the largest input for producers, and negotiating fair rental agreements is a challenge. Landlords, producers and agri-business professionals can learn more about establishing fair farm rental agreements by attending one of several presentations in November and December.

David Bau and Nathan Hulinsky, extension educators in agriculture business management, will provide several ways — through examples, factsheets and worksheets — to determine a fair farm land rental rate for both parties.

No registration is required.

Land rent meetings will be: — 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 16, at Douglas County Public Works, 526 Willow Drive, Alexandria.

— 9:30 a.m. Friday, Nov. 17, at Charlie’s Cafe, 115 Main St. E., Freeport.

— 5:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 17, at the Morrison County Government Center, 213 First Ave. SE, Little Falls.

Additional meetings will take place Dec. 1 in Princeton as well as Dec. 4 in Litchfield and Buffalo.

Beef Quality Assurance online training

The University of Minnesota Extension and Minnesota Beef Council will host online Beef Quality Assurance training at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 30. Producers attending the free workshop will receive a three-year certification.

Certification is voluntary, but over the last three years, people have been asked to the complete the program in order to market to certain processors. Only one person from an operation is required to be certified to ensure the entire operation is following standards.

Register for the two-hour online training at z.umn.edu/ BQANov30.

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THE FARMERS ARE ON THE ROAD. BE ALERT. SLOW DOWN. SHARE THE ROAD. The biggest factors contributing to farm equipment/vehicle crashes are inattention, unsafe passing and speed. Motorists should always slow down and use caution when approaching farm equipment, stay off cell phones & get plenty of rest before getting behind the wheel .

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The August milk margin triggered including the Milk Loss Program and the eighth consecutive payment for the Organic Dairy Marketing Assistance dairy producers who obtained Dairy Program. MLP covers milk that was Margin Coverage for the 2023 produmped or removed, without compensagram year. August’s income over feed tion, from the commercial milk market margin is $6.46 per hundredweight due to qualifying weather events and the with projected DMC payments totalconsequences of those weather events ing $120 million. To date, including that inhibited delivery or storage of milk the projected August payments, dairy — such as power outages, impassable Farm Service producers have received more than roads and infrastructure losses — during Agency News $1.2 billion in much needed economic calendar years 2020, 2021 and 2022.

by Ryan Brunn, support for 2023 and margin forecasts USDA recently announced a second executive director indicate the likelihood of more to round of payments for dairy producers for Benton and come before the end of the calendar through ODMAP, providing an addiMille Lacs counties year. tional $5 million to help dairy producers DMC is a voluntary risk managewith marketing costs to mitigate market ment program administered by United States Devolatility, higher input and transportation costs and partment of Agriculture Farm Service Agency. The unstable feed supply and prices that have created program offers protection to dairy producers when unique hardships in the organic dairy industry. FSA the difference between the all-milk price and the has already paid out $15 million in the rst round average feed price (the margin) falls below a certain of payments for eligible producers, bringing total dollar amount selected by the producer.

ODMAP payments to $20 million.

Additional Dairy Assistance DMC compleTo learn more about FSA programs, producers ments other assistance available to dairy producers, can contact their local USDA Service Center.

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Motorists should: • Watch for debris dropped by trucks hauling crops.

It is safer to brake or drive through debris than to veer into oncoming cars or off the road.

• Wait for a safe place to pass.

• Wear seatbelts.

• Drive with headlights on at all times.

Free Estimates ates • Free Delivery Farm equipment operators should: Locally Owned and Operated • Use lights and flashers to make equipment more visible.

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