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www.thelandonline.com — “Where Farm and Family Meet”
THE LAND — SEPTEMBER 6/SEPTEMBER 13, 2019
There’s plenty of ‘loafing’ at the Arends family farm By RICHARD SIEMERS The Land Correspondent WILLMAR, Minn. — Alan and Helen Arends are still figuring out how to develop the 250-acre farm on which Alan is the fourth generation to live. It has been transitioned to organic, but Alan is still experimenting to determine which crops and markets will bring a good return. Alfalfa sold to a dairy farmer and grass-fed beef are the main farm enterprises right now. They’re not certain what the end-product will look like.
But somehow you can be confident that after Alan (a Willmar native) and Helen (a Moscow, Russia native) figured out how to complete a 5,000 mile romance which resulted in marriage and eight children (ages 2-22), they will figure this out, too. In the meantime, bread, pizza, grass-fed beef and free-range chickens are providing for their needs. Let’s go back to the beginning. Alan was in his late teens when he went on a mission trip to Russia in 1992. Helen was a Russian
teenager who served as an interpreter for his group. They obviously were attracted to each other. “He had a very original pick-up line,” Helen said with a laugh. “He asked, ‘Can you help me memorize John 1:1 in Russian?’” It was good enough to start a relationship which resulted in marriage in 1995. Helen, “always open for an adventure,” moved to Minnesota. She wasn’t concerned about adjusting to the change. See ARENDS, pg. 5B
Extension: So far, 2019 has been a slow year for aphids By DICK HAGEN we’re pleased for our farmers but the The Land Staff Writer Emeritus simple fact is this annual battle against aphids was good money for us aerial LAMBERTON, Minn. — It seems app guys. strange, but Mother Nature apparently is on your side regarding the 2019 soy“Get a normal season with crops bean aphids season. How can that be? planted on time is what our farmers really need. Plus crop prices so they can Explained Bruce Potter, Extension get above their break-even income plant pathologist for the University of stranglehold and we’ll all be happy … Minneosta in an Aug. 20 visit, “So far even we aerial guys can make this busiit’s been a slow year for aphids. A few ness work without the aphid explofarmers are doing some spraying, but sions.” very little so far. Some fields have hit threshold numbers (250 aphids/plant), Piper Air Tractors with turbine-powbut state-wide it’s a very localized ered 750-horsepower engines make up Photo by Dick Hagen issue.” Sigurdson’s Aerial Spraying Inc. fleet at Rich Sigurdson and one of his 4 Air Tractor spray planes at the Olivia, Minn. airport. Olivia which includes three 500-gallon “Give some credit to nature,” sugrigs and one 400-gallon plane. tough year for aphids. Yes, I’d likely agree that gested Potter. “We’ve had lots of rain. Aphids don’t thrive in saturated soils. They have a hard time pro- nature was on our side. However a few other things Yes, farmers invest $500,000 in tractors and comcessing all that sap. But credit extremely cold winter out there make up for fewer aphids. Lots of defolia- bines … often even more. These Piper spray planes conditions too. Where we didn’t have snow cover, tors ... Painted Ladies, Sweet Clover Worms, that sort cost some big money also. “About $700,000 per plane, of thing. Keeping score so far, it’s been good for soy- but a new Piper Air Tractor is a $1.2 million investsome of those aphid eggs might have froze. beans; not so good for aphids.” ment. So, yes, we like to keep our birds on the job as “But I think the biggest factor was when those Plant pathologists don’t like to prognosticate. much as we can,” said Sigurdson. Airborne at 6 a.m. aphids tried to get out of the buckthorn (their overwintering habitat) this spring, with such a late soy- Potter wasn’t predicting an ‘explosion of aphids’ was is not unusual at the Olivia airfield. bean planting those newly hatched aphids didn’t still to happen. He merely reiterated, “...so far it And yes, these are productive machines. Like 200 have places to go. We had patches of volunteer soy- hasn’t been a good year.” acres per hour at 130 to 140 miles air speed while beans. We found aphids in these patches. But many He added, “This year, because of the large number laying down a 60-foot-wide swath! And all this preciof those patches got ‘herbicide tilled’ when farmers of late-planted soybean acres, we may need to scout sion while flying only 10 feet above fields being finally found another opportunity to get at their corn later in the season than usual. Also, aphids could sprayed. Spray pilots pay big money to get certified. planting. begin their move to buckhorn anytime from now They often have only about a 6-month working time“So a small population to begin with, and then con- until mid-September. Insect killing fungi may be col- frame each season. Yet accuracy is their creed. stant rain during their hatching season, it’s been a lapsing aphid populations because of dense, moist Just like GPS guidance keeps farmers amazingly canopies and cool temperatures.” on track in their fields, so too for these air tractors. The soybean aphid is native to China, but now Pilots plug in the coordinate locations of their next FROM occurs in several Southeast Asia countries. In field and GPS guides their airplane directly to the * $ GREECE & 1,549 America, 31 states now do battle with this most field. The same precise system even activates the $ 1,299 * HER ISLANDS actual spraying when the plane reaches the field, and costly pest. 10 days, departs Predictably, Renville County often leads the parade precisely turns the system off when the pilot gets to for the annual aphid invasion. And the best indicator the end of field and makes his climbing turn to get March - Sep, 2020 is how many aerial applicators are swirling through redirected the other direction. Sigurdson commented, ”Sure this all comes with a the skies in this annual bug fight. price, but accuracy is how you survive in this busiBut this year? Apparently no aphid war. In an Aug. ness. Farmers have lots of money invested in every Promo code N7017 22 visit at the Olivia airport with Rich Sigurdson, he *Prices are per person based on double occupancy plus 299 taxes & fees. Single supplement and field we cover. We totally understand precision is said so far only five calls for aphid control. “Sure, seasonal surcharges may apply. Add-on airfare available. Offers apply to new bookings only, made what we’re all about.” v by 11/30/19. Other terms and conditions may apply. Ask your Travel Consultant for details. TM
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