Following is a list of new varieties being released from neighboring states. We may or may not be able to obtain seed as availability is limited. If you would like more information on any of these lines, please contact MCIA’s Foundation Seed Services at 612-625-7766.
SPRING WHEAT
Brawn-SDwheat, released by South Dakota, was tested as SD4843. It has yielded well in regional trials with good test weight but has low protein. Brawn-SD has been tested in Minnesota trials only one year where it yielded well, with average to slightly below average straw strength. It looks to have good BLS rating and average Fusarium head blight (FHB) scab resistance. Another year of testing will clarify these ratings.
ND Heronwheat released by North Dakota was tested as NDHRS16-14-126. It has slightly below average grain yield, good protein and test weight. ND-Heron is an early maturing variety with below average straw strength. It is best suited to central and western North Dakota. It has good Fusarium head blight (FHB) scab resistance, and slightly below average rating for BLS.
OATS
ND-Carson oats (ND141338) released by North Dakota is a spring oat with good yield, test weight, and lodging score. In North Dakota trials, yield and test weight were equal to MN-Pearl. Heading date, height, and lodging scores were also similar to MN-Pearl. ND-Carson is a white oat. This line was not tested in Minnesota.
ND-Spilde (ND131603) released by North Dakota is a spring oat with yields and test weight less than MN-Pearl. Heading date is similar to MN-Pearl but the lodging score is not as good. Release information describes ND-Spilde as having unique crown rust resistance. It is a white oat. This line was not tested in Minnesota.
MINNESOTA SOYBEAN LINES
Soybean Varieties with Peking-type SCN Resistance
MCIA has two soybean lines that contain the Peking source of soybean cyst nematode resistance (SCN). There are very few varieties with Peking-type resistance, most contain the PI88788 source of resistance. Both are conventional, non-GMO soybean lines, which are good yielding with average protein levels and buff hilum.
M13-250056, is a 0.8 relative maturity, Rps1c Phytophthora resistance, good IDC rating.
M13-250046, is a 1.6 relative maturity. Rps1c Phytophthora resistance, good IDC rating.
For yield data and additional information, please contact MCIA at 612-625-7766.
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Note: This entry was revised November 1, 2023: Previously, ND-Carson was described as a yellow oat; it is a white oat.
University of Minnesota Extension is offering small grain workshops across Minnesota in February to address successful small grain management. Workshops will focus on production agronomics, variety selection, and economics, and will include an open-forum discussion for related topics and on-farm experiences. These events are sponsored by the Minnesota Wheat Research and Promotion Council.
Presenters may vary by location, but all will include Jochum Wiersma, University of Minnesota Extension Small Grain Specialist. Le Center and Slayton workshops will also include Diane Dewitte, University of Minnesota Extension Swine Educator who will discuss research involving organic rye and hog production.
To register for free online, visit z.umn.edu/GrainUpdate or call the local contacts at the workshop you wish to attend. Registration is important for accurate meal count at sites having lunch.
Dates, Locations, Times and Contacts are as follows:
Monday, February 20: Rochester. Rochester Extension Office, 140 Elton Hills Lane NW, Rochester, MN 55901. 1:00 pm–3:30 pm, no lunch. (Contact Nathan Drewitz at 507-258-8775.)
Tuesday, February 21: Le Center. 4H Family Center, Le Sueur County Fairgrounds, 320 S Plut Ave, Le Center, MN 56057. 9:00–11:30 a.m., with lunch after meeting. (Contact Shane Bugeja at 507-357-8232. Please register by February 19 for meal count.)
Wednesday, February 22: Cold Spring. Great Blue Heron, 305 5th Ave S, Cold Spring, MN 56320. 9:00–11:30 a.m., with lunch after meeting. (Contact Joe Krippner at 320-980-2915. Please register by February 20 for meal count.)
Thursday, February 23: Slayton. Murray County 4H-Building, 3048 Broadway Ave, Slayton, MN 56172. 1:00–4:30 p.m. Join the morning crops program from 9:00 a.m.–12:15 p.m. with lunch after. (Contact Murray Co. Extension Office at 507-836-6927. Please register by February 21 for meal count.)
Friday, February 24: Benson. McKinney’s on Southside, 300 14th St S, Benson, MN 56215. 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. and includes lunch. (Contact Scott Lee at 320-760-6129. Please register by February 22 for meal count.)
Grant application deadline for counties, municipalities, tribal governments, and weed management entities is March 31
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is now accepting applications for the 2023 Noxious Weed and Invasive Plant Grant. Counties, municipalities, tribal governments, and weed management entities (including weed management areas) may apply for grants to mitigate noxious weeds around the state. To be eligible for consideration, applicants must spend grant funds by June 30, 2023.
Since 2018, the MDA’s Noxious Weed and Invasive Plant Grant has awarded over $1.3 million to fund a variety of activities such as purchasing equipment and supplies, conducting mapping and outreach activities, and hiring private applicators to manage noxious weeds. The MDA has awarded 119 grants, averaging $9,000.
The grant program is funded by the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR).
Friendly reminder to seed sellers: Any person or firm that labels seed for sale in Minnesota must have a seed permit. Permit holders pay fees to the state to support the seed regulatory program.
The permit fee is paid by the labeler making the first sale of seed in the state. Subsequent sales of that lot do not require additional fees. In addition to their responsibility to accurately label seed for sale, seed labelers must also maintain records to allow full traceability of their products, to support their label claims, and a file sample that is representative of the seed sold.
Permit categories and fees are determined by the type, intended use, and amount sold annually. Generally, those that only sell seed labeled by another person or firm do not need a permit. Fees are paid annually or semi-annually, depending on the category of permit.
Agweek recently published an interesting article about increased food-grade oats production in Minnesota. The article focuses on a new farmer group in southeast Minnesota that is pooling member resources to better market their crops. Last year their aggregate acres were 1,000. They are looking to double that number this year and recruit new members to the group.
The article notes the presence of several major oats processors with facilities in the Midwest, including MCIA member Grain Millers. It has a milling plant in St. Ansgar, Iowa, that buys the majority of its oats from Canada but is looking to source more of its oats locally.
The 2023 MCIA Annual Meeting, which was held Thursday, January 12, 2023, included an election to fill five Category A Director seats on the MCIA Board of Directors. Category A directors serve 3-year terms of office. MCIA members re-elected incumbent board members Brent Benike (District 1) and Grant Mehring (Related Industry). In addition, members elected three persons who are new to the MCIA Board: Wes Olmschenk (District 2), Ryan Anderson (District 3), and Jake Noll (Related Industry). Ryan Anderson will serve the remaining one year of a vacant position. In addition to the election of the aforementioned directors, members also ratified the nomination of incumbent Nancy Ehlke as the board’s Category B Director (who is nominated by the Director of the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station to serve a one-year term of office).
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Background information about the new board directors follows.
Wes Olmschenk (District 2) grew up on and is still actively part of a family farm in central Minnesota. Wes earned a BA in economics from St. John’s University and an MBA from Drake University. His professional experience includes work with Land O’Lakes and 1-800-GOT-JUNK. He currently serves as director of products for MNL Inc. In that role, Wes is involved with day-to-day operations management of all native seed and plant products, from production to sales.
Wes lives near St. Joseph, Minnesota, with his wife and their three children. Outside of work, he enjoys anything outdoors, from hunting and fishing to travel, hiking, and landscaping.
Ryan Anderson (District 3) grew up on a dairy farm in southwest Minnesota, where they also raised corn, soybeans, and alfalfa. For the past 21 years he has worked for Corteva/Pioneer at the Jackson, Minnesota, location. He has held roles in Seed Production Operations, Field Operations, and Agronomy.
In addition to having a bachelor’s degree in business management, he is a Certified Crop Adviser and an FAA-licensed UAV Pilot. A graduate of the Dale Carnegie course, Ryan has also completed training in the Six Sigma and Lean Practitioner programs, which center around workplace organization and efficiency. He and his wife have two daughters, a high school senior and a junior in college.
Jake Noll (Related Industry) grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota, and spent the summers helping his grandfather on the family farm and seed business in Foxhome, Minnesota . The family seed business dates back over 130 years to 1889, and Jake represents the 5th generation.
After college, Jake became involved with managing and owning a home construction business with his brother and pursued that for several years.
In 2008, Jake had the opportunity to join the family seed business (Friederichs Seed) as an owner and managing president. Over the next several years, Jake was able to facilitate a major expansion and transition of the business from certified farmer seeds to a high-quality dedicated food grade soybean custom processing company. During this period, Friederichs Seed became a trusted co-packer to Richland IFC, amongst others.
In 2021, Jake accepted the offer to join Richland IFC as General Manager, overseeing company operations, crop production, logistics, and general customer support.
On January 12, 2023, Minnesota Crop Improvement Association presented its highest honor, the Achievement in Crop Improvement Award, to Paul Kjolhaug, part-owner of the MayerSeedLine company. The award, presented annually since 1972, recognizes exemplary service to the seed industry as well as outstanding leadership in agriculture.
MCIA also recognized three Premier Seed Grower awardees, Lon Baldus of Grand Meadow, Kurt Flegel of Benson, and Dean Johnson and Kurt Aakre of Karlstad. Each year since 1928, MCIA has presented this award to recognize individuals or partners involved in quality seed production, active in MCIA, and who provide excellent service to the seed industry.
The recipients of MCIA’s Honorary Premier Seed Grower Award this year were Denise Thiede, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Plant Protection Division, Section Manager, responsible for seed, noxious weed, hemp, and biotechnology, and DaveGrafstrom, a researcher at the University of Minnesota’s Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics. This award recognizes individuals not directly involved in seed production but who have actively supported the seed industry, MCIA, and their local community. MCIA has presented this award annually since 1930.
The awards were presented at the Minnesota Crop Improvement Association’s 120th Annual Meeting. The event was held at the Bigwood Event Center in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, January 12, 2023.
Following are brief profiles of each awardee. More detailed coverage will be provided in the spring issue of the Minnesota Seed Grower.
Achievement in Crop Improvement Award
Paul Kjolhaug
Paul Kjolhaug, of Willmar, has spent most of his life involved in agriculture. As a youth in Springfield, Minnesota, he worked on area crop and livestock farms. After earning a degree in agronomy from the University of Minnesota, he joined the staff of Northern Farm and Garden (the predecessor of Norfarm Seeds). He later worked for Interstate Payco, where he managed seed production of hybrid corn, sunflowers, and soybean seed. At this time, Paul became more familiar with MCIA, requesting field inspection and seed testing for OECD exports. For the last 21 years, Paul has been part owner of the MayerSeedLine, a seed production and brokerage company in Willmar. Over the years, Paul has been involved in many seed trade organizations—nationally, regionally, and locally. He served six years on the MCIA Board of Directors, including a term as board chair. Paul has also been active in his local church and the local chapter of the American Red Cross. Commenting on receiving the award Paul said, “I have enjoyed my years in the seed industry and being able to work with many great people,” adding, “I am truly humbled and honored to receive this award.”
Premier Seed Grower Award
2023 Premier Seed Grower Award recipients: Lon Baldus, Kurt Flegel, Dean Johnson, and Kurt Aakre
Lon Baldus, of Grand Meadow, grew up on a livestock and crop farm. He started farming on his own shortly out of high school. Lon also did some off-farm work in construction, building grain elevators and seed conditioning plants. Lon was an early grower of non-GMO soybeans and was one of the first to clean industrial hemp seed. His business ventures grew to include seed conditioning and the export of food-grade soybeans. As a member of MCIA, Lon has participated in the seed certification, identity preserved, and the approved facility programs, and his conditioning plant was certified organic by MCIA.
Kurt Flegel, of Benson, has been in the seed business for 40 years. Currently, he is the plant manager at Syngenta in Danvers. He grew up on a livestock and small grain farm near Kulm, North Dakota. After earning a degree in ag economics from North Dakota State University, Kurt took a position at Stauffer Seeds, where he was very involved with the sunflower program. He developed many strong and enduring relationships with growers, helping facilitate the regional transition to soybean production. Kurt worked closely with MCIA though his work on OECD certification of seed for export. He has been active in MCIA as a committee member and as a board director, serving as board chair for three terms. During his tenure, Kurt led MCIA’s management through a continuity and succession planning process.
Dean Johnson and Kurt Aakre, of Karlstad, have been farming together since 1989. The Lloyd Johnson farm has been in the family since 1887. They have been producing high-quality seed for many years. All their acres of wheat and soybeans are for seed production. Well respected as producers of high-quality seed, they have worked with several regional seed conditioners, including the late Ron Peterson, Lake Bronson Elevator, CHS Greenbush, Weinlaeder’s and Capistran’s. Dean and Kurt have been very active in their local community and seed industry. Both have served on their church and local county crop improvement boards.
Honorary Premier Seed Grower Award
2023 Honorary Premier Seed Grower Award recipients: Dave Grafstrom and Denise Thiede
Dave Grafstrom, of Roseau, is a key member of the University of Minnesota team addressing crop production issues at the Magnussson Research Farm. Much of Dave’s work involves grass seed production research. Dave created a weekly e-newsletter that addresses the particular interests and concerns of grass seed growers. He also shares information during summer plot tours, the annual Grass Seed Institute, and the UMN Turf Seed website. He currently serves as secretary of the Turf Seed Council.
Denise Thiede has worked with seed and plants her entire career. She is currently part of the Plant Protection Division at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, serving as section manager, responsible for seed, noxious weed, hemp, and biotechnology. Previously, during her time at BioDiagnostics, she collaborated with MCIA’s staff to provide seed testing services to MCIA’s members. Her association with MCIA has spanned nearly twenty years, with multiple terms on its board of directors. She has worked closely with MCIA on a variety of issues, including PVP enforcement.
For the last six months of 2022, intern Adriel Junior worked for the MCIA Foundation Seed Services department. During that time, Adriel helped rogue soybeans, harvest barley and soybeans, and condition soybean seed. He also took in Minnesota Farmfest, the Minnesota State Fair, and attended classes while on the UMN campus.
The experience was made possible by MAST International in coordination with the UMN’s College of Food Agriculture and Natural Sciences. The MAST International program provides young people from around the world with hands-on experiences in U.S agriculture.
An excellent worker, Adriel has now returned to his home country of Brazil to take a job with the Bunge Corporation, a global agribusiness and food company.
For more information about MCIA’s Foundation Seed Services, click here.
Minnesota Crop Improvement Association welcomes Claire Biel to our staff! Claire has assumed the position of Lab Technician in the Seed Laboratory.
She began her career at MCIA in October. Claire is a recent graduate of the University of Minnesota, where she earned a B.S. in plant science with an emphasis in agroecology. As a student research assistant, she worked on a USDA-NIFA Coordinated Agricultural Project titled Pennycress Research Enabling Farm and Energy Resilience. Her work focused on pennycress genetics and breeding. She performed DNA extraction and seed germination, screening for performance in different conditions, took phenotypic field data, managed a greenhouse, and was also involved in harvest.
To learn more about MCIA’s Seed Laboratory, click here.
We have personnel changes to announce: Maddie Barkholtz left us in October to concentrate on finishing her graduate school program. I am very happy to announce that Lauren Martin started working for us full time earlier this month. Many of you already know Lauren as an MCIA contract inspector.
At the end of the year we had so much left to do! We are a bit behind on issuing certificates. If you need a certificate or Letter of Good Standing, please let us know. New 2023 planners have been mailed to clients, along with revised copies of the regulations. There have been very important changes to the “Origin of Livestock” section. We have included additional information with the planner and regs.
