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Propagation

Prepare for the Minnesota State Fair

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MCIA Exhibit at the Minnesota State Fair. Photo by MCIA.

Seed growers: Prepare your samples now for entry in the Minnesota State Fair’s farm crops competitions! Samples from the 2020 or 2021 crop year may be shown.

Be sure to include a certification report for the samples you are submitting. The closing date for farm crops entries is August 12 (the new corn closing date is September 1).

For entry forms, rules, premiums, and other information, visit the Farm Crops Competition page on the Minnesota State Fair website, here, or contact the Minnesota State Fair at competition@mnstatefair.org or 651-288-4417.

The 2022 Minnesota State Fair begins Thursday, August 25, and ends Monday, September 5.

List Your Carryover Seed in the Directory

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The MCIA Directory includes a listing of certified and registered carryover seed.

The 2023 MCIA Directory will include a listing of carryover seed. Growers: If you have seed you want to list, please submit the Directory Carryover Seed Inclusion form that was included in your field inspection information packet.

You may also access the Directory Carryover Seed Inclusion form from the Client Resources page of the MCIA website, or download it from this link.

Or simply send MCIA the following information about your carryover seed: crop variety, your name, address, and telephone number.

Keith Marti and Maddie Barkholtz Join MCIA Staff

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New Hires: Field Supervisor Keith Marti and Organic Certification Specialist/Inspector Maddie Barkholtz.

MCIA welcomes Keith Marti, who was recently hired by Field Services as field supervisor for District 3, southeastern Minnesota. Keith is a graduate of St. John’s University, where he earned a B.A. in accounting. Most recently, Keith served as operations manager for feed sales at Central Region Cooperative. He was also their point person for matters related to MDA. His work experience also includes over ten years at Del Monte Foods, where his responsibilities as field supervisor included helping growers with harvest, inventory, and sweet corn and pea seed production logistics. Keith enjoys working with growers and field crop production. In his spare time, he enjoys outdoor recreational activities.

MCIA also welcomes Maddie Barkholtz, recently hired as an organic certification specialist/inspector for Organic Services. Maddie holds a B.S. in animal science from the University of Minnesota, College of Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resource Sciences, where she was on the Dean’s list. Maddie has an interest in agricultural sustainability and environmental health and is knowledgeable about USDA National Organic Program certification standards. She has hands-on experience working with dairy and beef cattle, swine, sheep, and poultry. Prior to joining MCIA, Maddie was a manager at Core Pet Zone’s Legends Rescue, where she developed procedures, educated staff members, and worked directly with customers.

UMN Extension Announces Small Grain Plot Tours

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Photo courtesy UMN Extension.

The UMN Extension is offering Small Grain Summer Plot Tours to provide farmers and crop consultants with the tools to make small grain production successful and profitable.

Tours will be held in several locations from late June through July.

Presentation topics include:

  • Production agronomics
  • Variety selection
  • Pest identification and management
  • Fungicide use

These programs are interactive with hands-on demonstrations of genetics, pests and growth stages. They feature tours of current research plots as well as discussions of on-farm experiences. Feel free to bring any field samples for diagnosis or discussion!

Monday, June 27, 2022
Southern MN small grain plot tours—LeCenter
12:30–3 p.m.
Ruth Hoefs/Ron Pomije Farm (Farm shop)

Monday, June 27, 2022
Southern MN small grain plot tours—New Ulm
5–7 p.m.
Gieseke Farms

Monday, July 11, 2022
Northern MN small grain plot tours—Fergus Falls
9–11 a.m.
John Walkup Farm

Tuesday, July 12, 2022
Northern MN small grain plot tours—Oklee
9–11 a.m.
Swenson Seed Farm

Wednesday, July 13, 2022
Northern MN small grain plot tours—Humboldt
9–11 a.m.
Mark & Neil Wiese Farm

Friday, July 22, 2022
Northern MN small grain plot tours—Strathcona
1–3 p.m.
Jim Kukowkski Farm

For more information visit: https://extension.umn.edu/courses-and-events/small-grain-summer-plot-tours.

Field Inspection Application Deadlines Extended

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Photo by congerdesign from Pixabay.

We are currently accepting field inspection applications. Due to extreme planting conditions, MCIA has granted an extension for small grain and soybean applications. See revised deadlines, below. If you need additional time, please contact the MCIA office. Late fees will not apply until after these dates.

Remember to include tags or bulk certificates as your proof of seed source.

FIELD INSPECTION APPLICATION DEADLINES

  • July 7: Small grains, corn, and sunflowers
  • July 7 or 3 weeks after planting (whichever is first): Soybean post-spray inspections
  • July 7: Soybean bloom inspections
  • 4 weeks prior to each cutting for noxious weed seed–free forage and mulch
  • July 15: Soybeans (pre-harvest inspection only)
  • Year of Seeding: Perennials
  • Within 18 months of the year established: Native grasses and forbs

After Damaging Storms, RFA Offers Disaster Recovery Loans

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Photo by Engin Akyurt from Pixabay.

On May 31, 2022, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s (MDA) Rural Finance Authority (RFA) Board determined that an emergency exists in parts of Minnesota due to recent severe weather, which makes zero-interest loans available for Minnesota farmers whose operations may be suffering from damage caused by storms.

The resolution declares an emergency for the following counties: Aitkin, Becker, Beltrami, Benton, Big Stone, Brown, Carlton, Chippewa, Chisago, Clay, Clearwater, Cook, Cottonwood, Douglas, Faribault, Grant, Isanti, Jackson, Kanabec, Kandiyohi, Kittson, Koochiching, Lac Qui Parle, Lake, Lake of the Woods, Lincoln, Lyon, Mahnomen, Marshall, Meeker, Morrison, Murray, Nobles, Norman, Otter Tail, Pennington, Pine, Pipestone, Polk, Pope, Red Lake, Renville, Rock, Roseau, Saint Louis, Sherburne, Stearns, Steele, Stevens, Swift, Todd, Traverse, Wadena, Wilkin, Yellow Medicine, and adjacent counties.

Farmers can use the Disaster Recovery Loan Program to help cover lost revenue or expenses not covered by insurance. The funds can be used to help clean up, repair, or replace farm structures and replace livestock.

The declaration applies to physical property damage and/or death of livestock taking place due to heavy rains and high winds in May 2022.

Eligible farmers must have received at least 50% of their annual gross income from farming for the past three years and will work through their bank to secure the loans from the RFA. Interest rates on the RFA portion of the loan are currently set at 0.0%.

The Minnesota Legislature this spring appropriated $2.5 million in additional funds to replenish the revolving loan account that funds the Disaster Recovery Loan Program, which has recently been used for highly pathogenic avian influenza poultry losses, drought, and COVID-19 expenses.

For more information about the Disaster Recovery Loan Program, visit the MDA website: https://www.mda.state.mn.us/disasterloan.

MCIA Board Approves Membership Fee Increase

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MCIA

At their spring meeting, MCIA’s Board of Directors approved increasing the MCIA annual membership fee to $100.00.

This change is effective June 1, 2022, at the start of MCIA’s new fiscal year, and applies to all MCIA program participants.

MCIA members enjoy the following privileges and benefits:

  • Members may apply to participate in any of MCIA’s programs and services.
  • Members receive MCIA’s quarterly member newsletter and annual directory.
  • Members have the right to participate in decisions made at MCIA’s Annual Meeting, including the election of MCIA’s Board of Directors.
  • Members are eligible to serve on MCIA’s Board of Directors.

For an MCIA membership application, click here.

MDA Offers Drought Relief to Minnesota Farmers

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Photo by Myriams-Fotos from Pixabay.

Minnesota livestock farmers and specialty crop producers who incurred expenses due to last year’s drought can apply for up to $7,500 per farm in reimbursement through the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s (MDA) 2021 Agricultural Drought Relief Program (ADRoP) when it opens in mid-June.

The Minnesota Legislature appropriated $8.1 million for ADRoP, which will reimburse farm operators for drought-related expenses incurred after June 1, 2021, and before May 23, 2022.

Farms must be located in a county designated by the United States Department of Agriculture as a primary natural disaster area after July 19, 2021, and before January 1, 2022, or in a county contiguous to a designated county. All Minnesota counties except Goodhue, Rice, Wabasha, Winona are eligible.

MDA anticipates that the application will be available approximately June 21. The application window will run approximately 10-12 business days; MDA encourages applicants to submit their application through the online grants management system to ensure it is received in a timely manner. MDA will announce the application window when it is finalized.

“We encourage farmers and producers to collect and organize needed documents and records now, so they are ready to apply when the application window opens,” said MDA Commissioner Thom Petersen. “This is a short timeframe; however, we want to ensure payments quickly get to those who need the help.”

More information about drought relief for farmers is available at www.mda.state.mn.us/droughtrelief. Once the application opens, farm operators can email drought@state.mn.us or call the Grants Line at 651-201-6500 with any questions.

People can also sign up to receive email or text updates about the ADRoP application window and further details about the application process, including which expenses will be eligible for reimbursement.

Seed Lab Survey: Are You Satisfied?

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Illustration by chenspec from Pixabay.

In June, Seed Laboratory Manager Chase Mowry will be sending out a
customer satisfaction survey, via MailChimp, to MCIA Seed Lab customers.

Please watch for it and take a few minutes to respond to the questions.

We greatly appreciate your participation!

Partnership for Local and Regional Markets Conducts Producer Survey

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The Statewide Cooperative Partnership for Local and Regional Markets asks all Minnesota farmers selling at least $500 in annual sales of local ag products to fill out their producer survey by May 31, 2022.

Purpose of the Survey

Collecting this data will help the Partnership:

  • Supplement the USDA Agricultural Census with data about farmers and markets not fully represented in the Ag Census.
  • Support the development of data-informed programs and services for small and mid-sized farms, including emerging farmers. Data from this survey will serve as a foundation for the creation of a Minnesota Grown strategic plan to re-envision this important state promotional program for farmers selling in Minnesota.
  • Strengthen recommendations to the state legislature that support historically under-represented and under-supported farmers.

How to Participate

You can respond to the survey through this link: https://umn.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2gXiNaErrvIEwE6. To request a paper copy, please contact Casey at mcnic023@umn.edu.

Farmers can choose between a long or short version. The long survey takes less than 30 minutes to complete. Only one response per farm is allowed and compensation is available. Farm name, contact and location information is classified as private and not made public, though aggregate data will be made available.

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Background: Starting in 2020, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture joined with the University of Minnesota on the Statewide Cooperative Partnership for Local and Regional Markets with funding from the USDA Federal State Marketing Improvement Program. Currently, the Partnership is a group of 40+ organizations that provide input on the diverse experiences of small- and mid-sized producers, retailers, and consumers across the state.