Each year, there are some growers from whom we do not initially receive all the information necessary to complete field inspection. In those cases, we need to do follow-up work. So, as the planting season begins, we remind field inspection clients to keep accurate records and:
Pay past due accounts.
Save your proof of seed source (tags or bulk certificates).
Maintain proper isolation and field history between varieties and other crops.
New varieties—we need a variety description to complete inspections and pass fields, appropriate forms can be found online or by contacting the office.
Questions? Contact your MCIA field supervisor or the MCIA Office staff for answers. Our contact information is listed on the Staff page of the MCIA website: https://www.mncia.org/staff/.
June 7 or 3 weeks after planting (whichever is first): Soybean post-spray inspections
June 7: Soybean bloom inspections
July 15: Soybeans (pre-harvest inspection only)
Year of seeding: Perennials
4 weeks prior to cutting: Noxious weed seed–free forage and mulch
Within 18 months of the year established for native grasses and forbs
Information packets for Field Inspection Applications will be mailed in May. Application documents may also be downloaded from the Client Resources page of the MCIA website: https://www.mncia.org/resources.
If you have any questions, please contact your field supervisor. (Field supervisor contact information is listed on the Staff page of the MCIA website: https://www.mncia.org/staff/.
The seasonal Field Notes column often follows a similar theme from one year to the next, including this one.
Germination results for some seed lots are lower than expected. There have been instances in the past few months where the germination is lower after conditioning. We encourage all our members to check germination on all seed lots as soon as possible. The presence of Fusarium and pre-harvest sprouting in small grains grown in 2024 is significantly higher than the past few years.
Other spring planting reminders:
Make sure seed sources have met all requirements needed and save proof of seed source
Verify your intended seed fields meet crop history requirements
Apply for field inspection after planting
Contact MCIA with any questions or field inspection needs
MCIA’s field inspectors had a safe and successful inspection season. The MCIA Field Services staff would like to thank our members for making another great seed production season possible!
Communication between MCIA members and our field inspectors about issues that may affect seed quality helps all of us reach the goal of producing quality seed that meets or exceeds certification and company seed standards.
As the beautiful fall weather shifts towards winter, here are a few good reminders for our seed production members:
Inventory all of your seed and check for any issues. Make sure all seed bins are properly identified.
Run air on seed and grain bins to cool grain as needed.
Verify a passed field inspection report for all seed fields, including seed sources for next year.
Check your inventory of MCIA sample bags. Let us know if you need anything for the conditioning and seed labeling season.
Verify and check all seed labeling needs including tags, Pure Harvest (online program), and manual paper bulk seed sales certificates.
Contact MCIA with any questions. We enjoy hearing from you!
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” —Galatians 6:9
The quality of wheat and other small grains has been an issue since harvest began. Dr. Jochum Wiersma sounded the alarm during the summer wheat plot tours. Fusarium head blight (FHB), or scab, and issues with grain and seed quality are showing up in some areas. The damp conditions have also caused wheat and other small grains to transition towards sprouting in the field as the enzymes and starch begin to change. This will affect seed quality, including germination, falling numbers, and vomitoxin level.
Helpful seed quality tips for seed to be planted in the spring of 2025:
Try to store uniform fields or parts of fields in separate bins. For example, small grains before rain and after rain during harvest may differ in appearance and seed quality.
Harvest grain and dry as needed using natural air or grain dryer temperature of 110 °F to dry it down to 13.5 percent moisture or less.
Do not ignore grain bins after harvest, especially those harvested during hot and humid days. Run air as needed as soon as you fill bins. Cool grain throughout the fall when temperature and humidity permits.
Preliminary germination samples after a 3-week or longer “rest” on seed lots will be a good starting point for seed plans.
Select seed lots harvested first in the season with good color and quality first, before using later harvested lots that may be bleached and lower quality.
Seed lots with FHB should not be saved for seed.
Make plans now as both a grower and seed producer for your seed needs.
Shifting gears towards fall: We conduct soybean inspections when fields have 75 percent leaf drop or greater. Communication with your MCIA field supervisor is very important. We will certainly be in contact with growers to ensure timely and accurate inspections. If you have any information you would like to share regarding your seed production fields or are getting close to harvest and have not received confirmation about the status of your field inspection, please give your field supervisor a call. We enjoy hearing from you, and it helps us keep up with the maturity of the many seed fields across the state. There is still time to apply for soybean field inspections for all classes of certified seed and any soybeans needing inspection to company field and seed purity standards.
Located between Thief River Falls and Goodridge, Minnesota, Brad Barth Farms is a testament to teamwork, timing, and innovation. While Brad and his wife, Joyce, grew up in the area and both have deep agriculture roots, the opportunity to be back “home” and farm was a journey over twenty years in the making.
Early Days
Brad grew up near St. Hilaire, Minnesota. His father operated a crop dusting plane and Brad, as young as five years old, was his right-hand man. Brad was very good at directions and would ride his Honda 50 to the field to flag each pass. He was paid a penny an acre and loved the work. We almost take GPS for granted today, but prior to its invention teamwork was necessary and highly valued on the farm.
Fast forward to college: Brad graduated with a degree in accounting and went on to work as an accountant for seventeen years. Joyce received a degree as a dental assistant, a career she worked in for many years. During this time, Joyce and Brad raised their son and three daughters in the Moorhead area.
Call of the North
Around 1997, the desire to farm started to take hold, leading them back 120 miles north to where they grew up. They had family land there that was expiring out of the Conservation Reserve Program. They bought a 9380 Stieger tractor and an Ezee-On field disk and started working their ground. Nearby landowners took notice and were quick to hire Brad and Joyce to custom disk their land. The seeds of farm growth grew quickly.
Joyce says one evening stands out: She had finished disking a mile-long field. It had grown dark. Her vehicle was on the opposite end of the field. This was before cell phones. She made the long walk back to her car alone. Crossing a deep ditch, listening to the coyotes’ howl, she told herself, “Brad and I need to plan this teamwork a little better!”
The farm mostly grew wheat, soybeans and even some certified organic production. Brad tells the story of how the next seed production idea was planted, “I wanted Granite wheat seed and was visiting with my local seed supplier and grain buyer, and he said there is none available. I made up my mind right there, we are going to grow seed for ourselves and the area. I am always looking for ways to add value and improve our farm.”
Shift to Seed Production
Brad contacted MCIA. He and I met and had extensive discussions. Brad decided to purchase registered seed. His certified production was cleaned at Swenson Seed, in nearby Oklee, and sold to his grain elevator, an MCIA-approved seed conditioner and bulk handler. After visiting Swenson Seed and owner Ray Swenson’s operation, Brad again met with MCIA and Forsbergs, Inc., of Thief River Falls, a supplier of seed conditioning equipment. Within twelve months, his own MCIA-approved seed conditioning facility was up and running.
Brad says, “I cannot express enough how much I admire Ray Swenson and I look to him as a mentor. I know it may seem like we could be competition with each other, but he has been so kind and helpful I cannot thank him enough. He has forgotten more about the seed industry than I will ever know.”
Brad Barth Farms today grows certified wheat varieties that they sell and supply to many area growers and MCIA-approved facilities. NDSU wheat releases such as Faller and Prosper and University of Minnesota releases such as RB07, Linkert, Shelly, MN-Washburn, MN-Torgy, and MN-Rothsay have led the way. Brad says his seed customers that also are grain elevator buyers want quality varieties that also have yield and straw strength and do well in this region.
Brad and Joyce have also grown conventional soybean varieties such as Traill, along with glyphosate-tolerant soybeans from NDSU. Today, almost all their soybean seed production is herbicide tolerant for a private company and that has worked very well. They also added 200 acres of irrigation this past year. Brad stated, “with this farm and these projects we must thank our long-time employee, Corey Larson. He has been my right-hand man for many years.”
Industry Leadership
Brad is finishing his sixth and final year on the MCIA board of directors. He served five of those years as the board’s chairman. Serving on the board was a great learning opportunity. He gained insight into the many areas of seed production in the state and across the country. Hosting the AOSCA annual meeting in Minnesota was a highlight for Brad and Joyce. Meeting other growers of certified seed of all kinds of crops—from cotton to peanuts to wheat—was both enjoyable and eye opening.
Looking to the Future
The future is bright for Brad and Joyce they say, “With nine grand kids and one son farming nearby, the farm and seed business will eagerly continue. We love what we do and are so fortunate to have children and grandchildren. We make it a priority to stay connected and visit our four children often and they have blessed us with their wonderful children.”
As our visit was wrapping up, and on cue from Brad, one of his grandchildren exclaimed, “Teamwork makes the dream work!”
There was almost no doubt it was going to be an early spring in Minnesota after the mild and mostly snow-free winter. Unless, of course, you are familiar with the weather between the 43rd and 49th parallels and do not take anything for granted.
Hopefully, spring planting is wrapped up and we can move on to the summer field inspection checklist:
Save proof of seed source for fields to be field inspected.
Apply for field inspection after planting.
Contact your MCIA field supervisor with any questions or updates prior to harvest.
Be certain your field has been inspected prior to harvest.
Small grains fields can be inspected after they are fully headed.
Soybean field flower inspections are usually performed in July and final pre-harvest inspections are done at 75 percent leaf drop or within about 7 days of harvest.
Forage and mulch applications are due 4 weeks prior to cutting.
We can accept late applications if there is enough time to inspect. MCIA will make every effort to inspect, but the sooner you notify us the sooner we can schedule and complete your inspection. Late applications will incur a late fee.
As always, we wish you a bountiful, enjoyable, and safe growing season.
Each year, there are some growers from whom we do not initially receive all the information necessary to complete field inspection. In those cases, we need to do follow-up work. So, as the planting season begins, we remind field inspection clients to keep accurate records and:
Pay past due accounts
Save your proof of seed source (tags or bulk certificates)
Maintain proper isolation between varieties and other crops
New varieties—we need a variety description to complete inspections and pass fields; appropriate forms can be found online or by contacting the MCIA Office
Questions? Contact your MCIA field supervisor or the MCIA Office staff for answers. Our contact information is listed on the Staff page of the MCIA website.
June 7or 3 weeks after planting (whichever is first): Soybean post-spray inspections
June 7: Soybean bloom inspections
July 15: Soybeans (pre-harvest inspection only)
Year of seeding: Perennials
4 weeks prior to cutting: Noxious weed seed–free forage and mulch
Within 18 months of the year established for native grasses and forbs
Information packets for Field Inspection Applications will be mailed to enrolled MCIA members in May. Application forms and instructions are also available on the Client Resources page of the MCIA website.
If you have any questions, please contact your field supervisor. (Field supervisor contact information is listed on the Staff page of the MCIA website.)
