Agriculture

Ross Genoch walks through his small cattle herd on a cold, clear January morning near Menahga. The cows, docile and trusting, approach him expectantly. “They’re hoping for a corn cob. Well, they get treated like pets,” he says with a smile. Genoch (pronounced guh no) raises...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will make available $100 million this year through the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) in 2015, and although applications are accepted all year, farmers, ranchers and forest landowners should submit applications by Feb. 27 to ensure they are...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced more than $18 million in funding available to support training, mentoring, and development of beginning farmers and ranchers through the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program. The program was created in the 2002 Farm Bill....

ST. PAUL -- Minnesotans lost their ability to protect livestock and pets when a federal court ordered wolves to return to the endangered species list, a Minnesota House committee heard Tuesday. "This is one of the top issues for our members," Thom Peterson of the Minnesota Farmers'...

The Minnesota Corn Growers Association and the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association are offering free bus transportation to and from MN Ag Expo 2015, which will take place Jan. 28-29 in the Verizon Wireless Center in Mankato. MN Ag Expo features a large trade show, informative...

The dark days of winter can be a great time to learn new things, so the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is again providing farmers a day of Winter Workshops in January. The MDA will offer six workshops covering a diverse array of farming topics on Thursday, Jan. 8 in...

Republicans who will control the Minnesota House next year angered Democrats by leaving a strong environmentalist off the environmental committee. House Speaker-designate Kurt Daudt, R-Crown, released a list of committee members Thursday night, and the House Environment and Natural...

Minnesota Agriculture in the Classroom (MAITC) is accepting grant applications for its 2015 Ag Literacy Grant Program. Up to $400 of special project grant funding is available to K-12 practicing teachers wishing to bring agriculture to life in the classroom, garden or on a field...

Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson on Monday accused Savers, a chain of for-profit thrift stores, of deceiving the public about charitable donations and giving as little as 1 percent of the value of donated clothing to charities. “Only a small sliver of money goes to the...

The date of the Ag Issues Forum has been pushed back one day to Dec. 17 due to a conflict with the Becker County Christmas Tea and board meeting. A work in progress, the Ag Issues Forum agenda includes Estate planning Tax Laws with Sam Rufer and Aaron Tait, Biofuels with Sherwood...

The new executive director of the Minnesota State Cattlemen’s Association says her group hopes to make greater use of social media and to increase participation in the Beef Quality Assurance program. “Social media is definitely an ally, but you need to be careful. It can turn...

What’s good for corn farmers is usually bad for cattle producers, and vice versa. But this fall will be different if Upper Midwest farmers, as expected, harvest a large amount of high-moisture corn. “There looks to be a win-win situation where the corn producers and cattle...

Motorists traveling on Minnesota highways this fall need to be aware of large farm equipment transporting crops to markets, grain elevators and processing plants, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation. Farm equipment is large and heavy, making it hard for operators...