- Hello, and welcome to Farm Connections.

I'm your host, Dan Hoffman.

On today's program, we travel to Albert Lea to attend the 31st annual Tiger City farm toy truck and collectible show.

We talked to Chris Hahn from CEDA about Fillmore county's agriculture summit, and the University of Minnesota Extension brings us a new Best Practices segment all today on Farm Connections.

(upbeat music) - [Male Announcer] Welcome to Farm Connections with your host, Dan Hoffman.

- [Female Announcer] Farm Connections made possible in part by.

- [Male Announcer] Minnesota Corn Growers Association, working to identify and promote opportunities for corn growers, enhance quality of life, and help others understand the value and importance of corn production to America's economy.

EDP Renewables North America, owner operator of Prairie Star and Pioneer Prairie Wind farms, Minnesota and Iowa.

EDPR wind farms and solar parks provide income to farmers and help power rural economies across the continent.

Northern Country Co-op, a full service cooperative in grain, agronomy, feed, and lumber.

For the latest news, job openings, and podcasts, you can go to their website NCountryCoop.com.

- R and S Grain Systems, a family owned business, serving its customers for 50 years with leading designs in the manufacturing of grain handling equipment and grain storage systems.

You can call them for a quote today.

- Farm connection has traveled to Albert Lea to check out The Tiger City Farm Toy Truck and Collectable show.

Larry Hodgson runs the show and took a few moments to talk with us about the history and legacy of the show.

- It started out initially as old antique farm toys and trucks, and it's kind of grown from that.

And with that, so did the name, The Tiger City Farm Toy Truck and Collectible Show.

It's a mouthful.

So it's all every range of toys from modern toys, Legos, and Barbies to rusty gold, old antique farm toys, pedal cars, and the sorts.

I mean, just about everything under the sun and supplies to work on those types of things or find that extra wheel you might need for a project piece to fix up, that kind of stuff.

The founder of the show, Don Gross, he was a teacher, elementary school teacher, in Albert Lea for 34 years.

And Tiger City is Albert Lea's sort of mascot namesake from days gone by.

And so being with his involvement in the school, he just adopted that naturally for the toy show.

The founder of the show, Don Gross, had passed away.

And it looked like, at the time, that no one was gonna take over the show and that it might come to an end.

I was offered the opportunity and thought I'd give it a try.

I've done shows before, not as a promoter, but on the other end of the aisle, for years and had been set up at the mall, seasonal with my other business.

Was familiar with the mall.

And for a couple years, did the show with Don as one of his vendors and thought, I'll give it a try.

If it works out and we can make it happen and keep working, then we're gonna keep doing it.

And it's about been about 10 years and we're still doing it and going strong.

And you know, hopefully this never ends.

It's a real fun event for the community in general.

It's the largest toy show in Minnesota now.

For years we called it the largest toy show in Southern Minnesota, but it is the largest toy show in Minnesota.

And we're very proud of that fact, especially when you consider that 30 years ago when it started, it was a 12 guys and 24 tables.

It's really taken off since 1990.

We had 87 vendors and just under 300 tables.

And from time to time, we have more room in that mall where we've done it, the Northbridge Mall.

But it's to a point where it's right now, it's working for the vendors.

So even if I could bring in 50 more vendors, I don't think I would, for their sake.

But if we had the space, then events that we could do, whether it's Lego building or someone setting up a train display or whatever, we're always looking to expand in other ways.

But I think vendor-wise, we've just about reached capacity.

We have vendors from six different states.

They come from North Dakota, they come from Illinois, they come from Wisconsin.

It's a big event that draws a lot of vendors from a lot of area.

A good portion of them are from here, Minnesota, and a number of locals from the Albert Lea area as well.

It's so much fun just to kind of be a fly on the wall and listen to the stories because it's all the same.

It's grandfathers with their grandkids pointing out to the kids, you know, "That's what we used to play with."

It wasn't Nintendo, it was a string, (laughs) but that's what we had on the farm, and this one rusty truck.

And you'll hear the stories and it's just really fun to see.

And it's multi-generational in a sense of, we have a gentleman just retired this year.

He's done this show since day one for 30 years.

And bless his heart, he's 94 years old and still comes out.

But now the sons have taken over officially.

It's like, we're not letting dad come out next year.

It's like, he might be able to get to visit, but it's just getting to be too much.

But this drive and passion that the toy collectors have is such a, you know, no one's gonna tell you to give it up.

I've had one guy retire who was in it for a good long haul.

In fact, was Don Gross's partner.

He retired and within three months he called me back up, "Lar, I just went to an auction.

I'm gonna need three tables again next year."

You know, it's like you're never really out of it.

You don't stop collecting.

(gentle music) Don gross, our founder, when he passed, his wife and family didn't have any interest, the same passion that he did.

And his collection was warehouse full of stuff.

And they did an auction and I still see some of his toys, some of his original price tags on items from 10 years ago.

But they're not just stale and on the same table.

I've seen them move around from vendor to vendor to vendor.

It's interesting how much horse trading goes on between the actual vendors themselves too and eventually gets passed on to the hands of a private collector.

- [Man] But I gotta imagine that they'll sell.

(gentle music) - It's funny again, that fly on the wall scenario.

How many times, as I've walked through that mall during our event, I hear people say, "Oh, wow, hey, how are you guys doing?

I haven't, the whole family's out here, I haven't seen you guys since last year at the toy show."

You know, it's one of those, it's an event that really brings out the locals.

And it really has become a community thing.

To the point where it's not just a bunch of gruff collectors that are all serious.

These guys are fun.

They have fun, they enjoy talking about their passions.

And we have things like face painting and balloon animals free for the kids.

We encourage the family versus some of the paid admission shows where you just got people that are, it's almost too serious to enjoy themselves.

Whereas we are more casual and everyone have fun, come out, bring the family, and just make the most of it.

And there's, it's not just the toys.

There's antiques and collectibles too that appeals to a wider range of people in the family too, so everyone has a good time.

(gentle music) COVID in 2021 affected us at the toy show.

It was the first year we weren't able to do the toy show.

We snuck by in 2020 in a sense that our event is always the first weekend of February.

And we haven't gone into lockdown at that point.

So we still had our event in 2020, but in 2021, we were still too unsure.

It's months out to coordinate this event.

And as we were approaching the end of 2020, it just, it made more sense to not do it in 2021.

It was sorely missed, but in 2022, we came back and people sure made up for it.

They were very anxious to be out and doing something a little different.

And it did affect us as far as having a few less vendors where we normally would, but no one loses a spot.

I mean, we're not holding that against anyone.

It's like everyone has their own concerns and issues, and absolutely respect that.

And they still have their spot available next year when we do the show.

Which we will do the show.

(gentle music) I heard from so many vendors, what a record year kind of thing it was for them.

So there were people that were itching to buy.

And I think a big part of that maybe was because of COVID.

People being locked up and adding to their collections, spending more time online, building their collections, but still being a few pieces short, it's like they were real passionate and wanting to get out there and finish up that collection they've been working on for the last year while they were cooped up.

I mean, it's a, a grail piece, it's the find, and it just depends on the individual what that might be.

As a coordinator of the event, I have the opportunity to get sneak peaks of things as people are setting up their tables and that kind of thing.

And I'm always on the hunt.

And the big part for me is, you know, I sell out there too, but firstly I'm taking care of the guys and the other vendors.

It's secondary.

But this year I was on for the simplest little thing, either it's a very small train or a very small bus, a little micro thing, and it's for a pinball machine I'm working on.

And it's, but at the end of the day, at the end of the weekend, I found my little bus.

And nothing could make me happier.

So the holy grail is just what you're looking for that time.

The rough part for me is not going home with more stuff than I came with, because there's so many unique things and it's... We will have a Facebook page this year, as far as finding out more about that.

Also the Northbridge mall website is a great way to keep track of it.

The management and ownership out there at that mall have been a big integral part in us being able to do this for so many years and making it so easy and accommodating for us to do it.

We would take over their mall for a weekend.

And though they've always bend over backwards.

But they always have information on their website.

We will have a Facebook page this year.

And we do local radio promotions and flyers and inserts in the papers and stuff like that too as we get closer to the show.

The way people have been able to remember it for 30 years without hesitation is it's always been Super Bowl weekend.

And that's one of the things, when I took over 10 years ago, be, oh, maybe you should change the dates.

It's like, no, no, no.

It's like, Don Gross had a wonderful formula and it worked.

And I didn't want to change anything.

And so we stuck with those dates.

And as fate would have it now, the NFL has changed the Super Bowl.

They've moved that back a week.

And I hear it was because they were losing viewership because of our toy show.

So, you know, we're running with that.

But it's always the first weekend of February.

So there we are.

Fun way to build your collection and meet like-minded people.

Toy people love to talk about their toys.

They love to talk about their collection.

And whether you buy or not, and sell, trade, people bring in things all the time.

Hey, we had this in the attic, we had this in the garage.

There's guys out there, if they had similar type things on their table, ask them.

More often than not they're like, "Hey, I'll give you a couple bucks for that."

Or, "Talk to that guy down there, he knows more about that than I do."

These guys are a wealth of information and they share.

And it's a good way to learn more about your collection.

Even if you don't plan on purchasing, get out there and talk to people.

- It certainly was a fun experience and worth checking out.

if you're into farm toys and collectibles.

Thank you to Larry Hodgson for taking time to talk to us.

(upbeat music) - [Male Announcer] Farm Connections Best Practices brought to you by.

- Hello.

My name is Ethan Ley, and I am a graduate research assistant in the department of agronomy and plant genetics at the University of Minnesota, and will be presenting today's best practices segment.

Today's topic is how to address risks to cover crop establishment when using residual herbicides for annual weed control.

When using any herbicide, using a reduced rate is not recommended.

Reduced rates can result in reduced weed control while increasing the selection for herbicide resistant weeds.

And you can still injure a cover crop.

Also when planting a cover crop to be used for feed or forage, you must follow any restrictions listed on the herbicide label as the cover crop will be entering the food and feed chain.

Research has been conducted in several states that demonstrates the potential for herbicides to impact cover crop establishment and growth.

To help address this concern in Minnesota, the University of Minnesota conducted research looking at the trade offs between using residual herbicides for weed control and integrating cover crops into a corn and soybean system at three Minnesota locations from 2019 to 2021.

Since waterhemp is one of the main weed challenges for many farmers across the state, herbicides with residual activity on waterhemp were selected for this experiment.

Resicore, Verdict, Outlook, and Outlook followed by Outlook 30 days later were applied in the spring and compared to a control with no residual herbicide.

The cover crops evaluated were Red Clover at 12 pounds per acre, Camelina at 10 pounds per acre, and Cereal Rye at 60 pounds per acre, which were all seeded by a drill in the fall after simulated corn silage harvest.

Establishment of Red Clover was poor across all treatments for both years, so are only shown for Camelina and Cereal Rye.

In these trials, the herbicides evaluated did not have any impact on Cereal Rye and Camelina spring biomass production.

This is encouraging as it shows the potential to use residual herbicides that provide effective waterhemp control and seeded cover crop in the fall.

It is important to note that this is based on only six site years worth of data.

We could not evaluate all possible weather and soil scenarios, and there is also a risk of poor/no establishment if you do not follow warnings or restrictions on the herbicide label.

Individual results are expected to vary based on these factors.

Planting in more tolerant cover crops, such as cereal rye in the fall, poses less risk for injury when a residual herbicide is used in the spring.

Then interseeding a cover crop in the spring, or planting a mix that contains potentially sensitive species.

Once again, using a reduced rate of an herbicide is not recommended.

Reduced rates can result in reduced weed control while increasing the selection for herbicide resistant weeds.

And you can still injure a sensitive cover crop.

Cover crops can provide many soil health benefits and be a food/feed source for livestock.

Using a robust weed management program that tackles your biggest weed challenges even while planting a cover crop will help ensure long-term successes in your co cropping system.

Thank you for watching today's best practices segment.

Again, I am Ethan Ley, a graduate research assistant in the department of agronomy and plant genetics at the University of Minnesota.

(upbeat music) - Welcome to Farm Connections.

We have Chris Hahn from CEDA with us today.

Welcome Chris.

- Hey Dan, how you doing?

- Good.

You had a great ag summit.

What's that all about and why'd you do it?

- Well, first and foremost, we can't do it without our sponsors.

So F and M bank is a sponsor here, as is the SMIF foundation, Southern Minnesota initiative foundation.

My Energy, Dairyland Power, My Broadband, were all critical in getting this put together for us.

So it's really a team effort here.

I was coordinating, but we had a lot of support doing it.

So I appreciate that.

- Well, you did a great job.

- Well, thanks.

We're very fortunate to have some great speakers today.

You know, it's so important right now to reach out to our rural families.

We're coming outta COVID the last two years.

This is really over two years in the making.

We tried to have this in March of 2020, and we were told about a month out that we couldn't have it because of COVID 19.

So a lot of the presenters were still on board from then to do this again, a lot of our sponsors and presenting partners were also on board with it.

So it's a great time to do it.

Spring is around the corner and it's a perfect time for people that aren't in the fields yet, that have some time, to really address and learn about some of these issues.

- Well, it appears that you put entrepreneurship and agriculture front and center in the summit.

Why is that important, especially in this region?

- Well, if you look at Fillmore county, as something like 38% of our farms are under 50 acres.

So that's the small family farm.

And then you saw some of the presentations today, they talked about the family aspect of it.

These are generational properties, and these are people that are working really, really hard and don't have a lot of time to necessarily seek out resources or find resources that can help them be by better at what they do and offer some relief to some of the challenges that they have.

- Well, Chris, speaking to that, you represent CEDA, what does that mean and what's available through CEDA?

- So CEDA's an acronym for Community and Economic Development Associates.

And what we like to say is we help small towns do big things.

So what we do is, in our role, we help small communities.

In this case, Fillmore county.

So it's a little bit larger at the county level, but we reach out to those communities and make sure they have the resources to develop their economies, to give them resources, to help them grow and really offer them things such as grant funding loans and connect them to those types of resources.

- Important things.

Do you have a place where we could go, like a website?

- Yeah, CEDAusa.com is the website for CEDA.

So check it out.

There's a lot of great things on there.

And the nice thing is we're a team of over 35 people that serve throughout Southeastern Minnesota and some Southwestern Minnesota.

So with that, you know, we're kind of a collective, so to speak.

So we have the combined strength of all of us in different roles, in different areas.

- What's your greatest hope from today's summit?

- Really the hope for today is that somebody at this conference or some of these people attending this conference got something they can take home and look at and assess and uses a tool, or share a resource with somebody else.

Some of the comments in the audience where, this is information, how do I share it with somebody I may know?

Or how do I share it with a family member who may not be cognizant or willing to address certain things?

So I think that's important.

I think the more we talk about these issues and the more that we present resources for these people and these farm families, the stronger the communities will be.

- And thank you for putting it together, great information.

- Well, it's team effort.

We're happy to do it.

Thanks.

- Stay tuned for more on Farm Connections.

(gentle music) - [Lynn] Pioneering research is underway at the Hormel Institute in Austin, Minnesota, focusing on whether the emissions from compounds added to gasoline to boost octane cause cancer.

This multi-phase research project is looking for insights into the carcinogenic potential of aromatics.

Petroleum refiners add aromatic compounds like benzine and xylene to increase the octane rating in gasoline.

But these compounds can be toxic.

- It is looking at a connection between aromatics that are added to gasoline, that what we are looking for is carcinogenic effects and epigenetic effects from those aromatics.

- [Lynn] The research will focus on epigenome mutations that silence genes that protect people from cancer.

About five years ago, Hormel Institute began working with the ethanol industry to see what compounds in gasoline might be carcinogenic.

Review of research led Hormel Institute researchers to hypothesize that aromatics in gasoline are understudied and may have carcinogenic effects.

Aromatics could be replaced by ethanol, which also boost octane.

- Are these compounds carcinogenic, and can we, by instead using ethanol added to gasoline, reduce these cancer promotion compounds?

- But we are gonna look if they actually cause epigenetic changes that are more subtle, but they might be the ones that when those happen first, then that leads to the cancer initiation.

And that hasn't been studied very much.

- [Lynn] Minnesota corn is one of more than a dozen entities supporting the research to see if ethanol provides a safer alternative to aromatic compounds.

- We are concerned about the environment and the environment, especially in areas, urban areas where there's more traffic, more vehicles, more fuel consumed in a denser space, places where those aromatics in the fuel are gonna be more concentrated.

And of course, we are interested in it because if there is a negative health effect from aromatics, we can easily replace those in the fuel supply with ethanol.

- [Lynn] The multi-phase research is just getting underway and results aren't expected for some time.

But the outcomes could yield some vital new information.

This is Lynn Ketelsen reporting.

(soft music) - It's great to be back.

We're excited for another season of visiting with our local farmers and entrepreneurs.

And we look forward to bringing you their stories.

I'm Dan Hoffman, thanks for watching Farm Connections.

(upbeat music) (crowd chattering) (crowd chattering) (bright music)