(upbeat music) - Hello and welcome to this episode of Farm Connections.

I'm your host, Dan Hoffman.

On today's episode, we discuss the issues affecting Minnesota farmers with Congressman Jim Hagedorn.

We talk to Virginia Bisson and about her time with the Minnesota Farm Bureau and the 4-H Program, and the University of Minnesota Extension provides us with a new best practices segment.

All here today on Farm Connections.

(country music) - [Narrator 1] Welcome to Farm Connections with your host Dan Hoffman.

- [Narrator 2] Farm Connections made possible in part by - [Narrator 1] AbsoluteEnergy, a locally owned facility, produces 125 million gallons of ethanol annually, proudly supporting local economies in Iowa and Minnesota.

AbsoluteEnergy, adding value to the neighborhood.

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.

- With me is Representative Hagedorn.

Welcome.

- Hey, nice to be with you.

- Isn't it great?

- I'll tell you, it's a beautiful day.

That's for sure.

- The crops look good.

- Beautiful farm.

- Beautiful farm.

- Yeah.

- What else impresses you about Southern Minnesota, sir?

- Well, I'll tell you what, this is like the epitome of agriculture right here.

Got a beautiful farm, terrific crops, animals for the kids to check out, there's tractors that have been restored.

They're just unbelievable.

And these folks are hard workers and they've built up a nice enterprise and what I'm all about, and I'm trying to make sure that we sustain our farmers and our agribusiness 'cause that's very important.

- But not only is our state and our nation at risk if we don't, so are our local farmers, and so are we.

- You got that right.

I think people take it for granted.

They go into the grocery store, full of, you know, an array of products at affordable prices.

It's unbelievable.

And we could lose that and we have to protect it and keep nurturing our farmers and agribusinesses and support them as best we can.

Well, Representative Hagedorn, We have the luxury of deciding what food product to eat.

Not do we have something to eat or not?

That's exactly right, you know, and our farmers, they feed the world, not just us, but more leftover.

That's why we have to find markets and they can export those goods and keep sustaining agriculture.

But I think that we're just very blessed in America and maybe last year with COVID where there were some shortages from time to time, help people realize just how lucky we are and fortunate to have this system of production agriculture, with these incredible farmers, and then to be able to enjoy that each and every day, - Well said.

How do we work with policy, Washington, and our farmers to sustain that?

- You know, part of it is just good government policies.

I think, you know, when we have tax policies that work, especially allowing generational farmers to take their farm from one to the next and keep those things.

This farm could have been in play here for a hundred years.

I'm gonna to have to ask the owner and we'll see what we're doing.

But a lot of them in Southern Minnesota been in family hands for many, many generations.

Have to have a regulatory policy that makes sense, you know, we don't want onerous regulations like waters of the United States on our farmers.

We want to let them go out there and farm.

Energy policies, you know, and we have lower cost energy that helps the farmers meet their bottom line and it keeps the price of the food in the grocery stores lower and then trade policies like USMCA, which I supported, I mean, and let's export and let's open things up, but make it fair for not just the folks around the world, but our workers and our consumers and producers here in America.

- Well, you mentioned energy.

We're in the, about the middle of 500 wind turbines.

Is that lost on you as you came to the farm?

- No, and then we have solar here and wind and everything else.

And of course, ethanol and biodiesel, which in Southern Minnesota, we have 11 ethanol plants and two biodiesel.

So we're doing a lot in order to contribute, to reducing carbon emissions and those types of things.

But we have to keep in mind that energy independence is very important and it's going to make us reliant for a long, long time on other things like oil and gas and nuclear and hydro and whatever else we can use to produce our fuel and our electricity.

And all of the above approach is what I support.

- We certainly have benefited from policy from Washington and also St. Paul, when it came to ethanol and wind incentives.

How do we maintain that?

Can we move to 30% blends?

- You know, I'm somebody who wanted E15 when it happened.

I think we should do more in order to market that.

Minnesota, Iowa, other states have been pretty good leaders in that area.

Biodiesel, Minnesota has been probably the leader in the country.

And I think there can be a, obviously we can move forward in those areas.

Some of it, the market has to continue to catch up as it has, especially in the ethanol industry.

We've seen lots of uses now for the by-product, if you want to put it that way.

And a bushel of corn is worth more on the way out than it was on the way in when you put it to ethanol plant.

So it's quite something.

I think people have an appetite for it and will utilize those products, but they'd probably have to be marketed a little bit better.

- Well, let's keep working on it, right?

- I think so, the corn growers and the soybean growers would definitely agree with you and I agree too.

- We're standing in the heart of rural Minnesota.

We're standing in the middle of almost of a corn field.

What can you tell the farmers who are so important to our economy, that DC, and you are doing to help them out?

- Well, I think actually this is one area in bipartisan fashion where we're really working together.

We want everybody to be connected to the internet, the rural broadband has to get done.

The agriculture committee that I serve on, I think both Republicans and Democrats are working that way.

We just had a hearing on this in small business committee the other day and I serve on that one too.

So same opportunities make sure that the life in rural areas is the same quality or high level so we can not just retain the folks that are here, but attract them in and then be able to sustain those small businesses, the farmers that really make the cities work, our schools and rural hospitals.

So that's what I'm working on.

I think a lot of us are joining together and we want to see our rural communities as vibrant as possible.

I grew up in Truman, just on a farm, just outside of Truman out of a thousand people over in Martin County and my dad and grandfather, great-grandfather were all Southern Minnesota farmers.

So I have an appreciation for farming and agriculture and then the rural living, which is very important.

- Well all around us is a lawn teeming with young people so we have a lot at stake.

- Well we do, and we'd like to see it where young people might go to college or vocational school and stay right here in Southern Minnesota.

So maybe more ag school opportunities and things of that nature.

We're going to work towards that.

But there is a lot of talent that unfortunately leaves rural America and heads for the big cities.

We'll see what we can do to retain that talent here moving forward.

- Excellent.

Well said.

Any advice to the farmers as they mature, how to move that farm to the next generation?

- Well, first of all, we have to have policies that make sense in Washington and St. Paul.

You know, right now they're looking at reinstating kind of a new death tax with capital gains changes, a stepped up basis changes.

That wouldn't be good for our generational farmers or our small businesses.

So I'm opposing that and hoping we can come to some agreement that that wouldn't be the right thing to do.

But the farmers work hard.

They deserve to be able to pass along what they've done to their next generation.

There's a lot of pride in farming and to make sure that that stays in the family.

So we have to do everything we can.

It's hard enough to work and make a living and hang on to things, but I always say, you know, when it comes to the death tax, we understand in life there's going to be death and taxes, but they shouldn't be in that order.

That's the way I look at it.

- Thanks for the work you do to represent us in rural Minnesota.

- Oh, you're very kind.

It's nice to be with you today.

Thank you.

- Thank you.

Stay tuned for more on Farm Connections.

- [Narrator 1] Farm Connections, best practices brought to you by.

- Plant tissue sampling is one tool in the toolbox to help you diagnose nutrient deficiencies within your field.

My name is Daniel Kaiser, extension nutrient management specialist with the university of Minnesota.

In today's Best Practices segment, we're going to be discussing plant tissue sampling.

When I go out and sample in the field, what I like to remember is the where, the when and the how of plant tissue sampling.

First is the where.

It's important to have a plan of where to collect samples within your field.

A few areas to avoid are areas where the plants may be diseased or dying, areas of the field with too much or too little water, and also areas of the field close to the road that may be affected by dust and debris blowing off a gravel road.

A little planning can go a long way to getting the best results out of your tissue sampling and the effort you're putting into sampling your field.

One thing that I like to remember is that when sampling a field, it's always best to sample the good, the bad and the ugly to get comparative results that help make decisions on what should be done for future planning and potential fertilizer applications within your field.

Second is when.

It's important to know when is the optimal time for collecting tissue samples within your field.

For most crops, the optimal time will range from early June, till mid July when the crop is actively growing, but prior to seed formation.

One thing that's tied to the timing of sampling is sampling the specific plant part.

So it's always good to check with your lab before you head to the field to know which part to sample based on the current growth stage of your crop.

Lastly is the how.

How to handle your samples once they're collected from the field to ensure that the samples do not deteriorate to the point at which the results will give you inaccurate representation of what's happening within your field.

One thing that I like to take along with me are paper bags, not plastic bags, because they allow for drying of the sample as that sample is sitting after collection.

If the sample cannot be submitted immediately to the lab, you may want to dry the sample to ensure that the plant sample doesn't mold over time, which may impact the results.

It's always best to check with your lab prior to collecting the samples, to know how they want the sample collected and how they want it handled handled prior to submission.

The other thing to remember is that in most cases, it's best to also collect soil samples along with your plant samples, that will help you determine what to do for the future because plant samples alone should not be your only tool for determining what fertilizer needs to be applied and when in your fields.

Remembering the where, the when and the how is important when collecting tissue samples, My name is Daniel Kaiser, and this has been today's best practices segment.

- Welcome to Farm Connections where it's breakfast on the farm in rural Mower County, Southern Minnesota.

With me is Virginia Bisson.

Welcome, Virginia.

- Thank you, Dan.

- There's a lot of excitement here.

What's going on?

- Well, what's going on?

We are at our 14th annual Mower County Breakfast on the Farm, off to Jim and Connie Sathre's.

We couldn't have picked a more beautiful day for this celebration.

- I agree with you, but as I was coming out to the farm, I thought if it started raining and rained all day, I bet there'd still be a lot of happy people here.

- I think there would be and I think they'd probably run out in the rain they'd be so happy to see the rain, but we're gonna to get rain tomorrow.

- I hope so.

- I do too.

- Just like farmers sustain you and me, rain sustains our farms, right?

- That is correct.

- Unless we get too much.

- Unless we get too much, but sometimes I think maybe too much is better than too little.

- Well, stay tuned.

It's Minnesota.

And I think we'll get rain.

- I think we will get rain.

- There must be a tremendous amount of work to put something like this on.

- Yes, there is a lot of work and sometimes you wonder if it's worth it, but then when the day comes, we really see that yes, it is worth it.

We actually start planning the breakfast in March because we have to get things lined up before the farmers get in the field so we're not trying to at last minute, get everything lined up for this event.

- Well, there's certainly some excitement and there's multi-generational.

I don't know how you could have done any better.

- Thank you.

I appreciate the compliment and I know our board will too.

- Well, you have a long history in agriculture in Southern Minnesota and the upper Midwest.

How did it all start?

- Well, actually I grew up on a farm and I'm still on the farm where I did grow up.

And well, I grew up on that farm and went on for a job.

I worked at Hormel Foods for 40 years so actually I think I understand both sides of agriculture, the actual farming and also getting food ready for the consumer.

And when I retired from my job, then it was time for me to find some volunteer things 'cause I really didn't have time to do much volunteering when I was working.

And Larry Larson nabbed me one day and asked me about Farm Bureau.

And before you knew it, I was secretary/treasurer of the Mower County Farm Bureau and I've done that job now for about 15 years.

- Well, you must've been a pioneer.

Our gals have always worked hard on the farm.

They've always worked hard off the farm, but not always did they have jobs in town.

So you must've been kind of a pioneer in those days.

- Well, I was, I guess, but knowledge, if you look at it, most of them have jobs in town that are on the farm, you know, and it's good to learn both sides of the industry.

Like I say, the actual farming and also getting food ready for the consumer.

- So at Hormel Foods, what did you do?

- At Hormel Foods, I actually started in the credit department, which is the accounts receivable.

Then I moved into the law department in 1977, I believe it was, and started working as a secretary and then actually worked my way up into being a paralegal.

So I guess I probably was the first paralegal that Hormel Foods had, and that was before that was really a college course.

Now they have four years of college to be a paralegal, but I managed.

- Like I said, pioneer, Virginia.

- Yes.

Yes, I guess so.

- I'm pretty convinced that some of our Southern Minnesota corporations and businesses would not be as successful as they are without farm people that they've had for a labor force.

What's your thought?

- Oh, that is my thought.

You can actually tell, I believe, the workers that come from the country.

They've learned the work, back in my generation, as a young child.

We didn't have all the other activities.

Farming was our life and we enjoyed that kind of life and grew up with it as a family and I believe we enjoyed that kind of work.

Not really realizing it was work.

It was fun.

And I believe, Dan, you would say that too, growing up on a farm.

- Absolutely.

- Yes.

- Actually only a few miles from where we're standing.

- Yup.

That's right.

Yup.

Yup.

And I've only a few miles from where I'm standing too so.

- Well, that's part of what's important and interesting about agriculturists.

We're really connected to the soil, aren't we?

- Yes we are, yes.

- So is that part of the reason you give back with this activity is your heritage and your love of people and the farm?

.

Yes, and I believe, too, that we need to teach more people about agriculture because as we go on, there's less people connected with agriculture, more people that we need to teach about agriculture and how can we do it better than having an event like this, where we have all ages come out to the farm to look at the beautiful farm that this is, the machinery, all the fun they can have on the farm.

And if you look around today, you don't see anybody playing on their little phones.

They're all enjoying themselves and that's great.

And another thing too, we need to teach people where food comes from.

You go to the grocery store and what are you going to buy that didn't start at a farm?

I don't care if it was a tree farm, a corn, hogs, whatever you want to call it, it comes from a farm.

It's like building a house.

If you don't have a good foundation, your house isn't going to stand very long.

If we don't have farmers, you're not gonna have food to eat.

So we take our choice.

We will continue to try to improve on agriculture so we can feed the world and hopefully teach people where their food comes from.

- And I noticed that as people moved towards the food and as they got fed, they even were happier.

- Yes, yes.

People are always happier when they're fed.

But you know, one thing, about it with breakfast on the farm, some of the little kids they don't want to eat.

They'd rather be out with all the activities because they don't have an opportunity like this every day to be petting all the animals, ridin' the little pedal tractors, jumpin' in the bounce house, whatever you call it, we've got it here.

- You certainly do.

And one of the activities is a photo contest.

How'd that start and what is it?

- Okay.

Photo contest.

We're lucky with this breakfast on the farm that the FFA groups and the 4-H come out and help us along with the other commodity organizations.

Otherwise we would have a hard time getting all this work done.

So a few years ago we got visiting and I said, you know, how about if we sponsor a photo contest for the youngsters in 4-H that are in photography?

They come out, they take their favorite farm pictures, submit 'em to the fair and we give prizes.

But then we also added, maybe some youngsters don't have the opportunity to come out today, but you still take your favorite farm picture and enter it in the fair.

And it has proved to be a very successful contest.

In fact, the pictures that I've seen, we sure can make some cute calendars of all the animals and machinery and different things that these youngsters come up with, so I'm real happy that we started this contest.

- It is a good contest.

- Yes.

- And Virginia, here's my challenge and encouragement for you.

I want you to take that idea, find an apprentice and put that gal or guy in charge of the calendar.

- That's a good idea.

We'll see what happens then.

I'll put it to the board and see what they say.

- I will look for it.

- Okay.

- Put me on the list to buy one of the first ones, okay?

- Okay, will do, okay.

- Could be a good fundraiser.

- Yes, it could be, Dan.

So can you give an example of some of the award winners in the past, what they took pictures of?

- Okay, one picture was somebody took a picture of a cat way up in the rafters of the barn, looking down.

Some just took scenery pictures of the sun setting.

Some took the animals out grazing in the field.

It's like I say, everything imaginable, they can come up with with a picture, probably things that you and I would never even think of, but a youngster will think of.

And that really makes me happy to see all the creativity of these young folks in 4-H. - Well, I think you said it well, when you can take a digital picture, which doesn't cost too much, is good for the environment.

We don't have film to throw away or to process or chemicals in that case, and it causes that child or that young person to think about what they're doing, what it means, how it interacts with their life, that's very meaningful, good job.

- [Virginia] Yes, yes.

- So how do we get involved in this contest?

- Okay, you need to be a 4-H member in Mower County.

You need to be enrolled in photography.

And then after that you can enter this special contest sponsored by the Mower County Farm Bureau.

- Is there a website that our viewers can go to or somebody they can call?

- Well, they can call the local 4-H office or they can look on the website of the 4-H and get the information off of there.

They should be able to.

And as far as enrolling in 4-H, contact the Mower County extension office about enrolling your youngster in the 4-H program and participate and the different programs, as well as the Mower County fair.

- In any county that you're in as a viewer, there's probably someone they can contact about being in a 4-H group.

- Yes, yes there is, all over the state of Minnesota.

- And of course the Austin or Mower County fair comes up in August so they can look for the pictures there, correct?

- Yes, they can, yes.

Go into the 4-H building and there's a special section for those pictures.

- Awesome.

- Yes, yes.

- Virginia, thanks so much.

- Thank you.

Thanks for interviewing me and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day.

- We will.

- Okay.

- Stay tuned for more on Farm Connections.

- The hill is bare now.

Only the greenest of grasses and the yellowest of dandelions occupy that wide empty space.

Space where the barn once sat, the pride of the farm.

But if you're really quiet, you can almost hear it's milking time.

The rhythm of the milkers, each cow in turn waiting, waiting to let down her milk as, as she chews on an ear of corn and gobbles up a scoop of silage.

Across from the stanchions, Jimmy's favorite cow Maxine is giving birth.

And for just one moment, our world stands still until Dad says, "It's a heifer!"

And we're so excited, we hug each other and we dance.

This, this little heifer will someday take her place in the stanchions beside her Holstein sisters and her milk too will go to pay for the expenses on our little farm.

In a pen nearby, a tiny little pink pig is born.

The runt of the litter, it struggles.

It struggles to reach food.

It finally gives up.

Dad very quietly slips over the partition into the pen and just as he gets a hold of that little pink pig, the seemingly sleeping sow jumps up to attack.

He gets out.

He gets out thankfully with the only bad thing happening a tear in the leg of this overall.

He escaped.

In the next pen, a more docile mother accepts the hungry little one as her own.

Big black-and-white cat climbs climbs the ladder to the haymow clutching a fresh catch in her teeth to feed her hungry ones.

And just as she gets to the top rung.

all the pigeons in the haymow fly in every direction, warning each other, "Get out of her way, That cat eats mice, she'll eat us too."

Milking time over.

Dad throws the filter from the cream separator out to our eagerly awaiting black lab, German shepherd, Laddie.

And life in the barn goes on to give life to the farm.

- Policies and administrations much like the seasons change as time goes by.

Remembering that most of it is temporary helps us to weather the good and the bad.

I'm Dan Hoffman.

Thank you for watching Farm Connections.

(upbeat music)