(bright music) - Hello and welcome to "Farm Connections."

I'm your host, Dan Hoffman.

On today's program, we learn about the Wasioja Seminary and its place in Civil War history, as well as the impact that history had on the surrounding community.

We travel to Rochester to talk about farming mushrooms with Jeremy Herdrich, and the University of Minnesota Extension provides us a "Best Practices" segment, all here today on "Farm Connections."

(lively folk music) - [Announcer] Welcome to "Farm Connections" with your host Dan Hoffman.

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(lively folk music) (lively folk music continues) (lively folk music continues) - Welcome to "Farm Connections."

I'm with Jim Checkel in Wasioja located in Dodge County, Minnesota.

Jim, thanks for having us here.

- It's good to see you again, Dan.

- It is!

You know, you're involved in a lot of projects and many of them call on leadership in special ways.

What's this project all about and why is it important?

- So this is the Wasioja Seminary, and this is the recruiting.

This is where they recruited students to come down to fight in the Civil War.

And so it's important because we need to keep this history alive to show what happens to a town that dies basically.

- Well, there's an amazing history.

Can you take us back to why this happened in this spot?

- Sure, so Wasioja is actually the name Wasioja, depends on who you ask, but it's a Native term that means a cluster of pine trees.

And so the Natives actually use this area for an encampment, and down along the river, they use that during the winter as kind of a place to stay warm.

As the settlers came through, they found that there was limestone here.

There was a very high quality limestone that could be used for construction of buildings, such as the foundation for St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester, the courthouse in Manorville and some of the other buildings around here, such as the building we're standing by today.

And so when they came to this area, the Baptist church came here, and at that time, Minnesota was not a state yet, and Minnesota did not have public education.

So the churches did an education program where they would take students and teach 'em things like Greek and Latin and math and writing and things like that.

So this building was constructed by the Free Baptist in 1858.

And when they constructed this building, they had 300 students in here, and most of the students were farm kids who grew up around this area.

There was actually a boarding house down the street a few blocks where people who had to stay overnight would live in the boarding house.

And over to the side is an area that there's still part of the foundation that was the stable where kids would ride horses to school from their farms or ride back home to do chores and things like that.

- Jim, where did the settlers come from to this area?

- So a lot of the settlers came from Pennsylvania and New York, so New England.

And this was the shining spot on the hill.

This was the destination to come to.

Wasioja was going to be the biggest city in Minnesota.

And it was actually larger than Rochester.

And this is a place where if you were anybody, you wanted to go to Wasioja.

- Well, the river doesn't look big enough to navigate.

So there's another trail on the north side of this site.

What was that?

- So there was the stagecoach trail, and the stagecoach actually went from Winona to Mankato and then up another branch of it up to the cities.

And so we're actually just a few hundred feet away now from where the actual stagecoach trail went, and it weaved through, every so many miles, they'd have to stop and change horses.

So you'd have about every two miles, there'd be a stop.

And so they would exchange the horses, and then they would travel, you know, 10, 12 miles, 15 miles or whatever in a day.

Well then they needed a place to stay overnight.

And Wasioja happened to be far enough away that it was actually a stop on the stagecoach trail, and there were hotels and the grocery store and stuff here in addition to the other residents that lived here.

- Well, something changed.

The vision was here, the resources were here, the people were here.

What changed, and why is this now in ruins?

- The Civil War.

And so Minnesota was the first state to dedicate troops to fight in the Civil War.

And I believe it was Governor Ramsey was out in Washington DC, and he pledged troops.

The telegraphed back to or contacted back to Minnesota and said, "We need troops."

And there was Colonel James George was a lawyer about two blocks away from here.

And Colonel George said, "Hey, I've got a school full of young boys who will be willing to fight."

So he and the teachers came over, and they encouraged the boys to march down to his law office and sign up and become soldiers because they would be able to beat the south in six months or so and be able to come back and farm and do the things necessary with their families and start families in the area.

Out of the 80 students who went down there, I believe it was 25 of them were the only ones that came back.

Some didn't come back 'cause they decided to live down in, you know, another area or whatever.

But out of the 85, we lost, you know, two thirds of the students.

- From 80 to 25 is a large, large loss.

How did that impact the community going forward from that time?

- So the people that went down there were people that were the young future leaders of this region.

And so you had people that they were no longer able to help on their family farms.

They were no longer able to be bankers and lawyers and work in the mines and do things like that.

And so what ended up happening was this area just basically started in a very fast decline, and then in about 1910 or so, they came out with a product called cement.

And when they came out with cement, that was about the time that they no longer needed to harvest the limestone blocks.

And plus you were also getting to the point where some of the quarries were being mined out.

So the quality of the limestone was decreasing.

- What was the approximate age of most of those students?

- Well, the youngest ones would've been like 5, 6 years old.

And then it went up to, I believe, 16 or 18.

- So some of the older kids, students that went away, they probably never had families.

So you took part of the population away and the growth possibilities away.

- Correct.

- Oh, wow.

- Yeah, and so it's very interesting that this town went from going to be the shining, you know, the major town in the state of Minnesota.

They had great big parks and waterfalls and all kinds of things dedicated or designed to put in around here.

And the streets were all set up, you know, for future expansion.

And then in basically about 10 to 15 years, it was gone, or it was down to just a couple people.

- The seminary started with Baptists, but it went through some changes over time.

Can you detail some of those?

- Yeah, so the church, when they lost a number of students, they were no longer able to keep the school going.

And so after a few years with not having enough students anymore, it closed.

And then there were a couple other groups came in and tried to make a school out of it too.

But about that time, they started public education in the state of Minnesota, and you could get free public education at the school down the street here a little ways, or you would have to pay to go to the seminary.

And at that time, again, many of the families, about 80% of the families or 90% of the families were farm families that didn't really have a lot of money to be sending their son or, you know, one of their kids to the school.

And part of it too was because of the labor shortage of the Civil War, they also had to work in the mines or work in farms and things like that too.

So you were competing on the school level, and you were competing on the industry level in the area.

- So what happened after that Baptist delegation?

- So there's a couple other church groups come in and tried to make a school out of it but weren't successful.

And then there was a possibility that it was a factory for a while.

And so in 1905, the school actually burned down.

And so then we ended up with the ruins that we have here today, and the ruins have, if you look at pictures of the ruins from 1910, 1920, you'll see that some of the things have been gradually, you know, pieces have been falling off and everything.

- [Dan] Freeze thaw in Minnesota does bad things, plus wind, right?

- Yeah, and we also had, until a few years ago, this whole area in here was full of trees and brush and everything, and so that was constantly shaded.

And so you always had, the stones were always damp.

And so there was a group came in here in 2012, I believe it was, where we came in here, and we came in, and they had draft horses, and they had all kinds of stuff, and they pulled dozens and dozens of trees down.

We had everything cabled, so we didn't drop the trees onto the ruins, and they were all removed from here.

And then it was re-landscaped.

There's a officer's ring behind you there where there's trees planted, and most of those were dead, so they were brought down.

And so the whole area was cleaned up to try to get where there was more sun coming in on the ruins to keep it, help stabilize it.

- What's the plan going forward?

- The plan going forward is to stabilize this.

And so we actually have a proposal now before the state legislature to get the building stabilized, but right now, it looks like there's a very good chance we'll get the funding.

Last year, we did not get the funding because they didn't pass the bonding bill.

And there had been thought of dropping it, but it's like, no, we're not going to drop this project.

We've done the work, we've got all the information, we've got it up to the state legislature, let's get support from our senators and representatives.

And the Senate came down here and did a bonding bill proposal about a year and a half ago.

And when they came down, and none of them, well almost none of them had ever even heard of this.

And so then it was, well, of course, we're going to fund this.

This is a very historic significant site.

Governor Walsh brings people down here.

And when he was a representative, and now he's a governor, he brings people down here.

And his comment was that he believes this is the second most historically significant site in Minnesota after Fort Snelling.

- That's an amazing comment.

- Yes, it is.

- You mentioned the Civil War and why it's important to preserve this piece.

Can you expand on that any?

- Yeah, the thing that is very important is right now there's a lot of divisiveness in this country, and although we've gone through the Civil War, and there's talk of possibly another civil war, we don't want another civil war.

If we have another civil war, we're going to end up with millions of people being killed.

We're going to end up with all kinds of issues, economic issues, things like that.

A civil war is something we absolutely do not want to have again.

And this is proof of what can happen to a community when you have a civil war.

- Jim, good luck on the project.

- Well, thank you.

- And thanks for telling about it and letting us see it.

- Yeah, thank you for coming.

- Stay tuned for more on "Farm Connections."

- [Announcer] "Farm Connections: Best Practices" brought to you by Absolute Energy.

(lively folk music) - I'm Ryan Miller, and this is today's "Best Practices" segment.

We're gonna talk a little bit about soybean herbicide selections when we get into late June and in early July, things to consider.

So for example, if we have glyphosate-resistant water hemp, we may have chosen a dicamba soybean or an Enlist soybean or perhaps a LibertyLink soybean.

And so then that's gonna really kind of dictate what post emergent chemistries we're gonna be able to use in terms of managing emerged wheat.

So some things then that have to be considered as we get later into the calendar year, even though we've made these choices and plans, one thing to think about is this drop dead date for dicamba applications over the top of soybeans.

That's currently June 30th.

And so after that date, we've gotta really changed direction with our program.

And so that's one of the first major considerations.

The thing to consider when we look at the field out here today and thinking about making a post emergence herbicide application, we've got a ways to go before the crop canopy is gonna close and shade out the soil and prevent some of those weeds from emerging that might be emerging late in the season.

Good example again, water hemp emerging late into the season.

So with that post emergence application, it's important to consider the use of a layered residual herbicide with that application to kind of carry us through to canopy closure, and it'll help prevent weeds from emerging during that time period after we've made that post emergence herbicide application.

Important again to mention here, to look at your label and follow the restrictions because sometimes there are limitations on what products can be used as a residual with your post emergence herbicide.

So something important again to key in on those labels and pay attention to.

All right, well that was today's best practices for late season soybean herbicide selection choices.

And I'm Ryan Miller, thank you.

(gentle music) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) - Welcome to "Farm Connections."

I'm Dan Hoffman, the host, and I'm with Jeremy Herdrich today in Rochester, Minnesota.

Welcome to our show.

- Ah, thanks Dan.

Pleasure to have you.

- And thank you for having us at your mushroom farm.

Tell us about this.

- I've got a small scale mushroom farm here in Rochester, Minnesota where I'm able to produce some high-end mushrooms so everybody's able to enjoy 'em with me.

- Well, I'm looking around saying something's going on all around us.

What is this?

- This is my inoculation colonizing room where I'm able to colonize these fruit bags here so we're able to propagate and have more mushrooms.

- [Dan] Well, something caused this to start, what was it?

- My love, my passion.

Came across mushroom growing whenever I helped start up a micro-green farm out of Rochester.

And I found the connection that mycorrhizae has with agriculture, and then it just started.

My love and passion with mushrooms has just been forever evolving.

And then that's where we kind of find myself here today in this downstairs lab of mushroom growing.

- Like that, lab, farm, growing and passion.

So usually there's a story behind the story, Jeremy.

We don't start where we are today, we start before that.

So maybe where did you grow up?

How did this come to be?

- Thanks, Dan.

Yeah, I've been very fortunate.

I grew up at the foothills of the Ozark Mountains in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and me and the family, we moved up here when I was 11 years old.

And ever since then, I've just been fully emerged in growing, growing your own food, and with that passion came the passion to be able to help other people, to give them that knowledge so that they can also too start producing their own food, and just keep on building the community.

And it's just been forever evolving.

Keeps on getting bigger and bigger.

- Well, you moved here when you were about 11?

- [Jeremy] Yes sir.

- And there was a time between 11 and now, what's happened during that time to bring you to today?

- Just always growing, always wanting to become a better mushroom grower, always reaching out and finding mentors that are willing to help me out in my journey and willing to help out others that are looking for it.

- No doubt there's some people in our audience that harvest mushrooms in the wild.

Any cautions?

- Absolutely.

There's a saying is, is that whenever it comes down to mushroom foraging, there's old mushroom hunters, and then there's bold mushroom hunters, but there's not old and bold, and there's that for a reason.

You know, you gotta know exactly what you're getting yourself involved.

Because we live in Minnesota, and we are in the mecca of area of being able to forage your own mushroom.

So if you're gonna do it, stick to the holy five.

- Which are?

- Ah, chanterelles, morels, oysters, maitake and chicken of the woods.

- So I'm gonna take a leap here.

- Yes sir.

- Thinking what you're saying is, if you're bold, you may not be old.

- (laughs) Yes, sir.

And if you're gonna forge, make sure you know what you're getting yourself involved in because there's some mushrooms that you won't be able to come back from, unfortunate.

- Thank you for that tip.

That's so important.

So we need always to have a reliable food source, and it looks like you're trying to be one of those.

- Thank you, I am trying to be able to fill the niche market here in Rochester, and I really think that a lot of people have to benefit from this process, we can all benefit from it.

- So far your customers are found where?

- For the most part, I started out at Rochester's Farmer's Market.

You can also too find me at the Rochester's other farmer's market held on Tuesday night at the History Center.

You'll be able to find my fresh mushrooms at the People's Co-op.

You're able to find my mushrooms at a couple of the local restaurants here in downtown Rochester.

Very fortunate to be able to work with like-minded people like that and being be able to bring mushrooms to Rochester.

- And I heard you reference fresh mushrooms.

- [Jeremy] Yes, sir.

- Is there something other than fresh mushrooms?

- Yes, sir, I do freeze-dried mushrooms, and I have mushroom seasoning.

I'm venturing out and doing grow kits, tinctures, you name it.

- Awesome answer.

I also think about mushrooms grown 2,000 miles away.

How can yours be fresher than them?

- Thank you for bringing that up.

I appreciate that, Dan.

We, as a mushroom grower, typically people try to, they get paid by weight.

I don't like that approach.

I like to harvest my mushrooms young when the texture and the taste and also too the shelf life is longer than harvesting 'em just for weight.

We can do better.

We can up the game as far as mushroom production goes.

- Great points.

And something that travels from thousands of miles away probably isn't as fresh, correct?

- [Jeremy] Correct.

- Also, if we're thinking about the environment, fuel and energy to transport it to us is a lot more than what you do, right?

- Correct, that's why we should support local business.

That's why our influence has more of an effect at the local level than it does at the bigger level.

- Let's start with that inoculation process and take it through the production cycle to actually consumption.

- It's pretty straightforward.

It's a process that I haven't had to invent.

It's an aria process that everybody can follow.

But yeah, it starts with a grain that I inoculate, and once that's inoculated, the whole premise is just expanding that.

So you're taking that grain, and you keep on expanding it out, and eventually you get to these fruiting bags, and once these fruiting bags are fully colonized, then it goes into a controlled fruiting chamber.

And then after a couple days, you'll get some amazing mushrooms with all sorts of different flavors, tastes, textures and smells.

- [Dan] Inoculation of spores.

- So you start off with a spore, and then you're inoculating the grain, or you can do it in a liquid culture, or you can do it in a nutrient-rich agar.

Again, there's a thousand ways to skin a cat.

Ultimately, we just want to get it to fruiting.

So everything has to be sterilized, the whole process.

- And once it begins to fruit, do you put in a grow chamber, a special place?

- Sorry, I do apologize.

Maybe I should be a little bit more specific.

- [Dan] You're doing great.

- Oh, appreciate it, thanks.

Yeah, every single step of its life has its own certain parameters that it thrives in.

We started off in this environment 'cause it's high CO2.

Once it's fully colonized the bag, then we put it in a completely different environment where it's oxygenated, it has a higher humidity, and it's also too exposed to light, which kicks off the mycelium into more of, what's it called?

Primordial growth, and that's when you see the actual fruiting of the mushroom itself.

- Does any of that happen in a controlled light and temperature?

- The fruiting, everything has its own parameters.

Whenever it's colonizing, you don't want it to have too much direct light.

Whenever it is in the fruiting conditions, the light is 24, or 12 on, 12 off, and it's got parameters of how much relative humidity it likes.

But again, this is that it's a process, and it's steps that anybody can follow.

- And I've noticed you filter some water or move some water through the system.

- Yes, sir.

Yep.

- [Dan] So why is that important?

- Again, trying to control the humidity that allows the mushrooms to grow.

- And comes the day of harvest.

- Yes sir.

- What happens that day?

- Oh, that's the favorite time.

That's one of my favorites.

You get these blocks, and depending upon what we're growing, we're able to harvest them.

We take off the back so that we're able to give 'em to restaurants or to consumers.

They don't have to wash 'em.

They don't have to do anything.

Everything is grown in a controlled environment.

So really it just comes from my fruiting conditions right to the table of the consumers or restaurants, and just harvest them and just enjoy 'em and embrace 'em.

- Jeremy, thank you for that.

Oftentimes, our farm people, our producers of food talk in terms of community, and I've sensed that and heard that from you.

What does that mean in your world?

- Thanks, Dan.

Appreciate that.

It is a big part.

It is.

All this information that I'm sharing with you has been shared to me openly and freely.

And, of course, there's some experiences where I had to pay for it.

But that's what we want to be able to, at my farm, is to be able to build the community, build those of like-minded individuals to give them the skills and skillsets so that they are self-empowered to, again, build the community around them.

It's just infectious.

It continuously grows, and we jive on it.

- Frozen Cap Mushroom Farm is your farm.

- Yes, sir.

- Do you have a website?

- Yes, sir, frozencapmushroomfarm.com.

You can also too find us on Instagram, Frozen Cap Mushroom Farm at Instagram.

And we were on Facebook, but we're kind of taking a step back from Facebook at the moment in time.

- But that website's a very crucial place for people to get information.

- Yes, sir, website's getting worked on.

It's still a as infancy.

But yes, if you have any questions, concerns, they can definitely reach out to me, and I will answer as soon as I possibly can.

- Awesome.

- Thank you, sir.

- Thank you so much for having us at your mushroom farm.

- Thank you so much.

I appreciate your time, Dan.

Thank you so much for coming out.

- You're welcome.

Stay tuned for more on "Farm Connections."

Taking the lessons of the past and applying them to the present helps us see not only where we come from but where we may be going.

I'm Dan Hoffman.

Thanks for joining us on "Farm Connections."

(lively folk music) (bright music )