Farm Market News
Downtown Pork Showdown introduces area residents to pork dishes
For the fifth year in a row, competition remains fierce between many downtown Sioux Falls eateries that have developed pork-focused entrees for the annual Downtown Pork Showdown. Inspired by the success of the annual downtown burger brawl each January, the event was first developed in 2021 through Downtown Sioux Falls Inc. and the South Dakota Pork Producers Council with Smithfield […]
Soybean harvest brings a familiar pest: Asian lady beetles
Driving through rural Minnesota recently, the dust clouds rising above the fields were a sure sign: soybean harvest season is in full swing. While that’s welcome news for farmers, it also signals the return of a less-celebrated fall tradition—multicolored Asian lady beetles swarming homes and buildings across the state. The scientific name for these beetles, often mistaken for native […]
The big day
Tomorrow is the big day. Ashlyn gets married. The fact that these kids are old enough to do that is crazy to me. I mean truthfully, it seems like it was her and I against the world, living in south of the cities in the small town of Veseli. Picture it, (as Sophia would say on the Golden Girls) a […]
Johnson putting a new twist on an old business
Ethan Johnson is about to put a new twist on an old business. Johnson plans to open Amo Creamery on his family’s rural Heron Lake farm in the near future. The creamery will produce and sell creamline whole milk, cheese curds and cheddar cheese on the very same farm where the cows are milked. For Johnson, it’s a way […]
USDA issues second economic assistance payments
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is issuing a second Emergency Commodity Assistance Program Payment (ECAP) payment to eligible producers for the 2024 crop year. Of the authorized $10 billion in ECAP assistance USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) has already provided over $8 billion on payments to eligible producers to mitigate the impacts of increased input costs and falling commodity […]
Low-interest physical loss loans available for producers affected by natural disasters
Physical loss loans through the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) can help producers repair or replace damaged or destroyed physical property essential to the success of the agricultural operation, including livestock losses. Examples of property commonly affected include essential farm buildings, fixtures to real estate, equipment, livestock, perennial crops, fruit and nut bearing trees, and […]
Fruechtes are Lincoln County Farm Family of the Year
Earlier this year, the Brian and Kim Fruechte family was named the Lincoln County Farm Family of the Year. “It’s a nice honor, of course,” Fruechte said. “It’s very nice to have them think about you that way.” The family lives on a farm near Verdi that once belonged to Fruechte’s great-grandparents, John and Ora Fruechte, who kept bees at […]
Fungi found on dying buckthorn could control the highly invasive species
University of Minnesota researchers are studying the use of fungi as a tool to control invasive buckthorn, a problematic species that crowds out native plants and persistently degrades forests in the Midwest and Northeast. Currently, the best control for common and glossy buckthorn is chemical herbicides, which are not always appropriate for ecologically sensitive sites. The research team set out […]