Spring Ag Update

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Quick pickle
enhances
AGCOs steel
New finishing
process means
better welds,
cleaner shop
by MARIE ZIMMERMAN
News Editor

PHOTOS BY MARIE ZIMMERMAN

Kim Hohenstein has plenty of tips about poultry. He has been raising chickens since his parents started raising
him on a farm northeast of Lakefield.

YARD-FRESH EGGS
With proper care,
chickens should
flourish, lay eggs
in the backyard
by MARIE ZIMMERMAN
News Editor

One quick trip to a farm

supply store is almost all it
takes to set up a backyard
laying operation chicks,
shelter, food, water and
bedding.
The only thing missing
for a first-timer is good
advice to avoid pitfalls and
keep the eggs coming.
Kim Hohenstein has
plenty of tips. The Jackson County native has been
raising chickens since his
parents started raising

him on a farm northeast

of Lakefield. Kim and wife
Michele are the poultry superintendents at the Jackson County Fair, and their
sons have showed poultry
for years.
A good egg
In the Hohensteins
barn, a clutch of Gold Star
chicks, about half the size
theyll be full-grown, mills
around in a chicken wire
enclosure.
The tawny red birds are
a calm breed that would be
good for someone with no
previous chicken experience, Kim said.
The Gold Stars theyll
have a really nice brown
egg, he said, adding colored shells are all the rage
among consumers.
See EGGS on C2

AGCO Jacksons steel

components are in a pickle,
and its a good thing.
This year, the machinery
manufacturer began using
pickled steel components
in its machines as a way to
improve both the process
and the final product.
Its made a huge difference, said Rod Paplow,
manufacturing engineering program manager for
components at AGCO Jackson.
Steel production causes
a film of impurities to form
on the surface of the metal.
Its called mill scale,
which is removed one of
two ways.

See PICKLE on C4

New feedlot officer

is happy to be home
by JUSTIN R. LESSMAN
Publisher

In the Hohensteins barn, a clutch of Gold Star chicks,

about half the size theyll be full grown, mills around
in a chicken wire enclosure. The tawny red birds are
a calm breed of egg layers that would be good for
someone with no previous chicken experience, Kim
Hohenstein said.

One is pickling and oiling, Paplow said. That

works good for lighter
steels.
This involves dipping the
metal in a hot acid bath,
which dissolves the thin
layers of iron oxide crystal that make up the scale.
Pickling is done by suppliers before the steel arrives
at AGCO.
For the heavier plate,
anything thats 3/8 thick
and beyond that, we blast
it, Paplow said.
Advantages of using
descaled steel are many,
Paplow said, starting with
a reduction of between
30 and 50 percent of the
smoke from welding
When were welding,
theres a lot of smoke and
particulates as you weld
through mill scale. We
try to keep the air as clean
in our factory as we possibly can, Paplow said.
Descaled steel yields
welds that are of higher

A local farm girl has

returned home to assume
one of the countys most
ag-centric positions.
Brooke
Burmeister,
a 2009 Jackson County
Central
graduate
from rural
Lakefield, is
the countys
Brooke
new water Burmeister
resource
technician and feedlot
compliance officer. She
began March 17, replacing fellow Lakefield area
native Jake Grages, who
resigned the post after a

two-year tenure to accept a

position in Winona County.
As water resource technician and feedlot compliance officer, Burmeister is
charged with overseeing
subsurface sewage treatment system evaluations
and inspections, as well as
new and existing feedlot
compliance.
We work with farmers
to reduce the amount of
runoff pollution in local
feedlots, Burmeister said.
We also assist farmers
with new feedlots or feedlot expansions to meet local
and state regulations.
After graduating from
JCC, Burmeister studied
environmental science at
Southwest Minnesota State
University in Marshall.
See FEEDLOT on C2

Staying safe is
part of the job
Team effort at
DuPont Pioneer
wins third straight
governors award
by MARIE ZIMMERMAN
News Editor

Safety might not be Jay

Larkins middle name,
but it is on his business
cards.
Larkin is the safety coordinator for DuPont Pioneers Jackson production plant, which recently
won the Governors Workplace Safety Award for
the third straight year.
In order to receive the
recognition, awarded
by the Minnesota Safety Council, applicants
must complete a comprehensive safety program evaluation, which
measures progress in
implementing a comprehensive safety program.
The council scores these
evaluations and recognizes top performers.
DuPont is known as one
of the safest companies in
the world, Larkin said.
Larkin shares a concern for safety with Mike
Bliesmer, regional safety,
health and environmental
manager for Pioneer, as
well as more than 50 current full-time employees
at the Jackson plant.
In addition to receiving

PHOTOS BY MIKE JORDAN

Father-son duo Rich and Ryan Erickson are working to build up their Jackson County
beef herd.

Local farm family is

featured in ag paper
PHOTO BY MARIE ZIMMERMAN

More than 50 current full-time employees at DuPont

Pioneers Jackson production plant played a part in
earning both the Governors Workplace Safety Award
and recertification by the Minnesota Occupational
Safety and Health Administration for its voluntary
protection program, recognizing employers and
workers who have implemented effective safety and
health management systems and maintain injury
and illness rates below national Bureau of Labor
Statistics averages.
the governors award,
the facility is one of only
36 locations to be recertified by the Minnesota
Occupational Safety and
Health Administration
for its voluntary protection program, which
emphasizes employee
involvement, as well as
hazard prevention and
control, worksite analysis, training and man-

agement commitment.
Its not the program
that got us that certification. Its the actions of
the employees, Larkin
said. Theyre involved
with day-to-day safety.
Employees help lead
and execute 45 different safety programs in
Jackson covering everything from ladders
See SAFE on C4

A local farm family is

featured in the latest edition of the Farm Market
News, a regional ag publication reaching more than
19,000 rural homes and
businesses across the tristate area.
The growing beef operation of Rich Erickson
of rural Lakefield and his
son, Ryan, is the subject of
the cover story in the May
4 Farm Market News.
In the article, Rich Erickson traces his farm legacy back to when he began
working with his dad, Rueben, in 1976. Up until 2001,
Rich Erickson ran his familys dairy farm operation,
but then switched to hogs
while working at the FCA
Co-op feed mill in Jackson.
See FAMILY on C3

The Erickson beef operation is a family affair, with Ryan

(left) and his children, Aubrey, Brynn and Braeden,
helping Rich.

C2

Thursday, May 14, 2015

EGGS: With proper care, chickens should flourish in backyards

Continued from C1
A nice white egg is just
as good, though. The idea
that eggs with brown shells
are more nutritious is a
myth.
Theres nothing to
that, Kim said.
Australorps and Araucanas are also good egg
layers, he said. The Araucanas produce egg shells
with a blue or green hue.
I can see where kids
would think thats cool,
Michele said.
Chicks can be ordered
through a local feed store
or at some farmer cooperatives, but there may be a
minimum number to order.
Live birds are also available at many farm supply
stores, but it can be hard
to tell if they are hens or
roosters in the pen.
Roosters are not a good

fit for a backyard coop:

Youre probably going
to open up a whole can of
trouble with your neighbors if you have boys in
town, Kim said.
Chicks typically cost a
couple dollars per bird,
and for a family that likes
eggs, having six to 10 birds
would be about right, Kim
said.
A strong start
If the pullets (immature
hens) arrive during winter, theyll need to be kept
out of the elements until
all their feathers come in.
And during the winter, its
best to keep them inside
a larger building the
corner of a shed or garage
with a little heat, which
helps keep the eggs from
freezing.

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Chickens dont start laying eggs until 18 to 20

weeks maturity, which is
about 5 months old. A flock
of 10 birds will average six
eggs per day, Kim said.
A premixed grower ration is best to feed young
chicks. At about 17 weeks,
feed should transition to a
laying mash for egg production, Kim said.
As birds age, sometimes
their shells get really thin,
Michele said.
To help, oyster shells
can be added to their feed
around 6 to 8 months of
age.
That helps them with
the calcium, Kim said, as
well as helping grind up
food in the birds gizzard.
Letting chickens graze
on grass is another way to
diversify their diet with
bugs, worms and plants.
Theyll eat anything,
Michele said.
After about 15 months,
a hen is nearing the end of
her consistent egg production. She may continue to

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lay sporadically, but wont

be as productive and may
need to be replaced, depending on the amount of
eggs desired.
Thats something else to
think about, Michele said.
Laying hens are not typically good for butchering,
but its sometimes possible
to sell them as soup hens.
A tasty investment
Chicken coops designed
for small, backyard laying
flocks are widely available
at stores. Michele recommends looking for one with
an enclosed area for nesting boxes and roosting, as
well as a framed area with
mesh so chickens can be
outside.
A coop should specify
how many adult birds it
will hold. Overcrowding
can cause stress on the
birds.
If they get a little
stressed out, theyll fight,
pick on each other, Kim
said, which can cause egg
production to fall.

Securing the coop is critical because chickens are

prey for cats, dogs, raccoons and other predators.
Keeping the flock healthy
and happy will require
feeding and watering containers, as well as shavings
or straw to line the floors.
With an animal, they
poop. So you have to deal
with the manure, Kim
said.
Shavings and manure
from the chickens can easily be composted or put
on a garden, he said, and
typically wont have a lot
of odor. If the chickens
are loose on the yard, and
there arent many of them,
they will provide their own
grass fertilizer.
Your yard would be very
healthy and you wouldnt
probably notice, Michele
said.
Veterinary costs are limited, and many chicken
diseases can be treated
with antibiotic added to
the chickens water. Feed
costs for six birds would be

FEEDLOT: Burmeister back home

Continued from C1
She earned her bachelors
degree in December 2013.
She previously worked
at Camden State Park near
Lynd before accepting the
offer to return home. Her
new position is based out of
the countys office of land
management in Lakefield.
Burmeister said she has
enjoyed her new position
thus far, though it has come
with somewhat of a learning curve.
I have really enjoyed
interacting with the local farming community
and meeting new people in
the area, she said. There
is new material that I am
learning that will allow
me to assist bringing Jackson County feedlot operators into compliance.
Burmeister picks up on
county feedlot inspections
where Grages left off
working to inspect every
feedlot in Jackson County.
Grages had made headway in his tenure with the
county, being commended
by county commissioners
earlier this year for inspecting feedlots in 2014
at a pace exceeding the
states minimum. Grages
inspected 11 percent of
the countys 335 registered
feedlots last year, well in

excess of the 7 percent

required annually by the
state.
In addition to learning
the ropes of her new position and keeping on top of
required tasks, Burmeister
must also keep an eye on
three new goals set forth
last year by the MPCA
that raise the bar for local
feedlots and potentially
increase the workload for
county feedlot officers.
One recommendation
from the MPCA, which
delegates feedlot inspections to the county, is that
the county set a goal of
attaining a 10 percent annual inspection rate. That
equates to around 34 per
year close to a dozen
more than the minimum
requirement.
A second goal is a production site inspection
strategy objective that
asks Burmeister to make
an effort to inspect sites
required to be registered
that have never been inspected, as well as sites
required to be registered
located within shore land.
About 90 percent of Jackson Countys feedlots are
outside shore land, with
only 10 percent considered
within shore land.

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The third goal is a land

application strategy goal
that asks Burmeister to
conduct a quick records
check inspection at sites
that, according to previous inspections, have not
been maintaining manure
management records, and
perform detailed records
inspection reviews as part
of any compliance inspections conducted at non-National Pollution Discharge
Elimination System permit
sties with greater than 300
animal units.
Though Burmeister expects to be kept busy with
her new position, when she
does have free time, she
enjoys horseback riding,
hunting, fishing and helping out on the family farm
near Lakefield.

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about $25 to $30 a month at

current prices. While that
may not make chickens
a money-saving venture,
you know where your eggs
come from and theyre
fresh, Michele said.
The eggs from the store
could be anywhere from
two to four weeks old when
you crack on in the pan,
Kim said.
And for the family that
enjoys eating eggs and baking, the cost-benefit analysis might come out in favor.
Youre always cracking
eggs, you know, Kim said.
This will be the last year
the Hohensteins youngest son, Nolan, is eligible
to show in 4-H, but the
couple plans to keep a few
birds around to lease to
4-H members and simply
because they like chickens.

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C3

Thursday, May 14, 2015

FAMILY: Ericksons Jackson County beef operation a family affair

Continued from C1
Now he Ryan run a successful beef operation on
the farm where Rich was
raised.
We started with beef in
2012, Rich Erickson said
in the article. Most of our
cattle are Angus cross.
We bought our cattle from
Ronnie Schaffer when he
wanted to get out of it.
Presently, the Ericksons have 10 head, but are
building their herd.
The Ericksons farm a
quarter-section, raising
corn, beans, hay and oats,
with most of it used to feed
their animals.
We are getting our facility back getting fences
up but feed is the biggest
challenge now, Erickson
said in the article. We
dont have a lot of pasture,
so we dry-lot feed them.
Otherwise, these cattle are
nice to work with.
The market for beef has
been strong as of late, said
Ryan Erickson, who also
works at AGCO Jackson
Operations.
It looks good, he said,
but prices for beef are
high at the grocery store.
I hope they stabilize some
level off and stay there.
We sell our beef to the local market, which has been
good so far.
Rich Erickson pointed to
the drought as one reason
for the high price of beef.
The Ericksons commitment to raising natural
beef only increases the
demand.
The drought has triggered the high price for
beef, he said. But we sell
our beef to those people
wanting no-GMO (genetically modified organisms)
beef locally. That is our
market. We take them either to the Lakefield butcher shop or to Bergen, wherever the people want them
processed. There is no
GMO in our beef. They are
all raised natural.
Ryan Erickson said he
is excited to be a part of
the familys new venture
into beef.
I always liked cattle,
he said. They are something I want our kids to be

around teaching them

the aspects of life, giving
them more responsibility.
I liked to see them get into
4-H too.
Rich and Ryan Erickson
are glad for the help they
receive on the farm from
Ryans son, Braeden.
Rich Erickson and his
wife, Tammy, have four

sons besides Ryan Austin, Dustin, Evan and

Quinten. Ryan Erickson
and his wife, Mackenzie,
have two daughters Aubrey and Brynn as well
as Braeden.
Tammy Erickson teaches
kindergarten at Riverside Elementary School
in Jackson and Mackenzie

Erickson is an occupational
therapist with the Southwest/West Central Service
Cooperative.
In their spare time, Rich
and Ryan Erickson enjoy
working with antique tractors and cars, but Rich said
his wife, Tammy, enjoys
travel when they can do
that. Ryan Erickson and his

family enjoy boating.

The Farm Market News
is mailed free of charge
to 19,025 rural homes and
businesses across 17 counties in southern Minnesota,
northern Iowa and eastern
South Dakota. It is also
available for free pickup
at cafs and coffee shops
throughout the coverage

area, as well as at the offices of Livewire Printing

Co. in downtown Jackson
and the Lakefield Standard
in downtown Lakefield.
The Farm Market News
may also be read by article
online at jacksoncountypilot.com and lakefieldstandard.com or in its entirety
at farmmarketnews.com.
PHOTO BY MIKE JORDAN

Rich and Ryan Erickson

are glad for the help
they receive on their
farm from Ryans son,
Braeden.

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C4

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Minnesota crop and livestock farm incomes diverge in 2014

Strong prices and lower
costs brought record profits to many Minnesota
livestock farmers in 2014,
while crop producers saw
earnings deteriorate for
the second consecutive
year.
Those were among key
findings in the annual farm
income analysis conducted jointly by Minnesota
State Colleges and Universities and University
of Minnesota Extension.
Researchers pointed to
signals that both livestock
and crop producers, however, will face tougher
times this year.
Overall, the median net
farm income for farmers
in the study was $43,129,
up 3 percent from 2013 but
substantially lower than
2012s record profits.
Net farm income includes the farms contribution to family living
expenses, income taxes,
retirement and business
growth.
These farms are businesses that need to earn
a return on their investment, as well as feed
their families from these
funds, said Keith Olander, director of AgCentric,
a MnSCU Center of Excellence in Agriculture.
The median income for

crop farms was $17,003,

down from $48,120 in 2013
and $260,940 in 2012, when
drought affected many
states, but not Minnesota.
Prices for Minnesotas primary crops were generally
below cost of production
in 2014, following several
years in which farms benefited from increased commodity prices.
Minnesota crop and
livestock farms have been
on different paths for several years now, said Dale
Nordquist, extension economist.
The year 2014 was
the best year ever for
many livestock farmers, with median income
at $138,037, compared
to $97,669 in 2012 and
$38,479 in 2013. Livestock
producers, who struggled
with high feed costs and
low prices over the past
few years, benefited from
lower feed costs as corn
and soybean prices fell.
Plus, meat and milk prices
hit all-time highs in 2014.
Crops: Prices, yields fall
Most of the attention in
farm country has been on
declining crop prices in
the past year.
The average price received for corn sold by
participating producers

from $20.36 per hundred

pounds in 2013 to $24.42.
With the average cost of
production around $20,
dairy producers netted
about $1,200 per cow compared to $300 in 2013.
Beef and pork producers experienced much the
same results. The price
of market-weight beef
increased from $1.25 per
pound in 2013 to $1.51 in
2014. Lean pork prices increased from 89 cents per
pound to $1.01.
Beef supplies are still
struggling to recover from
the 2012 drought, so beef
prices look to remain
strong for at least another year, Nordquist said.
But 2015 does not look
like its going to be kind to
dairy and pork producers.
Milk prices have already
declined below the cost
of production and futures
prices for pork are much
lower for coming months.

bright light at the end of

the tunnel for most crop
producers, either. Things
could change, but at current prices, most crop
farmers will struggle to
get their costs of production out of the market this
year.
There is a possible
bright spot, however.
Sugar beet producers
have really struggled for
the past two years due
to reduced prices mostly caused by excessive
amounts of foreign sugar
coming into the United
States, said Ron Dvergsten, northwest region
program coordinator for
the Farm Business Management program at MnSCU. It does look like the
trade issues will be resolved in the near future
and should provide for
higher sugar prices in
2015.

declined from $6.28 per

bushel in 2013 to $4.37 in
2014. With costs of production averaging $4.57, the
average corn producer lost
money on each bushel of
corn produced.
Sugar beet producers in
the Red River Valley and
west-central Minnesota
did not fare any better. In
2012, the average value of
beets was $64 per ton. By
2014, it had fallen to $35
per ton. The average producer lost $230 on beets
in 2014.
Soybeans sold for $11.67
per bushel, down from
$13.59 the previous year,
and wheat sold for $6.33
per bushel compared to
$7.66 in 2013.
In much of the Corn
Belt, record crop yields
compensated some for decreasing prices. In Minnesota, though, the average
yield for farms in the study
was 158 bushels per acre,
down 9 bushels from their
10-year average.
The growing season
didnt do any favors for
Minnesota farmers. Most
Minnesotans remember
how cold and wet last May
and June were, Nordquist
said. That got the corn
crop off to a really slow
start and we never totally
recovered. There is no

Livestock: Record profits

short-lived?
The story was much better for beef, pork and milk
producers. As crop prices
declined over the past
two years, so have feed
prices. At the same time,
prices for meat and milk
increased dramatically.
The average price received for milk increased

About the study

The analysis used data
from 2,036 participants
in MnSCU farm business
management education
programs and 105 members of the Southwest
Minnesota Farm Business
Management Association.
The total number of commercial farms in Minne-

sota, those that sold more

than $100,000 worth of ag
products, is approximately
25,000. The statewide results are compiled by the
Center for Farm Financial Management into the
FINBIN database, which
can be queried at finbin.
umn.edu.
U of M Extension is
a 100-year-old partnership between the university and federal, state and
county governments to
provide scientific knowledge and expertise to the
public. Through extension,
the U o M extends its resources to address critical
public issues in priority
areas, including food and
agriculture, communities,
environment, youth and
families.
The MnSCU system includes 24 two-year community and technical colleges and seven state universities serving more
than 410,000 students. It
is the fifth-largest higher
education system of its
kind in the United States.

PICKLE: New finishing means better welds

SAFE: Part of the job

Continued from C1
quality and faster, more
precise laser and plasma
cuts. And there is no need

Continued from C1
for hand grinding prep by
welders, one of the dirtiest jobs and a productivity

We, at Hage Oil,

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industrys needs, including
farm service, farm
lubricants, and bulk fuels.

Farmers are special to us

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suck.
We actually knew that
we had a huge benefit
that could be reached by
doing this, but we hadnt
really proved it, Paplow
said.
That was before Perry
Steinsultz, Ted Nelson
and Evan Erickson, part
of a weld engineering
group at AGCO Jackson, conducted a detailed
study on the process.
They basically implemented a test procedure

Farmers!

Shannon Carr, D.V.M.

Veterinary Clinic

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duction company in the

United States, Larkin
said.
To be VPP certified, a
company must maintain
TRC rates below national
Bureau of Labor Statistics
averages for its industry.
As part of the VPP
certification, OSHA representatives visited the
Jackson plant to review
its safety policies and quiz
employees.
They came through
with flying colors, and
thats why we got the certification, Larkin said.
VPP participants are
re-evaluated every three
to five years to remain in
the programs.
The Jackson facility
was recognized for its
Governor s Workplace
Safety Award at the Minnesota Safety and Health
Conference on May 7 in
Minneapolis.

Let us help you with your

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motor rebates
 Standby generator program
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Bergen Meat Processors

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Phone 831-4670 Jay, Paulette, and Bo Scott
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Call for information on these programs.

507-847-3520, 507-728-8366 OR 1-800-321-3520

Shop
Maynards
and sign up
for a chance to
win this cooler
and a bicycle
donated by
Land O Frost
and Wimmers.

This institution is an equal-opportunity provider and employer.

Jackson, MN info@federatedrea.coop www.federatedrea.coop

7071

2015
Main Street, Lakeeld

11137

to machines. In the last

two years, the facility
made 170 machine guarding improvements, which
guard the moving machine parts that could
potentially cause injury.
Jackson is one of five
Pioneer locations in North
American to be VPP certified; others are Mount
Pleasant, Iowa; Dysart,
Iowa; Mcleansboro, Ill.;
and Rushville, Ind.
DuPont Pioneer has 19
straight years of continuous improvement when
it comes to safety, Bliesmer said.
In Jackson, the total recordable cases incidence
rate that tracks injury and
illness on the job has been
at 2.07 the last two years,
compared to the national
industry average of 6.10,
Larkin said.
Were basically three
times safer than the average agricultural pro-

We Salute All Area

Hage Oil

501 S. Hwy. 86 Lakeeld, MN 662-6666

where they took a lot of

different pieces of steel
that were blasted and
not blasted and tried to
optimize the process,
Paplow said.
With the results in hand
all showing the descaled steel would provide
big benefits AGCO got
its steel in a pickle.
We save some labor,
we get rid of a dirty job,
we improve quality,
Paplow said.

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C5

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Sims named director of

operations at regional
farm research center

PHOTO COURTESY OF EMILY NIELSEN

The signature green of John Deere is still visible in the dark as Mike Stade and his family harvest crops in
2014. The photo is featured in C & B Operations 2015 wall calendar along with images from 12 other farms in
Minnesota and South Dakota.

Local family farm featured in calendar

By MARIE ZIMMERMAN
News Editor

A family farm in southern Jackson County is

one of 13 regional outfits
featured in C & B Operations 2015 wall calendar.
The farm is run by Mike
and Deb Stade and their
son, Jake Stade.
In the calendar, July
2015 features a backlit
photo of nighttime harvest work last fall at the
Stades, highlighting their

John Deere equipment.

Emily Nielsen, C & Bs
marketing coordinator
for the Minnesota region,
tried several daytime photos, but wanted to come
back at night, Mike Stade
said. And that was the winning shot.
That was cool, he said.
The Stades raise about
1,400 acres of corn and
soybeans south of Jackson, mainly in Middletown
Township. About half the
acres are family land, and
the rest is rented, Stade

said. They also do some

custom farming.
Its a family affair,
he said.
Daughters Jenna and
Amanda help when they
can, but both live outside
the county. Amanda Stade
works for South Dakota
State University Extension and Jenna Stade is
studying in Winona.
Mike, who is a Jackson
native, has been farming
for 32 years.
Its just being out there
digging in the dirt and see-

ing what you get, he said.

Jake Stade works for
Pioneer in addition to
farming, and Mike Stade
is employed with Phillips
Agency crop insurance
and risk management services in the winter. He also
serves as president of the
Jackson County Fair Association.
Local producers Eric
Hansen and Dan Johnson
of GED Farms in Jackson
County were also featured
in the calendar.

Local businesses and organizations

featured in new county ag directory
Local businesses and
organizations are featured in the 2015 Jackson
County Ag Directory, a
handy guide mailed free of
charge to rural addresses
across Jackson County.
The guide lists a full
two-dozen local businesses and organizations in
the business of serving
farmers and fellow agribusiness men and women
in the areas of agronomy, auto repair, building, chiropractic health,
feed, financial, fireplaces,
fuel, grain, implement,
information, insurance,
real estate, repair, tires,

tree trimming and utility

vehicles. Featured businesses and organizations
include ABC Seamless,
AgStar Financial Services,
Asmus Farm Supply, Bank
Midwest, Borntrager Auto
Body and Towing, Complete Insurance Services,
Crop Production Services,
County Ag Directories,
Farm Bureau Financial
Services, the Farm Market News, FCA Co-op,
J&K Discount Tire and
Auto, Jackson Chiropractic, Jackson Credit Union,
Jackson Feed, Jackson
Sports, Kozy Heat Fireplaces, Miller Sellner,

Poet Biorefining, Rons

Repair, Stan Sievert Agency, Thates Tree Service,
Tri-County Implement
and United Prairie Bank.
The guide mailed out
the middle of last month.
Extra copies of the 2015
Jackson County Ag Directory are available at
the offices of Livewire
Printing Co. in downtown
Jackson and the Lakefield
Standard in downtown
Lakefield. The directory,
as well as ag directories
from neighboring counties, may also be read for
free online at countyagdirectories.com.

JACKSON

COUNTY

AG
DIR

2015

ECTOR
Y

CHECK DAILY
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hamlake

CALL DARREN
Toll Free 888-831 AT:
-0067
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Area farmers who

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thanks. They help our
community remain stable
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products improve the
quality of our lives. WE SALUTE THEM ALL!

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since 1957!

Next to the south stoplight

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tive role and the other half

on research. His research
at the NWROC focused on
nitrogen and phosphorus
management associated
with sugar beet and spring
wheat production.
Sims holds a doctorate
in soil science from North
Carolina State University
in Raleigh and both his
masters and bachelors degrees are in agronomy from
University
of Nebraska in Lincoln. He
joined the
NWROC
in 1995,
earned tenure and was Albert Sims
promoted
to associate
professor in 2001, and was
named the NWROCs director of operations in October
2010.
Sims replaces Pauline
Nickel, who retired from
her position as head of the
SWROC after 19 years of
leadership.
Pauline has been a
great administrator of
the SWROC, Sims said.
Though it will be difficult
to fill her shoes, I know I am
becoming the director of a
ship that is already headed
in the right direction.

6969

We salute the

Grind, Mix and Delivery

Bulk and Bag Feed

Albert Sims is the new

face of agricultural research in southwestern
Minnesota.
Sims was named director
of operations at the Southwest Research and Outreach Center in Lamberton
earlier this year.
Sims brings four years of
experience as director of
operations at the Northwest
Research and Outreach
Center in Crookston to the
Lamberton-based regional
ag research center. He will
serve as director of operations at both the SWROC
and NWROC, splitting time
between the two locations.
There will be challenges
splitting my time between
the two places, but finding
solutions to challenges is
what we do, Sims said.
Though I will still participate in some research,
I have essentially traded
two jobs at one location for
one job at two locations. I
am honored to be a part of
the SWROC team and look
forward to getting to know
and work with the faculty
and staff at the SWROC and
those we serve in southwest
Minnesota.
Prior to being named director of operations at the
SWROC, Sims spent half
his time in an administra-

Werk Weld, Inc.

Creep & Self Feeders

JACKSON
Livewire Printing Co.
Ashleys Hallmark
Santee Crossing-Embers
The ExpressWay
Sunshine Foods
Caseys General Store
SuperAmerica
LAKEFIELD
Lakefield Standard
The ExpressWay
Lewis Family Drug
Maynards Food Center
HERON LAKE
P&Js Mini Mart
You can also subscribe to
the Jackson County Pilot
and save. Subscription
rates are $46 per year in
Jackson County, $56 outside
of Jackson County.

Jackson Feed, LLC

We Try Harder

11109

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Send check to:

Livewire Printing Co.
310 Second St. P.O. Box 208
Jackson, MN 56143

Industrial Parkway Jackson, MN

(507) 847-2590 800-967-2032

SEE US TODAY.

2831

11144

C6

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Researchers seek farmers to participate in windbreak study

Researchers are on
the lookout for farmers
willing to participate in
a groundbreaking windbreak study.
We are looking for
farmers to participate in
this windbreak study
to validate crop yields
around windbreaks,
taking modern farming
techniques into account,
said Ginger Kopp, agroforester with the Natural
Resources Conservation
Service in St. Paul.
The study, being con-

ducted by a team of
NRCS and University
of Minnesota Extension
specialists, seeks to evaluate crop yields around
field windbreaks using
modern crop yield monitoring systems.
The study comes as
many windbreaks are
being removed due to
a combination of land
values, farm innovations
and management such
as adoption of no-till
and minimum till, use
of wide farm equipment

and windbreak plantings

that are just getting old
this despite cost-share
programs available to
plant new windbreaks
and renovate mature
plantings through the
NRCS.
Past studies have indicated documented crop
yield increases in area
where windbreaks are
planted.
In 1988, researcher
John Kort of Canada
compiled 50 worldwide
windbreak studies con-

ducted from 1934 to

1984. This world study
found that, within the
protected zone of the
windbreak, spring wheat
yields increased an average of 8 percent, corn by
12 percent, soybeans by
13 percent and winter
wheat by 23 percent.
In 2007, a windbreak
crop yield study was conducted in southwestern
Minnesota, said Gary
Wyatt, a U of M Extension educator in agroforestry. Nine fields were

studied. Crop yields were

measured with combine
yield monitoring systems. The data varied
from site to site. Some
crop yield increases
were from 2 to 3 percent, while other fields
showed yield losses of
0 to 2 percent from field
averages,
More data are needed
to further validate the
past studies, Wyatt and
Kopp said. Farmers who
have a field windbreak or
windbreaks and a crop

Weber is appointed to
conference committee
Local lawmaker
pledges to try to
keep ag funding
part of package

Local state Sen. Bill

Weber has been appointed
to the conference committee on House File 846, the
Omnibus Environment
and Natural Resources
Appropriations Bill.
Assembled last Monday, the committee will
resolve the discrepancies
between the two versions
of the bill that passed the
state House of Represen-

tatives and Senate.

I am honored to be appointed on
the conference committee,
said Weber,
R-Luverne,
who represents western JackSen. Bill
son County
Weber
in the state
Senate. I
am going to work to make
this bill better for District
22 and greater Minnesota
by advocating for certain Senate provisions to
remain in the final bill,

HENNING

RENTAL

Minnesota
Soybean
Processors

the bill contains agreeable provisions for both

sides, Weber said, there
are always a few issues
that need to be worked out
with the House.
I look forward to a
strong bill for rural Minnesota, sensible protection of our resources and
workable solutions for
local governments, Weber said.

including agricultural
funding for research and
education, common sense
regulation for the Minnesota Pollution Control
Agency and secure funding for many of our existing soil and water control
programs.
The conference committee consists of five
House and five Senate
members.
While the majority of

To receive midday market updates by text

message please call Austin at 507-842-6702.
Toll-Free: 1-888-842-6677 Phone: (507) 842-6677

www.mnsoy.com

We support our
area farmers!

507-793-7400
7099

N
Locaew
tion

11108

507-847-3785
www.HenningRental.com

&

44107 Okabena Road Lakeeld, MN

Phone: 507-662-5442 Toll Free: 1-877-860-7286

4753

Producers!

We appreciate your efforts.

4754

Check out the Livewire for full color

business cards. Make the best impression
with a professional design created to your
specifications! Call 847-3771.

We Support
Our Area
Farmers!

Sales And Service

301 N. Hwy. 86 Lakeeld, MN

We Salute ALL AREA FARMERS!

Jackson
Lakeeld
507-847-2420
507-662-6611
www.sanfordjackson.org

7033

Thank You,
Ag
Producers!

To market corn, call: 1-888-831-0067

To buy DDGs, call
nutrition : 1-888-327-8799

4759

Were proud to support

our area farmers and are
grateful for the nest beef
and dairy products you
produce.

Darren Kalvig, Commodities Manager; 40212 510th Avenue Bingham Lake, MN 56118

COUNTY

Patrick Costello Hans Carlson

Christophe Butzon Ashley J.P. Schmit

Attorneys At Law
Heron Lake
507-793-2285

2015

JACKSON COUNTY

&

2014

AG
D I R E C T O RG
Y
A
ORY
IRECT
TY
OD COUN

COTTONWO

AG DIRECTORIES

WHERE FARMERS

Costello, Carlson & Butzon, LLP

Lakefield
507-662-6621

BUSINESS CONNECT

Jackson
507-847-4200

IN PRINT

11107

Direct-mailed to every rural address in the county

and available for free pickup at participating businesses!

ng
n!
rborist
ne of
ff can
needs.
CHECK DAILY CORN PRICES AT
www.poet.com/binghamlake

e no job
small!
ret St.
LOCAL
56031
POSTAL CUSTOMER

uthern
thern IA
1977

ONLINE

CALL DARREN AT:

Toll Free 888-831-0067
or 507-831-0067
40212 510th Ave., Bingham Lake, MN

AT
CORN PRICES
CHECK DAILY
binghamlake
www.poet.com/

PRESRT STD
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EN AT:
CALL DARR 31-0067
Toll Free 888-8 67
or 507-831-00 Lake, MN

40212 510th

PAID

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Permit No. 22
Slayton, MN 56172

35-3467
2015 PUBLISHED BY LIVEWIRE PRINTING CO.
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PRINTING

Accessible on the
highly-trafcked

CO.

countyagdirectories.com!

F
Farmers and M
Merchants
State Bank of Alpha

COUNTY

F.W. Striemer, Founder Paul H. Meium, President

507-847-3620

www.famstatebankofalpha.com
MEMBER
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A Century Bank

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Heron Lake,
MN

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11136

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yield monitoring system

who are interested in being part of the study are
asked to contact Kopp at
ginger.kopp@mn.usda.
gov or Wyatt at wyatt@
umn.edu or (888) 2413214.

11168

AG DIRECTORIES

1-800-658-2393

countyagdirectories.com