Farm Living

Fair Board President Dan Deml presented Howard Schoenfeld with the plaque signifying his induction into the Steele County Livestock Hall of Fame.

Three inducted into SCFF Livestock Hall of Fame

Heavy rain on the first day of the Steele County Free Fair did not dampen the enthusiasm of those attending the induction of three local farmers into the Steele County Livestock Hall of Fame. The newest inductees include Barb Kasper, Howard Schoenfeld and Donald Sloan. The Livestock Hall of Fame...

Bruce Schmoll of Claremont showed a group of Japanese meat buyers how soybeans are grown in the United States during a visit by the group to his farm last summer. Schmoll said that this year’s soybean and corn crops are doing well and that corn harvesting will likely begin by the third week of September and soybeans shortly thereafter.

Corn, soybeans heading toward earlier harvest

With the 2015 growing season heading towards the final stretch, farmers and agriculture officials agree that crop growth in southern Minnesota is ahead of last year. The United States Department of Agriculture, which reports crop progress throughout the country on a weekly basis, said last week...

Jon Wilcox, a dairy nutritionist from Faribault, gave a demonstration on what cows eat at Saturday’s on the farm event near Claremont.

What do cows eat and how much?

Dairy cows eat about 102 pounds of wet feed every day. That’s one of the more interesting facts people walked away with after touring a Steele County dairy operation as part of last Saturday’s Breakfast on the Farm event. More than 900 people attended the dairy month promotion at Clover Glen Farms...

Steele-Waseca Cooperative Electric dedicated its 250-panel community solar garden Wednesday, May 13, at the co-op’s headquarters in Owatonna.

Solar can provide savings for the agriculture community

The agriculture community will see a savings of 5 cents per kilowatt-hour by going solar, according to Steele-Waseca Cooperative Electric General Manager Syd Briggs. The co-op has constructed a 250-panel community solar garden. Steele-Waseca member-owners may subscribe to a portion of the solar...

Blooming Prairie junior Kalyn Naatz recently earned a second-place finish at the FFA State Convention handling dairy cattle.

Winning honors by handling dairy cows

Her love of handling dairy cattle has earned Blooming Prairie High School junior Kalyn Naatz a second place finish in the state for her Dairy Handling CDE at the FFA State Convention. “This meant a lot,” Naatz said. “The whole day I was nervous.” She found out she had placed in the top five and...

A tractor is driven last week just north of Geneva.

Safety a priority as planting begins

Now that spring planting is here, many farmers and producers will be moving big equipment from fields to fields and down roads across southern Minnesota. With spring planting underway, it is also important to keep safety as a priority. “One thing, and it is not just farmers, is for everyone to be...

A cow at Schmity Holsteins mugs for the camera last year.

Extension: Dairy prices slip because of demand changes

Changes in demand from countries such as China are causing milk prices to dip in Minnesota and across the United States. “In southern Minnesota, as well as the rest of Minnesota and the upper Midwest, producers are facing lower prices,” said University of Minnesota Extension Educator Betty Berning...

A crowd listens during a meeting last week about whether Westfield Township should establish its own zoning ordinance.

Westfield meeting starts with a surprise

Westfield Township residents met last week to discuss whether the township should establish its own zoning ordinance. But the meeting generated more questions than answers as the two sides now debate whether the meeting that was held was the one that was advertised. Controversy surfaced almost...

SE Minnesota groundwater at higher risk

The dangers of nitrates from fertilizers leaching into groundwater was one of the topics of a workshop dealing with current issues facing feedlot operators in Blooming Prairie last week. The session was sponsored by the feedlot officers of Dodge, Freeborn, Goodhue, Mower, Rice and Steele counties...

One of Michelle Krell’s trademarks as principal at Kasson-Mantorville Elementary is visiting every classroom and saying “Good morning” to all students and staff members each morning. Krell is pictured with two of the 810 students at K-M, Tayler Lamphere, left, and Laney Bungum, right.

Distinguished principal credits FFA to influencing her career success

As one of the most distinguished educators in the country, Michelle Krell is busy running an elementary school, but she doesn’t forget where her roots started. Krell was involved in Future Farmers of America (FFA) all throughout her high school years while growing up in Blooming Prairie. And even...