This is AgTech Week – Fargo and the Red River Valley are recognized worldwide as a leader in ag innovation and technology. This culture began with the bonanza farms in the late 1800s and early 1900s. It continues today with the high technology seen on the farm and a history of agribusiness innovation with Steiger, Bobcat, Amity Technologies, Bushel and more. AgTech Week begins with the grand opening of the Grand Farm Innovation Shop today. The Midwest Agriculture Summit will consider ag megatrends tomorrow morning in West Fargo followed by the Midwest Ag Coalition ag forum in Moorhead. On Wednesday, there’s the groundbreaking for the NDSU Bolley Agricultural Laboratory and the dedication of the Peltier Complex. The Bushel Buddy Seat Conference and the Cultivate Conference are on tap later this week. Follow these stories of innovation throughout this week on the Red River Farm Network.

H5N1 Virus Confirmed in MN Dairy Herd – The H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza has been confirmed in a Minnesota dairy herd. A handful of cows in a Benton County herd had symptoms over the weekend and more than 40 cows had a fever the next day. The National Veterinary Diagnostic Lab confirmed the results last night. With the uptick in cases in turkey and chicken flocks, State Veterinarian Brian Hoefs said it was only a matter of time before the virus showed up on a dairy farm. The Minnesota Board of Animal Health is reminding dairy farmers to contact their veterinarian immediately if cows appear sick. Pasteurized milk remains safe to drink. The risk to people from the virus also remains low.

Not a Surprise – The H5N1 discovery in a Central Minnesota dairy herd was not a surprise for many. “We knew it was probably coming,” said Minnesota Milk Producers Association Executive Director Lucas Sjostrom. “The one policy item that the Minnesota Board of Animal Health did foreshadow is they are likely going to require tests for lactating dairy cattle going to dairy expositions or dairy shows at some point this summer.” According to Sjostrom, the dialogue between industry groups, the state, and USDA is ongoing.

Confidence in Virus Testing – According to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, USDA has a good sense of the way the H5N1 virus is spreading. “Thousands of tests have been conducted and reviewed,” said Vilsack. “Not only of cattle but of milk taken directly from cows and bulk tanks on the farm, I’m confident that we have a good understanding of the nature of this virus and how it’s being transferred between various farms.” A plan is in the works that would reimburse dairy farmers for loss of production related to the virus. “Hopefully, in the very near future, we’ll be outlining the indemnification process and how that might operate in order to indemnify or reimburse the farmer for their losses.”

A Small Number of Infected Cows Were Culled – Most dairy cows infected with H5N1 recover well, but Reuters is reporting a limited number of animals have died or been culled from the herd. Some of these cows contracted a secondary infection after the virus weakened their immune systems and the decision was made to send them to slaughter. Reuters was unable to determine the total number of cows that died or were culled, but five states are involved; South Dakota, Michigan, Texas, Ohio and Colorado.

Three Planting Seasons – For Murdock, Minnesota farmer Mike Yost, the crops are in the ground. “It’s been an interesting year where we have been in the field in three different stretches. We planted sugarbeets in April; most of the corn in late April; and in mid-May, we finished corn and planted soybeans.” Replants have been a necessity. “We have had to replant some of the corn that was planted in late April. We came into the spring being extraordinarily dry and we are now extraordinarily wet.”

A Rugged Start – Farmers in Kulm, North Dakota area were struggling to find dry days to finish planting. “It’s been going kind of rugged,” said Bart Schott. “There’s been areas with some fields you can’t go in and others that are fully dry.” Fortunately, Schott says the most severe weather has missed his farm.

Another Year With PP – Carrington, North Dakota’s Charles Linderman is looking at another year of possible prevent planting. “This is the third year in a row we might have to prevent plant.” Despite all the rain, Linderman says progress has been okay with corn, but soybean planting has been the real problem. “We got some corn in the ground, and trying to work on soybeans now but haven’t made very much progress so far. With all the rain I’ll have to decide if I’m going to plant late or prevent plant.”

Finished With Planting – While many farmers have faced soggy conditions this spring, Dan Younggren finished planting two weeks ago and says the weather in the Hallock, Minnesota area has been perfect. “Things look absolutely outstanding up here,” said Younggren. “We have gotten timely rains, no standing water on the grounds like many of our neighbors to the east, west and south.” With a first spray down on wheat and most of the sugarbeets, Younggren is hoping for warm weather. “I think everybody including myself would not mind seeing a couple of weeks of nice, tranquil 75 to 80-degree weather with winds under 40 miles-per-hour.”

Rains Came Hard and Fast – Severe weather was seen in the region on June 2. Litchville, North Dakota farmer Mark Formo says the water came hard and fast. “It looked like somebody just took a bucket and dumped it on you,” said Formo. “There are roads that are washed out, nothing could handle the rush off some of these fields.”

Rain, Rain, Go Away – This has not been a typical spring. “This isn’t our wettest spring, but it is one of our most trying,” says Todd Stanley, who farms at Grygla, Minnesota. “It just rains every day or every other day. People have been in the fields over a month and there’s still a fair amount of planting left to do.” With the wet conditions, Stanley still hopes to finish planting before all of the crop insurance deadlines hit. “We’ve still got 500 acres of soybeans to plant and we’re hoping for some nice days to get finished up.”

Planting Nearly Finished at Fullerton, ND – The moisture slowed down planting in the Fullerton, North Dakota area. “The things we got in earlier are looking pretty good,” said Chad Ulmer, who farms in the region. “Some of the fields have been having some crusting issues trying to emerge, but for the most part things are looking pretty good.”

Crop Update From Bayer’s Clark Leir – Bayer Crop Science field sales representative Clark Leier says the crops in his territory in central North Dakota crops that are planted look very good. Hail-damaged wheat should recover, but Leier says a fungicide will be necessary to protect the crop. “A good application of a fungicide will help save some of the yield potential that’s out there,” said Leir. “The physical injury from the hail is an entrance for disease to get into the plant and start. I would say the majority of fungicides are preventative fungicides so we have to spray them on before the infection starts in the plant in order to be effective.” Listen to the interview. 

WestBred Wheat Report – In the latest WestBred Wheat Report, WestBred Technical Product Manager Justin Berg said herbicide applications are happening. “With the cool, wet, damp conditions we’ve had it’s perfect for some of these early season diseases to set in for both winter wheat and spring wheat,” said Berg. “Overall, where there is good wheat without standing water, it looks tremendous.” Learn more in this report.

A Hungry, Yellow Wheat Crop – Some nitrogen has likely been lost due to the saturated soils. “A lot of the wheat that’s in the ground is looking kind of tough,” said Robbie Holthusen, product manager, Helena Agri-Enterprises. “We got the rains after we seeded and got a good stand, but there’s a lot of yellow wheat out there that’s really, really hungry.” While some nitrogen has been lost, most of it has been pushed below the root zone. “It’s probably a little bit below where it needs to be for the plant to use it so we can definitely go with some foliar options with our herbicide or fungicide applications to tap into that nitrogen that’s still in the soil.” Helena has a product called Coron that is safe to use in a fungicide or herbicide application. For every gallon of Coron, Holthusen said 12-and-a-half pounds of N is available to the crop. Listen to the full interview.

Stripe Rust Concerns – The wheat crop has had a lot of stress thrown at it this year, but another threat is on the horizon. NDSU Extension Cereal Crops Pathologist Andrew Friskop says the recent wind events open the crop up to stripe rust concerns. “We do have reports of stripe rust in northern South Dakota and this is a disease that moves from the south to the north so knowing that it is in South Dakota we’ll likely find it soon.” An early onset of stripe rust increases the chance of economic loss for cereal grains.

Cutworm Pressure Evident – Insects may not be seen, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t there. Syngenta Agronomic Service Representative Jason Snell says that below-ground bug pressure is in full force as summer approaches. “A lot of corn insect pressure is below ground,” said Snell. “We have seen some increased cutworm pressure on corn along with wireworms and they’re pretty tough to control at this time of year.” Snell suggests planting hybrids with different traits or in-furrow treatments when dealing with below-ground pests.

Pioneer Agronomy Update – Early, even emergence is very important to maximize corn yields. Pioneer Strategic Account Manager Brent Sorenson says early planting in cold, wet soils results in less vigorous plants and reduced yield. “A 1.5 week delay in emergence can result in a five percent yield loss while delayed emergence of three weeks can result in 12 percent lower yield,” reports Sorenson. It is valuable to assess the stand while the corn is emerging. Listen to the latest Pioneer Agronomy Update online.

Wind Damaged Crops – Pioneer Field Agronomist Kristie Sundeen is seeing the effects of the windy conditions in northeastern North Dakota. “There are some fields that got hit pretty hard with some blowing dirt. We have had some replant on sunflowers and canola already.” Sundeen is hoping for good weather conditions for farmers to get spraying done. “Hopefully we get a little less rain and some nice spray days. Guys need to start spraying if they have not done so already.”

Canola Minute – Here’s the latest Canola Minute from the Northern Canola Growers Association. This week, Northern Canola Growers Association Board Member Devin Wert discusses planting, insects, and crop conditions in southwestern North Dakota. Here’s the report. 

Shouldn’t Be A Lot of PP – According to AgCountry Farm Credit Services Vice President of Insurance and Market Education Rob Fronning, there are several factors to consider when making the  prevented plant decision, including the economic benefits. Fronning does not expect a lot of PP acres. “There’s going to be some pockets where it’s a little heavier concentrated, but a lot of people were that 70, 80, 90 percent done with planting and they just have that last little bit that they want to get in.”

Swenson Snapshot – Peterson Farms Seed Lead Agronomist Rick Swenson says farmers are having trouble completing their first weed control application due to the wind and rain. “I would’ve liked to see some of this stuff sprayed a week ago, but that’s just the way it’s been for us.” Swenson advised farmers to stay the course with soybean maturities until now. “Then maybe start pulling back, maybe one relative maturity for each two days after that till the end of the month.”

The Garden Spot – Central Illinois looks to be a garden spot. Windsor, Illinois farmer Matt Bennett says his crop is in very good shape. “I gotta be honest, our crop it looks fantastic. I know most people don’t want to hear that necessarily. It is what it is.” Bennett isn’t sure he has a ‘monster crop,’ but it has good yield potential due to the solid uniform emergence.

La Nina Pushed Back Again – The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has released its new long-term forecasts. For June, the tri-state region is expected to be warmer than normal. The outlook for rain in June is neutral to slightly below average. The three-month forecast, which includes June, July and August, has equal chances of the conditions being above or below the norm. NOAA pushed back the arrival of La Nina until late July or August.

Behind the Dollar – The Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council takes us ‘Behind the Dollar’ in its latest series. “Without the checkoff dollars, there’s not a lot of research that simply wouldn’t get done,” said Glen Groth, a member of the MSRPC board. Groth takes that responsibility seriously. “It’s the farmers’s money and as a farmer myself I know the value of a dollar.” Listen to the update. 

Dicamba Restrictions – The Minnesota Department of Agriculture is reminding farmers and custom applicators about the state-specific restrictions on the use of dicamba. The dicamba products cannot be applied after June 12 south of I-94 and after June 30 north of the interstate. The cut-off date for South Dakota is June 20 and it’s June 30 for North Dakota.

AFREC: Soil Fertility Minute – Northwest Research and Outreach Center Nutrient and Water Management Specialist Dr. Lindsay Pease joins this week’s Soil Fertility Minute to discuss the comparison between tiled and untiled ground and the effect on fertilizer applications. The Soil Fertility Minute is made possible by the Agricultural Fertilizer Research and Education Council. Listen to the update.

Sugarbeet Report – In this week’s Sugarbeet Report, RRFN visits with NDSU Extension Entomologist Mark Boetel about peak fly activity for sugarbeet maggot. “Most of those peaks will likely happen in the work week (this) week.” Listen to the report. 

Fair Competition is the Goal – The Biden Administration is continuing to address competition in agricultural markets with the announcement of a new rule for poultry farms. The Poultry Grower Payment Systems and Capital Grower Systems addresses the ranking system used to pay poultry farmers. “The proposed rule would address a range of abuses that have occurred in relationship to the poultry grower ranking or tournament payment system.” Under the proposed rule poultry farmers’ flock performance would be scored fairly against other farmers, with clearly defined rules and definitions. Vilsack also launched the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Live Cattle Data Dashboard, giving producers a user-friendly way to access LMR live cattle market information.

MFBF Minute – Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation Director of Public Policy Pierce Bennett is featured in this week’s edition of the MFBF Minute. Bennett says it is time to register for r the Farmers to DC trip in September. Listen to the report. 

Stabenow Rallies Anti-Hunger Advocates – Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow criticized the House Agriculture Committee farm bill during an appearance at the National Anti-Hunger Policy Conference. Stabenow said the House bill took nearly $30 billion from federal nutrition assistance and “gave a 70 percent increase to the biggest farmers.” The Michigan senator went on to say she supports risk management for all farmers, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of the most vulnerable.

Farm Bill Needs to Get Done – With all the challenges facing the industry, National Pork Producers Council Assistant Vice President of Domestic Policy Chase Adams says Congress needs to get a farm bill done sooner rather than later. “I don’t know how it gets done; I don’t care how it gets done, we have to it get done,” said Adams. “California’s Proposition 12 takes a lot of the air out of the room, that’s where the stress has been and we need to make this happen.”

Fighting for Our Future – The National Pork Producers Council reviewed farm policy during a forum at World Pork Expo. NPPC President Lori Stevermer likes what she sees in the House Agriculture Committee farm bill. “Everything that we asked for we got,” said Stevermer. “Whether it was continued funding for our animal health three-legged stool, funding for market development programs for exports and even a federal solution to Prop 12.” Stevermer said pork producers are fighters, especially when it comes to regulations. “As producers, iif it directly impacts our livelihood we want to fight for that freedom to operate.” Stevermer farms at Easton, Minnesota.

Healing Still Needed – Increasing retail pork prices might lead some Californians to regret their vote on Proposition 12. “I’m not sure that consumers have made the connection with what they’re seeing at the grocery store and what they voted on back in 2018,” said Scott Hays, past president, National Pork Producers Council. During World Pork Expo, Hays said producers are is having a bounce-back year. “It’s certainly a much different place than we were in a year ago. It’s great to have some black ink, but there’s a lot of healing that’s got to happen in the industry.”

Promoting Pork Production in ND – Policies were changed over a year ago to encourage the growth of animal agriculture in North Dakota. “We’ve been having such incredible progress with discussions with people who are actually in beef production who are diversifying into pigs or people who have never actually raised livestock before and they want to learn how to get into swine production,” explains Amber Wood, executive director, North Dakota Livestock Alliance.”It’s such an exciting thing to see, the next generation of North Dakota farmers taking on a whole new industry and a whole new life.” Wood also highlights the crop fertility benefits. “That swine manure is just gold.” Wood met with swine integrators during World Pork Expo to promote pork production in North Dakota.

Policy Highlighted at NMPF Board Meeting – The National Milk Producers Federation leadership has wrapped up its summer board meeting. The modernization of federal milk marketing orders and the H5N1 response were high on the agenda. The board also considered improvements to its Cooperatives Working Together self-help initiative, which promotes dairy exports.

SD Corn Comments – Drink milk! The South Dakota Corn Utilization Council presents South Dakota Corn Comments. During this June Dairy Month, this week’s update features Tom Peterson of the South Dakota Dairy Producers. “South Dakota’s dairy industry had a total economic impact of $4.85 billion last year.” Listen to the report.

Independent Bankers Seek a Level Playing Field – The Independent Community Bankers of America represents 5,000 banks across the country. Senior Vice President of Agriculture and Rural Policy Mark Scanlon argues the system for rural lenders is not fair. “We’ve often pointed out to Congress that the playing field is not really level because you have a competitor called the Farm Credit System that has an effective tax rate of two and a half percent. They don’t pay any taxes on real estate loans and they don’t pay taxes on home loans. That puts banks at a disadvantage when you are competing against a government-sponsored enterprise which is what they are.” The ICBA is promoting legislation to address their concerns.

ND, SD Bankers Meet in Fargo – According to North Dakota Bankers Association President and CEO Rick Clayburgh, economics and policy were the big topics at this year’s joint North Dakota and South Dakota Bankers Association Convention. “Agriculture was present throughout this whole convention,” Clayburgh said. “Probably 80 percent of our loan activity is involved in agriculture.”

What’s Hot, What’s Not in Markets – In this morning’s edition of What’s Hot, What’s Not in Markets, Martinson Ag Risk Management President Randy Martinson cites the U.S. dollar as the one ‘hot’ market story. “It seems to be the market that is holding up there.” Corn futures may not be hot, but Martinson calls it ‘warm’ because that market had a stronger week than other commodities. A bearish trend has been seen in wheat, soybeans, cattle and hogs. Listen to the report with Randy Martinson.

Corn Matters – Sand County Foundation Vice President Lance Irving joins Corn Matters this week to talk about the Leopold Conservation Award Program. Corn Matters is a presentation of the Minnesota Corn Growers Association.

Grasslands CRP Enrollment Underway – Farmers and landowners can now sign up for USDA’s Grassland Conservation Reserve Program. Signup is underway through June 28 at your local Farm Service Agency office. FSA officials said historic interest in the Grasslands CRP program has been seen in the past three years.

Farming for the Future – The Minnesota Department of Agriculture is partnering with the Red River Farm Network and the Linder Farm Network to provide information on soil health events and topics. In this week’s edition of Farming for the Future, Nobles County farmer Mark Enninga is featured. Enninga is a Water Quality Certified Producer. Listen to the report. 

Job Opportunities in Agriculture – Check out the Job Opportunities in Agriculture tab on the Red River Farm Network website. The Roseau County Farm Service Agency in Roseau, Minnesota is hiring a full-time program technician. Duties include general office activities supporting FSA programs administered at the field level. The application deadline is June 24.

Farmer Sentiment Recovers – Farmers were increasingly optimistic during May. According to the latest Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer, the credit goes to an uptick in crop prices. Despite the positive outlook, 77 percent of the farmers surveyed said it is a bad time to make large investments. Interest rates and higher costs for farm machinery were cited.

Global Interest Rates Adjust – The European Union Central Bank cut its key interest rates by a quarter point to 3.75 percent. The move came a day after Canada lowered its interest rate. The attention now shifts to the U.S. Federal Reserve and its meeting this week. The U.S. inflation rate has been sticky and slow to move to the Fed’s goal of two percent.

A Conservative Shift – Ballots are still being counted for the European Parliament, but a shift to the right has taken place. There are 27 countries represented as members of the Parliament. The change in power will make it more difficult to approve legislation on issues, such as the Common Agricultural Policy and climate change.

Mexico Elects Sheinbaum – Mexico has elected its first female president. Claudia Sheinbaum is the former mayor of Mexico City. She will have a role in the review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement in 2026 and will deal with disputes with the United States over agricultural trade.

Labor Issue May Influence Border Crossings – With mediation continuing, the deadline for Canada’s border agents to take action has been pushed to Wednesday. The union representing customs and immigration workers was originally scheduled to take job action on Friday afternoon. Most border agents are considered essential employees, but there could be delays for border crossings.

EID Rule Takes Effect Later This Year – USDA’s animal traceability rules take effect in early November, expanding the requirement for electronic identification tags. National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Senior Director of Government Affairs Sigrid Johnson said the change is being made in response to the threat of foreign animal disease. “It’s really less a matter of if we’re going to have an FMD outbreak and more of a question of when,” said Johnson. “When that happens, there’s enormous economic damage to our supply chain due to that mandatory stop-movement order when those first cases are detected.” The traceability offered through EID tags, will allow cattle to move quickly and efficiently in a safe and secure system. USDA said animal traceability rules were going to change two years ago. The NCBA pushed to ease the regulatory burden on producers.

Checkoff in the Crosshairs – A coalition of anti-checkoff groups was in Bismarck Tuesday as part of its Enough is Enough Tour. The coalition is protesting the consolidation of the food system and claims the commodity checkoff programs are working against their interests. Sixteen groups are part of this group, including the Dakota Resource Council, the Organization for Competitive Markets and R-CALF USA. Meanwhile, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, American Sheep Industry Association and North Dakota Stockmen’s Association released a joint statement, emphasizing their support for commodity checkoff programs.

National Officer Gets ‘Local’ Experience – National FFA Officer Emily Gossett participated in the North Dakota FFA Convention throughout the week. “In North Dakota, I’m not getting the tourist experience; I’m getting the local experience and I really appreciate how inviting everyone has been.” Gossett has traveled to ten state FFA conventions this year, enjoying a very unique experience. “I was just in Vermont and they showed me a sugaring place where they pull the maple syrup out of the trees and they make it into the syrup. In Georgia, there’s a bunch of row crops and they’ve got pecans and peach production and in California, it’s all those specialty crops. It’s just really incredible to experience the diversity of agriculture that we see across the country.”

New ND FFA State Officers – The North Dakota FFA State Convention concluded with installing the 2024-2025 state officer team. Mariah Lovro was selected to be the state president. “There are so many amazing and kindhearted people in the FFA and I can’t wait to meet them.” The other new state officers are Teagan Erbele as the secretary, Bailey Urlacher as the vice president, Anna Palmer as the treasurer, Joe Lindberg as the reporter, Dawsyn Malkowski as the sentinel and Grant Anderson as the parliamentarian. Erbele has always wanted to be a part of the state officer team. “It’s such a great platform to interact with members and inspire them to be active in FFA.”

Stars Shine – The Stars came out Wednesday night at the North Dakota FFA Convention. Jackson Brossart from the Rugby FFA Chapter is the State Star Farmer. The Star in Agribusiness is Joe Lindberg from the Carrington FFA. Kylie Skadberg, who is also from the Carrington chapter, is the Star in Agricultural Placement. The Star in Agriscence honor belongs to Samantha Burchill from Central Cass FFA. “I’ve taken an interest in a variety of topics, such as plant science and soil science,” said Burchill. “I’ve really grown in my research and knowledge with those projects.”

New Foundation Director Settles Into Role – Less than two weeks on the job, North Dakota FFA Foundation Executive Director Laiken DeMorrett was hard at work at the state convention. “My roots run deep in FFA, my heart is in the ag community and I’m thrilled to give back to an organization that gave so much to me.” eMorrett says she already feels comfortable in her role thanks to the talented team of professionals surrounding her. “I’ve got a great team who have equipped me well in this short time and I’m looking forward to getting deeper into the role.”

The End of a Busy Year – For the 2023-2024 North Dakota FFA state officer team, the state convention represents the end of an era. “Being a state officer is a one-year deal, so you have to make the most of it,” said State President Ty MacDonald. “I’m just so grateful for it.” State Treasurer Anna Hauge is proud of the skills students gain through the organization.  “It’s a lot of hard work, but it’s also so rewarding,” said Hauge. “Part of what FFA does is equip students with skills that will help them be successful in their future endeavors.” For State Secretary Jack Stoppleworth, joining FFA was a no-brainer. “Agriculture touches everyone, there’s no one who hasn’t been affected by agriculture.” All three former officers are entering their sophomore year at NDSU. MacDonald is pursuing an Animal Science degree, Hauge is studying Agribusiness and Biology and Stoppleworth is studying Mechanical and Electrical Engineering.

Business Sucess – Carrington FFA member Joe Lindberg was named the Star in Agribusiness for his Supervised Agricultural Experience. Lindberg’s SAE focuses on trapping and selling minnows. “It taught me a lot about ingenuity, financial management and networking tactics. It has been really fun.” Lindberg was also selected as a member of the 2024-2025 North Dakota FFA officer team.

ND FFA is Student-Led – Breanna Mueller is a long-time supporter of FFA. In her current role as assistant state supervisor, she assists teachers with their programs and events, such as the state convention. “FFA  is a student-led youth organization. We use a delegate process where our state officers come up with initiatives. The delegates that are selected by their chapters do committee work to voice their insight to make recommendations.”

FFA is for Everyone – New England FFA member Bailey Urlacher was named the new North Dakota FFA state vice president. Urlacher has found her place in FFA and hopes to help other FFA members find theirs. “I have found my purpose and what I want to do with my life through FFA. I want to be able to inspire the younger members and let them know that they belong in FFA.” Urlacher urges other members to take every chance that they can in FFA. “Take every chance as an opportunity to learn a little bit more about yourself. When you look back the growth will be phenomenal.”

State Officer Advice – Outgoing North Dakota FFA Vice President Ian Dukart urged members to “fall headfirst.” Dukart said that attitude allows everyone to learn something new and “that is going to make you a little bit better.” During the Parent and Sponsor Banquet, Ian stood with his father, Derrick, and his grandfather, Doug. The three generations of Dukart men all served as state officers.

ND FFA Keeps Rolling Along – With the North Dakota FFA State Convention in the rearview mirror, there’s more to do in the months ahead. “We have a packed summer,” says State Advisor Nikki Fideldy-Doll. “Right away our newly elected officers will be joining me in Bismarck to begin their training. We also are gearing up for the North Dakota State Fair. We bring in thousands of exhibits to showcase the work of our students throughout the year.”

Helping the Next Generation – The NDFB supports the next generation of farmers. NDFB Southeast Representative Alicia Nord was at the FFA convention to help young people explore their options in agriculture. “It’s so great to meet with students from across the state and talk about Farm Bureau, agriculture, and how we can help them in their careers.” NDFB’s student membership was a hot topic at this year’s state convention. “Our student membership is for any student under 25 years old. It gives students access to many things, including up to ten scholarships.”

Midwest Ag Summit Preview – Fargo-Moorhead -West Fargo Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President Katherine Grindberg is excited about tomorrow’s Midwest Ag Summit. “Dr. Bill Wilson, an agriculture professor at NDSU and a top-known ag economist, will be speaking about megatrends in agriculture trade and marketing.,” said Grindberg. “We’re having Billi Hunt, the executive director of America’s Cultivation Corridor, speak about the next generation of agriculture, alongside Bruce Rastetter, the founder and executive chairman of Summit Agriculture Group,  who will talk about carbon capture which is a big part of the conversation right now.” This event will be held at the fairgrounds in West Fargo.

Moorhead Hosting Midwest Council Ag Forum – The Midwest Council Ag Forum will be held Tuesday afternoon in Moorhead. Former House Agriculture Committee Chair Collin Peterson, who was behind the development of the Midwest Council on Agriculture, said the forum will include a panel of economists. “We have Pat Westhoff of FAPRI; we have Brad Lubben from the University of Nebraska and we have NDSU’s Sandro Steinbach. They will be involved in this policy center that we’re working on.” National Pork Producers Council Vice President of Student Engagement Andy Curliss will also address the threats to modern agriculture. “He’s done a lot of research on who has been funding all of the anti-agriculture stuff in the country.” This forum coincides with Ag Tech Week in Fargo/Moorhead.

The ‘Silicon Valley’ of Agriculture – Fargo Moorhead Economic Development Chief Business Development Officer Ryan Aasheim sees the new Ag Innovation Corridor as yet another step in making the Northern Plains synonymous with American agriculture. “You think about Silicon Valley, that’s a name that everyone recognizes and we think we are that destination for ag innovation (and) ag technology. We want the rest of the world to know what we already know.” Aasheim points to the diversity found in the agriculture of the region. “Think about all the different applications and technologies, this area is a living laboratory. This is a really high-impact place to test different methods and theories in agriculture.”

The Hub of Ag Innovation – The new Ag Innovation Corridor is the culmination of over two years’ worth of work. “With our heritage and our culture, we don’t like telling our story very much,” said Roger Reierson, Ag Innovation Corridor coordinator. “Finally, we decided that we needed to sit down and tell this story and that’s what this is all about.” One of the goals of the Ag Innovation Corridor is to highlight agricultural production and technology in the Fargo/Moorhead area and to attract talent and industry professionals. “We’re going to promote what the region is like and why other companies should probably relocate here; why investments are needed here; why it’s a great place to go to school; we need to tell people If you have an interest in agriculture, take a look here.” Reierson is the chairman of Flint Group.

Summer Forecast: More Solar Storms Expected – Keep an eye on your GPS devices and equipment throughout the summer. According to GK Technology Agronomist Sarah Lovas, NASA reports are calling for more solar events like last month’s solar incident that wreaked havoc on GPS devices. “The one that we saw a month ago was really major and pretty heavy in radiation. Throughout the entire summer we’re supposed to have some pretty heavy solar storm activity.”

Deere Introduces New Combine – John Deere has introduced its new T6 800 walker combine. The new T6 800 combine includes many features from the X9 and S7 Series combines with the latest integrated precision ag technology, larger, quieter cab, increased unloading rate and improved efficiency. “The technology added to this combine gives the farmer the power to execute, monitor and analyze every stage of their harvesting operation,” said Bergen Nelson, Deere’s go-to-market manager for harvesting equipment.

AURI Report – The Agricultural Utilization Research Institute hosts an ag innovation podcast with Dan Skogen that discusses Minnesota agriculture. The newest episode will air on June 19, showcasing Lucas Sjostrom. Sjostrom is the executive director of the Minnesota Milk Producers Associaiton and owner of Redhead Creamery near Brooten. Get the details in this AURI Update and go to auri.org for more. Listen to the audio report. 

Hormel Reports 2Q Financials – Homel Foods is reporting second-quarter operating income of $537 million, down from $585 million one year ago. Net sales totaled $5.8 billion, down from $5.9 billion in the same period last year. Sales volume growth came from bacon and emerging brands, but that was offset by declines in value-added meats.

Resicore REV Offers Wide Application Window – Corteva Agriscience has a new weed control option available, but with limited supplies. The company plans to ramp up the availability of Resicore REV over the next year. Corn Herbicide Product Manager Nick Burke says this new formulation offers maximum flexibility. Crop Protection Launch Leader Eric Scherder agreed, saying the benefits of Resicore REV are evident in a year like this. “Heavy rainfall has plagued many of our states which has delayed our planting and in many instances delayed our application time,” said Scherder. “It’s not only days, but weeks at a time. Having that wide application window from pre-plant up to 24 inches gives growers the piece of mind knowing that they don’t have to switch out a herbicide program mid-season because we’ve already gone past the grow stage.”

KWS Cover+ Program Offers High Quality Seed for Cover Crops – Cover crop acreage has grown significantly over the past ten years. With a focus on climate-smart agriculture and sustainability, another 10.5 million acres of cover crops are expected to be planted in the next five years. KWS Cereals Country Manager Dr. Becca Brattain says there is demand for high-quality cover crop seed. However most seed companies are not investing in cover crop seed because it is a terminal crop. KWS produces an elite hybrid rye and as a hybrid, it is illegal to save harvested grain for seed. In the past, any unused grain had to go to animal feed. “A really interesting question came across our desk which was, what’s the difference between feeding livestock and feeding the soil? That sure made people start scratching their heads and that’s where this little brainchild of the KWS Cover+ Soil Protection Program came from. It’s the first of its kind opportunity where we are going to allow grain harvested from our hybrids to be sold to authorized license partners or seed companies that we’re going to work with. They’re going to clean it, bag it, tag it, and allow it to be sold as a terminal cover crop.” While it is a premium product, KWS is encouraging seed companies to price the Cover+ hybrid rye the same as any other rye on the market.

Syngenta Provides Gene-Editing Technology to Academia – The Syngenta Group has announced it will provide its rights for genome-editing and crop breeding technologies to academic researchers worldwide. This includes certain intellectual property related to the CRISPR technology. These rights are available through Syngenta’s innovation collaboration platform.

Dry Bean Scene – In this week’s Dry Bean Scene, Northarvest Bean Growers Association Vice President Joe Mauch talks about the wet spring and how it is affecting the planting process.  Listen to the broadcast. 

MN Beef Update – Baleigh Peterson is a summer intern for the Minnesota Beef Council. In this week’s Minnesota Beef Update, Peterson highlights her role with the beef checkoff program. Listen to the report. 

North Dakotan Elected to NAEDA Board – The North American Equipment Dealers Association has announced the election results for its regional directors. Mike Weisenberger of Titan Machinery in West Fargo will represent the North Central Region.

AMPI Chair Elected to NMPF Board – The National Milk Producers Federation board has elected three new members, including Associated Milk Producers Inc. Chairman Dave Peterson. Peterson farms at Boyd, Wisconsin.

New Chief Strategy Officer Named at Midwest Dairy – Midwest Dairy has named Trudy Wastweet as its Chief Strategy Officer. This is a new position for the dairy checkoff program. Previously, Wastweet was Midwest Dairy’s Chief Operating Officer.

New Pork Board Officers Elected – Iowa farmer Al Wulfekuhle is the new president of the National Pork Board. Gordon Spronk of Pipestone, Minnesota is vice president. Alayne Johnson of Indiana is treasurer.

Ricci Joins CME Group Leadership – The CME Group has named John Ricci as its managing director and global head of agricultural products. Ricci will be responsible for leading the development, execution and management of the exchange’s agricultural business. Ricci has 25 years of experience in the derivatives market, most recently with Invesco.

Crowder Passes – Richard ‘Dick’ Crowder, 84, passed away May 30. Crowder served as the chief agricultural trade negotiator in the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office during the George W. Bush Administration and was the USDA undersecretary for international affairs and commodity programs during the George H.W. Bush years. Crowder’s career also included time as a senior vice president for Dekalb Genetics and the head of the American Seed Trade Association.

Oster to Receive Governor’s Ag Ambassador Award – During the Governor’s Agricultural Summit in Huron, Jerry Oster of Yankton will receive the Governor’s Ag Ambassador Award. Oster retired in 2023 after a 49-year career at WNAX Radio. The summit will be held Wednesday and Thursday at the State Fairgrounds.