grand forks herald salute to agriculture 2010

Harvest of KnowledgeAgri-Women’s Conference

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2010 • RAMADA INN, GRAND FORKS, ND(need not be a member to attend)

Sponsored by Minnesota and North Dakota Agri-WomenFOR REGISTRATIONINFORMATION CONTACT:Karen Landman,805 44th St. NE, Northwood,ND, 58267e-mail: [email protected]

For general information contact:Donna Ulseth, 29165 365th St. SW,Crookston, MN 56716e-mail: [email protected]

Keynote Speaker

Annelee Woodstrom, Ada, Minn.“War Child - Growing Up in Adolf Hitler’s Germany.”

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W O R K S H O P S • E N T E R T A I N M E N T • D O O R P R I Z E S

28thAnnual

R001508295

Salute to Agriculture Grand Forks HeraldSunday, October 24, 2010

Sixty years ago mymom and dad movedfrom an apartment inGreat Falls, Mont., to afarm near Larimore,N.D.

My mom and dad hadboth grown up on farms,she a couple of milesaway from the farm theymoved to, and he nearStanford in central Mon-tana. My dad had justgraduated from collegewith a business degreeand was working as aninsurance salesmanwhen my grandpa askedmy dad if he wanted tofarm with him.

My dad and mom,along with their twoyoung sons, moved to thefarm southeast of Lari-more where my grandpagrew up. My grandpa andgrandma lived a coupleof miles to the westwhere she had grown up.

I’m glad my dad’s an-swer to my grandpa’soffer was yes. While, Iknow, realistically, if hehad rejected it, I neverwould have known whatI was missing out on, it’sstill hard to imagine howdifferent my life wouldhave been if my dad had-n’t been a farmer.

Farm livingFor me, the farm was

the ideal place to growup. I loved the freedomof having several acresof woods filled withtrees to climb, a haymowwith a rope I could swingon and pastures filledwith cows. I liked havingfriends over to ridehorses, riding in thecombine with my dadand riding to the eleva-tor in the grain truckwith my brother, thengetting a bottle of Nes-bitt’s orange soda fromthe dusty pop machine atthe elevator.

I sometimes didn’t likewalking up and downrows of pinto bean fieldsand pulling out volun-teer sunflowers, clean-ing grain bins andtrudging through mudand manure to help takecare of sick calves. Butsomehow, doing thosechores with a sibling orone of my parents, madethe work a little easier toswallow. Working along-side of a family member,contributing to the col-lective farm effort gaveus a sense of satisfactionthat outweighed the dis-tasteful part of the job.

Staying in touchAfter I graduated from

high school and movedaway to attend college, Ilooked forward to week-ends when I could gohome and visit the farmand often broughtfriends with me. Usually,my friends loved thefarm as much as I did,commenting on the largeyard, beautiful fieldsthat surrounded thefarmstead, and, ofcourse, my mom’s cook-ing.

I didn’t know until Iwas in college that allmothers didn’t cook likemine. To me, fresh gar-

den vegetables, home-canned pickles, roastbeef, ham or chickenand a different of from-scratch pie every day ofthe week, were the norm.It wasn’t just my momwho cooked like that, ei-ther. Home-cookedmeals I ate at the housesof my farm friends alsowere hefty and tasty. Themoms usually were cook-ing not only for theirkids and husbands, butfor some farm hands aswell.

When I graduatedfrom college, I lived inapartments for severalyears, and then, after Igot married lived in ahouse in Grand Forks forseveral years. The farmremained an importantpart of my life, and dur-ing those 13 years, Ioften visited, pitched inwith the chores and rodehorses with my dad andbrother.

Being out on the farmhelped keep my life inperspective and re-minded me of what is re-ally important. If Ithought my career as anewspaper reporter wasa busy one, all I had todo was visit the farmwhere my dad, mom andbrother were jugglingdozens of different tasksand often working twicethe hours each day that Iwas.

Coming homeIn 1993, after my

grandma died, my par-ents asked my husband,Brian, and me if wewanted to live on herfarmstead. Brian, whohad grown up on a farmnear Thompson, N.D.,and I were ready tomove back to the coun-try.

We’re glad we did andso are our children.They love living on thefarm as much as we doand, like me, can’t imag-ine what it would be likeif they were growing upin town. Although wedon’t farm, they knowneighbors and friendswho do, and have an ad-miration for farmers andthe work they do. I alsotell my sons and daugh-ter a lot of stories aboutwork I did when I wasgrowing up on the farmand how their grandpaand uncle took pride inbeing stewards of theland.

It’s a Herald traditionto do a newspaper sec-tion each fall that fo-cuses on agriculture andelsewhere in this sectionyou’ll read about farm-ers, guys who work atgrain elevators and oth-ers who work in the agri-cultural industry. It iswith heartfelt apprecia-tion that I say thanks toall of you who contributeto, and work in, the in-dustry. I salute you all.

Proud to be afarmer’s daughter

Jackie Lorentz, staff photographer

�� Argyle Cooperative Warehouse Association employee Glen Smidt loads a truck with fertilizer.

By Ann BaileyHerald Staff Writer

ARGYLE, Minn. – The farmingseason has come full circle at the Ar-gyle Cooperative Warehouse Associa-tion.

A year after fertilizer for the 2010crop was applied, applications areunder way for the 2011 crop. In be-tween times farmers, planted and har-vested the crop and hauled it to theelevator and workers there unloadedand marketed it.

All elevators require a joint effortbetween farmers and elevator em-ployees to make the harvest success-ful. Some, like the Argyle FarmersCooperative, also have a cooperativelegal arrangement.

HistoryThe Argyle cooperative has it roots

in a corporation. In June 1905, theFarmers & Merchants Elevator Co.

A year-round enterprise� Work never ends

at Argyle (Minn.)Cooperative Warehouse

Association

Eric Hylden, staff photographer

�� Ken Hanson, Argyle Co-op Warehouse Associationassistant manager, checks a bin as soybeans are elevatedinto it recently.

�� Bob Kasprowicz unloads thecombines in Wayne Bergeron’s fieldnear Argyle, Minn. Rain in thebackground makes it even moreimportant to get the last strip of hardred spring wheat off the field.

Jackie Lorentz, Special Features staff photographer

YEAR ROUND: See Page 3

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Grand Forks Herald/Sunday, October 24, 2010 3


�� Cole Wittman, left, an Argyle elevator employee talks with farmer Wayne Bergeron in his field where springwheat is being harvested.


�� Kent Hanson sweeps the chaff down a shaft thatwill hold all the chaff until it can be unloaded and usedby a company to burn as pellets.

was formed in Argyle, ac-cording to the MinnesotaGrain and Feed Associa-tion website. A few monthslater, the Duluth ElevatorCo. bought the elevator for$6,000. The elevator changed

from a stock company to aco-op in 1935, and in 1937,the name was changed tothe Argyle Cooperative

Warehouse Association.Cooperative board mem-bers approved construc-tion of a new elevator in1949. In 1968, the co-opbegan leasing a bulk fertil-izer facility and in 1982, itstarted an agronomy de-partment.In 1998, Mark Dufault

was named the elevator’smanager, the eighth in theco-op’s history. About 50area farmers are members,he said, and the elevatorhandles a total of 1.6 mil-

lion bushels of wheat, soy-beans and corn annually.

Spring work Meanwhile, the coopera-

tive’s agronomy depart-ment sells and appliesfertilizer and chemicalsfor its farmer customers.This past spring the agron-omy department startedapplying fertilizer in earlyApril, Dufault said. Co-op employee Tony

Hamrick recalls workingsome 20-hour-plus days last

spring, running theAgChem fertilizerspreader. Some days, hespread as much as a thou-sand acres of fertilizer.“I’ve started at 5 o’clock

in the morning and I’vespread until 2 a.m. Wewere really busy. It wasnuts,” Hamrick said. Buthe doesn’t mind spendingthe time in the cab of thefertilizer spreader.“It’s very accurate equip-

Continued from Page 1

YEAR ROUND/


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4 Grand Forks Herald/Sunday, October 24, 2010

ment. There’s very littlewaste with these machines,if any at all.” The machinecan adjust its fertilizer ap-plication rates, dependingon the soil conditions indifferent areas of the field.“You can be going acrossthe field and it will changefrom 100 pounds an acre to300 pounds an acre andyou don’t have to touchanything,” Hamrick said.

The son of a Warren,Minn., dairy farmer, Ham-rick enjoys working in anag business and the varietyof jobs he performs. Be-sides running the fertilizerspreader, he does customspraying of crops for theco-op during the summerand works on machinery“I like getting to know

different farmers. It’ssomething different all ofthe time,” Hamrick said.Workers at the loading

area of the Argyle Cooper-ative Warehouse Associa-tion, like the guys whospread the fertilizer, havea hectic schedule in thespring. The employeesload the trucks, which inturn are driven to the fieldso the fertilizer in thespreaders can be replen-ished.

The spreader can load aton per minute so it takesabout 15 minutes to fill up,Dufault said.While the spring rush is

intense, it’s short-lived.“It’s usually six weeks,then it’s done,” said JerryWhitlow, fertilizer plantmanager.

Wheat Despite some rain delays

this spring the fertilizergot spread and the cropsplanted pretty much onschedule.By mid-July the wheat

began turning from greento gold.“We were harvesting by

the first part of August,”Dufault said. This year Ar-gyle-area farmers had agood-sized quality wheatcrop to harvest.Protein levels were

slightly higher than lastyear, Dufault said. “Iwould guess we’re going tobe in the 12-5, 13 percentrange. There are some 14saround this year wherelast year there was none,”he said.


YEAR ROUND/


�� Argyle elevator employee Aaron Knoll scouts a field of black beans in a field the elevator was monitoring for aphids.


�� A wheat field is ready for harvest.



�� Top: A black board inthe receiving area of theelevator where semitrucks unload is used torecord what grain orwhich beans are stored inbins in the elevator. Bottom: No aphids werefound on soybeans butthe good news is thatnodules were forming onthe root systems.


North Dakota corn productionHarvested acres in 2009: 1.7 millionHarvested acres in 2010: 1.8 millionAverage yield in 2009: 115 bushels per acreAverage yield in 2010: 140 bushels per acreTotal production in 2009: 200 million bushelsTotal production in 2010: 254.8 million bushels

Minnesota corn productionHarvested acres in 2009: 7.15 millionHarvested acres in 2010: 7.2 million Average yield in 2009: 174 bushelsAverage yield in 2010: 175 bushelsTotal production in 2009: 1.2 billion bushelsTotal production in 2010: 1.3 billion bushels

United States corn productionHarvested acres in 2009: 79.6 million Harvested acres in 2010: 81.3 million Average yield in 2009: 165 bushel per acreAverage yield in 2010: 155.8 bushels per acreTotal production in 2009: 13 billion bushelsTotal production in 2010: 12.7 billion bushels

North Dakota soybean productionHarvested acres in 2009: 3.9 millionHarvested acres in 2010: 4 millionAverage yield in 2009: 30 bushels per acreAverage yield in 2010: 37 bushels per acreTotal production in 2009: 116.1 million bushelsTotal production in 2010: 150 million bushels

Minnesota soybean productionHarvested acres in 2009: 7.1 millionHarvested acres in 2010: 7.3 millionAverage yield in 2009: 40 bushels per acreAverage yield in 2010: 45 bushels per acreTotal production in 2009: 284 million bushelsTotal production in 2010: 329 million bushels

United States soybean productionHarvested acres in 2009: 76.4 millionHarvested acres in 2010: 76.8 millionAverage yield in 2009: 44 bushels per acreAverage yield in 2010: 44.4 bushels per acreTotal production in 2009: 3.4 billion bushelsTotal production in 2010: 3.4 billion bushels

North Dakota oil sunflower productionHarvested acres in 2009: 760,000 Harvested acres in 2010: 685,000Average yield in 2009: 1,520 pounds per acreAverage yield in 2010: N/ATotal production in 2009: 1.2 billion pounds Total production in 2010: N/A

Minnesota oil sunflower productionHarvested acres in 2009: 44,000Harvested acres in 2010: 53,000Average yield in 2009: 1,400 pounds per acreAverage yield in 2010: N/ATotal production in 2009: 61.6 million poundsTotal production in 2010: N/A

United States oil sunflower productionHarvested acres in 2009: 1.7 million Harvested acres in 2010: 1.6 million

Average yield in 2009: 1,563 pounds per acreAverage yield in 2010: N/ATotal production in 2009: 2.6 million poundsTotal production in 2010: N/A

North Dakota non-oil sunflowerproductionHarvested acres in 2009: 108,000Harvested acres in 2010: 177,000Average yield in 2009: 1,500 pounds per acreAverage yield in 2010: N/ATotal production in 2009: 162 million pounds Total production in 2010: N/A

Minnesota non-oil sunflowerproductionHarvested acres in 2009: 20,000 Harvested acres in 2010: 30,000Average yield in 2009: 1,250 pounds per acreAverage yield in 2010: N/ATotal production in 2009: 25 million pounds Total production in 2010: N/A

United States non-oil sunflowerproductionHarvested acres in 2009: 300,500 acresHarvested acres in 2010: 458,300 acresAverage yield in 2009: 1,508 pounds per acreAverage yield in 2010: N/ATotal production in 2009: 452 million poundsTotal production in 2010: N/A

North Dakota canola productionHarvested acres in 2009: 725,000Harvested acres in 2010: 1.3 millionAverage yield in 2009: 1,840 pounds per acreAverage yield in 2010: 1,810 pounds per acreTotal production in 2009: 1.3 billion poundsTotal production in 2010: 2.3 billion pounds

United States canola productionHarvested acres in 2009: 814,000Harvested acres in 2010: 1.4 millionAverage yield in 2009: 1,811 pounds per acreAverage yield in 2010: 1,786 per acreTotal production in 2009: 1.5 billion poundsTotal production in 2010: 2.5 billion pounds

North Dakota sugar beet productionHarvested acres in 2009: 218,000Harvested acres in 2010: 208,000Average yield in 2009: 22 tons per acreAverage yield in 2010: 29.5 tons per acreTotal production in 2009: 5 million tons million tonsTotal production in 2010: 6.1 million tons

Minnesota sugar beet productionHarvested acres in 2009: 449,000 Harvested acres in 2010: 416,000Average yield in 2009: 23.7 tons per acreAverage yield in 2010: 29 tons per acreTotal production in 2009: 10.6 million tonsTotal production in 2010: 12 million tons

United States sugar beet productionHarvested acres in 2009: 1.1 million acresHarvested acres in 2010: 1.1 million acres

Average yield in 2009: 25.7 tons per acreAverage yield in 2010: 29.6 tons per acreTotal production in 2009: 29.6 million tonsTotal production in 2010: 33.3 million tons

North Dakota barley productionHarvested acres in 2009: 1.1 mi1lionHarvested acres in 2010: 675,000Average yield in 2009: 70 bushels per acreAverage yield in 2010: 65 bushels per acreTotal production in 2009: 79.1 million bushelsTotal production in 2010: 43.9 million bushels

Minnesota barley productionHarvested acres in 2009: 80,000Harvested acres in 2010: 70,000Average yield in 2009: 61 bushels per acreAverage yield in 2010: 62 bushels per acreTotal production in 2009: 4.9 million bushelsTotal production in 2010: 4.3 million bushels

United States barley productionHarvested acres in 2009: 3.1 mi1lionHarvested acres in 2010: 2.5 millionAverage yield in 2009: 73 bushels per acreAverage yield in 2010: 73.6 bushels per acreTotal production in 2009: 227.3 million bushelsTotal production in 2010: 181.9 million bushels

North Dakota spring wheat productionHarvested acres in 2009: 6.3 mi1lionHarvested acres in 2010: 6.3 millionAverage yield in 2009: 46 bushels per acreAverage yield in 2010: 45.5 bushels per acreTotal production in 2009: 289.8 million bushelsTotal production in 2010: 286.7 million bushel

Minnesota spring wheat productionHarvested acres in 2009: 1.6 mi1lionHarvested acres in 2010: 1.6 millionAverage yield in 2009: 53 bushels per acreAverage yield in 2010: 55 bushels per acreTotal production in 2009: 82.2 million bushelsTotal production in 2010: 85.3 million bushels

United States spring wheat productionHarvested acres in 2009: 13 mi1lionHarvested acres in 2010: 13.4 millionAverage yield in 2009: 45.1 bushels per acreAverage yield in 2010: 46.9 bushels per acreTotal production in 2009: 584.4 million bushelsTotal production in 2010: 627 million bushelsSource: September and October National Agricultural

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sion faculty with AgriLifeExtension, along withother faculty in the Depart-ment of Animal Scienceand College of VeterinaryMedicine at Texas A&MUniversity, have put onlinemore than 250 videos onbeef cattle management,”said Dan Hale, AgriLifeExtension meat specialist. The RanchTV.org online

video library was devel-oped to extend educationresource and informationoutreach to beef cattle pro-ducers via the Internet,Hale said. “They have had almost

30,000 viewers over the lastyear,” he said. “The goal ofthe online digital library isto provide cattle producerseasy access to informationthat will help teach bestmanagement practices.This was accomplishedthrough the sponsorship ofthe Texas Beef Council.” Instructional topics on

the website include effec-tive stockmanship, BeefQuality Assurance prac-tices, grid marketing andchute-side processing,Hale said. “RanchTV.org includes

information about almostevery aspect of beef cattleproduction,” he said. “Iteven contains an online

Beef 706 program wherecattle producers can learnabout the value of cattlefrom feeder calf to boxedbeef. “RanchTV.org will be an

evolving online learningcenter for cattle produc-ers, with many more videosscheduled to be addedover the second year.” According to Hale, one

of the most popular videosis where Dr. John David-son, a Texas A&M Collegeof Veterinary Science vet-erinarian, shows an intra-muscular vaccination of alive calf using magneticresonance imaging. It cancurrently be seen in thefeatured-video section on

the home page. “It is our goal to continu-

ally add new videos on thelatest issues facing thebeef cattle industry,” Halesaid. The RanchTV.org online

learning center was devel-oped in part through thecheckoff funds provided bythe Texas Beef Council.For more information, visithttp://ranchtv.org.

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R001510449


Agritourism:Selling the farm

experienceExtension.org

Agriculture andtourism is becoming anindustry. Some rural en-trepreneurs are findingways to contribute toboth industries, makinga profitable mixture offood production, hospi-tality and recreation ontheir farms. “Agritourism is a busi-

ness venture located ona working farm, ranch orother agricultural enter-prise that provides anexperience for visitorswhile generating sup-plemental income forthe owner,” said Whit-ney Wiegel, Universityof Missouri Extensionagriculture businessspecialist. “Examples of agri-

tourism include cornmazes, horseback riding,U-pick produce, feehunting, school tours,wagon rides and on-farmsales,” he said. Agritourism can diver-

sify revenue sources, es-tablish an alternativemarketing outlet, gener-ate price premiums forfarm products, create anopportunity to capitalizeon the aesthetic value ofagricultural land andallow farm owners toshare their passion foragriculture with others. “Anyone planning to

start an agritourism ven-ture should look at theventure as a business,”Wiegel said. “First, askyourself what type ofagritourism businessyou want to operate.Will its purpose be tosupplement cash flow,earn a profit or provideeducational fun and en-joyment without makinga profit? Identifyingyour goals is founda-tional in operating anytype of farm enterprise,whether it’s agritourismor commodity produc-tion.” The next two steps go

hand-in-hand – marketresearch and resourceassessment.

“Your market re-search and resource as-sessment should answerthe following questions:‘Who will come to myfarm?’ and ‘Why willthey come?’” he said. Your marketing efforts

should be based onwhom you intend to at-tract to your business.Will you try to attractfamilies, retired people,schoolchildren or someother class of people?Will you try to attractlocal people, peoplefrom a nearby city, trav-elers along a majorhighway or others?

Your niche“Also, consider what

characteristics of yourfarm will attract yourtarget population,” hesaid. “This is whereyour farm resourcescome into the picture.Do you offer a peacefulplace in the countrywhere couples can cometo get away from thehustle and bustle of thecity, an educationalvenue for elementaryschools, a paradise forhunters or recreationalopportunities for horseowners/riders?” The next step is to

write a business planthat clearly explains thenature of your business. “Your business plan

will help you determinewhether or not yourbusiness will accom-plish your goals and itwill help you communi-cate your idea with peo-ple who may be able tohelp you succeed,”Wiegel said. For more information

about business planningand resources to helpyou get started in agri-tourism, contact yourlocal MU Extension of-fice. Many online re-sources are through MUExtension at http://ex-tension.missouri.edu/main/DisplayCategory.aspx?C9.

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Ag teachers find fertile ground in city schoolsBy Emma L. CarewStar Tribune, Minneapolis

Most of Julie Ketterling’shigh schoolers have neverset foot on a farm or petteda cow.So her task of making the

world of agriculture rele-vant to the 909 urban stu-dents at Humboldt HighSchool in St. Paul is a tallorder.“They’re real curious

about what goes on at afarm,” Ketterling said ofher students.

Ag edAgriculture education in

area high schools hasgained popularity recently,popping up in unlikelymetro schools. Educatorssay it’s because they’ve ex-panded the focus of theirprograms to include topicssuch as natural resources,agriculture economics andfood science.“Often people think that

teaching agriculturemeans we’re teaching kidsto be farmers,” said BeckyMeyer, director of theAcademy for Sciences andAgriculture (AFSA), acharter school in VadnaisHeights that was foundedin 2001.

In nine years, Meyer saidthe school has seen justone student who camefrom a traditional back-ground in production agri-culture.Ketterling arrived at

Humboldt a year ago, aspart of the high school’s re-structuring process tofocus on career prep andenvironmental issues. Pre-viously, she taught in ruraland suburban schools.The programs at AFSA

and Humboldt mark signif-icant growth in ag pro-grams in a short time, saidBrad Greiman, associateprofessor of agricultureeducation at the Universityof Minnesota.Humboldt Principal

Mike Sodomka said thegoal is to arm the studentswith skills that go beyondhigh school, such as amindset toward conservingnatural resources.Students in the FFA club

– which up until 1988stood for Future Farmersof America – worked withstudents from the culinaryarts program to build threeraised-garden beds in theschool courtyard. Theygrow herbs, tomatoes andtomatillos that are used inthe school cafe, Sodomkasaid.

In a recent section of herCare of Small Animalsclass, Ketterling helpedher students make the con-nection between animaland product as they pettedher rabbit, Daisy, thenpassed around an angorasweater.

JobsThe demand for agricul-

ture education is beingdriven by jobs, said Meyer,of AFSA. She points toMinnesota-based Cargilland General Mills as exam-ples of non-farming agri-culture businesses.“Feeding America’s pop-

ulation and the world’spopulation is big busi-ness,” she said. “Ag gradshave an inside track onjobs.”As the boomer genera-

tion of agriculture teach-ers begins to retire,Greiman said his programcan’t churn out graduatesfast enough to meet de-mand. Of 16 first-year agri-culture education teachersin Minnesota this year, hesaid four of them were re-cruited from out of state.Ketterling teaches

courses such as Intro toAgriculture, Care of SmallAnimals, and Environmen-

tal Science. In the spring,her students will have thechance to earn collegecredit through the Collegein the Schools programwith an Animal Scienceclass.Ketterling has also

started an FFA club atHumboldt. She said shehas a core of about 15 stu-dents in the club’s secondyear. They have competedin wildlife competitionsand worked as dairy judgesat the Minnesota StateFair.FFA chapters have been

forming in more and moreurban areas, Greiman said.FFA membership is at anall-time high nationwide,he said.Pao Thao, a Humboldt

FFA student, said he is ex-cited to learn about the en-vironment and ways thathis life can affect it. Healso said he enjoyed learn-ing about the differentbreeds of animals.“You can see everything

and know what they are,”he said.For Thao, the agricul-

ture courses and FFA ac-tivities “just opened up aworld.”

Beef producers can learn productionpractices and more by going online

File art

�� “The Beef Cattle Extension faculty with AgriLife Extension, along with otherfaculty in the Department of Animal Science and College of Veterinary Medicine atTexas A&M University, have put online more than 250 videos on beef cattlemanagement,” said Dan Hale, AgriLife Extension meat specialist.

“RanchTV.org will be an evolvingonline learning center for cattle

producers, with many more videosscheduled to be added over

the second year.”Dan Hale

AgriLife Extension meat specialist

AskAmy

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By Mark SeeleyUniversity of MinnesotaExtension

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Octo-ber is an important monthfrom an agricultural stand-point. Crop harvesting,crop drying, tillage andsoil testing are among themany weather-sensitive ac-tivities Minnesota farmershope to accomplish. SomeOctobers are fondly re-membered for providingnearly ideal conditions forthese activities, whilesome are cursed for prob-lematic weather.

I have been looking atrecent climate trends forOctober in Minnesota, withone practical outcomebeing a recommendationto consider later fall fertil-

izer applications.Since the last major

widespread drought year,1988, Minnesota farmershave had to cope with sev-eral wetter-than-normalOctobers. In 2007 and 2009the statewide average rain-falls for October weregreater than 5 inches. Forthe majority of Minnesotafarmers this meant delaysin harvest, and for severalwho reported more than 7inches of October rainfallin those years the delayswere not in terms of daysbut weeks. This was be-cause the rainfall was fre-quent with 16 to 19 daysbringing rain to someplaces.

Since 2000, only Octoberof 2003 and 2006 delivered

less-than-normal precipita-tion; moreover, since 1988,12 years have brought well-above-normal precipita-tion during the month. Infact, in 2005, a very rare Oc-tober flash flooding oc-curred in portions ofeast-central Minnesota assevere thunderstormsbrought 4- to 6-inch rains.The silver lining in this Oc-tober climate trend is thelarge fraction of the pre-cipitation that goes intosoil moisture storage andis available for the follow-ing year’s crop.

Regarding temperaturetrends in October, most ofthe years since 2000 havebrought above-normal tem-peratures during themonth. In addition, fall

frost dates have come a bitlater in the month thanusual, especially in south-ern counties. Over the pastseveral Octobers, includ-ing this year, daytime tem-peratures have exceeded80 degrees on one or moredays. In previous decadesthis has been a rare occur-rence.

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Extension.org

Iowa State agronomistMatt Liebman has beenstudying various aspects ofextending the conventionalcorn-soybean rotation withsmall grains and foragesfor eight seasons. He hasdocumented many bene-fits, including the need forfewer purchased inputsmade from fossil fuelswhile maintaining highlevels of production.

SDS resistant Another benefit of

longer rotations has sur-faced, puzzling him andother researchers at IowaState. Soybean in three-year rotations with corn,oat and red clover, and infour-year rotations withcorn, oat and alfalfa,seemed to escape the worsteffects of Sudden DeathSyndrome or SDS. This dis-ease, caused by a soil fun-gus that infects soybeanroots soon after planting,can lead to significantdrops in yield.

“We have had SDS inthese plots, but it was verydramatic this year,” Lieb-man said. “It’s definitely a

rotation effect becauseeverything else is thesame, but we do not knowwhy it’s happening.”

In Liebman’s test plots atthe ISU Marsden Farmwest of Ames, 90 percent ofthe soybean plants in atwo-year rotation were se-verely affected by SDS,while less than 10 percentwere affected in the three-and four-year rotationplots. A defoliation ratingof the plots showed similareffects: on average, theplots in a two-year rotationhad 62.5 percent defolia-tion, compared to 5 and 4.4percent for the three- andfour-year rotations, respec-tively.

The plots were har-vested Oct. 5, and yieldsdetermined from an areaof 6 rows by 275 feet in thefour replicates of eachtreatment. Soybean yieldsdid not differ between thethree-year and four-yearrotations and were not af-fected by variety (bothRoundup Ready™ andnon-Roundup Ready™ va-rieties were planted). Aver-age yield of the twovarieties was 54.5 bushelsper acre.

In contrast, soybeanyields in the two-year rota-tion were significantlylower than in the longerrotations and were signifi-cantly affected by variety.In the two-year rotation,Kruger K-287RR/SCN pro-duced 42.1 bushels peracre, whereas Kruger K-2918/SCN produced 21.6bushels per acre. (Yielddata was reported at aseed moisture level con-tent of 13 percent.)

All soybeans in the ex-periment follow corn. Allwere planted under simi-lar conditions, on similardays, and grew with simi-lar rainfall. The longer ro-tations have receivedsubstantially fewer exter-nal inputs, relying on redclover, alfalfa and cattlemanure for weed controland nutrients.

Impressive resultsISU plant pathologist

Leonor Leandro visited theplots in early Septemberand was eager to look atwhat might be causing thedifferences. “We don’tknow the exact mecha-nism,” she said, “but the

differences in SDS severityare impressive.”

ISU researchers haveshown that SDS fungus cansurvive in corn kernels androots, but they have notlooked at oats, wheat or al-falfa. Other microbes orbacteria in the soil couldbe suppressing thepathogen, or allowing rootsto grow with fewer prob-lems.

Liebman has been com-paring the different rota-tions the past eight years,thanks to an initial com-petitive grant from theLeopold Center and con-tinued with support fromthe Leopold Center andthe U.S. Department ofAgriculture.

“We know there aremany benefits of usinglonger rotations,” said JeriNeal, who works with theLeopold Center’s EcologyInitiative. “Farmers whoare willing to explore dif-ferent rotations may signif-icantly reduce their risksand costs associated withSDS, and save money onother energy and inputcosts.”

Longer rotations could providekey to fighting SDS in soybeans

Farmers should choosefall tillage methodsbased on soil conditionsBy Jodi DeJong-HughesUniversity ofMinnesota Extension

ST. PAUL, Minn. –Fall tillage decisionsbecame a lot morecomplicated becauseof the heavy rains inSeptember. Floodingand the prospects foranother wet harvestseason will make effec-tively using tillage tomanage residues moredifficult. University ofMinnesota Extensionresearch can providesome guidance.

In a dry fall, thereare more options forresidue management,and deeper tillage willhave less negative ef-fect on the soil. Evenso, different imple-ments have differingeffects on soil struc-ture and residue incor-poration. Chisel plowshave more of a liftingeffect on the soil andthe soil tends to frac-ture along naturalplains. Extension re-search shows thatchisel plows can incor-porate about 50 to 70percent of the residue.

A disk has moredown pressure. Thesmearing and shearingeffect breaks apartmore soil structurethan chisels. However,disks are very effectiveat cutting and sizingresidue for decomposi-tion, making plantingeasier in the spring.Depending on theshape and size of thedisk, 40 to 80 percent ofthe residue is incorpo-rated.

If your fields are wetduring harvest andruts are created, thefirst instinct is to ag-gressively fill them in.To protect the existing

soil structure, just fillin the ruts with lighttillage by runningequipment at an angle.You may need two orthree passes to accom-plish this. These areaswill not yield as well asthe non-rutted area,but there is not muchyou can do to changethis.

When the soils arewet and residue man-agement is the mainissue, a light tillagepass with a vertical-tillimplement is useful forsizing and incorporat-ing some residue andintroducing air to thesoil. Vertical tillageruns 1 to 3 inches deepand uses straight orwavy coulters, a har-row, with rolling bas-kets being optional.Vertical tillage fluffs-up the remainingresidue with shallowpenetration and mini-mal soil movement.

Lifting wet soils cancreate clods. If using achisel plow or disk rip-per, shallow up theshanks, and use nar-row points. The wingshave a higher potentialfor smearing the soil.Clods in themselvesare not bad going intowinter; they will leavemore surface area forwater infiltration.However, a field withclods is more difficultto break apart and mayneed multiple tillagepasses in the spring toget ready for planting.

Keep your optionsopen as things canchange quickly. Visitthe tillage page on theUniversity of Min-nesota Extension web-site atwww.extension.umn.edu/tillage for more infor-mation.

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Saturdays

Isolate flooded soybeans when harvestingBy Seth Naeve and BrucePotterAg News Wire

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Heavy rain thatfell across much of southern Min-nesota this fall left large areas ofcorn and soybean fields submerged.Flood waters covered perhaps100,000 acres for several hours asrain water moved from fields intocreeks and rivers. Longer term flood-ing of fields affected tens of thou-sands of acres of cropland.

Many factors will affect the qualityof the corn and soybean crops follow-ing standing water. These include,but are not limited to: duration of theflooding, crop stage or maturity,depth of the water, movement of thewater, and air and water tempera-tures. Fortunately, late-season rainevents of this magnitude are rela-tively rare. Unfortunately, there isvirtually no data to help us estimatecrop losses and conditions of cornand soybean crops. Flood waters arethought to affect soybeans more thancorn, and will therefore be our focus.

Potential flooding damage to soy-bean includes stem breakage andlodging, moisture-swelled seeds that

can lead to pod splitting, seedsspouting or rotting, and contamina-tion with mud. Short-duration flood-ing is gentler on the crop than floodsthat last several days or more, butone can be sure that flooding of anyduration on any soybean field in lateSeptember will damage the crop tosome extent.

Anecdotal information from flood-ing occurring in Mississippi in 2009indicates that soybean fields thathave reached full maturity (R8) at thetime of flooding were found to haveless damage than fields that were notyet fully mature (less than R7). So far,we have noted little loss from fieldsthat were at R8 at the time of flood-ing and where ponded water recededin a few days. Significant lodging andloss is present where heavy streamflooding occurred.

OptionsThe only management considera-

tions that are open to producers atthis very late date may be harvesttiming and logistics. Rather thanwaiting for wet spots to dry, harvest-ing the non-flooded portions of fieldsfirst will speed harvest, minimize

wear and tear on equipment andkeep water-damaged soybeans sepa-rated from good quality grain.

Farmers should harvest and storesoybeans from flooded areas sepa-rately from areas that were notflooded. Because damage levels aredifficult to estimate and thresholdsand allowances provided by grain el-evators are unknown, it is criticalthat producers not mix damaged soy-beans with clean ones. Do not betempted to blend off a few bushels ofdamaged soybeans with a whole binof good ones. The risks are simply toogreat.

Another reason to harvest floodedareas separately is related to crop in-surance. It is important that produc-ers clearly document these floodedareas so that insurance or disasterrelief assistance claims may be madea later date. Isolating these floodedareas is the best means to documentlosses from these heavy rains.

Producers affected by flood waterscan get more information by visitingExtension’s flood and water website,www.extension.umn.edu/flood or di-rect questions to Extension’s FarmInformation Line (1-800-232-9077).

October climate trends reveal need to delay fall nitrogen application

By Katherine WatersUniversity of MinnesotaExtension

Many Minnesota farmersuse all-terrain vehicles(ATVs) to check on cropsand livestock, inspect andrepair irrigation systemsand fence lines, supervisefield crews, herd livestock,and to move things fromhere to there and backagain.ATVs are useful on the

farm, but a growing num-ber of deaths and injuriesresulting from accidentsled the National EducationCenter for AgriculturalSafety (www.necasag.org)to focus on ATVs for thisyear’s National FarmSafety and Health Week,September 19-25. The Consumer Product

Safety Commission (CPCS)reported that in recentyears an estimated 25,500individuals were treatedfor ATV-related injuries in

hospital emergency rooms.Four out of 10 peopletreated in emergencyrooms for ATV injuries areunder the age of 16. Theexact number of injuries isnot known because manyATV injuries are treated athome. The CPSC report also in-

dicated that 6.4 percent ofall ATV accidents oc-curred on the farm. Thisnumber is expected togrow as the ATV becomes amore common agriculturalmachine.

DeathsEach year, about 800

deaths are associated withATV accidents nationwide.In Minnesota, 248 deathshave been reported in thepast 26 years, with 19 per-cent of the deaths reportedin the past two years.Clearly, the number ofdeaths per year associatedwith ATVs has increased

in recent years. The ma-chines are getting biggerand faster, weighing 600 ormore pounds, with speedsexceeding 70 miles perhour. Rollover accidentsare the most common.When it comes to ATV use,the following simple safetymeasures can mean thedifference between lifeand death:� Be aware of your sur-

roundings.�Wear a helmet.� Be familiar with the

manufacturer’s safety pre-cautions.�Don’t allow passen-

gers.� Take an ATV training

course.�Make sure your ATV is

equipped with headlightsand tail lamps.�ATVs are designed for

off- highway use.�Display red, reflective

warning devices on thefront and rear when oper-

ating near. public road-ways ATV use in Min-nesota is regulated by theMinnesota Department ofNatural Resources (DNR).For a summary of Min-nesota ATV laws, visitwww.dnr.state.mn.us/regu-lations/ohv/index.html. Ifyou operate an ATV, con-tact the DNR InformationCenter at (888) 646-6367 toreceive a free ATV safetytraining CD. For more information on

how to protect yourself,your farm family and yourfarm employees duringharvest season, visit theNational AgriculturalSafety Database website athttp://nasdonline.org/browse/1/topic.html.During harvest, we see

increased use of farm ma-chinery in the fields andon the roads. Let’s pay at-tention to vehicular safetyand make this season asafe one for all.

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Ranchers need to exercisecaution when grazingcattle in cold weather

Extension.org

As frost begins tocover fields, cattle pro-ducers should protectgrazing livestockagainst prussic acidpoisoning and bloat, aPurdue University Ex-tension beef specialistsays. Prussic acid, also

commonly referred toas cyanide or hydro-cyanic acid, is a potent,rapidly acting poisonoften used in rodentand vermin killers. Itaccumulates in a num-ber of common plants,and once animals con-sume those plants, thetoxin rapidly enters theblood stream, is trans-ported throughout thebody and inhibits useof oxygen by the cellsin the animal’s body. “In essence, the ani-

mal suffocates,” saidRon Lemenager. Sorghums and re-

lated plant species caneasily accumulatethese toxic compoundsfollowing events suchas frost that ruptureplant cells. Ruminants, or ani-

mals with stomachs di-vided into fourchambers, are moresusceptible to prussicacid poisoning thanother animals becausethe ruminal microor-ganisms have enzymesthat release the acid inthe animal’s digestivetract. “Signs of prussic acid

poisoning can occuranywhere from 15 min-utes to a few hoursafter animals consumetoxic forages,” Leme-nager said. “Animals

are often found dead.Clinical signs, when no-ticed, occur in rapidsuccession and includeexcitement, rapid pulseand generalized muscletremors, followed byrapid and laboredbreathing, staggeringand collapse.” In addition to creat-

ing prussic acid insorghum and relatedplants, frost also cancreate high levels ofsoluble protein in al-falfa, winter wheat andwhite clover. When ananimal consumes these,the result is frothy orlegume bloats, Leme-nager said. Cattle suf-fering from bloat candie within an hour.Rapid swelling of theleft side of the bodyand various signs ofdiscomfort often can besymptoms. “It is important to

know when to graze cat-tle and when not to,”Lemenager said. “Thebest prevention of bothprussic acid poisoningand bloat is to keeplivestock from grazingon nights when frost islikely and to keep ani-mals from grazing atleast 5-7 days after afrost.” Lemenager suggests

that cattle be fed be-fore they are let backout to graze so that theyare full and less likelyto over-eat infectedplants. Producers alsoshould wait until dew isoff alfalfa plants beforeletting cattle out tograze and avoid grazingthem on young plants,where the risk of bloatis often highest.

United Way of Grand ForksEast Grand Forks & Areaunitedwaygfegf.org

Iowa State researchers studyenergy use in pig productionExtension.org

AMES, Iowa – The con-cept of “life cycle assess-ment” was first applied tomanufacturing processesbut is increasingly beingused to examine agricul-ture. It’s a technique to an-alyze the environmentalimpacts associated with aproduct, process or serv-ice. Iowa State University re-

searchers used the lifecycle assessment conceptto estimate the amount ofnonrenewable energyneeded to produce pigs inIowa. The project was sup-ported by a two-year grantfrom ISU’s Leopold Centerfor Sustainable Agricul-ture and a U.S. Depart-ment of AgricultureSustainable AgricultureResearch and Educationgrant.

Energy inputsThe research took into

account all direct and indi-rect energy inputs in theconstruction and operationof a pig facility, plus thegrowing and processing offeed ingredients. Comparisons were made

between a conventional

confinement system withmechanical ventilationand liquid manure han-dling, and one that usesbedded hoop barns forgrow-finish pigs and gestat-ing sows. The two housing systems

required similar amountsof nonrenewable energybut each uses energy dif-ferently according to PeteLammers, a former ISUdoctoral candidate in ani-mal science. Lammers nowis a livestock specialist forthe National Center forAppropriate Technology inDes Moines. Lammers said raising

pigs in conventional con-finement facilities re-quires the use of moreenergy to heat and venti-late the buildings. “Usingbedded hoop barns for ges-tation and grow-finish re-duces this energy use byalmost 70 percent,” hesaid. However, pigs raised in

hoop barns require morefeed, which ultimatelyleads to the two systemsperforming similarly interms of energy use. “Ear-lier ISU research showed ahoop barn-based systemrequires 2.4 percent more

feed. In addition, the nitro-gen value in the solid ma-nure is less than what’savailable in liquid manurecollected at a confinementfacility. That means morefertilizer nitrogen must beapplied to corn fields,”Lammers said.

Feed The researchers found

the largest single use ofnonrenewable energy inpig production is growingthe feed. Approximately 50percent of the nonrenew-able energy associatedwith growing and process-ing a typical corn-soybeanmeal diet can be attributedto synthetic nitrogen fertil-izer for corn production. So although conven-

tional facilities requiremore energy to operatefans, lights and heaters,the amount of energy re-lated to crop production isslightly less when com-pared to hoop barn-basedpig production. Mark Honeyman, animal

science professor and coor-dinator of Iowa State’s re-search farms, said theresearch showed a hugedrop in the use of nonre-

newable energy for pigproduction over the past 35years. “This study showed a re-

duction of nearly 80 per-cent in nonrenewableenergy use to produce onemarket pig in Iowa today,compared to 1975, whichwas the last time this topicwas examined,” Honeymansaid. “This can be attrib-uted to improved geneticsand nutrition, changes inhousing and ventilationsystems and an overall in-crease in production effi-ciency.” Honeyman said the re-

search shows the key tofurther reducing nonre-newable energy use forIowa pig production is ni-trogen management.“Strategies to optimize ni-trogen stocks and flowsamong crops, livestock, ma-nure and soil should be apriority for future re-search,” he said. Peer reviewed papers on

the research have ap-peared in “Applied Engi-neering in Agriculture,”“Journal of Animal Sci-ence” and “AgriculturalSystems.”

Farm families should protect themselves from ATV injuries

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Yields, meanwhile, were65 to 70 bushels per acreand test weight is 60-pluspounds.The weather was mostly

good during harvest andfarmers were able to getthe crop off in good shape.“The wheat harvest was

done for the most part bythe third week of August,”Dufault said “That’s proba-bly average. Last year wedidn’t get started untilSeptember because of thewet conditions.”

The elevator took inabout 300,000 bushels ofwheat at harvest, but thebulk of the 2010 crop isstored in farmers’ bins.Customers are hoping forbetter wheat bids this win-ter, Dufault said.Once the wheat harvest

was finished the coopera-tive began gearing up forthe soybean harvest. “We moved some grain

around… kind of maderoom for some soybeans,”Dufault said. Workers alsoperformed maintenance onthe equipment.

Row cropsFarmers started combin-

ing their soybeans in lateSeptember. Dufault ex-pected to take in about

60,000 bushels of beans be-fore the harvest was fin-ished.“The crop is a little bet-

ter than we expected,” hesaid. “Overall most guysare fairly happy with theiryields.”They’re also pleased with

the weather during har-vest. This year, farmerswere able to go almost non-stop harvesting their soy-beans and most of the cropwas in the bin by Oct. 10.That’s a contrast to last

year when wet weather de-layed the harvest.“A lot of the beans basi-cally got harvested in No-vember,” Dufault said.After the farmers fin-

ished harvesting corn,weather permitting, the el-

evator typically handlesseveral thousands bushelsof corn.

Gearing up for2011As another farming sea-

son draws to a close, cus-tomers and co-opemployees are looking to-ward the next one. A co-opcrew was set to begin ap-plying fall fertilizer oncethe harvest was completed.

In December and Janu-ary, farmers will be deliv-ering some of their wheatand soybeans that areunder contract.“Then the next thing you

know it will be next spring,again,” Dufault said.

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By Robert RodriguezMcClatchy Newspapers

FRESNO, Calif. – StuartHall doesn’t mind thetriple-digit temperatures,the flies or the occasionaltemperamental cow.“This is a physical job,”

said Hall, a Visalia, Calif.-based farm veterinarian.“But this is what I love todo.”Agricultural leaders

wish there were more likehim.The vast majority of vet-

erinarians choose to takecare of dogs and cats, notcows, pigs and chickens.The trend has raised

concerns among animal-health experts who worrythat there won’t be enoughfarm veterinarians to fillthe expected vacancies atkey federal agencies re-sponsible for protectingthe nation’s food supply.Nearly 30 percent of the

veterinarians at the fed-eral level, including at theFood Safety and Inspec-tion Agency, are eligible toretire in the next threeyears.Rural communities also

are feeling the squeeze.The American Veteri-

nary Medical Associationestimates that more than1,300 counties in the U.S.don’t have a farm veteri-narian.“The demand and need

for services is critical,”said Gina Luke, assistantdirector in the governmentrelations division of theAVMA in Washington, D.C. “We are talking about

making sure we haveenough people to treat ani-mals, and make sure thatour food supply is safe.”

Farm vet shortageFor years, interest in be-

coming a large-animal vet-erinarian has graduallybeen waning.Veterinary schools are

seeing fewer students withfarm backgrounds. At thesame time, the pet industryhas exploded. An esti-mated $3.4 billion wasspent on pet services lastyear, including trips to thevet.The lure of having a staff

and working in an air-con-ditioned office has becomea strong attraction for stu-dents, as does the prospectof an income that will helppay for their education – acost that can be more than$100,000.The average salary for

small-animal vets is$64,744, compared to$57,745 for large-animalvets, according to a 2008survey by the AmericanVeterinary Medical Associ-ation.“As vets, the small-ani-

mal practice looks prettyattractive from a quality-of-life point of view,” saidHall, who works for LoneOak Veterinary Clinic inVisalia.From 1998 to 2009, the

number of companion-ani-mal vets has climbed to47,118 from 30,255, whilethe number of farm-animalvets has dropped to 5,040from 5,553, according to theAmerican Veterinary Med-ical Association. Compli-cating the issue is thegraying population of farm-animal vets. Half are olderthan 50. Only 4.4 percentare younger than 30.“There are folks who are

looking to retire or selltheir practice and they arefinding it challenging tohire someone to take theirplace,” said David Kirk-patrick, spokesman for theAmerican Veterinary Med-ical Association.Young veterinarians are

more likely to take a job ina city and not in the ruralareas where they oftendrive long distances to seetheir clients. Many of thoserural areas are under-

served, say veterinary in-dustry officials. About 500counties in the nation withlarge-animal populationshave no veterinarian.In California, at least six

rural counties, mostly inthe northern half of thestate, have just one large-animal veterinarian.Jennifer Mather prac-

tices in rural PlacerCounty, in California’s SanJoaquin Valley. She tookover an area that wasserved by three veterinari-ans who recently retired.“I would love to share

this area with other vets,”said Mather, who has beenpracticing for a year.“There is a real need uphere. I get calls from peo-ple who are at least anhour away and more, ask-ing me if I can come seetheir cattle.”Mather even got a call

from a beef cattle owner

who was three hours southof her. She couldn’t makethe drive but she gave therancher some advice overthe phone. “Sometimes

that is all I can do,” shesaid.Industry officials, con-

gressional leaders and vet-erinary schools are

responding to the need formore animal doctors withlegislative remedies andoutreach programs.At the University of Cali-

fornia-Davis School of Vet-erinary Medicine, vetschool applicants inter-ested in becoming farm-an-imal vets have anadmissions edge. And theschool has reached out tohigh schools in rural areaswith educational programsaimed at boosting the num-bers of students.“We have some under-

grads who have not been toa farm or even seen a largefarm animal,” said TerryLehenbauer, an associatedirector at UC-Davis’ Vet-erinary Medicine Teachingand Research Center inTulare, Calif. “So we arehaving to do a better job ofselling our program.”

ProgressSchool officials know

they face a challenge, buttheir work appears to bepaying off.Over the past four years,

the number of UC-Davisstudents interested inlarge-animal medicine hasmore than doubled to 11students out of 127.Nearly half are studying

to be small-animal veteri-narians. The rest have se-lected differentspecialties, such as equineor zoological.UC-Davis student Jessica

Woultee said students facea tough decision whenchoosing a career path.She is among a group of

senior students training atTulare’s center. The stu-dents get hands-on experi-ence treating dairy cowsand doing research in thecenter’s lab.“Being able to find a job

is a concern of a lot of us,so we have to look at allour options,” Woultee said.Woultee likes the out-

doors and enjoys takingcare of large animals. Butshe also knows the reali-ties of paying off thousandsof dollars in student loandebt.She has considered

working for the federal orstate government, but alsois exploring the possibilityof opening a private prac-

tice handling both largeand small animals.“In today’s economy, you

almost have to do a littlebit of everything,” Woulteesaid.

LegislationTo help boost the num-

ber of farm animal vets,federal legislators have in-troduced several bills, in-cluding the VeterinaryServices Investment Act,which is aimed at recruit-ing veterinarians, helpingvets expand their practiceand providing nontuitionfinancial assistance forstudents.The bill has passed the

House of Representativesand is awaiting approval inthe Senate.If approved, it would

complement an existingfederal loan-repaymentprogram that provides stu-dents up to $75,000 in ex-change for agreeing towork in an underservedarea for three years.Lehenbauer, who was on

the program’s selectionpanel, said helping stu-dents defray some of thecost of their education isan important factor in at-tracting more veterinari-ans.This year, more than 500

students applied for the re-payment program, and be-tween 60 and 80 studentswill receive funding,Lehenbauer said.“Money can be a real

magnet,” Lehenbauer said.“And we are already see-ing lots of interest in this.”

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Trouble ahead for farms as young vets opt to treat pets

McClatchy Tribune

�� Dr. Stuart Hall of the Lone Oak Large Animal Veterinary Services prepares avaccine for pregnant cows at Homestead Dairy in Visalia, Calif.

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Your localhealth source.

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By P.J. HuffstutterLos Angeles Times

VALLEY CENTER, Calif.– Amid a rolling land-scape of browning chapar-ral and battered trailers,Alan and Ryan Arm-strong’s metal henhousesline up like military bar-racks. Keeping their450,000 birds safe – andSalmonella enteritidis outof their henhouses – is adaily battle.Since they were old

enough to drive the familyskip loader and shovelchicken droppings, theArmstrong brothers fol-lowed a state-sanctionedquality-assurance programdesigned to curtail salmo-nella in eggs. So havedozens more California eggfarmers, who helped de-velop the guidelines along-side federal and stateofficials following a salmo-nella outbreak 15 years agothat sickened thousands ofpeople.The program, which in-

cludes vaccinating hensand testing barns regularlyfor bacteria, has essen-tially wiped out salmonellaon California farms, indus-try officials say. Yet onlynine other states have en-acted similar government-sponsored efforts.One reason, the Arm-

strongs and other Califor-nia farmers contend, iscost. Injecting chickensand swabbing cages takesmoney – not a fortune, butenough to send egg distrib-utors searching for lower-cost sources.“We have lost contracts

over pennies a dozen,”Ryan Armstrong said.“They want cheap eggs.”

New rulesAs the nation grapples

with recent salmonellaoutbreaks, the Food andDrug Administration hasenacted rules that it saidwould prevent future out-breaks. The regulationsforce large operators tobuy chicks and youngbirds, known as pullets,from firms that check forsalmonella, create proto-cols to keep out pests, andperform salmonella testsin henhouses.Yet farmers, food-safety

experts and lawmakersalike warn that the FDA’snew regulations may notdo enough to prevent an-other massive recall.The problem is not a

lack of oversight. Fifteenfederal agencies and morethan two dozen congres-sional committees are inthe business of trackingAmerica’s food supply as itmoves from farm to fork.There are scores of lobby-ists, environmentalists andanimal rights groups. Butthere was no single entitythat made sure the Iowaeggs the public ate were, infact, safe.What went wrong at

Wright County Egg and Hil-landale Farms under-scores how regulatoryconfusion has made it diffi-cult to protect the publicand how, say farmers,there are economic incen-tives to cut corners.

MysteryThe September outbreak

provided an extraordinarycase study. FDA officialssaid they found salmonellacontamination in the feedgiven to pullets, food thatwas made at a mill oper-ated by Wright County Eggofficials near Galt, Iowa.Feed mills are regulatedby the FDA and checkedby the state. But Iowa offi-cials said the mill in ques-tion wasn’t licensed orinspected because WrightCounty Egg said it didn’tsell the feed on the openmarket, using it only for itsown flocks.“In the confusion be-

tween who does what, whotests what and who’s re-sponsible for what, Salmo-nella enteritidis fallsthrough the cracks,” saidMarion Nestle, a professorof nutrition, food studiesand public health at NewYork University.Indeed, in the world of

agriculture, few things aremore difficult than gettinga healthy chicken to lay ahealthy egg. Few peopleunderstand that betterthan the Armstrongs.The brothers grew up on

this dry stretch of northernSan Diego County, wheretheir grandfather Georgepoured concrete slabfloors and erected corru-gated metal and wire wallsin 1970. People in egg farm-ing circles called them“the boys,” young menwho, unlike so many oftheir peers, never left forcity jobs. When their fa-ther, Jerry, died in 2000,they took over the busi-ness. Alan was 24, Ryan 20.Their 56 barns – the

largest are longer than afootball field and widerthan a four-car garage –stretch across four sites.Their hens lay 180 millioneggs a year, some of whichare carried at grocersTrader Joe’s, Stater Bros.and Ralphs.At 9 a.m. on a recent

weekday, Alan, a ruddy-faced, barrel-chested man,had been checking on thehens for hours. So hadRyan, his trim youngerbrother with a quiet coun-try drawl. The thermome-ter outside read 85degrees. Inside the barns,it was 10 degrees coolerand the feeders were full– attractive to rodents andother animals seekingshade and grain. These in-terlopers are potential sal-monella carriers, capableof contaminating feed andwater with their excre-ment.Once a hen eats the con-

taminated feed, the bacte-ria grow in itsgastrointestinal tract andspread through its feces.Bacteria can invade thechicken’s bloodstream andits ovaries, contaminatingthe egg.“Without testing, it’s dif-

ficult to know that there’s aproblem,” said veterinar-ian Nancy Reimers, a

board-certified poultryspecialist whose firm hasworked with the Arm-strongs. The hens “don’tgive us hints that they’renot feeling well ... there’sno drop in egg production,no obvious clues.”

Low-tech scienceDiscovering salmonella

can be surprisingly low-tech. After pulling sky-blueplastic booties over theirscuffed work boots, thebrothers stepped throughthe mesh door of a pulletbarn. Birds scattered.Four weeks ago, these

scrawny hens were day-old, pear-sized balls offluff. They arrived in venti-lated plastic boxes, cheep-ing and defecating on apaper lining.That lining can provide

the first inkling of salmo-nella. The farmers removethe paper, roll it into a con-tainer and drive it to astate-run laboratory inRiverside, Calif., wherescientists perform an “en-vironmental test” on thefeces. “It helps us makesure there wasn’t a prob-lem at the hatchery,” AlanArmstrong said.The cost: one-third of a

penny per chick. The newFDA rules do not requirethe test.The Armstrongs strode

across the barn full ofyoung white birds. By thispoint, each animal had re-ceived a salmonella vac-cine, sprayed in the water.In October, they will gottwo more – including oneby injection.

The brothers and theiremployees are trained togive the shots. On a goodday, two people can vacci-nate 10,000 chickens. Thecost for one year: about 5cents per bird.

More evidenceneededThe new FDA rule does

not require U.S. egg farm-ers to vaccinate theirbirds. Agency officialsruled there wasn’t enoughevidence that salmonellavaccines are effective.In December, the Arm-

strongs’ chickens will beabout 18 weeks old andlarge enough to be movedto an egg-laying barn. Asecond environmental testwill be done: A cotton padis soaked in condensedmilk and, like a mop,dragged through chickenexcrement. (The milk al-lows any bacteria in thefeces to survive whilebeing transported to a lab.)The new FDA rules re-

quire egg farmers to con-duct this test three times.The California programused by 95 percent of thestate’s large producers de-mands five tests.During the average two-

year lifespan of these Cali-fornia hens, they will bevaccinated three times,have their droppingschecked five times andhave their feed tested sixtimes.The total cost per bird:

about 8.5 cents.But in the egg world,

such a seemingly smallsum can mean the differ-

ence between profit andloss.In the late 1980s, about

2,500 commercial egg pro-ducers served the U.S.market. Today, fewer than200 big operators dominatethe trade, using economiesof scale to drive down pro-duction costs.Many of the cheapest

eggs are produced in theMidwest, where energy,farmland and feed costless and where regulationsare less onerous.As a result, Iowa egg op-

erators can undercut thecompetition. Last month itcost Midwest farmers 53.5cents to produce a dozeneggs, about 16 percent lessthan in California, accord-ing to Iowa State Univer-sity’s Egg Industry Center.Fullerton, Calif., whole-

saler Michael Sencer,whose company suppliesfood service firms andchains including Ralphs,Costco and Trader Joe’s,bought inventory fromWright County Egg. Hiscustomers, he said, likedthe low prices and readysupply.“It drives the demand

for Iowa eggs here in Cali-fornia and everywhere,”said Sencer, executive vicepresident of Hidden VillaRanch.

ScramblingThose same customers

are now scrambling.Wholesale egg prices havejumped 20 percent in Cali-fornia since the recall, ac-cording to the U.S.Department of Agriculture.One key reason: There are7.5 million Midwest layinghens currently not produc-ing eggs for the nation’sbreakfasts. But in theGolden State, there areonly 19 million hens –enough to meet just 56 per-cent of California’s de-mand.How long these new cus-

tomers stick around, andwhether less stringentsafety practices will tar-nish the public’s appetitefor the whole industry, re-mains to be seen.“We talk about it every

day,” Ryan Armstrong said.“All we can do is hope andwait.”

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FDA egg tests may raise farmers’ costs without ensuring safety

�� Four-week-old Leghorn chicks flutter around a chicken house the ArmstrongEgg Farms in Valley Center, Calif. The business keeps about half a million hens atthe rural north San Diego County business.

McClatchy Tribune

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By Jim SpencerStar Tribune (Minneapolis)

MINNEAPOLIS – TheState Fair Market BeefGrand Champion lookedlike a 1,305-pound stuffedtoy. His thick black coat –preserved by a summerspent lounging in an airconditioned room – fitlike a plush velvet robe.His leg hair – teased anddoused with adhesive –shone with freshly sprayedblack paint.

No question, Chance thesteer was fluffed and buff.

But was he a steroid-sculpted illusion?

Just as some athletes se-cretly use banned perform-ance-enhancing drugs,owners of show animalscan succumb to chemicalattempts to get a leg up. Itfalls to veterinarians likeTom Lang to help deter-mine whether championslike Chance are what theyseem.

As the champ lumberedfrom a photo op out thedoor of the fairground’sWarner Coliseum, Langmatched the massive steerstride for stride. In hisright hand, the 68-year-olddoctor clasped a 30-inchwooden dowel to which hehad duct-taped a plasticcup to gather a urine sam-ple.

TestingDiscouraging outlawed

animal enhancement bytesting for steroids andeight other banned sub-stances is an importantjob. Champion status mul-tiplies the value of ani-mals.

“Top bulls are morevaluable than top ath-letes,” said Wisconsin cat-tle rancher Mark Goodrich.

Champion animalsheaded for the slaughter-house sell for high pricesat auctions. For thosebound for breeding, a fairprize helps promote salesof embryos or semen worthtens of thousands of dol-lars a year. On average,cows produce 60 embryosannually that bring, on av-erage, $250 to $600 apiece.The best cows command$1,000 per embryo. A singlesample of prize bull semendivided into doses canbring $8,000.

No Barry Bondsallowed

Amidst this battle for bigbucks stands Steve Pooch,who ran the fair’s animalshows for 15 years and stilloversees its animal testing.As far as Pooch – pro-nounced Poke – is con-cerned, nothing could spoila Great Minnesota Get-To-gether like letting theBarry Bonds of bulls or theSammy Sosa of sheepsneak into the State Fair’shall of fame.

“If you can keep theshow clean, you keep get-

ting a strong show,” hesaid. “We haven’t had a lotof issues, but we test everyyear.”

Collecting a urine sam-ple from a prize steer, pigor sheep usually involves alot more than cup holding.Lang and his veterinarypartners – son Scott andMike Bjorklund – can’tleave a newly crownedchampion until it has re-lieved itself. This canmean waiting up to threehours. Sometimes theprocess requires somehands-on encouragement,said Lang, who has spentthe past 16 State Fairsdoing this strange, but crit-ical work.

“We take pigs to thewash rack and run waterover the ears and snout,”the vet said. “With sheep,you cover the nostrils andmouth. They get panickyand then they urinate.”

Clipping hair to test fromthe shoulders and tails ofthe animals is simply amatter of running someelectric shears.

Vets also conduct ultra-sound tests on udders andgather milk from championdairy cows, checking forbanned substances, as wellas foam or water injectionsthat make udders look fatand symmetrical.

“Think of it like usingcollagen to plump lips,”said Christie Ward, a Uni-versity of Minnesota veteri-narian, as she rubbed ascanner along the uddersof a cow named Penny.

Animal owners and vetssign off on all the samplesand give them to Pooch, athin, bespectacled 60-year-old who looks more like aprofessor than a police-man. He guards the chainof custody of the fair’s ani-mal samples like a cop in acriminal case. He sendsthem to Ohio State Univer-sity for testing.

“Everyone loves comingto a show where there’s alevel playing field,” Pooch

said.

IllegalAnimal doping got so

bad in Ohio in the 1990sthat the state passed a lawto make it a crime. To thinthe herd of cheaters, theNorth American LivestockShow and Rodeo ManagersAssociation, to whichPooch belongs, started anational database of peo-ple caught breaking dopingrules. “People on the listare banned from at anyshow in the country affili-ated with the association,”Pooch said.

While he has largelykept cheating in check atthe State Fair, Poochknows pressure to skirtrules keeps building. Whenhe started in the fair busi-ness 37 years ago, a steerlike Chance fetched“maybe 1,500 bucks” inMinnesota. Chance justsold for $14,600.

The real temptation todope animals comes atwhat are called “open”and “jackpot shows.”

There, said Chance’sowner, 17-year-old KaileyDavis, the grand championcan earn $100,000. “In theopen shows, it’s every per-son for themselves,” theGlenville teenager said.“They cheer when youlose.”

As a competitor in 4-Hshows, as well as openshows, Davis understandsthe need for drug testing.

“I know people cheat,”she said. Drug testingsends the message “thatyou’re probably going toget caught if you do.”

History ofvigilance

Across the decadesPooch, veterinarians andlab techs have had toscreen the State Fair’sprize-winning pork, beefand lamb for a growing listof banned substances.Today, they look for every-thing from clenbuterol, agrowth drug, to Lasix, aweight loss drug. The fairalso weighs cows andsteers on their way in and

out of competitions anddisqualifies any animalthat gains or loses morethan 5 percent of its weightover the course of the fair.Weighing guards againstweight-loss drugs. It alsoprotects against grotesque,but otherwise un-provableenhancements such asshoving a hose down an an-imal’s throat and pumpingit full of water to gainjudge-pleasing plumpness.

Meanwhile, some legalenhancements appear al-most as harsh.

“A lot of these guys raisecattle in air conditioningall summer,” Pooch said ofthe exhibitors. “The ani-mal’s hair gets all heavyand thick. So it looks muchnicer. The problem is wedon’t allow the animals inair conditioning. So they’repanting quite a bit becausethey can’t handle this heatand humidity because theyhaven’t been in it all sum-mer. Several years ago, wehad a cow out here at thewash rack just collapsedead of a heart attack.”

A few years back, Poochbanned an animal ownerfrom competition for ayear after he used Lasix.The drug forces urinationthat not only trims hun-dreds of pounds pushinganimals into lower weightclasses, but can also washout evidence of otherbanned substances.

This year, the fair addedanother test, this one to de-tect the interbreeding ofbeef cattle with dairysteers. Breeding a littlebeef into a dairy steer canproduce “a better lookinganimal for eating,” Poochsaid.

“They could put somebeef blood in the dairysteer just to try to win theshow,” he explained,“We’ve had some suspi-cions in the past. We’regoing to take the questionout of it.”

If his years at the Min-nesota State Fair havetaught Steve Pooch any-thing, it is scientific data,not speculation, keeps ani-mal doping at bay.

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�� Steve Pooch who supervises the testing of the animals at the Minnesota StateFair, looks around at the dairy cows being milked after the showing.

McClatchy Tribune

Stopping steroids in the show ring

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