"You aren't going to find a lot of young farmers buying land themselves," said David Bau, agriculture business management educator with the University of Minnesota Extension, speaking from his office in Worthington in mid-August. The land there is known for its rich, black, productive soil and doesn't come cheaply. It's expensive and difficult, making the threshold for entry too high and risky for many.Įspecially if you're looking at the swath of fertile acres south of the Minnesota River, the growing fields that have spawned household names such as Green Giant. Here's a snapshot of what the data say about farming in Minnesota.The first step to buying farmland in Minnesota is probably, well, already owning farmland. "So, whether it's a beginning farmer, or woman farmer or a farmer with military experience all those different things can provide some insight into what agriculture looks like within Minnesota."Īccording to the USDA, nearly three-fourths of farmers participated in the 2017 census. "I think something else people will be very interested in is some of the demographic data and a little more detail on who is making decisions on farms," he said. Some of the trends Lofthus thinks might be of interest this year include hot topics like cover crops - a crop grown not for production but to maintain the health of the soil - and a survey of other conservation practices farmers are being encouraged to use as a way to improve soil health and water quality. Dirt rich: Healthy soil movement gains ground in farm country.Related: Farmers in southern MN test soil health with buried undies."The Census of Agriculture provides all of those businesses and agribusiness companies a way to do some market research and a way to look at their strategy so that they're able to supply the things the farmers need - at the right quantities and at the right times," said Lofthus. Today, data collected from farmers help shape marketing strategies for agribusinesses that supply what farmers need to grow crops or raise livestock. In 2017, Minnesota produced 79,313,000 bushels of wheat, 7,653,535 pounds of honey, more than 12 million tons of sugar beets and harvested more than 16 million acres of soybeans and corn for grain. In 1860, Minnesota farmers produced 2,957,673 pounds of butter 2,186,993 bushels of wheat 34,285 pounds of honey 38,938 pounds of tobacco and 52 pounds of silk cocoons on its diverse list of farm products. In 2017, Minnesota had an estimated 68,822 farms of all sizes and the average farm size was 371 acres. Most at that time were less than 50 acres in size. And within that county, you can describe what agriculture looks like as of 2017."Īnd you could compare that data with other data from, say, 1860, when Minnesota only counted farms larger than 3 acres and reported 17,990 farms. ![]() ![]() "I think the biggest benefit overall is the fact that you have a really complete set of information that's very local to each person who's interested," Lofthus said, "so it's local down to the county where you live. National: Agriculture report shows fewer but larger farms in U.S.Younger farmers: A new generation of farmers faces mounting challenges.Earlier: Financial worries grow as Minnesota farmers prep for spring.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |