Ag Opportunities on the Air

Welcome to the "Ag Opportunities on the Air" web page. Diversification is an important strategy for farmers looking to balance environmental performance, profitability, and quality of life/satisfaction on their farms. A series of broadcasts on all the member stations of Minnesota Farm Network brings you stories of people doing innovative things on their . [ Listen to a quick overview ]

Jump to a section of broadcasts:

Crops
Livestock
Fruits & Vegetables
Marketing & Value-Added Enterprises
Conserving Soil, Energy and Resources

Permission to rebroadcast: Any and all of these programs may be rebroadcast free of charge. Programs must be rebroadcast in their entirety, with or without the "to learn more about" tag, which may be customized. Additional customized openings and/or closings may be added at user's discretion. For more information, please contact Margaret Hart at 651-201-6131 or margaret.hart@state.mn.us

Find a Minnesota Farm Network station in your area

Grants

Listen online:

Related links and resources:

Grant programs help farmers try new things 10/8/2007

Grants are available to help Minnesota farmers try new strategies on their farms. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture and North Central Region SARE both offer farmer research and demonstration grants.

To request an information packet about these programs, please call 651-201-6012.

Crops

Listen online:	Related links and resources:
Aerial Seeding a Rye Cover Crop (2007) Christmas Trees (2007) Edible Wild Plants and Weeds (2010) Growing Flax (2007) Growing Grapes in Field Crop Country (2007) Living Fences and Windbreaks (2007) Organic Farming - The Second Best Decision in my Life (2007) Potatoes in Peat - Growing and Marketing (2007) Specialty Hay - Markets and Production (2007)	Agroforestry Christmas Trees Cover crops Edible Weeds Edible Wild Plants Flax Forages Grapes Organic Agriculture Potatoes Rye Soil conservation

Livestock

Listen online:

Related links and resources:

Starting a Goat Dairy (2010)

Hogs on Pasture (2010)

Heritage Turkeys - Part II (2009)

Beekeeping and Honey Production (2007)
Compost Bedding for Dairy Cows (2007)
Composting Beef Manure Makes Black Gold (2007)
Consumers are Hungry for Grass Fed Beef (2007)
Game Farming - Deer and Elk (2007)
Green Eggs Wow Customers (2007)
Heritage Turkeys (2007)
Meat Goats (2007)
Milking Dairy Goats (2007)
Operating a Therapeutic Riding Stable (2007)
Sheep and Lamb (2007)
Step Right Up, Ladies: Automatic System Milks on Cows' Own Schedules 24/7 (2007)
Transitioning for Organic Dairy (2007)
Worm Farming (2007)
Yakity Yakking About Yak (2007)

Beekeeping
Composting
Dairy
Dairy Goats
Deer
Direct Marketing
Elk
Hogs: Farmer's Research On Alternative Hog Methods (search for "hog" and "sow")
Hogs: Alternative Swine Program at U of MN
Horses
Lamb
Meat Goats
Organic Production & Certification
Poultry
Raising Beef Cattle
Sheep
Turkeys
Worms
Yak

Fruits & Vegetables

Listen online:

Related links and resources:

Growing Gourmet Mushrooms (2010)

Growing & Selling Squash (2010)

Growing Gourmet Garlic (2010)

CSAs Reduce Marketing Risk – Big Woods Farm (2010)

Fruits of the Vine – Growing Grapes (2010)

Indoor-Outdoor Fruit Trees | Extended Version (2010)

Wineries Whining for Rhubarb (2010)

Extending the Season with High Tunnels (2009)

Start Your Own Apple Orchard (2007)
Self-Serve Sweetcorn Stands (2007)
Edible Flowers (2007)
Hydroponic Winter Growing (2007)
Community Supported Agriculture / Subscription Farming (2007)
Bedding Plants (2007)
Don Reding grows grapes on the prairie (2007)
Flowers - high value; big demand (2007)

Marketing & Value-Added Enterprises

Listen online:

Related links and resources:

CSAs Reduce Marketing Risk – Big Woods Farm (2010)

On-Farm Milling (2009)

Farm to School – Good for Farmers and Kids (2009)

Community Supported Agriculture / Subscription Farming (2007)
Advice from a Young Farm Entrepreneur: The Next Farm Generation (2007)
Direct Marketing to Restaurants (2007)
On-Farm Processing - Adding Value to Small Grains (2007)
Making Biodiesel on Your Farm (2007)
#2 Yellow Corn Delivery Service - From Field to Furnace (2007)
The Business End of Horse Boarding (2007)
Renting Your Farm as Hunting Land (2007)
Ag Tourism - Making Your Farm a Destination (2007)
Selling at Farmers' Markets (2007)
Starting a Pick Your Own Berry Business (2007)
Chocolate Covered Potato Chips - What a treat! (2007)
Farmstead Cheese (2007)
Picking Rocks for Big Profits - Landscapers pay top dollar (2007)
Growing Vodka in Minnesota Farm Fields (2007)
Maple Syrup (2007)
Ethanol from Barley? (2007)

Conserving Soil, Energy, and Resources

Listen online:	Related links and resources:
Auto Guidance Can Make Field Operations More Efficient (2007) Boosting Fertilizer and Fuel Efficiency with Strip Tillage (2007) Strip Till: Saving Money and Conserving Soil (2007) Wind Turbines: Harvesting energy on your own farm (2007)	Barley - Hordeum vulgare Energy and Agriculture Soil

You can get information on even more crop, livestock, farming system and alternative enterprise topics along with free decision making tools from the MDA by visiting Minnesota Farm Opportunities.

To suggest story ideas, send an e-mail to meg.moynihan@state.mn.us

Ag Opportunities on the Air project partners:

Funding for this project comes from the North Central Region SARE program. This material is based upon work supported by the Cooperative State Research Education and Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Nebraska -Lincoln, under Cooperative Agreement number 2004-38640-14464.

MDA Contact

Meg Moynihan, Principal Administrator
Meg.Moynihan@state.mn.us, 651-201-6616
Minnesota Farm Opportunities Program

Ag Marketing & Development Division