NEW: Update on Cyanazine Monitoring
January 21, 2025
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is calling on produce farmers who have never completed the Grower Questionnaire, or who have not filled it out since 2022, to complete the 2025 edition.
Completing this questionnaire helps farmers identify the federal food safety requirements that apply to their operations and gain access to additional support to improve food safety practices on their farms. By participating, growers contribute to a more accurate picture of Minnesota’s produce sector, allowing the MDA to provide tailored resources and guidance.
“The Grower Questionnaire helps us stay informed about Minnesota’s evolving produce industry and allows us to support farms in improving food safety practices and keeping local produce safe for consumers,” said Assistant Commissioner Patrice Bailey.
Farmers who complete the Grower Questionnaire may also be eligible for the Produce Safety Mini-Grant, which offers up to $800 in reimbursements for on-farm food safety improvements. Applications for the 2025 Mini-Grant will be available later this winter.
The Grower Questionnaire should be filled out once every three years by each produce farm. Farm contact and location information collected through the questionnaire are considered private and confidential and will not be shared with the public. General farm statistics are compiled and shared out publicly.
If growers choose not to complete the questionnaire, the MDA Produce Safety Program will reach out directly to discuss potential inspection requirements.
Farmers may complete the 2025 MDA Grower Questionnaire online.
Farmers can contact the MDA Produce Safety Program at 651-539-3648 or email producesafety.mda@state.mn.us to request a paper copy of the questionnaire, or for more information.
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Media Contact:
Larry Schumacher, MDA Communications
651-201-6629
Larry.Schumacher@state.mn.us
January 22, 2025
Multigenerational Farm Transition Retreats are available for Minnesota farmers considering farm transition or succession plans. These retreats are offered by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) in partnership with the University of Minnesota (UMN) Extension, and the Southern Agricultural Center for Excellence.
Attendees will be guided through hands-on planning and discussion on farm transition for the whole farm family; all generations actively involved in the farm are encouraged to attend. Topics covered in detail will include family and business goals, job responsibilities, financial needs of farm and families, inheritance considerations, and mechanisms of transfer.
These events are free of charge and are being held in three different locations; farmers can choose the one most convenient for them. Attendees should plan on attending both days.
| City | Dates and times |
|---|---|
| Mankato | Friday, February 21, 5 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Saturday, February 22, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. |
| St. Cloud | Friday, March 7, 5 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Saturday, March 8, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. |
| Rochester | Friday, March 21, 5:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Saturday, March 22, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. |
Registration is available online; event address and further meeting details will be provided in the registration confirmation.
Educational resources on farm transition and estate planning are available on the UMN Extension website. For questions or comments contact Nathan Hulinsky at huli0013@umn.edu or 218-828-2680.
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Media Contact
Brittany Raveill
MDA Communications
Brittany.Raveill@state.mn.us
651-201-6131
Annual Nutrient Management Conference
Starts:
Tue, 02/18/2025 - 8:00 am
Ends:
Tue, 02/18/2025 - 3:40 pm
Location:
Holiday Inn and Suites75 37th Ave S
St Paul, MN 56301
MDA is a:
Sponsor
Presenter
Scientific name: Amphimallon majale Razoumowsky (Syn.
Introduce cover crops into the cropping system. Cover crops are grasses, legumes, or forbs planted for seasonal vegetative cover, established on an annual basis, between successive cash crops or companion-planted into a cash crop. Cover crops often get planted in fields following a short season crop or other times when a field would otherwise have little or no vegetative cover. Cover crops can be established between growing seasons to protect the soil from erosion and nutrient loss.
A primary purpose of cover crops is to capture left-over nutrients, like nitrate-nitrogen in the soil. Other purposes may include forage production, erosion reduction, suppression of weeds or pests, improvement of soil moisture use efficiency, or overall soil health improvement.
The amount of nitrate leaching reduction from cover crops varies depending on many factors, mainly weather and biomass accumulation of the cover crop in the fall. Despite their variability, research has shown that cover crops provide a nitrate reduction compared to no cover crops. Studies in Minnesota and Iowa have shown reductions in nitrate loads in drainage water between 11% and 76% with rye cover crop.
Requirements to qualify for Cover Crop Initiative funding:
- Work with MDA field staff, local Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD), Natural resources Conservation Services (NRCS) technician, agronomist, or other natural resource professional to plan, develop, and design a cover crop program based on adoption of species that have a very good or excellent ability to scavenge nitrogen. Inclusion of cover crops into a cropping system involves unique management strategies. Please refer to MDA’s Minnesota Cover Crop Guide, the Midwest Cover Crops Council, or NRCS MN Agronomy Tech Note 33 for information on cover crop species, seeding date, seeding rate, method of seeding, etc.
- Work with a local SWCD and enroll in their cover crop program, if possible.
- Funding through this initiative may be available for producers operating in a Level 2 DWSMA who choose to go above and beyond a local county/SWCD, state, or federal cover crop program. For example: additional or different acres may be funded through this initiative than those acres enrolled in a publicly funded local SWCD, Federal Farm Bill, Minnesota Ag Water Quality Certification Program (MAWQCP), or other state cost share program.
- Producers cannot participate in another publicly funded cover crop cost share program on a county, state, or federal level on the same acres enrolled in this initiative. For example: producers participating in a Federal Farm Bill Cost-share program, MAWQCP cover crop program, or other state of Minnesota cover crop program, or local county/SWCD cover crop program are ineligible to enroll the same acres from the publicly funded program into this initiative.
Producer Compensation
Producers who enroll in the Cover Crop Initiative may be eligible for compensation based on meeting the components in the technical resources mentioned above. Producers may be eligible for a payment of $40/acre up to 125 acres for a maximum of $5,000. Payment to producer will be made upon successful establishment of cover crop.
Cover Crop
Introduce cover crops into the cropping system. Cover crops are grasses, legumes, or forbs planted for seasonal vegetative cover, established on an annual basis, between successive cash crops or companion-planted into a cash crop. Cover crops often get planted in fields following a short season crop or other times when a field would otherwise have little or no vegetative cover. Cover crops can be established between growing seasons to protect the soil from erosion and nutrient loss.
A primary purpose of cover crops is to capture left-over nutrients, like nitrate-nitrogen in the soil. Other purposes may include forage production, erosion reduction, suppression of weeds or pests, improvement of soil moisture use efficiency, or overall soil health improvement.
The amount of nitrate leaching reduction from cover crops varies depending on many factors, mainly weather and biomass accumulation of the cover crop in the fall. Despite their variability, research has shown that cover crops provide a nitrate reduction compared to no cover crops. Studies in Minnesota and Iowa have shown reductions in nitrate loads in drainage water between 11% and 76% with rye cover crop.
Requirements to qualify for Cover Crop Initiative funding:
- Work with MDA field staff, local Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD), Natural resources Conservation Services (NRCS) technician, agronomist, or other natural resource professional to plan, develop, and design a cover crop program based on adoption of species that have a very good or excellent ability to scavenge nitrogen. Inclusion of cover crops into a cropping system involves unique management strategies. Please refer to MDA’s Minnesota Cover Crop Guide, the Midwest Cover Crops Council, or NRCS MN Agronomy Tech Note 33 for information on cover crop species, seeding date, seeding rate, method of seeding, etc.
- Work with a local SWCD and enroll in their cover crop program, if possible.
- Funding through this initiative may be available for producers operating in a Level 2 DWSMA who choose to go above and beyond a local county/SWCD, state, or federal cover crop program. For example: additional or different acres may be funded through this initiative than those acres enrolled in a publicly funded local SWCD, Federal Farm Bill, Minnesota Ag Water Quality Certification Program (MAWQCP), or other state cost share program.
- Producers cannot participate in another publicly funded cover crop cost share program on a county, state, or federal level on the same acres enrolled in this initiative. For example: producers participating in a Federal Farm Bill Cost-share program, MAWQCP cover crop program, or other state of Minnesota cover crop program, or local county/SWCD cover crop program are ineligible to enroll the same acres from the publicly funded program into this initiative.
Producer Compensation
Producers who enroll in the Cover Crop Initiative may be eligible for compensation based on meeting the components in the technical resources mentioned above. Producers may be eligible for a payment of $40/acre up to 125 acres for a maximum of $5,000. Payment to producer will be made upon successful establishment of cover crop.
