Market Value of Ag Production

Agriculture is naturally a risky business.  Americans have chosen to hedge some of that risk through federal farm programs to ensure a reliable supply of food and ag products.  If you can’t eat, the rest doesn’t much matter. The President’s first budget released last week has received a bit of press for changes to U.S. Department […]

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SW MN Farm Size Pt II

There are over 8,000 farms in the nine counties of Region 8 in Southwest Minnesota.  Measured by acreage, the largest cohort of farms in the state is 50-179 acres, while the largest group in our region is 180-499 acres. Measured by the market value of production, Southwest Minnesota has generally fewer of the very small farms—what the USDA […]

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SW MN Farm Size

SWMN Farm Size By County 2007 The average farm size in Southwest Minnesota is about 1/4 larger than in the state overall. This is corn and bean country, fairly evenly split with livestock and hog operations. Diversification seems to favor the 180-499 acre farm size in our part of the world. The 2007 Census of […]

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Rural Broadband At A Glance, 2009 Edition

USDA today issued a short Bulletin looking at rural internet usage: Three-quarters of U.S. residents used the Internet to access information, education, and services in 2007. Broadband Internet access is becoming essential for both businesses and households; many compare its evolution to other technologies now considered common necessities—such as cars, electricity, televisions, microwave ovens, and cell […]

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FEMA Encourages North Dakotans to Buy Flood Insurance Now

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z48VcIVqns4] I lived in North Dakota during the Great Red River Flood of 1997.  You haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen an entire city of 50,000 people evacuated.  Families with nothing left but the clothes on their backs. Even if you’re outside the lines on FEMA’s Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), use your own best […]

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Happy Birthday, Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was one of my first heroes.  Growing up in the rural Midwest, he was a man of my people.  As a young conservative, he was the founding father of the Republican Party.  As an American, he was the man my ancestors fought for—the man who saved the Union. Get the books, and read and study […]

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