Mikkel Pates
Mikkel Pates, reporter/columnist for Agweek magazine of Grand Forks, reports from Fargo, N.D., about agriculture in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.Contact
Legislative roundup
The second part of Agweek’s two-part state ag legislation series summarizes bills pending in North Dakota and Montana.
RELATED CONTENTCHS projects total $50 million
CHS Inc. of St. Paul on Friday announced it will spend a total of $50 million on several projects in northeast North Dakota and northwest Minnesota, including a grain terminal and shuttle train loader in Langdon, N.D., and a fertilizer depot at Erskine, Minn.
Western SD worries about drought
With little snowfall, farmers and ranchers evaluate operations.
RELATED CONTENTCorn seed firms rely on winter production
The corn seed industry will be challenged to meet demand schedules in 2013 and 2014, but it will rely more on South American winter production, according to an industry official who spoke at the North Dakota CornVention in Fargo on Feb. 20.
Tackling state ag issues
In a two-part series, Agweek gives legislative updates for its four-state coverage area, starting with South Dakota and Minnesota. Check the March 4 issue for updates from North Dakota and Montana.
RELATED CONTENTBuilding excitement
Snack cheese company on track with construction of Brookings, S.D., plant.
RELATED CONTENTHillsboro, N.D., woman named executive of North Dakota Soybean Growers Association
The North Dakota Soybean Growers Association has a new executive director — Nancy M. Johnson of Hillsboro, N.D.
RELATED CONTENTColumns
What’s normal, anyway?
FARGO, N.D. — And so it’s Christmas. Our “normal” cold finally has set in. I’ve always thought there’s nothing as reliable as winter in the Red River Valley in an otherwise changing world. I recently wrote our family Christmas letter — a mix of the darker, the brighter, but seldom calm days of our lives. Here’s the CliffsNotes-like summary:
AG-AT-LARGE: Health insurance is a looming ag issue
FARGO, N.D. — There are many agricultural policy issues out there, but the current health care-health insurance debate should be of particular interest to farmers and ranchers.
Death of a ‘Super Sage’
FARGO, N.D. — The great Norman Ernest Borlaug is dead. For those too young to remember, it was Borlaug, 93 at his death, who described himself only as a “temporary success” in fighting world hunger.
RELATED CONTENTCan mankind end hunger?
FARGO, N.D. — I recently received my copy of “Enough: Why the World’s Poorest Starve in an Age of Plenty.” Every person connected to the food industry should read it.
Ag At-Large: Seeding education
FARGO, N.D. — I recently spent time with Bob Majkrzak, president and chief executive officer of Red River Commodities, as he talked about his company’s role in a confection sunflower industry that has turned summersaults to remain competitive in the past 20 years.
AG AT-LARGE: Greenhouse gas rules should consider science
MINNEAPOLIS — I was walking through the airport terminal in Minneapolis, on the way home from a North American Agricultural Journalists annual meeting in Washington. My head was spinning with information about climate change and carbon footprints for agriculture.
AG AT-LARGE: Mother Nature is cruel and cold or a sustaining life force
FARGO, N.D. — It’s inevitable. When something bad happens in the environment — especially flood or storms — the blame usually goes to “Mother Nature.” I’m not sure what your mother was like, but mine wouldn’t have liked being held responsible for something like a flood.
AG AT-LARGE: Historian recounts stories of Red River Valley laborers
FARGO, N.D. — If you’re at all linked to or love agriculture in the Red River Valley, especially sugar beets or potatoes, you should take a few hours and read this new book — “North for the Harvest,” by Jim Norris, a history teacher at North Dakota State University in Fargo.
AG AT-LARGE: Grandin's book offers tips
FARGO, N.D. — Temple Grandin is in the news again. Grandin is one of the nation’s best-known autistic people and a famous designer of animal handling facilities and practices for cows, chickens, sheep and pigs. I interviewed her in 2004 when she was a guest lecturer at North Dakota State University in Fargo.
AG AT-LARGE: Northwood, N.D., farmer tells it like it is
FARGO, N.D. — It took me more than 25 years of jawboning to finally get an interview with Enoch Thorsgard.
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