This week on AgweekTV, the state of South Dakota showcases the ag industry with agritourism. Minnesota dairy royalty throws the first pitch at the St. Paul Saints game. We'll take you to Kindred, North Dakota, to address the rural day care shortage. And the University of Minnesota Crookston introduces their four-legged friends to eager guests.
WELCOME TO AGWEEKTV, I'M EMILY BEAL.
CHILDCARE OR LACK THERE OF, CONTINUES TO BE AN ISSUE, ESPECIALLY IN RURAL COMMUNITIES. IN THIS WEEK'S AGWEEK COVER STORY, KATIE PINKE VISITED LIL BUCKAROOS IN KINDRED, NORTH DAKOTA TO SHED SOME LIGHT ON THE CHILDCARE CRUNCH.
In fall of 2022 I had Ruth
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JENA BJERTNESS, LIKE MANY WOMEN, BALANCES BEING A WIFE, A MOTHER AND A CAREER. BJERTNESS, ATTENDED NDSU WHERE SHE MAJORED IN ANIMAL SCIENCE. SHE RECEIVED HER BACHELORS AND MASTERS BEFORE DIVING HEAD FIRST INTO THE AG INDUSTRY. FIRST WITH CARGILL, THEN WITH THE NORTHERN CROP INSTITUTE, UNTIL SHE JOINED THE NORTH DAKOTA SOYBEAN COUNCIL AS THE DIRECTOR OF MARKET DEVELOPMENT.
We had our first child, he's now six so in 2017. Back then, it was a different story. We moved to Kindred, there were two centers, there were home daycares and they essentially all had availability. We could actually choose our daycare which is just not something you hear now. It started to get a little more challenging with our second, but getting her into the same daycare was no problem.
BUT THAT EASE STOPPED WHEN BJERTNESS HAD HER THIRD CHILD, RUTH. NORTH DAKOTA SOYBEAN COUNCIL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR STEPHANIE SINNER MOBILIZED TO USE THE STATE'S INFANT AT WORK PROGRAM TO ALLOW BJERTNESS TO BRING RUTH WITH HER WHEN SHE NEEDED WHEN BJERTNESS COULDN'T FIND CHILDCARE.
I BROUGHT RUTH TO WORK WITH ME. RUTH LEARNED A LOT ABOUT SOYBEAN MARKETS
BUT EVEN WITH WORKPLACE SUPPORT, BJERTNESS KNEW SOMETHING NEEDED TO CHANGE.
We can either complain about the problem or we can talk about the solution
JENNA IS NOW TRANSITIONING TO BECOMING A PART-TIME DAYCARE EMPLOYEE.
I love the agriculture industry. It's why we live here. It's why I came to North Dakota for my education originally, and I really didn't want to walk away from that,
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BJERTNESS IS NOW PART-TIME AT THE SOYBEAN COUNCIL AS A AG-MARKETING SPECIALSIT AND WORKING AT LIL BUCKAROOS TWO DAYS A WEEK TO ENSURE HER CHILDREN CAN GO TO DAYCARE. BJERTNESS PART-TIME POSITION IS HELPING THE DAYCARE COMBAT STAFFING SHORTAGES.
The town can't grow without a new daycare, so we built the daycare.
TAMMY ERICKSON HAS OWNED LIL BUCKAROOS SINCE 2009. THE DAYCARE HAS GROWN THROUGH THE YEARS, FROM TAKING 75 KIDS IN 2008 TO 152 IN THREE BUILDINGS IN EARLY MAY. LIL' BUCKAROOS HAS A HIGHER PHYSICAL CAPACITY THAN IT IS NOW SERVING, BUT IT'S AT ITS LIMIT DUE TO STAFFING.
Owning the daycare and having the business short staffed has really been a heartache. First of all, I have to turn people away now and I've never had to do that we've always had room for people. In late January I had to cut families to accommodate the staff that I had.
YOU CAN READ MUCH MORE IN THE NEXT AGWEEK MAGAZINE OR AT AGWEEK.COM
BIRDS ACROSS THE COUNTRY ARE BEING IMPACTED BY AN OVER YEAR LONG AVIAN INFLUENZA OUTBREAK. SINCE MARCH OF 2022, 58.8 MILLION BIRDS NATIONWIDE HAVE BEEN INFECTED WITH THE DISEASE
OBVIOUSLY, IT HAS A GREAT DETRIMENTAL EFFECT ON THE POULTRY INDUSTRY, BOTH TURKEYS AND CHICKENS. SO, YOU CAN HAVE HIGH MORTALITIES, YOU CAN ALSO HAVE A DROP IN EGG PRODUCTION IN YOUR LAYING HENS, SO ON AN ECONOMIC BASIS IT CAN BE QUITE DEVASTATING TO COMMERCIAL POULTRY PRODUCERS. SYMPTOMS OF AVIAN INFLUENZA CAN INCLUDE A DROP IN FEED CONSUMPTION, INACTIVE BIRDS AND INCREASED BIRD MORTALITY.
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IF A PRODUCER SUSPECTS AVIAN INFLUENZA IN THEIR FLOCK, THEY SHOULD REPORT IT TO THE USDA OR THEIR STATE'S ANIMAL INDUSTRY BOARD.
WITH PLANTING SEASON HERE, SOIL HEALTH IS IMPORTANT TO KEEP IN MIND AND CAN DRAMATICALLY IMPACT YIELDS COME HARVEST TIME. PHOSPHOROUS IS AN ESSENTIAL MACRO-NUTRIENT FOR MOST CROPS. BUT ACCORDING TO, CHRYSEIS MODDERMAN, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION MANURE MANAGEMENT EDUCATOR, TOO MUCH PHOSPHORUS CAN LEAD TO TROUBLE. HIGH LEVELS OF PHOSPHORUS TEND TO BE IN ACRES THAT HAVE BEEN FERTILIZED BY MANURE FREQUENTLY.
ESPECIALLY FIELDS THAT HAVE MANURE EVERY SINGLE YEAR HAVE HIGH PHOSPHORUS SOILS BECAUSE IN GENERAL, MANURE APPLICATION TO SATISFY NITROGEN THEY NEED OVER APPLIES PHOSPHORUS AND THAT CAN BE A PROBLEM. THAT PHOSPHORUS BUILDS UP OVER YEARS. MODDERMAN ADVISES PRODUCERS TO GET THEIR MANURE TESTED FOR PHOSPHORS LEVELS PRIOR TO
APPLICATION ALONG WITH TESTING THEIR FIELD'S SOIL. AGRITOURISM SD IS WELCOMING THEIR SECOND CLASS OF PARTICIPANTS, WHO ARE EAGER AND EXCITED TO BRING THE PUBLIC TO THEIR FARMS.
THE HAMILTON FAMILY RECENTLY PURCHASE PRAIRIE BRIDGE LODGE, ADJACENT TO THEIR FARM IN HITCHCOCK, SOUTH DAKOTA. IT'S A PLACE THEY PLAN TO HAVE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO BE ABLE TO HOST PEOPLE HERE, GET THEM CLOSE TO NATURE AND CLOSE TO AGRICULTURE AND JUST MAKE IT BE A COMFORTABLE RELAXING TIME BUT ALSO SOMETHING THEY CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT WHILE THEY ARE HERE.
THEY ARE KICKSTARTING THIS NEW BUSINESS VENTURE BY TAKING THE AGRITOURISMSD COURSE.
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I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO DIVING DEEPER LIKE LEARNING HOW TO MAKE A BUSINESS, AS WELL AS LIKE WHAT CAN WE USE THAT WILL BEST ALINE WITH WHAT WE CAN DO BECAUSE WE HAVE OUR FAMILY OPERATION, OUR FAMILY FARM THAT WE ARE DOING FULL TIME, SO BEING ABLE TO BALANCE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS AT THE SAME TIME. THE COURSE IS AN 18-MONTH COMMITMENT.
WE TAKE THEM THROUGH A PRETTY INTENSIVE LOOK OF NOT ONLY BUILDING THEIR BUSINESS AND WHAT THEY NEED FOR IDENTIFYING THEIR AUDIENCE AND WHAT THEY WANT TO OFFER, TO JUST ALSO EXPORING WHAT OTHER AGRITOURISM BUSINESSES ARE DOING SO THEY CAN GET OTHER IDEAS OR INHANSE WHAT THEY ARE CURRENTLY DOING. PROVIDING A UNIQUE ON THE FARM EXPERIENCE.
AS MORE PEOPLE ARE BEING REMOVED FROM THE FARM, THEY ARE STRUGGLING, WHERE IS THEIR FOOD COMING FROM OR WHAT DOES CORN LOOK LIKE IN THE FIELD. SO BEING ABLE TO BRING THEM BACK TO THAT FIRST EXPERIENCE THAT I HADWE WANT TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT TO OTHERS WHO MAYBE DON'T HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY.
THE HAMILTON'S ARE ALSO CONSIDERING ADDING THINGS LIKE SCAVENGER HUNTS, FARM TOURS AND MEAT BUNDLES TO THEIR LODGE EXPERIENCE.
UP NEXT ON AGWEEK TV...WE'LL SEE WHAT THE BUZZ AROUND POLLINATOR GARDENS IS ABOUT
PRESCHOOLERS GOT TO MEET AND PET SOME NEW FOUR-LEGGED FRIENDS DURING THE "TOURS FOR TOTS" AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA-CROOKSTON. ABOUT TWENTY KIDS WHO ATTEND THE UMC EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT CENTER WERE AMONG THE FIRST TO TOUR THE HORSE, SHEEP AND BEEF BARN THIS SPRING. THE SCHOOL HAS HOSTED GROUPS OF KIDS FOR ABOUT FIFTEEN YEARS. BUT THE TOURS WERE STOPPED DURING COVID, AND JUST RESTARTED. THEY ALSO TOUR THE GREENHOUSES ON CAMPUS. ORGANIZERS SAY IT'S A GREAT WAY FOR KIDS TO SEE THE ANIMALS, AND LEARN HOW THE STUDENTS CARE FOR THEM.
High School students in Wyndmere, North Dakota are celebrating a project they've been working on for months.The Agriculture Education class took on a challenge to help an elementary student who has special needs. As Reporter Kevin Wallevand found out.... the result has changed everyone.
Put it on the table,
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8-year old Piper Hoffert is like any 2nd grader.
What else do you have,
She's curious.But today, Piper is working and learning at a special sensory table that her fellow Wyndmere students, the Ag Education-FFA kids built for her.
Seeing Piper use it for the first time, was pretty cool because we knew we had something pretty sweet here,
Piper is in the 2nd grade. Born a twin, Piper suffered a stroke shortly before birth. Cerebral Palsy was diagnosed shortly after. But she excels in her classroom,
Can you find me some letters in there,
especially with this new sensory board the high school kids designed and put together just for her.
We need that letter, what is that,
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It is awesome, we like to see her play with it because you realize you are contributing to these little kids,
For her parents, a chance to see a community that has always stood beside them, step up again. All in an effort to include Piper and make her part of a school that cares.
it is so nice to see people come together for her, because it is just not just at school, but throughout the whole community,
An FFA grant helped pay for some of the items needed. The rest, all high school kids, who put an 8-year old at the top of their
"how can we help" list..
"Makes us feel really good,"
turning a long winter into a meaningful spring. Kevin Wallevand WDAY NEWS.
POLLINATOR GARDENS ARE BLOOMING INTO POPULARITY AS PEOPLE LOOK TO FIND WAYS TO ATTRACT POLLINATORS AND BENEFIT THE ENVIRONMENT. THE EASY-TO-CARE FOR GARDENS USE NATIVE PLANTS TO CREATE A HOME FOR BEES, BUTTERFLIES AND OTHER POLLINATORS.
YOU DON'T WANT TO HAVE IT TOO CULTIVATED, BUT YOU WANT TO INTRODUCE THOSE PLANTS THAT GIVE IT SOME COLOR, WILL ATTRACT YOU KNOW, THE BEES, THE BUTTERFLIES, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE SOME MILKWEED, BUT THE TALL ONES YOU WANT TO PUT IN THE BACK AND THOSE ARE SOME THINGS YOU NEED TO THINK ABOUT, COLOR, THE SEASON OF BLOOM.
IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO START YOUR OWN POLLINATOR GARDEN, THERE ARE SEVERAL RESOURCES FROM SDSU EXTENSION, MASTER GARDENS OR YOU CAN VISIT WITH YOUR LOCAL GREENHOUSES AND NURSERIES.
AHEAD ON AGWEEK TV...WHAT SHOULD PRODUCERS CONSIDER WHEN PLANTING THEIR SOYBEAN CROP? WE'LL FIND OUT.
AGWEEK WEATHER IS SPONSORED BY BREMER BANK. CONNECT WITH A BANKER TODAY AT BREMER DOT COM
CAN WE EXPECT PLEASANT WEATHER FOR MOTHER'S DAY WEEKEND? HERE'S JOHN WITH OUR AGRIWEATHER OUTLOOK
Weather pattern for the mid and latter part of May is looking like it's changing again. What's new with the weather? Something is always changing, right? Or our setting up for some pretty nice maeweather in general. Across the United States we're seeing things warming up. Cold weather is really on the retreat. There are a couple of spots around the country that will have some cool weather and a couple of spots. A little show, some heat. I mean, May is nearly June, right? So there are going to be some places that get hot. But overall, it's pretty nice. Maeweather in general, Precipitate action is going to backwards a little bit. Not quite as much. Not so rainy, not quite so stormy as it's been over April and the first part of May. So some welcome relief from that. I am again showing three parts of the jet stream. The primary one, really the polar jet stream is this middle branch. And you know, there's flow everywhere. So I'm really just kind of highlighting the highlights. The southern subtropical jet is really fairly weak this time of year. I just put it on for just for in case you're out of curiosity about it. And there is a split in the Northern jet so that there's a northern component, which this particular pattern is not really having a lot of impact, except that it will deliver some cold weather to the eastern Canadian Maritimes this week. Jet stream is dominated by bridging over the northwest part of the continent. By that I mean we're going to see this warm air expanding.Going to see a lot of snow melting in and the Rockies and in the Sierras and in California. And it's just going to be like that. We're not going to see particularly hot weather in the northern plains, just mild to warm as the flow is generally going to be northerly in the upper atmosphere. The deep South is beginning to heat up from Texas across to Florida and the Carolinas.There will occasionally be some surges northward, but nothing too far north. This Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan, hot weather is near hot, some eighties. That's really fairly typical in May and then in June. This area typically will begin to cool down unless there's a continuation of the ridge. And temporarily this week, some pretty warm weather is flying up into the Pacific Northwest. That'll be temporary as low pressure begins to build southward. As we look at the second week here, we will actually begin to see that happening. Cooler weather will drop into the Pacific Northwest. The northern plains will stay mild to warm. The south will continue to be hot. And just the far northeast part of the United States, New England will really have some cool weather. And that's going to be about the size of the shape of things this week other than some stray showers. Most of the rain will be in the southern plains where there will be some showers and thunderstorms. The second week here, which is effectively the last week of May, we'll start getting a little precip into the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. The Rockies will have some showers, maybe some stray higher elevation show snows and some thundershowers along the Gulf Coast. But a lot of the nation looking to be dry or mostly dry.
AGWEEKTV SOY INSIGHT BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE NORTH DAKOTA SOYBEAN COUNCIL
PLANTING SEASON IS SLOWLY STARTING IN THE REGION. SO AS FARMERS GET READY TO PLANT THEIR SOYBEAN ACRES, WHAT SHOULD THEY BE AWARE OF? I FIND OUT IN THIS MONTH'S SOY INSIGHT.
More than likely, people will not be pushing for an early planting date
GREG ENDRES IS AN NDSU EXTENSION AGRONOMIST BASED IN CARRINGTON, NORTH DAKOTA. DUE TO THE WET SOILS, ESPECIALLY IN THE EASTERN PART OF THE STATE, HE SUGGESTS HOLDING OFF ON PUTTING THE SOYBEAN CROP INTO THE GROUND AND PLANTING COOL SEASON CROPS, SUCH AS SMALL GRAINS FIRST.
Next on the line would be soybeans. We're still waiting for the soils to dry, at least in this part of the region people are just waiting for the surface moisture to dissipate.
Soils have a ways to go before we can start planting some of our warmer season crops
CHRIS AUGUSTINE IS THE DIRECTOR OF THE NDSU DICKINSON RESEARCH EXTENSION CENTER. HE SAYS ALTHOUGH THE SOIL IS EXTREMELY WET AND IS DELAYING PLANTING, IT COULD ACTUALLY HELP THE SOYBEAN CROP DURING ITS GROWING SEASON.
So having the most optimal soil moisture, that's going to help with germination, that's going to help getting the a healthier plant faster and sooner
WHEN IT IS FINALLY TIME TO PUT THE SOYBEAN SEEDS INTO THE SOIL, SEEDING RATE IS IMPORTANT TO KEEP IN MIND FOR THE MOST PLENTIFUL CROP.
Very simply, in row spacing, we suggest planting as narrow as possible. We do see over trials a consistent yield increase by narrowing rows
PRODUCERS SHOULD CHECK THEIR PLANTERS OFTEN TO ENSURE OPTIMAL PLANTING.
One of the most effective ways to plant your crop properly. It's one of those that just takes a little bit of time, it's not really an input cost, but it's checking that planter for depth, seed space, and plant populations. All of those sort of things"
WITH MORE AND MORE WEEDS BECOMING RESISTANT TO A VARIETY OF HERBICIDES, PRE-PLANT AND PRE-EMERGENCE HERBICIDE APPLICATION IS IMPORTANT.
We strongly encourage people to apply soil herbicide, either before the soybeans are planted or immediately after. That'll give us a much better chance of controlling these weeds
ACCORDING TO THE USDA CROP PROGRESS REPORT AS OF MAY 8TH, LESS THAN ONE PERCENT OF NORTH DAKOTA'S SOYBEAN CROP WAS PLANTED.
UP NEXT ON AGWEEK TV...TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME! THE ST. PAUL SAINTS CELEBRATE DAIRY DAY
THE MINNESOTA DAIRY INDUSTRY WENT OUT TO THE BALL GAME ON MAY 4TH FOR DAIRY DAY WITH THE ST. PAUL SAINTS
THIS IS THE FIRST YEAR THAT MIDWEST DAIRY PARTNERED WITH THE TEAM. LIZ STIRAS, COMMUNICATIONS MARKETING MANAGER FOR MIDWEST DAIRY HOPES TO REACH A WIDE AUDIENCE AND SHARE MORE ABOUT THE DAIRY INDUSTRY AND ITS FARMERS.
BRING AWARENESS TO THE PUBLIC OF HOW DAIRY PRODUCTS AND DAIRY FARMERS ARE LOCAL. ALL THE FOOD IS REAL, IT'S ENJOYABLE, IT MAKES EVERYTHING BETTER. AND ALSO TO RAISE AWARENESS OF DAIRY'S COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY.
THE 69TH PRINCESS KAY OF THE MILKY WAY, RACHEL RYNDA, THREW THE FIRST PITCH OF THE SAINTS VS. THE NASHVILLE SOUND. RYNDA IS ROUNDING OUT HER REIGN AS ROYALTY, BUT HAS GREATLY ENJOYED HER TIME IN THE ROLE.
SOME OF MY FAVORITE EVENTS HAVE BEEN ACTUALLY THE CLASSROOM VISITS WHERE I'M ABLE TO SHARE WITH ALL THE KIDS WHAT WE DO ON OUR FARM AND HOW IMPORTANT DAIRY FOODS ARE FOR THEM AND THEIR FAMILIES. ALSO ABOUT DAIRY FOODS AND HOW THEY CAN INCORPORATE THEM INTO THEIR DIETS AS WELL HAS BEEN SUPER FUN FOR ME.
ALL FANS ENTERING CHS FIELD WERE GIVEN A FREE COWBELL AT THE ENTRANCE.
STORIES YOU'LL ONLY SEE ON AGWEEK.COM AND IN AGWEEK MAGAZINE THIS WEEK. A MINNESOTA BANKRUPTCY HIT A ROUGH PATCH BECAUSE OF HOW CATTLE USED AS COLLATERAL WERE SOLD AND LANDOWNERS IN EMMONS COUNTY, NORTH DAKOTA, VENTED THEIR FRUSTRATIONS OVER THE SUMMIT CARBON PIPELINE PROJECT
WE APPRECIATE YOU WATCHING AGWEEK TV. REMEMBER TO CHECK US OUT DAILY ON FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM AND TIK TOK, TO KEEP UP ON ALL YOUR AG NEWS. HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK EVERYONE
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