Policy & Government

This equipment top-dresses nitrogen on the Agricultural Fertilizer Research and Education Council plots; its technology adjusts application rates on the go, to make these trials possible. Improving yields and using nutrients efficiently is the goal for landowner Jon East working closely with <a href="https://nutrienagsolutions.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nutrien Ag Solutions</a> agronomist Scott Barnes, Harmony, Minn. Barnes has been a catalyst for bringing southeast Minnesota growers into on-farm plot research funded by the <a href="https://www.mda.state.mn.us/business-dev-loans-grants/agricultural-fertilizer-research-education-council-afrec/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Agricultural Fertilizer Research and Education Council</a> (AFREC). A 40 cent per ton fee paid by Minnesota farmers on all fertilizer sold in the state funds AFREC. The lion's share of the $1.2 million disbursed each year goes to the University of Minnesota, however a small portion is dedicated to on-farm plot research. "We use data from all these plots with growers," says Barnes. "They like these trials because the data is local."

Nitrate and Water Issue Proposals Addressed by 2024 Minnesota Legislature

<span style="font-size: 14px; color: #6c6b6b; ">Marty Walsh, Lead Organizer of the Minnesota Driftless Hiking Trail, hikes along the beginning of Lost Creek Hiking Trail near Chatfield. (Photo by Julie Fryer)</span>

The Minnesota Driftless Hiking Trail Gets Two Steps Closer to Reality

Political parties in the state of Minnesota will hold their party caucuses on February 27. (Graphics by Julie Fryer)

Minnesota’s 2024 political process is well underway

Musician Will Bjorndal offers a program of fun music and dancing for kids at Spring Grove Public Library, an example of SELCO and Legacy Funds at work. (Photo by Jana Halverson)

Libraries United: The Purpose and Power of SELCO

Pool 8, situated between locks and dams on either side of the Root River’s confluence with the Mississippi River, is a sprawling body of water providing wildlife habitat, boating, fishing and other recreational activities, as well as breathtaking blue and green hues as captured in this aerial photo by Houston County photographer Robert Hurt.

The Mighty Mississippi’s Locks and Dams — What and Why?

Prairie strip vegetation in the middle of corn fields operated by Mower County farmer Wayne DeWall south of Grand Meadow, Minnesota. (Photo by Mower County SWCD)

Prairie Strips: Small Investment, Big Benefits

Tom Scarponcini, left, and Dean Thomas look over Scarponcini’s flock of Île-de-France sheep in September 2023. With technical advice from Thomas, a regional grazing specialist, and with assistance from NRCS, Scarponcini established a strip-grazing setup within 20 acres of a blufftop pasture: “We’re really here borrowing land from future generations.” (Photos by Ann Wessel, BWSR)

Area Sheep Producer Boosts Productivity with Rotational Grazing

Natalie Vogel-Gabor, 5, of Winona, gets help from Dave Potts of Chaska, who volunteered to help teach youths to ice fish; this gathering in January was in recognition of the 100-year anniversary of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. (Photos by John Weiss unless otherwise stated)

Upper Mississippi National Wildlife Refuge Turns 100

Canfield Creek, a small trout stream in Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park, joins the South Branch Root River. Are neonicotinoids killing invertebrates, the canary in the coalmine for stream health? (Photos by John Weiss)

Healthy Stream, Healthy Trout

The Chatfield Public Library, erected in 1915, is a Carnegie Library, one of more than 2500 such libraries constructed in the United States through Andrew Carnegie’s foundation. (All photos provided by Steve Harris)

Root River Libraries — Today’s Challenges

Jo Anne Agrimson, Co-President of Fillmore County League of Women Voters, shows her support for ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). (Photo by Renee Bergstrom)

Four Generations of Advocating for Equal Rights

Southeast Minnesota's karst topography–and its network of sinkholes, caves and streams–exacerbate well contamination issues. There are more than 10,000 sinkholes in Fillmore County alone. (Photo Julie Little)

State Officials’ January 2024 Plan Addresses Nitrate Contamination Issues

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