agriculture
By Nicole RonchettiApril 22, 2026Three landowners with agricultural property inside of Hills city limits are requesting that their parcels — a total of approximately 91 acres — be designated as rural service districts. The designation, common in rural cities throughout the state, would allow the land to be taxed at a lower rate since it does not receive the benefits of city services. “It’s taxed at a much higher rate than…
By Lori SorensonApril 22, 2026Warm, dry conditions are allowing local crop producers to get a head start on planting for the 2026 growing season. In fact, many farmers are putting in soybeans ahead of corn this year, according to local producer Brian Bergman, who was planting corn west of Luverne Tuesday morning. “This is unbelievable,” he said of this year’s planting season. “A lot of guys have most of their beans in…- April 08, 2026Sen. Amy Klobuchar recently visited with farmers and Minnesota agriculture leaders to highlight her bipartisan bills to lower fertilizer costs in the wake of the war in Iran. Klobuchar met with Rob Tate, the board treasurer of the Minnesota Corn Growers Association, Wes Beck, the president of the Minnesota Corn Growers Association, Ryan Mackenthun, vice president of the Minnesota Soybean…
By Kent Thiesse, Farm Management AnalystApril 01, 2026Due to the high cost of investment in farm machinery, an ever-increasing number of farm operations are hiring other farm operators to provide some or all of their machinery resources for their farm operation. This is especially true with new and younger farm operators, as well as with children that decide to start farming with their parents. In addition, some land investors are choosing to…
By Nicole RonchettiMarch 25, 2026Local farmers are facing increased fertilizer prices as a result of the Iran war. The conflict has closed the Strait of Hormuz, which serves as a key trade route for as much as 30%of global fertilizer trade. This disruption has caused nitrogen and phosphate fertilizer prices to increase dramatically. “Prices have increased about 30% in the last two, three weeks,” said Tom Kellen, area manager…
By Kent Thiesse, Farm Management AnalystMarch 11, 2026In mid-February, the U.S. House Agriculture Committee Chairman, Congressman Glenn (GT) Thompson (R-PA) released the text for the revised version of the U.S. House Farm Bill, which is titled: “Farm, Food and National Security Act of 2026” (FFSNA), or so-called “Skinny Farm Bill”. The House version of the Farm Bill was reviewed and was approved by the entire U.S. House Agriculture Committee by a…- June 18, 2019To the Editor: I appreciated Lori Sorenson’s June 13 article on the meeting that Congressman Hagedorn held to discuss agricultural issues. I also attended that meeting June 7. It was really surprising to hear a “conservative” Republican defend federal payments to farmers as the solution to markets impacted by trade tariffs. Most farmers don’t want handouts; they just want their markets back. It’…
By Betty Mann, President, Rock County Historical SocietyOctober 11, 2016The following appeared in the Rock County Herald on December 4, 1896: STATISTICS FOR THE YEAR 1896 The Total Acreage of Various Farm Products, the Number of Horses, Cattle, Sheep and Hogs, and Other Facts of Interest—Some Comparisons With the Statistics for 1895 The agricultural statement of Rock county for the year 1896, prepared by the county auditor from the statistics gathered by the…
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