farming

WILLMAR — It could be the middle of next week before farmers in west central Minnesota get into the fields to begin planting this year’s corn crop. What is needed is a string of nice days, with sunshine and warm temperatures, to warm the soil after the long, hard winter and after...

MINNEAPOLIS — Farmers face unpredictability, whether the topic is the weather or economics. In the weather, farmers are going to be forced to deal with ever-increasing temperatures and humidity, a well-known climatologist told them during Tuesday’s Minnesota Agri-Growth Council...

By Carlienne A. Frisch Freelance writer Time is a precious commodity when a farmer’s field equipment coughs, sputters or just plain quits — especially during planting or harvest. That’s when the farm implement dealer’s service staff put on their superhero persona,...

By Carlienne A. Frisch Freelance writer As farm equipment engineering progressed, past generations of farmers grew accustomed to certain niceties — a cab on the tractor, for example. But if a farmer from 50 years ago climbed into a 21st-century combine, it just might take a...

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Cornfields and pastures are drying out across parts of central and eastern Minnesota, leading some cattle producers to thin out their herds.

ST. LOUIS — John Reifsteck looks out at his muddy 1,800-acre central Illinois farm and wonders when he’ll get to plant. Like so many other...

Agriculture is big business in Minnesota, there is no question about that fact. The production, processing, marketing and distribution of agricultural products account for about $16 billion of state revenue, according to statistics. The state is the nation’s fourth leading producer...

Crop farmers in Minnesota had the best of both worlds in 2012, with good crop yields and good grain prices, driven by widespread drought conditions, but one west central Minnesota farmer is cautiously optimistic, knowing that the good times may or may not last. “What we benefitted...