Agriculture

A bitter harvest for sugar beet farmers
It’s been a tough harvest for every crop grown in the region. Farmers fought through mud to harvest crops during a wet fall, and this year’s sugar beet losses come on top of several years of low crop prices and an ongoing trade war with China.
Senate Democrats assail Trump's $16B bailout for farmers
President Trump's $16 billion bailout package for farmers hurt by the trade war with China unfairly benefits the South at the expense of the North and wealthy producers over smaller farms, Democratic senators concluded in a report released Tuesday.
With floral candles, Hmong sisters honor parents’ farming legacy
Each November, the Hmong American Farmers Association offers artwork people can buy alongside produce grown by Hmong farmers. This year’s art — candles featuring flowers from a Hmong family’s field — comes with a good story.
Walz seeks agriculture disaster declaration for NW Minnesota
Gov. Tim Walz has asked U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to declare a disaster for 12 counties of northwestern Minnesota where farmers are having a difficult harvest season.
Ask a ‘sotan: How does the state regulate buying raw milk?
An audience question about where customers can buy raw milk leads us to ask a farmer and a food inspection expert about state regulations over unpasteurized dairy.
Fargo scientists search for next generation of plant-based plastics
A national collaboration of scientists from four universities is breaking new ground in the search for plant-based plastic to replace petroleum-based materials.
StoryCorps: Brothers pass on their farmer father's life lessons
Arguster and Lebronze Davis and their 14 siblings grew up and worked with their parents on the family's Alabama farm. "There's only two things in life a person actually owns, and that is his name and his word,” Arguster says. "In his own way, that's what Daddy left me with."
New tax credit for ag land might help rural schools increase funding
Schools in rural districts have struggled to pass property tax increases to pay for new schools at least in part because farmers have often opposed big property tax increases on farm land. A new tax credit will significantly reduce the share farmers pay, and rural schools hope the change will make it easier to replace aging buildings.