Alternative Bedding and Management of Composting Bedded Pack Dairy Barns

Jeff Reneau, Professor, Dairy Management, University of Minnesota Extension Service

Tilling the Barn

No, you’re not misreading that header, and it’s not a misprint!  A new innovation in dairies these days is the compost barn--a facility that is similar to a freestyle barn, but in place of the freestalls and alleys, has a composted bedding pack of fine, dry sawdust.  The compost bedded pack is stirred twice a day to aerate the pack and aid composting, and to provide a clean surface for the cows.  Farmers using this system report that cows in compost barns are clean, comfortable, healthy (fewer lameness problems and lower somatic cell counts) and productive.

A team of researchers from the University of Minnesota and the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute will be teaming up with farmers to answer some critical questions about bedding pack management—starting with “What type of bedding material works best?”  With funding from the North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, researchers will begin a five-phase project that will include surveying farmers currently using compost barns, testing various bedding pack materials under controlled lab conditions and in a pilot project, and finally, on several Minnesota farms.  For more information about compost barns or this research project, go to http://www.extension.umn.edu/dairy/management/compostbarns.htm or contact Mindy Spiehs, Regional Extension Educator at 320-589-1711, spie0073@umn.edu

2005 R&E Grants

Reducing Pesticide Use in Honey Bee Colonies through Sound Sampling and Treatment Procedures

Marla Spivak, Professor, University of Minnesota - Entomology

The Secret Life of Bees — yes, the title of a best-selling novel — but also the focus of a 2004 NCR-SARE Research and Education grant awarded to University of Minnesota researcher Marla Spivak. Spivak will work together with her research team, Gary Reuter (U of M) and commercial beekeepers, Darrel Rufer (Waverly, MN), Bill Klett (Jamestown, ND) and Larry Jagol (Fertile, MN) to develop techniques to reduce pesticide use in commercial bee production and improve profitably for beekeepers in Minnesota.

You might not automatically think of our area when you think of honey production-yet MN, SD and ND are the top honey producing states in the U.S. based on yield per colony, and produce over 30% of the nation's total honey production. The majority of commercial beekeepers in the Upper Midwest are "migratory,"meaning that they transport their colonies to warmer climates in the winter, and bring colonies back to the Upper Midwest for honey production in the summer. Honey production has been threatened by the introduction of a mite, appropriately named V. destructor, which kills colonies within 1 to 2 years if untreated. Beekeepers have resorted to routinely treating with pesticides to control the mite, a costly practice that not only affects their bottom line and the environment, but is also becoming less effective as mites develop resistance.

Spivak and her team propose to help beekeepers reduce pesticide use with a multi-pronged approach. First, they will encourage greater use of integrated pest management strategies to determine when beekeepers need to treat. Although threshold levels have been established for the mite, it is often not feasible for large-scale beekeepers to visit all of their apiaries on successive days, to place and collect mite traps.

Spivak's team will develop an easy, relatively accurate, and standardized sampling plan to enable beekeepers to estimate the percent infestation of mites in a colony. This will enable beekeepers to make treatment decisions based on threshold levels, without the burden of multiple trips to their hundred or more apiaries. Spivak is also continuing her work with lines of mite-resistant bees, and developing crosses that retain resistance, but have greater honey production than the current lines. Several beekeepers using the Minnesota Hygienic line for seven years have eliminated disease from their colonies. For more information on this research grant, contact Marla Spivak, 612-624-4798, spiva001@umn.edu.

Ag Diversification on the Airwaves

Meg Moynihan, Minnesota Department of Agriculture

Sometime next spring you may be working in the barn tuned to your favorite farm information station, and hear a 60 second spot about a farmer down the road who is growing and marketing golden flax profitably - or who has put in a stand of hazelnut trees to diversify farm income.

These one-minute inspirational profiles about farmers using alternative and sustainability-oriented strategies on their farms are the focus of a 2004 NCR-SARE Research and Education grant awarded to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) working in partnership with the Minnesota Farm Network (MFN) and the Minnesota Farmers Union (MFU).

Farmers Teresa Hall (Butterfield), Andy Hart (Elgin), Jane Grimsbo Jewett (Palisade) and Noreen Thomas (Moorhead) will work together with Meg Moynihan (MDA), Les Heen (MFU), Tom Rothman (MFN) and Curt Zimmerman (MDA) to find and interview 52 growers who are using innovative strategies to diversify their farming enterprises.

Each interview will become a 60-second radio spot that will be broadcast as part of a regular feature on commercial MFN radio stations. Listeners will be directed to additional information and resources about the topic on MDA's Minnesota Farm Opportunities website.

Transcripts of the broadcasts will be published in MFU's monthly Minnesota Agriculture publication, and several stories will have expanded coverage in a new diversification section of the paper. "What makes this project so great is that it connects farmers with other farmers - even though they may live across the state from each other," said project leader Meg Moynihan. "There are lots of growers out there who are trying innovative things on their farms in order to keep farming fun and competitive. We're not saying farmers should stop growing what they're good at, but many want to begin diversifying their enterprise a bit, and this series will help them inspire each other."

These weekly broadcasts will reach an estimated 350,000 listeners. So stay tuned - coming next spring to a station near you. For more information on this project, contact Meg Moynihan, meg.moynihan@state.mn.us, 651-297-8916.

2004 R&E Grant

Sustainable Tourism in Minnesota--Green eating and playing in Minnesota

Jan Joannides, Renewing the Countryside

If you've ever been traveling in an unfamiliar part of Minnesota, had a hankering for some good locally grown food but didn't know where to find it, you'll be happy to know that help is on the way.

A wide array of organizations have come together to plan and carry out a high-profile public education campaign that will capture the attention of new audiences and give them easy, concrete ways to support local food systems while "Eating and Playing in Minnesota." The heart of the campaign is showcasing eating establishments across the state that buy from local farmers and providing information about the farms which supply those eateries. As part of the project, 40 stories of eateries and local farms, pictures and recipes will be compiled and published both in print and electronically. A series of regional "Green Route Guides" will also be developed-centered on some of the showcased eateries and including other activities, such as biking and birding trails and local arts and cultural activities. A state-wide, local foods festival is also being planned. Led by Renewing the Countryside, Inc., Green Eating is supported by a 2004 NCR-SARE Research and Education grant and has partners from multiple facets of Minnesota's sustainable agriculture and tourism communities, including: the Sustainable Farming Association, University of Minnesota Tourism Center, Minnesota Department of Agriculture's Minnesota Grown Program, Minnesota Food Association, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, U of M's Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, Minnesota Bed and Breakfast Association, Land Stewardship Project, and the U of M's Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships. For more information or to become involved in this project, contact Renewing the Countryside at rtc@rtcinfo.org or 1-866-378-0587.

May 10, 2006

Green Routes Website Launch

 Just in time for planning summer trips—Green Routes has launched their new website, www.GreenRoutes.org.  The website is an easy-to-use tool to help you find one-of-a-kind places to eat locally grown food, and experience unique cultural attractions, and activities. Also hot off the press are four new convenient pamphlets that you can add to the Tamarack and Upper Minnesota River Valley pamphlets already in your glove compartment.  New brochures are available for Bluff Country, Pine & Lake Country, Aggasiz, and the North Shore.  For more information, or for copies of the pamphlets, contact Renewing the Countryside, 1-866-378-0587, rtc@rtcinfo.org