|  | | | Faculty in the News - September 2007 | |
Rochester's on the hot seat in global warming
Rochester Post - Bulletin, September 28, 2007
It's
getting warmer in Rochester. ... And 2007 is on track to be the warmest
year in Rochester's history, University of Minnesota climatologist Mark
Seeley said. | | |
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Usset offers smart ways to combine pre-and post-harvest marketing
Bismarck Farm and Ranch Guide, September 27, 2007
Producers
often benefit by writing two marketing plans each year for each
commodity they grow. ... Ed Usset, University of Minnesota Extension
grain marketing economist, says it's imperative to keep the two plans
separate, while understanding that both plans have an impact on the
same crop and bottom line. |
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Minnesota ghost towns haunt 500 endangered small cities
Twin Cities Daily Planet, September 26, 2007
The
Grant County Historical Society is sponsoring a bus tour on Saturday,
Oct. 6, of ghost towns about 150 miles northwest of the Twin Cities.
... Vernon Ruttan, professor emeritus of applied economics at the
University of Minnesota, teamed with a Japanese colleague, Yujiro
Hayami, in the early 1980s to develop a model of induced innovation. |
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Commodity prices heading skyward
Star Tribune, September 25, 2007
Grain
or gold, eggs or oil, beef or iron, the prices of many commodities have
been heading up. ... Ed Usset, a University of Minnesota grain
specialist, said corn has been the engine pulling prices higher on all
manner of farm goods, from grains to meats to eggs. |
Farming remains a dangerous occupation
Shakopee Valley News, September 23, 2007
It's
autumn, and soon a bright harvest moon will light fields for farmers
working to put food on our tables. ... Farming ranks among the most
dangerous occupations in the nation, with 600 or 700 adults and 100
children killed each year, plus many more maimed, says University of
Minnesota farm safety expert John Shutske. | | |
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Brightonwoods Orchard boasts 200 varieties of apples
The Journal Times - Racine, September 23, 2007
About
40 minutes from Racine, the Stones run an orchard that focuses on the
apple’s long history. ... The apple was developed by the University of
Minnesota, and just came off patent this year. |
Grape research program planned in Alexandria
Alexandria Echo Press, September 21, 2007
The
University of Minnesota has one of the top wine grape research programs
in the country and it’s bringing a presentation to Alexandria. | | |
New varieties or old, search continues for the perfect apple
Gloucester Times, September 19, 2007
It's
crunch time for America's apple growers as they rush their ripening
fruit to market. ... "Once you pick an apple, it's dying," said David
Bedford, a research scientist and head of the apple-breeding program at
the University of Minnesota's Agricultural Experiment Station. | | |
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Watch for frost damage in soybeans
Hutchinson Leader, September 19, 2007
Last
week’s record-low temperatures resulted in an early frost for area
soybeans. ... Does the color of green soybeans change during storage?
In a preliminary study done at the University of Minnesota by
Agricultural Engineer Bill Wilcke and others, green soybeans and normal
yellow beans were stored and monthly color readings were taken for six
months. |
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Food or Fuel: Minnesota must avoid a food fight
Twin Cities Daily Planet, September 17, 2007
The
warning shots have been fired. ... “The New World of Biofuels” written
by Robbin S. Johnson and C. Ford Runge for the Woodrow Wilson
International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., and “How
Biofuels Could Starve the Poor,” by Runge and fellow University of
Minnesota economist Benjamin Senauer for Foreign Affairs magazine. |
New Minnesota apple tastes like fruit punch
Argus Ledger - Sioux Falls, September 17, 2007
Apple
growers at the University of Minnesota are getting ready to introduce a
new apple variety, and they are looking for a catchy name to go with
its peculiar, tropical flavor. | | |
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Tourism’s future bright
Fergus Falls Journal, September 15, 2007
The
beauty of Otter Tail County and its natural environment attracts many
tourists to this area, with many of those people returning here in
succeeding years. Those were two of the findings noted by University of
Minnesota graduate student Raintry Salk who conducted a year-long
research study of tourism in northwest Minnesota. |
A change in the air
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, September 15, 2007
Wisconsin
is a long way from the Pacific Northwest, but Coon Valley farmer Jim
Munsch worries that genetically engineered alfalfa grown there could
contaminate his farm and harm his organic beef business. ... A
University of Minnesota study found that dairy cattle fed Roundup Ready
alfalfa produced an average of 8,204 pounds of milk per acre of feed,
compared with 7,568 pounds per acre from conventional alfalfa - an 8%
difference. | | |
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Give me a whole basket of (your apple name here)
Pioneer Press, September 15, 2007
The
Minnesota apple breeders who gave us the Honeycrisp and the Haralson
have another entrant in the wings: a curiously sweet apple called
MN447. ... "The winner doesn't get a tree or anything like that," said
David Bedford, a University of Minnesota apple breeder. |
Flooding Drove Wasps From Nests, Upped Mosquitoes
WCCO - TV, September 15, 2007
In
addition to damaged homes and muck-covered belongings, residents and
volunteers in this flood-ravaged southeastern Minnesota town are facing
a new problem -- wasps. ... University of Minnesota entomologist Jeff
Hahn said yellow jackets are scavengers and could have been attracted
to debris containing carbohydrates. | | |
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Introducing MN 447
Chaska Herald, September 13, 2007
First
things first. ... That’s the warning issued almost immediately by David
Bedford, apple breeder with the University of Minnesota. |
Ten tips for selecting landscape plants
Waconia Patriot, September 12, 2007
Have
you ever visited a garden center with the intention of just buying
potting soil, and you walk out later with a dozen new plants, telling
yourself confidently “I’ll find a place for them?” ... That’s a
surefire recipe for an unsustainable landscape, according to Julie
Weisenhorn, University of Minnesota horticulturist. | | |
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A taste spectrum: about 100 apple varieties grown commercially
Fresh Plaza, September 11, 2007
It's
crunch time for America's apple growers as they rush their ripening
fruit to market. ... "Once you pick an apple, it's dying," said David
Bedford, a research scientist and head of the apple breeding program at
the University of Minnesota's Agricultural Experiment Station at
Chanhassen. |
An apple a day? Try about 600
Star Tribune, September 11, 2007
David
Bedford doesn't just eat an apple. ... Bedford is the University of
Minnesota's apple breeder -- more specifically, a fruit crops scientist
at the U's Horticultural Research Center at the Minnesota Landscape
Arboretum in Chanhassen. | | |
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National Farm Safety Week is Sept. 16-22
Agri News, September 11, 2007
National
Farm Safety and Health Week is Sept. 16-22. ... John Shutske, director
of the Minnesota AgrAbility Project and University of Minnesota
agricultural safety and health specialist, said there was a dramatic
decrease in the number of children involved in farm fatalities in 2006. |
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Food fight: Some local farms prefer 'Naturally Grown' over 'Organic'
Daily Freeman, September 9, 2007
At
the Huguenot Street Farm, rows of diminutive yellow tomatoes last week
shone before a bank of equally brilliant sunflowers that lead to a
valley of vegetables growing against a backdrop of the Shawangunk
Ridge. ... Regarding antibiotics that Khosla mentioned earlier, the
drugs have been found to leach into vegetables grown in organic matter
containing them, as determined in a study by scientists from the
University of Minnesota. |
Wheat hits record high
Pioneer Press, September 7, 2007
Wheat
- the staff of life - is now the stuff of records. ... "Wheat is on its
own trajectory now - up, up and away," said Edward Usset, a
grain-marketing specialist at the University of Minnesota. | | |
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Can the wild tiger survive?
Science, September 7, 2007
China
is pushing to reintroduce wild tigers, but critics say its breeding
centers offer the tiger only a more roundabout path to extinction.
James L. David Smith, a University of Minnesota wildlife biologist,
there are three reserves in Nepal that potentially have populations. |
Farm Safety: a burning issue
The Land, September 6, 2007
Combine
and tractor fires cost millions of dollars each year plus numerous
injuries and even a few deaths. University of Minnesota agricultural
safety and health specialist John Shutske says there are two ways to
avoid such a disaster. | | |
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Farm safety can pay big financial dividends
Hutchinson Leader, September 5, 2007
Avoiding
farm work injuries that interfere with fall harvest can pay big
financial dividends for crop producers. ... John Shutske is a safety
and health specialist with the University of Minnesota. |
CVEC to benefit as cuts to ethanol subsidy are restored
Swift County Monitor, September 4, 2007
Minnesota
is preparing to send $1.8 million in ethanol subsidies to 13 plants to
make up for payment cuts made during a budget crisis four years ago.
... C. Ford Runge, a University of Minnesota economist, questions the
decision. | | |
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Pest Research Could Save Farmers Millions
WCCO, September 4, 2007
Larry
Muff, the next generation farmer in his family, is dealing with a new
generation of problems in Otisco, Minn. ... Dr. Dave Ragsdale, a
professor at the University of Minnesota, thinks he has found a better
way to control these killer bugs. |
U of M honored for farm safety research
Agri News, September 4, 2007
University
of Minnesota research to develop safety sensor systems for farm
machines was recognized with a "Superior Paper" award at the 2007
International Meeting of the American Society of Agricultural and
Biological Engineers. John Shutske is an agricultural safety and health
specialist at the University of Minnesota. | | |
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Biodiesel Byproduct May Substitute for Corn
The Farmer, September 4, 2007
The
biodiesel industry is producing a byproduct called glycerin. ... Jim
Linn is a dairy scientist with University of Minnesota Extension and
Mary Raeth-Knight is a University of Minnesota research fellow. |
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Glycerin is being researched for rations
Agri News, September 4, 2007
The
biodiesel industry is producing a byproduct called glycerin and it is
being researched to see if larger quantities of the byproduct can be
fed as a replacement for starch in dairy cattle diets, reports Jim
Linn, University of Minnesota Extension dairy specialist and Mary
Raeth-Knight, a U of M researcher. |
Crop Damage Assessment In Rice and Steele County
KEYC - TV - Mankato, September 1, 2007
It's
been a challenging season for local farmers as they faced too little
rain at the start and too much rain recently. ... Dr. Ken Ostlie from
the University of Minnesota says, ''Corn rootworms feed on corn roots
as the name suggests and as a result of that then there's not the root
system to hold that plant in place against these winds during
thunderstorms." | | |
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This month, take a plant pathologist to lunch
Twin Cities Daily Planet, September 1, 2007
Most
of us know to thank a farmer for what we eat. But we might be less
likely to pay tribute to plant pathologists for their contribution to
what’s on our table. That’s a shame because plant pathology has had an
enormous effect on our food supply, and one of the leading forces in
that effort is right in our own back yard. The University of
Minnesota’s Plant Pathology Department, located on the St. Paul campus,
will mark its centennial this month, and there’s much to celebrate. |
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