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Multi-Peril Crop Insurance: Delayed and Prevent Plant Choices
Crop insurance late plant dates are fast approaching for planting crops in South Dakota. The weather and soil conditions this spring will likely lead to some prevent plant situations for farm producers.
Selling Fish at a Farmers Market in South Dakota
This article was developed to address some of the questions around selling fish at the farmer’s market and to ensure that seller’s may be well-informed to ensure they are selling fish that meet regulatory requirements as well ensuring the product is safe.
Wet Feet in Wheat
Given the widespread wet conditions present this spring, there are many areas in winter wheat fields with both ponding and saturated (or waterlogged) soils. Producers may want to consider soil conditions and evaluate extended weather forecasts when deciding whether or not to retain a winter wheat this spring.
Founding a Farmers Market: Form a Planning Team
The first step to forming a new farmers market is to form a planning team. Keep the team small enough so that it is simple, small and manageable.
Farmers Market Food Safety: Health & Hygiene
Health, hygiene and hand washing apply to all stages of production, processing and marketing. Ill food handlers can easily contaminate fresh produce with disease-causing microorganisms. Many of these organisms have the capability to survive on fresh fruits and vegetables for an extended time, from several days to weeks. Once the organism is established on fresh produce, it is very hard to remove.
Flood Insurance
The higher amounts of snow this year will increase the chance of flooding and the potential water damage to homes and residential properties. Now is the time to consider purchasing a flood insurance policy.
Limited Forage: What Are Some Alternatives?
Research has shown that a variety of feedstuffs can be utilized to meet the cows’ nutrient requirements with similar performance to hay or hay plus supplement ration.
Making Use of “Ugly” Feeds
Feed does not have to be perfect to be useful. The key to making smart feeding decisions is knowing what the imperfections are and adjusting accordingly.
Herd Management: Keep or Cull During a Drought?
Drought forces unexpected changes so it’s critical to have a strategy to keep only the “right” females that will benefit the operation.
Community Gardens: Budget & Fees
In order to have a sustainable project, it is very important to identify all of the expenses that are involved in the operation of your community garden. Are there costs associated with utilizing the site, site preparation (tilling, plowing, soil testing, or soil amendments), on-site resources (hose, fencing, or shared tools), marketing the garden, water usage, or insurance?