Agriculture

Dairy farmer Michael Hartmann wants Dakota County District Court Judge Rex Stacey to remove a state-imposed embargo on food sales from his southern Minnesota farm. State officials say eight people contracted E. coli from raw milk products they got from the Hartmann farm.
US regulators examine dairy industry competition
Dairy farmers frustrated with ever-eroding profit margins and possible antitrust violations in the industry will get a chance Friday to voice their concerns to federal regulators in "America's Dairyland."
The USDA says statewide average precipitation for the week ending Sunday was 1.1 inches, which left standing water in some fields, and only a few days were suitable for fieldwork.
State investigators went back to the Michael Hartmann dairy farm in Gibbon a second time last Wednesday to collect more samples, confiscate financial records, and document what they allege are unsanitary conditions on the farm.
Program gives jobs to teens, fresh produce to restaurants
Seeds for Success is about more than helping restaurants entice customers with fresh, local food. It's also about creating jobs. As soon as the paperwork is done, half-a-dozen teenagers from low-income families will be tending these plots.
Program helps beginning farmers get started
New farmers face many challenges, from capital to farming experience to access to land. A program called Farm Beginnings has been helping beginning farmers for more than a decade.
Minn. farm honored for being owned by same family
The couple's farm is one of 217 honored by the Minnesota State Fair this year for being Century Farms: owned and operated by the same family for at least 100 years.