Play6min 27secSpreading the word about manureOctober 27, 2006 1:00 AMBy Mark SteilMore farmers are using manure to beat the high cost of commercial fertilizer. The practice brings with it environmental issues.
Play4min 27secReseeding the prairieOctober 24, 2006 1:00 AMBy Mark SteilThe number of prairie areas in Minnesota is slowly increasing. Each fall the state reseeds hundreds of acres of marginal farmland and other parcels of land with native prairie plants.
Play7min 03secStarting a new life "900 Miles from Nowhere"October 13, 2006 8:00 AMBy Cathy WurzerA new book blows some dust off the history of the Great Plains. "900 Miles from Nowhere" reveals the lives of early homesteaders through their own letters and photos.
Play3min 21secCrops bounce back for a strong harvestOctober 4, 2006 1:00 AMBy Mark SteilMinnesota's corn and soybean farmers are harvesting decent yields following a year of weather uncertainties. There's was too much rain, then too little. A mid-summer drought nearly ruined the October finish.
Steele County's last butter maker churns it out the old fashioned wayOctober 1, 2006 3:00 PMBy Greta CunninghamSteele County once led the world in butter production. Now, only one butter maker remains.
Play3min 36secHarvest looks healthy despite summer droughtSeptember 28, 2006 8:00 AMMinnesota farmers are reaping an average harvest despite a scorching summer. MPR's Cathy Wurzer discussed this fall's harvest with Doug Holen of the University of Minnesota Extension Service.
Play4min 03secOrganic farmers meet special standards to elude E. coliSeptember 22, 2006 12:34 PMCathy Wurzer spoke with Jim Riddle, organic outreach coordinator at the University of Minnesota about special standards that organic farmers have.
Ethanol makers search for cheaper raw materialSeptember 22, 2006 5:00 AMBy Mark SteilThere could be a major change underway in how ethanol is made. Several companies want to start producing the alcohol fuel from plant fiber. Most ethanol now is made from corn. How likely is the transition to what's called cellulose ethanol?
Where the groundwater isSeptember 20, 2006 12:13 PMThis map shows where the major groundwater aquifers are in Minnesota, compared to where the ethanol plants are located.