Extras affect prices Tunnels boost veggie yield

34 / www.FarmProgress.com – June 2012
Dakota Farmer
Farm and Ranch Management
Tunnels
boost
veggie
yield
By KEITH KNUDSON
V
receive
i a share
h
off the
th harvest.
h
t
Each week, the subscriber will
receive shares of the vegetables
and other farm produce.
There are benefits to farmers
in that they are able to market
their produce before the busy
season starts, and they receive
the income early in the season,
helping the farmer’s cash flow.
The consumer benefits from the
availability of fresh produce, and
they get to know the farmer and
watch their food grow. CSA farms
also have events for subscriber
families, giving the kids the opportunity to work, play and learn
about farming.
CSAs are not without risk to
the subscriber. Each subscriber
pays the annual fee at the beginning of the season. Everyone
shares the inherent risk and possible bounties. If it hails or floods
and all is lost, everyone shares
the loss. Each CSA has its own
set of rules. Some CSAs allow
subscribers to participate when
determining what will be grown in
a season. Customers select from
the farmer’s list of what he or she
is willing to grow.
There is obviously a need for
more local vegetable production.
Climate and competition are
always factors, but the quality
of the produce and the interest
in knowing the farmer firsthand
give producers a competitive
edge when consumers search
for quality food. The use of lowcost high tunnels allows local
producers to be more competitive via higher yields and longer
seasons.
Knudson is a North Dakota
Farm Business Management instructor for sustainable vegetable
production at Bottineau, N.D.
Contact him at 701-228-2160, or
Keith.Knudson@dakotacollege.
edu.
Cropland, wooded draws
sell for $3.8K an acre
Local market growing
About 91 acres in Yankton County
sold for an average of $3,850 per
acre. It consisted of 67 acres
of flat tillable land, 7 acres of
highly erodible land and the
rest in pasture, which included
heavily wooded draws with 40%
slopes. — Auction managed and
conducted by Wieman Land and
Auction, Marion, S.D. Phone 800251-3111. www.wiemanauction.
com.
In the past few years, much attention has been given to buying
locally. More of the population
wants to know what they are
eating in terms of nutrition and
where it was grown. Farmers
markets continue to grow, and
community-supported agriculture groups are popping up everywhere. CSA members pay a
subscription at the beginning of
the growing season and, in return,
Learn more
Extras affect prices
Sale of
S
the Month
OME interesting land auctions are reported this
month. One farm sold for
more than $8,500 per acre in Minnehaha County, S.D. Another sale
involved land that came with a
hog manure application agreement. Some hunting land with U.S.
Fish and Wildlife perpetual wetland grassland easements tested
the market.
Details follow:
Minnehaha County, SD:
$8.5K
Two 160-acre tracts in Minnehaha
County, S.D., sold for $8,750 and
$8,550 per acre at a public auction
in February. Broker Tom Jass says
it was a “very nice farm capable of
producing excellent crop yields.”
Each tract has 157.6 acres of tillable land, which can be farmed on
one continuous rectangle. It’s partially tiled, and a tile agreement
with the downstream neighbor is
recorded. All housing eligibilities
allowed by the county will be included. The land is fall-tilled, and
buyer will reimburse seller for
tillage cost. — Auction managed
and conducted by Farmers National
Co., Brandon, S.D. Phone 605-5822798. www.farmersnational.com.
Manure application
included
About 191 acres in Turner County,
S.D., sold for $6,400 per acre in
March. The tract had 180 acres
of cropland with the balance in
grass and trees along a creek. The
AgriData soil index weighted average was 77.4.
The land included three steel
By LON TONNESON
grain bins and a manure application agreement with a hog facility
located adjacent to the land. It
was sold subject to the 2012 cropyear lease, with all of the $46,000
in cash rent going to the buyer at
closing. — Auction managed and
conducted by Bob Hansen Land &
Auction, Salem, S.D. Phone: 605425-2608. www.hansenauction.
com.
Easements figure into
price of hunting land
Hunting land with perpetual grass
easements in Miner and McCook
counties sold for $2,550 and
$1,100 per acre, respectively. The
Miner tract had 160 acres of native
and tame grass that just came
out of CRP. It cannot be broken
up and farmed. It is protected by
perpetual U.S. Fish and Wildlife
grassland and wetland easements
that allow for unlimited grazing
365 days a year and haying after
July 15. The McCook land has a
thick marsh with mature trees and
some open water. — Auction managed and conducted by Bob Hansen
Land & Auction, Salem, S.D.
Phone: 605-425-2608. www.hansen
auction.com.
Kingsbury County, SD: $6K
an acre for quarter of land
A quarter of land in Kingsbury
County, S.D., sold for about $6,000
per tillable acre in April.
Of about 157 acres in the
tract, 121 acres are tillable. The land had an
average soil rating of
0.789. — Auction managed by Chuck Sutton
Auctioneer and Land
Broker, Sioux Falls, S.D. Phone
605-336-6315. www.suttonauction.
com.
$1K-plus for native
grassland
About 400 acres of native grass
in Gregory County, S.D., sold for
$1,140 per acre. The auction consisted of two separate parcels,
which were just a short distance
apart. Sold as one unit, the property consisted of all native grass
with several dugouts for watering
livestock, and a rural water pipeline.
One of the parcels had some
added value because of the deer
and turkey hunting. — Auction
managed and conducted by Dan
Clark Auction Sales, Winner, S.D.
Phone: 605-842-1150.
EGETABLE production in
the Upper Midwest has
taken a back seat on commercial farms for a couple of
reasons. Most producers think
of vegetable production more
like gardening. It does not fit in
with their conventional cropping
program. And then there is the
climate issue. We cannot compete with the likes of California
and Mexico. However, the playing
field has been leveled a little with
the increased use of high tunnels.
The USDA’s Natural Resources
Conservation Service provided
eligible producers with funding
for about half the cost of a high
tunnel. The project is funded
under the Environmental Quality
Incentives Program. In 2010-11,
more than 2,400 high tunnels
were constructed with EQIP help.
High tunnels have the potential of extending the season by
two months every year — one
month earlier in the spring and
one month later in the fall. High
tunnels are not greenhouses.
They are low-cost, freestanding
and often without heating or electricity. They use passive heating
and ventilation with some type of
an irrigation system for crop production. Normally, high tunnels
are constructed of pipe, supports
and 4- or 6-mill poly.
Extended-season production
does have its benefits. Producers
in the region normally get paid
a lower price because their production comes all at one time,
flooding the market. But a high
tunnel spreads the harvest
season. This allows the producer
to get a premium price for at
least some production, and it reduces the flooding of the market.
Producers report that high tunnels have higher yields because
temperature and moisture conditions can be better controlled.
OR additional information on the North Dakota
Farm Business Management
Program, contact Steve
Zimmerman, state supervisor for agricultural education,
at 701-328-3162. The Farm
Business Management Program
is sponsored by the North
Dakota State Department of
Career and Technical Education.
F
34 / www.FarmProgress.com – June 2012
Dakota Farmer
Farm and Ranch Management
Extras affect auction prices
Sale of
S
the Month
OME interesting land auctions are
reported this month. One farm sold
for more than $8,500 per acre in Minnehaha County, S.D. Another sale involved
land that came with a hog manure application agreement. Some hunting land with
U.S. Fish and Wildlife perpetual wetland
grassland easements tested the market.
Details follow:
Cropland, wooded draws sell
BY LON TONNESON
and turkey hunting. — Auction managed
and conducted by Dan Clark Auction Sales,
Winner, S.D. Phone: 605-842-1150.
About 91 acres in Yankton County sold
for an average of $3,850 per acre. It consisted of 67 acres of flat tillable land, 7
acres of highly erodible land and the rest
in pasture, which included heavily wooded
draws with 40% slopes. — Auction managed and conducted by Wieman Land and
Auction, Marion, S.D. Phone 800-251-3111.
www.wiemanauction.com.
Minnehaha County, SD: $8.5K
Two 160-acre tracts in Minnehaha County,
S.D., sold for $8,750 and $8,550 per acre at
a public auction in February. Broker Tom
Jass says it was a “very nice farm capable
of producing excellent crop yields.” Each
tract has 157.6 acres of tillable land, which
can be farmed on one continuous rectangle.
It’s partially tiled, and a tile agreement with
the downstream neighbor is recorded. All
housing eligibilities allowed by the county
will be included. The land is fall-tilled,
and buyer will reimburse seller for tillage
cost. — Auction managed and conducted by
Farmers National Co., Brandon, S.D. Phone
605-582-2798. www.farmersnational.com.
Any lender can say it’s dedicated to
Manure application included
agriculture. The real measure is the
About 191 acres in Turner County, S.D.,
sold for $6,400 per acre in March. The
tract had 180 acres of cropland with the
balance in grass and trees along a creek.
The AgriData soil index weighted average
was 77.4. The land included three steel
grain bins and a manure application agreement with a hog facility located adjacent
to the land. It was sold subject to the 2012
crop-year lease, with all of the $46,000 in
cash rent going to the buyer at closing.
— Auction managed and conducted by Bob
Hansen Land & Auction, Salem, S.D. Phone:
605-425-2608. www.hansenauction.com.
commitment to its future – like the one
Easements figure into price
Hunting land with perpetual grass easements in Miner and McCook counties sold
for $2,550 and $1,100 per acre, respectively.
The Miner tract had 160 acres of native
and tame grass that just came out of the
Conservation Reserve Program. It cannot
be broken up and farmed. It is protected
by perpetual U.S. Fish and Wildlife grassland and wetland easements that allow
for unlimited grazing 365 days a year and
haying after July 15. The McCook land
has a thick marsh with mature trees and
some open water. — Auction managed and
conducted by Bob Hansen Land & Auction,
Salem, S.D. Phone: 605-425-2608. www.
hansenauction.com.
Kingsbury County, SD: $6K an acre
A quarter of land in Kingsbury County, S.D.,
sold for about $6,000 per tillable acre in
April. Of about 157 acres in the tract, 121
acres are tillable. The land had an average
soil rating of 0.789. — Auction managed by
Chuck Sutton Auctioneer and Land Broker,
Sioux Falls, S.D. Phone 605-336-6315. www.
suttonauction.com.
$1K-plus for native grassland
About 400 acres of native grass in Gregory
County sold for $1,140 per acre. The auction consisted of two separate parcels a
short distance apart sold as one unit. The
property had all native grass with several dugouts for watering livestock and a
rural water pipeline. One of the parcels
had some added value because of the deer
we hold with more than 7,500 young and
beginning producers. Starting isn’t
easy – even with special financing, risk
management and guidance – but we make it
possible. The next generation works here.
Call 800-884-FARM.