MINNEAPOLIS - Minnesota schools are embracing locally produced food, according to a new report.

The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) study shows a dramatic increase in Farm to School initiatives in Minnesota. A survey of 165 school districts - half those in Minnesota - found that the number engaged in Farm to School rose from only 10 in 2006 to 123 in 2010.

JoAnne Berkenkamp, IATP's program director for local foods, says the initiatives promote healthy eating and educate students about how and where their food is grown. She says there are other benefits as well.

"It's also an economic-development strategy that is really aimed at supporting our local farmers and our rural economies. And it's a strategy for building community by engaging parents and farmers and the grandparents, and many other members of the community in what's happening in school food service."

Most schools rated their Farm to School programs as either "very" or "somewhat" successful, and would either continue or expand their efforts. Districts also incorporated a growing diversity of foods into their programs, with apples, cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes and squash topping the list. Berkenkamp says the most common challenges school districts face in adopting Farm to School include extra time and labor for food preparation, price and budgeting, and finding farmers from whom they can purchase food directly.

Greg Reynolds with Riverbend Farm in Delano encourages farmers to take the initiative in making those connections with schools. He got involved with Farm to School two years ago, and believes it's the next big market for small farmers. He also enjoys the satisfaction of knowing how his work impacts students' nutrition.

"When it's local, they eat more fruits and vegetables. And what the cook supervisors found was that they continue to eat more fruits and vegetables when the local stuff isn't in season. So it's really making a difference in their diet. They're eating better food."

Apples tend to be a common way to introduce Farm to School to children. But when the Orono School District started the program, says Kris Diller, who supervises the district's child-nutrition program, it decided to attract more students with honey and brought in a beekeeper.

"He brought in samples of his beehives, and he brought in his beekeeper's suit and his helmet, and explained to the kids how he goes and collects the honey. And then the students all got samples of his honey. And then, one of the days, we made cornbread, and then we had Scott's Bees and Honey that day. So the kids knew that came from his farm."

The Orono district has been involved with Farm to School for three years, Diller says, using a range of fruits and vegetables as well as locally produced cheese, honey and bread. While some districts do Farm to School only in the fall, Diller says Orono has a year-round program, and hopes to incorporate a community garden as a next step.


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The chair of the Federal Trade Commission will be in rural Iowa this weekend to hear from farmers and other residents about the proposed sale of Iowa Fertilizer to Koch Industries.

The sale is pending FTC approval. Iowa spent $500 million to build an Iowa Fertilizer factory in Weverly to create competition in an already consolidated industry.

Aaron Lehman, president of the Iowa Farmers Union, said he plans to tell FTC Chair Linda Khan a sale to Koch Industries would backtrack on any competitive progress the state has made.

"Our concern is that an industry that already lacks competition and has all sorts of monopoly problems would only get worse if this sale is allowed to go through," Lehman explained.

Koch and other corporate ag conglomerates have said consolidating allows them to provide better products to farmers more efficiently. The hearing is set for Saturday on Main Street in Nevada.

In addition to reducing competition for fertilizer, Lehman argued the sale would increase prices for farmers, and ultimately mean higher food prices for Iowans. He wants Khan to hear stories firsthand, from the people on the ground in Nevada.

"We know that we might not be able to have a dialogue with the people who are investigating this situation, because they need to be impartial," Lehman acknowledged. "But our farmers need to tell their story about how the industry is already in a monopoly state."

Some 18 other ag organizations have joined the Iowa Farmers Union calling on the FTC and the Justice Department to investigate the proposed sale.

A farm group is helping Iowa agriculture producers find ways to reduce the amount of nitrogen they use on their crops.

Excess nitrates can wind up in ground and surface water, and cause health problems.

Practical Farmers of Iowa is encouraging farmers to find just the right amount of nitrogen they need for their crops - while avoiding applying too much, which the group says is common.

PFI's Field Crops Viability Coordinator - Chelsea Ferrie - said thanks to federal grants and private funding, the group will pay farmers up to $35 for every acre that has a lower than normal yield if they didn't apply enough nitrogen.

"No cost to the farmer, either," said Ferrie. "We're trying to help incentivize them. This is something that farmers want to do - I mean, they want to be good stewards of the land - but also, that they need to have a profitable farm."

The application period for the program is open through the end of April.

To help them reach the right nitrogen balance, Ferrie said PFI will help farmers on the front end of the process, too - so they aren't left guessing how much to apply.

"Talk through what your typical fertilizer plan is, and what your reduction plan would be," said Ferrie. "Then you would implement this year, going into the spring and into the season."

Farmers have relied on nitrogen-based fertilizers for generations - but when applied in excess, nitrates run off into ground and surface water, posing health concerns for animals and people.




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Pesticides are still common in agriculture. Organic producers who avoid them have seen ups and downs in pushing for stronger regulations, and they point to a South Dakota example of the harm associated with widespread use among neighboring farms.

At the heart of the regulatory fight is the application of the weed-killing pesticide dicamba, and how it can drift from one farm to another. Last month, a federal court blocked "over the top" spraying of dicamba products, but the EPA followed with an order to allow the spraying of existing supplies.

Glenn Pulse, co-owner of an organic farm in Vermillion, said a 2017 drift incident had a big impact on his operation.

"Our entire farm was covered. We lost a lot of livestock, and thousands of bees were killed," he explained.

It also resulted in health concerns for his family, having to regain his organic farmer certification, and a legal battle over restitution. Groups such as the National Family Farm Coalition have been fighting what they call the deregulation of these chemicals, arguing the drift and runoff effect has damaged millions of crops.

Dicamba-manufacturing companies deny responsibility, instead blaming farmers who apply it for not following guidelines.

The EPA has said there were already millions of gallons of dicamba in circulation prior to the court's ruling, prompting the agency's order. Pulse feels there are farmers who are careful in spraying chemicals, but he wants stronger enforcement against those he describes as "loose cannons."

"The guys that are not following the labels and they're spraying in weather conditions that are not favorable, that is where, I would say, 90% of the problems are happening with drift incidents," Pulse said.

His calls for better responses to these incidents coincide with policy demands to heavily restrict dicamba products. Meanwhile, Rep. Dusty Johnson, D-South Dakota, is the main sponsor of a bill supporters say would assure uniformity in national pesticide labeling under federal law. But opponents argue it would limit longstanding state and local pesticide safety rules.