April 30 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden's administration on Tuesday, April 30, released guidance on its sustainable aviation fuel subsidy program that allows corn-based ethanol to qualify as a feedstock provided it is sourced from farms that use climate-friendly growing techniques. The plan is likely to be bittersweet for the politically powerful U.S. ethanol industry that is eager to secure the subsidies but had hoped for a lower hurdle. Air travel so far accounts for about 2% of U.S. carbon pollution and is one of the fastest growing sources. Biden hopes creating a subsidized market fo ..read more

ROCHESTER, Minn. — The Village Agricultural Cooperative has entered a one-year lease agreement for 11 acres of land in northeast Rochester, owned by Charlie Connelly, a longtime farmer in the Rochester area. "Just your standard agreement, where the landowner agrees to allow our farmers to enjoy the space, be respectful, and use waterwise standards," said Amanda Nigon-Crowley, executive director of the Village. The Village Agricultural Cooperative, founded by Nigon-Crowley and Kim Sin over three years ago, now has over 200 active farmers and about 30 more on the waiting list. The cooperative ..read more

BROOKINGS, S.D. — While National Ag Week was held March 17-23, students in South Dakota State University’s College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences celebrated the agriculture industry across campus April 15-18. “We're celebrating the agriculture industry, with all of the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences students here on campus, and it's really fun to see them get involved and get excited through a lot of our events,” said Tessa Erdmann, a senior agricultural communications student at South Dakota State University and the College’s advocate from Groton, So ..read more

With planting getting off to a quick start in much of the U.S., Frayne Olson has a feeling the acreages reported in the March Prospective Plantings report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture might change by the next USDA update on acreage in June. The March report anticipated reduced corn and wheat acres and increased soybean acres, particularly in the northern Plains. "The temptation is, when everything's going smooth, you just kind of keep planting a little longer, and in particular for those early seeded crops like corn and wheat," said Olson, crops economist and markets specialist for ..read more

BISMARCK — Red Trail Energy, the first ethanol plant in the nation to use carbon capture and storage, is launching a program to provide a premium price for farmers to grow low-carbon corn. Red Trail Energy is partnering with Indigo Ag, which provides software and monitoring tools to calculate a carbon intensity score. While some farmers may need to adopt more climate-friendly practices, some may need to just provide documentation of the way they already farm. “We’re really just in the discovery phase on how all this is going to work,” said Red Trail CEO Jodi Johnson. Corn growers and the ..read more

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem wrote about shooting a young hunting dog she professed to "hate," and, if you haven't followed the controversy, the overwhelming public opinion has been against Noem, with people grossed out and questioning the humanity of someone who could kill a puppy in that manner. What has surprised me about the many comments on the matter has been the number of people — albeit small —who acted like this is just a "farm thing" or a "hunting dog thing" that others wouldn't understand. Huh? I'm not a hunter, but I've spent my whole life in and around farms. And I've had go ..read more

Sister-in-law Nancy’s 62nd birthday is on April 23. Brother Amos passed away suddenly six years ago, leaving Nancy a widow. May you have a wonderful birthday, Nancy! Last Friday evening, Joe and I attended the school program at granddaughter Kaitlyn’s school. It was their last day of school for the season. I think there are 30 students in her school. Two of the students received their eighth-grade diplomas and are now done with their school years. They sang quite a few songs for us, and then we were served a haystack supper afterwards. A haystack is layers of a variety of vegetables, toppings ..read more

While much is made about the lack of goodwill in today’s world, I’m happy to say that people are still neighborly in the country where I live. I was thinking about how much I appreciate my neighbors, Diana, Steve and Bryson, who live a mile and a half from me — close neighbors by rural standards — when I was taking my golden retriever, Nova, outside the other morning. As Nova flew out the door, and me with her, on the other end of the leash I was reminded about how Diana is willing to come over and take Nova and Casey, our other golden retriever, out for potty breaks if work or other commitme ..read more

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. Navigating how to operate a family business with the next generation can be a tricky subject and a conversation that may be difficult for families to discuss. That’s why Prairie Family Business Association hosted their first ever Farm Family Forum on April 16 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. This event was targeted towards farm families looking to pass down the business to the next generation or just looking to navigate different aspects of business operation with each other. “A lot of family farms don’t really classify themselves as family businesses, but they have all the ..read more

While much is made about the lack of goodwill in today’s world, I’m happy to say that people are still neighborly in the country where I live. I was thinking about how much I appreciate my neighbors, Diana, Steve and Bryson, who live a mile and a half from me close neighbors by rural standards when I was taking my golden retriever, Nova, outside the other morning. As Nova flew out the door, and me with her, on the other end of the leash I was reminded about how Diana is willing to come over and take Nova and Casey, our other golden retriever, out for potty breaks if work or other commitments ..read more