A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
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Issues that get farmers to devote a morning of discussion during harvest time must be important. Resolutions about the Cloquet Forestry Center, local milk processing, and County Extension programs drew a dozen busy agriculture practitioners to the annual meeting of the Carlton County chapter of the Minnesota Farmers Union (MFU). The group is comprised of specialists in livestock, dairy, vegetables, berries, and agritourism, as well as Carlton County director of development Ryan Pervenanze. Chair...
Fewer than 5 percent of the U.S. population make their livelihood in agriculture. When an urban family gets into their car to go out to the country and meet a family that makes a living farming, it can be unforgettable. Youngsters marvel at the animals and large-sized equipment and adults deepen their understanding of the food economy. Duane and Doreen Laveau hosted Breakfast on the Farm Saturday, June 29, at their 65-cow Laveau Grandview Dairy in Wrenshall and treated more than 750 people to a...
Children in Wrenshall Community Education’s Wrens Club program are learning about plants and pollination this summer. In mid-June, the Wrenshall Parents in Education group engaged the kids in a daylong activity that included hearing a hands-on presentation by a retired biologist, transplanting a native pollinator-friendly plant to take home, weeding a garden at the school, crafting a solar-powered night light with bee decorations, and visiting a nearby farm that relies critically on natural poll...
The path to healthy food systems is a convergence of many tracks beaten by Indigenous elders, ambitious innovators, eager youth, and patient visionaries. Midwest farmers are in the vanguard with gatherings such as the Marbleseed conference, the region’s premier event for organic agriculture, which took place in La Crosse, Wisconsin Feb, 22-24. Over 1,400 people gathered to share ideas and experience. Three speakers at the general session gave new energy to “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.” Ben Hartm...
In the widespread transition to green energy, motivated entrepreneurs are developing projects that can benefit from federal and state government spending. The Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs), a partnership of four Minnesota institutions, encourages such projects through seed grants awarded in seven regions throughout the state. This year, the Northeast CERT awarded the Food Farm in Wrenshall $5,000 to conduct an in-depth energy analysis of its operation, with the goal to establish a...
The “Go big, or get out” mantra has dominated U.S. agriculture for decades. It is getting push-back from small and medium-sized farmers in the Lake Superior regions of Minnesota and Wisconsin, and the public response is remarkable. At the Lake Superior Sustainable Farming Association annual meeting last weekend, executive director Julie Allen reported that its major annual activity, the September Harvest Festival in Duluth’s Bayfront Festival Park, was another huge success, attracting over...
What do Minnesota farmers do in the wintertime? Aside from livestock chores, machinery repair, record analysis, next-season planning, and a little more family time, they can improve their knowledge and networks by attending conferences. When meat and poultry farmer Mark Thell, chair of the Carlton County Chapter of the Minnesota Farmers Union, fell ill last week, I was asked to attend the 21st annual Minnesota Organic Conference Jan. 11-12 in St. Cloud. The event drew over 300 hundred...
Carlton County Farmers Union representatives joined their colleagues at the annual state convention of the Minnesota Farmers Union in Minneapolis Nov. 17-19. The goals of the convention are to celebrate legislative victories, plan initiatives, strengthen ties, and share outstanding meals from farms in the state. Local president Mark Thell, his wife, Terri, and I, as a delegate, attended the two-day event. The Marriott Northeast featured food sourced from Minnesota growers, including pork...
Sandy Dugan For the Pine Knot News Minnesota Commissioner of Agriculture Thom Peterson spent a couple of hours Monday, Oct. 30, listening to two dozen area farmers at the Route 61 Lounge and Bowling restaurant in Moose Lake. The main topic was this summer's continuing drought, with side issues on the lack of processing capacity, overconsolidation of operations, and problems with data management. The gathering, hosted by Gary Wertish, president of the Minnesota Farmers Union, included farmers...
How do you get 150 elementary children to hear and watch an opera? You treat them to a production by Little Opera of the North. It helps to have a scary tale with a happy ending, like "Hansel and Gretel." That was the fare on Oct. 9 at Wrenshall School. Music teacher Debbie Fenlason clapped her hands, the room became quiet, and baritone Rob Reardon stepped forward to greet the crowd and start the story: Two children get lost in the forest and encounter a witch who wants to turn them into...
Farmers in Carlton County and across the state face an environmental threat that could affect their business and lead to a loss of livelihood. At a recent meeting of the Carlton County chapter of the Minnesota Farmers Union, local farmer and agricultural scientist Joshua Stamper warned that discovery of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as "forever chemicals" or PFAs, found in soil or farm products, including dairy, meats, fruits, vegetables, and forage, can lead to disastrous...
On Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 12, a group of 20 students, parents, staff and volunteers gathered on the Wrenshall school grounds to complete the installation of dozens of native flowering plants and trees that will beautify the landscape, attract pollinators, and show learners the food web of plants, trees, insects, and birds. The three-hour event included an overview of the project, a presentation on phenology, work details, and a community meal. A 300-square-foot plot on the south side of the...
Lawmaking in Minnesota is moving rapidly this year, and Carlton County farmers are pushing to make their voice heard. Several members of the Land Stewardship Project (LSP) met in Barnum on Feb. 17 and planned a call for area citizens to join in a Family Farm Breakfast and Lobby Day at the Capitol April 13. Affordable health care, expanded meat processing services, augmented farm-to-school programs, and soil enrichment are key issues. The LSP is a statewide, private, nonpartisan, nonprofit...
Who grows our food? Where is it grown? How is it grown? How long will production last? Folks with ready answers to these questions probably know a member of the Lake Superior Sustainable Farming Association (LSSFA). For three decades, residents of northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin have benefited from the more than 120 farmers with modestly sized operations who commit to organic and regenerative methods that LSSFA advocates. Forty of those producers gathered for the association’s a...
The title "Fairness for Farmers" captures the spirit of a movement that is gathering momentum in rural Minnesota and beyond. Small and medium farms, which characterize the agricultural landscape of Carlton County, can be found across the state. Families that farm for a living benefit from cooperating with each other, educating the public, and lobbying for reform. That is the mission of the Minnesota Farmers Union. With roots in the early 20th century, MFU today is making the state a leader in...
