About Jonathan Knutson

I'm a North Dakota farm kid, with relatives and friends who farm. Spent my career at North Dakota newspapers, covering agriculture and business

Tough times, tough choices

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Jonathan Knutson

It’s been a tough spring for many area ranchers. April was horrible for calving. Now, hay is running short; what remains is expensive. And because it’s been so cold, pastures are greening up later than usual.

I have a story in the May 20 issue of Agweek that looks at the challenges facing ranchers. Another story looks at what producers can do to meet those challenges; unfortunately, their options are limited and unattractive.

I grew up on a cow/calf operation. I know firsthand that raising livestock can be rewarding and satisfying. I also know that sometimes it’s frustrating and even painful. For some area ranchers, this spring is one such time.

When farmers go, they really go

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Jonathan Knutson

When I was a kid, I had a grandmother who prided herself on her ability to do a lot of work in a short period of time. She put it like this: “When Grandma goes, she really goes.”

I’m reminded of that line this spring. The region has a narrow planting window, and farmers and others involved in agriculture are pushing hard to plant as much as they can as fast as they can. The sooner crops such as what and corn are planted, the greater the odds of a good harvest.

It’s good to see how much planting progress has been made in the past few weeks. Another two weeks of favorable weather would allow even more.

What a change in agriculture!

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Jonathan Knutson

For those of us old enough to remember them, the late 1980s and early 1990s were a gloomy time for many agriculturalists in the Upper Midwest. Drought and poor commodity prices made it difficult for even the best farmers and ranchers to make enough money to sustain their operations and support their families.

Times sure have changed. A half-dozen years of strong prices and generally good yields have bolstered producers’ bottom lines and created new opportunities.

One of the opportunities is meeting the region’s need for more nitrogen fertilizer. Two different groups are working to build their own nitrogen fertilizer plant in North Dakota; each plant would cost more than $1 billion.

Quite a change from those dreary days in 1988 to 1993.

I have no idea of what the region’s agricultural health will be in 2033. I just hope it’s a lot closer to what it is in 2013 than what it was in 1993.

Farming, pheasants and working together

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Jonathan Knutson

If you hunt pheasants, Hettinger County (N.D.) is a cross between Nirvana and Valhalla.

“Hettinger County has long been recognized for its excellent hunting. We live in the center of what is arguably the best pheasant hunting in the United States,” proclaims the city of Mott’s website.

Mott is the county seat of Hettinger County, in western North Dakota.

So I wasn’t surprised to see that Pheasants Forever, which seeks to enhance North America’s pheasant population, is sponsoring an informational meeting on the Conservation Reserve Program at 11:30 a.m. (MT) May 20 at the Seniors Citizen in Regent, N.D. A free lunch is included.

A new signup period for CRP, a federal program designed to protect fragile land and enhance wildlife habitat, begins May 20,

Margie Herner, Hettinger County executive director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency, which administers CRP, tells me she’ll appear at the meeting to to answer any questions that landowners have about the program.

Matt Flintrop, a Pheasants Forever farm bill biologist, also will attend the meeting. He’ll talk about wildlife-habitat opportunities for landowners, both in CRP and outside it.

Pheasants Forever believes in CRP and is committed to it, but also recognizes that some landowners interested in wildlife habitat want options outside the program, he says.

Pheasants Forever and the Farm Service Agency have a longstanding cooperative agreement. The May 20 meeting in Regent is a good example of that cooperation.

My upcoming column in the May 13 issue of Agweek takes a longer look at the issue of balancing the needs of agriculture with the needs of wildlife.

Pick your poison

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Jonathan Knutson

Farmers across the Upper Midwest are struggling with both drought and excess moisture this spring

Some areas are so wet that farmers will have a tough time planting their crops before it gets too late. Other areas are so dry that producers are worried about having a crop worth harvesting. I’ve talked with farmers in both camps this spring; opinions differ on which is worse.

If you’ve lived through both drought and excess moisture, and most veteran producers on the Northern Plains have, you have your thoughts on which is worse. Let me know what you think.

Please, be safe out there

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Jonathan Knutson

May is almost here, and the month will be crazy-busy for area agriculturalists. The late spring has delayed planted, so farmers and others involved in ag will face extra pressure this planting season.

Emphasizing the importance of farm safety to Agweek readers is preaching to the choir. They know it’s importance better than anyone.

But this reminder can’t hurt and could help: When people are in a hurry; they’re not quite as careful as they normally are. When they’re tired; their reactions slow. And when people are tired or in a hurry, or both, their chances of making a mistake rise.

Please, no matter how busy you are this delayed spring, be careful. Be safe.

The big chill will force adjustments

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Jonathan Knutson

A farmer in northern North Dakota told me today that he doesn’t expect to be in his fields until the third or even fourth week of May. His area has been so cold in April that the snow cover hasn’t melted as it normally does.

Over the past month, the average temperature in his area was 24 degrees, compared with the normal average temperature of 41 degrees in the same period, according to the North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network. No wonder the snow hasn’t melted.

The farmer is pragmatic about the cold month. His attitude, a healthy and necessary one, is that we have to adjust to whatever Mother Nature sends our way.

Delayed planting will be common across the Upper Midwest this spring. May and early June, I’m afraid, will require a lot of adjusting by area farmers.

$1.50 a day for food

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Jonathan Knutson

Maybe you’ve heard about the upcoming “Live Below the Line” campaign, which is designed to raise awareness about global poverty. Thousands of financially well-off people around the world have promised to feed themselves for no more than $1.50 a day — what the World Bank pegs as the extreme poverty line globally — for five days.

Decide for yourself what you think of the campaign and whether you care to participate. More information: www.livebelowtheline.com

For whatever it’s worth, here’s my takeaway: The campaign is one more reminder that people who produce food, in the United States and elsewhere, have a mighty important job.

A tale of two farmers

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Jonathan Knutson

I talked today with two farmers in the region who were hammered by the recent blizzard.

One is discouraged. His immediate area already had excess snow and faced delayed planting. Now, because all the new precipitation, he doesn’t expect to start planting for at least a month. The outlook for his 2013 crops has dimmed.

The other farmer is excited. His immediate area was dangerously dry and the recent snow, when it melts, will sink in and provide badly needed soil moisture. The outlook for his 2013 crops is considerably brighter than it had been.

If you’re a farmer who needed moisture and got some, congratulations. If you’re a farmer who received unwanted precipitation, my condolences.

Either way, it’s yet another reminder that “spring” on the Northern Plains can both aggravate and exhilarate, sometimes simultaneously.

Anxious to start planting

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Jonathan Knutson

I just got off the phone with a farmer in northeast North Dakota who just got of his tractor. No, he hadn’t been working in his fields; he’d been moving snow after the most recent storm.

A year ago, he says, he’d already been planting for a week or so by the middle of April This year, he doesn’t expect to start planting until May, at the earliest.

The farmer says he isn’t seriously worried yet about planting delays. He also says he wants snow to melt, fields to dry and planting to begin as quickly as possible.

I think just about everyone involved in Northern Plains’ agriculture shares that sentiment. There’s no reason for panic, but a little healthy concern is in order.

ag right

Author Archives: Jonathan Knutson