Agriculture has been an integral part of Minnesota’s land and water for a thousand years. While crops have changed, the spirit of farming has remained constant. MPR Archive presents a selection of stories that reflect the diversity of what has been harvested, such as corn, soybeans, wild rice, and even tree fiber. This collection is also about the many hands that toil in, and care for, the soil and water…from the migrant farm worker in Red River Valley’s sugar beet fields, the Hmong immigrant planting near Homer, the Chanarambie Township farmer amidst the 1980s farm crisis, and Ojibwe members following ancient harvesting traditions.
February 24, 1999 - A Mainstreet Radio special broadcast from community room at City Hall in Thief River Falls. Mark Steil hosts a discussion on farm crisis and its impact on mental health with local farmers and Winnie Stoltman, counselor with the Disaster Response Network based in East Grand Forks.
May 20, 1999 - A farm in southwest Minnesota probably is not the first place you'd expect a professional mezzo soprano to call home, but that is exactly what MPR’s Mark Steil found when talking with Gary Overgaard, a farmer, and his wife Emily Lodine, an opera singer.
June 10, 1999 - Second in a two-part series on Devils Lake, Mainstreet Radio’s Dan Gunderson reports on the concerns and plans for the lake in northeast North Dakota, which has risen nearly 25 feet in the past six years. Officials say with time running out, they are prepared to take drastic action. North Dakota officials say building an outlet now will control the water….but outlet plans have been stopped by opposition from Minnesota, Canada, and environmental groups.
August 5, 1999 - A Mainstreet Radio special broadcast of Minnesota Citizens Forum, live from FarmFest in Redwood Falls. In the first hour of program, Minnesota Farm Radio Network’s Tom Rothman hosts a discussion of the importance of a strong rural economy to Minnesota.
August 5, 1999 - A Mainstreet Radio special broadcast of Minnesota Citizens Forum, live from FarmFest in Redwood Falls. In the second hour of program, Minnesota Farm Radio Network’s Tom Rothman hosts a continuing discussion of the importance of a strong rural economy to Minnesota.
August 6, 1999 - Mainstreet Radio's Brent Wolfe reports on a national referendum sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which looks to change the current system that sets different minimum prices for milk in different parts of the country. The new pricing system would reduce the disparity in minimum prices around the nation.
August 6, 1999 - Mainstreet Radio’s Marissa Helms reports on two brothers in central Minnesota that are taking the family dairy farm in a new direction.
August 30, 1999 - MPR’s Laura McCallum reports on a Minnesota Citizens Forum on the farm crisis held at the State Fair. A panel of elected officials from the federal, state and local levels talked about ways to help rural Minnesota survive, ranging from a government buyout of surplus commodities to more money for technology.
September 3, 1999 - MPR’s Dan Gunderson reports on the International Plowing Competition in Rollag, Minnesota. Farmers from 30 states are competing for the national plowing title. The event is part of the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion.
September 3, 1999 - Bison burgers, Buff dogs…bison's becoming the 'other' red meat for health conscious Americans. Mainstreet Radio's Marisa Helms reports that cattle ranchers across Minnesota are starting to raise the nearly once extinct animal in increasing numbers. Some of these new bison ranchers try to mimic the natural prairie setting, grazing their herds on native grasses.