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.
October 5, 1999 - MPR’s Mark Steil reports on the complicated nature of grain storage during the fall harvest, especially with the boom in genetically modified crops.
November 16, 1999 - MPR’s Shirley Idelson profiles Minnesota's grape growers, who are experiencing a boom. Producers say 1999 season has resulted in a record harvest. While grapes are still a tiny portion of the state's agricultural economy, high prices and a strong market for wine means expansion for this cottage industry.
November 10, 2000 - MPR’s Stephanie Hemphill profiles Frank Kutka and his farm near Mahtowa, about an hour south of Duluth. Kutka is experimenting with corn from all over the world to create a variety that will grow up north. His work is attracting attention around the country, and experts are hoping it may result in new crops that will help marginal farms.
January 25, 2001 - MPR’s Annie Feidt reports on The Midwest Food Alliance, a new local organization that is hoping to convince Minnesotans to pay closer attention to the source of their food. The alliance supports and promotes the products of local farmers who practice environmentally sound, sustainable agriculture. The organization hopes consumers will search out its brightly colored stickers on produce and meats, the way some look for the organic label.
April 24, 2001 - MPR’s Erin Galbally reports on an operation to expand a 1,600 dairy cow operation, despite pollution concerns. The state's pollution control agency was served with a lawsuit for failing to order environmental testing on the site of a proposed Waseca dairy expansion.
April 25, 2001 - As part of Mainstreet Radio series "Broken Trust: Civil Rights in Indian Country,” MPR’s Mark Steil reports on funding and discrimination battles Native American farmers face with the U.S. government.
July 6, 2001 - MPR’s Laurel Druley reports on how state farmers are now trying to predict their crop yields. Typically farmers like to see corn hip-high by the fourth of July. But 2001 was not a typical year, with massive flood waters in the spring. At the start of July, Minnesota corn height averaged 21 inches. That's a foot shorter than the year before.
August 31, 2001 - In a broadcast from the MPR booth at Minnesota State Fair, Mainstreet Radio’s Rachel Reabe revisits the farmers of Chanarambie Township in Southwestern Minnesota.
November 8, 2001 - As part of Mainstreet Radio’s “Harvest of Frustration” series, Dan Gunderson reports on how sugar beet farmers in Minnesota and North Dakota are hopeful the 2001 harvest marks a turn for the better. In the past couple of years, sugar prices fell to 20 year lows, turning what was once seen as guaranteed big money into just another break even crop.
December 24, 2001 - MPR’s Mark Steil reports that wind turbines are becoming a more popular scene in the country because farmers are harvesting the wind for electricity. Steil interviews numerous individuals about this creative use of farmland.