Big Day at the Minnesota Ag Expo

Today was the first day of the Minnesota Ag Expo at the Verizon Wireless Center in Mankato. Even with the snow and somewhat slippery roads there was a big crowd. This is the first time I have been in the expanded Verizon Wireless Center. It was nice to have more room for all the meetings and exhibitors. One of the speakers today was Commissioner of Agriculture Dave Frederickson. He talked about some of the different things that the Department of Agriculture is involved in. One of the most interesting topics was Palmer Amaranth and what the Department of Agriculture is doing after the weed was identified in Minnesota last summer.

The Minnesota Corn Growers and Soybean Growers fund a lot of research through the University of Minnesota. There must have been 15 different scientists here to talk with farmers about the results of their research. Topics included weed resistance, nitrogen management, sustainable farming, soybean aphid resistance, economics, and markets to name a few. Today the Minnesota Corn Growers held their annual meeting and tomorrow it is the Minnesota Soybean Growers turn. Finally special thanks to the Minnesota Agriculture Water Resources Center for letting me take over part of their booth for interviews!