Murray County Christmas Project
The Murray County Christmas Project is again providing toys and gifts to children (12 & under) in Murray County.
Items needed are new toys, gifts, stocking caps and mittens. Monetary donations will be used to buy these items. All checks should be made payable to: Murray County Christmas Project/SRDC. Donations can be dropped at Slayton Shoe Repair, local banks in Murray County or sent to Murray County Christmas Project, Box 111, Slayton, MN 56172.
All donations for the Murray County Christmas Project are greatly appreciated.
Pelican Pontoon Pussycats November Cookoff
Tie One On with the Pelican Pontoon Pussycats at the Breezy Barn
November 25th 1pm ~ Sunday (that’s our Funday)
Tie on an Apron and bring your mothers favorite recipe or YOUR favorite food mom made! to Breezy by 1pm SHARP and Party like a Crockstar!~
Proceeds will be going to Mike Wessels to help defray Medical expenses while undergoing cancer treatment.
Rebel Roundup
Graduation Requirements
What does it take to receive a high school diploma? Along with hard work, determination, and regular attendance there are specific credit requirements established by the State of Minnesota and the MCC School Board. A student must have a total of thirty credits in grades 9-12, which need to include the following: four credits in English, four credits in Social Studies, three credits in Science, three credits in Math, a half credit in Economics, two credits in Health/Physical Education, a half credit in Careers, a half credit in Computer Science, one credit in Art, and eleven and a half elective credits.
Although it is not required to take a World Language in order to graduate, many four-year colleges required two years of a language in order to be accepted for admission. At MCC we offer Spanish, so a student needs to have Spanish 1 and 2 to meet the language requirement of some colleges. Other colleges may accept a student without having a language in high school, but they will in turn require two years of college language classes in order to receive a degree. College classes cost money, so it is to a student’s advantage to take a language while in high school.
The State of Minnesota also requires students to take certain tests for diploma. These tests include the Math MCA taken in Grade 11, the Reading MCA taken in Grade 10, and a college entrance test or equivalent which includes a writing component. MCC meets the college entrance test requirement by having all Juniors take the ASVAB. We also offer the ACT Plus Writing to Juniors who wish to take it at MCC in April, or they can take it on any of the national ACT test dates.
Another graduation requirement was added recently by the state of Minnesota. Each student must have a Personal Learning Plan. This plan maps out their high school courses, includes a learning style inventory, and has several career planning components. Most MCC students start this plan in their Careers class and then they update it each year on the Minnesota Career Information System (MCIS) website.
As the high school counselor, I review these requirements with the students each year during the registration meetings. I also help the students develop their high school plan during Careers class. During their Junior year, I meet with each student individually with their parents to go over their graduation status and their career and post-secondary education plans. In the fall of each school year, I meet with each senior to again review their graduation status and help him or her with the college application and scholarship process.
If students or parents ever have any questions about the graduation requirements and/or college admissions requirements, please contact me at the high school.
Mary Beech
Licensed School Counselor
mary_beech@mcc.mntm.org
Early Childhood Screening
Murray County Central Schools will host an Early Childhood Screening for all children who were born before October 21st, 2015 and have not been previously screened. Early Childhood Screening is required in Minnesota and it is provided free of charge to all families. Early Childhood Screening consists of developmental screenings (motor skills, speech and language assessment, cognitive skills, social/emotional parent questionnaire), a health history and immunization review, along with height, weight, vision and hearing screenings.
The next Early Childhood Screening will be held on Monday, January 21st at MCC West Elementary. To schedule your child’s appointment, please call 507-836-6450 extension 5111. If unavailable, please leave a detailed message. Thank you.
FarmHer
By Sophie Larson
On Tuesday November 14th, Macy Postuma, Sam Larson, Izzy Gillette, Sidney Swanson, Maddie Wendland, and Michelle Zenk attended FarmHer in Brookings, South Dakota.
FarmHer is an organization started to shine light on women in agriculture. This whole organization was started by Marji Guyler-Alaniz, who started off by taking photos.
She gave the girls multiple ideas on how to be more involved in agriculture. There were 3 break out sessions.
One of them was Engaging in Your Industry, the girls got to ask any questions they had and they got to hear their opinions on it.
The second session was Connect and Grow Connection Point. They got to talk to the Sponsors and learn about their rolls in agriculture and society. They also got to talk about careers and future plans that the girls are working towards.
The final break out session was “What I’d wish I had known at 22.” Christen Clark, who started Food and Swine, had a list of 25 basic things we should know. The thing that most of the girls took away from this sessions was to always be ourselves and always have chapstick!
The last speaker of the day was Holly Hoffman. She was on the reality show Survivor (Season 22) and was in the top four. Hoffman was the final woman standing and told the girls all about her journey on the show. She inspired the girls and taught the girls many things. They all enjoyed attending FarmHer and they all plan on going back in future years. Everyone encouraged younger FFA members to attend in the coming years.
National FFA Convention 2018-19
By Sophie Larson
On Wednesday October 24th an amazing group of 9-12th graders loaded a bus and headed down to Indianapolis, Indiana. The MCC FFA shared a charter bus with the following schools: Luverne/Adrian, Red Rock Central, and Edgerton. On the trip down there we had many stops. In Davenport, Iowa we ate breakfast at the Machine Shed. Following breakfast we traveled to Moline, Illinois and visited the John Deere Implement.
The first activity we attended was the Garth Brooks concert on Wednesday night. Garth Brooks is a retired country artist/singer/songwriter. Some of the most memorable things he said that night have been stuck in peoples heads and is now a part of their everyday lives. One of the things he stated was, “Good things never die.” This quote is a strong statement and something everyone can look at in a different way.
The second and third days in Indianapolis were spent at the convention center. Most of our time was spent walking around looking at all the different vendors. The highly favored booth was Tractor Supply Co. (TSC). Paige Wichmann, a sophomore, sang karaoke and did an amazing job. The group of students from the Murray County Central FFA also did karaoke and were told “they didn’t need a microphone for that one”. Which maybe this comes from being a Minnesotan! A small group of girls got the chance to also meet Jess Lockwood. For those of you who don’t know who he is, Jess Lockwood is a Professional Bull Rider. On Thursday night Mr. Haberman brought the kids out to eat to Texas Roadhouse, many memories were made there.
From the great food, singing happy birthday, and last but certainly not least, swing dancing in the parking lot.
On Friday after we were at the convention for a couple of hours, we were homebound.
The bus made a stop at Fair Oaks Farms. The schools took tours on a dairy farm and pig farm.
Overall it was a great experience for all of the students.
Secure Pork Supply (SPS) Workshops for Producers
SLAYTON, Minn. (11/20/2018)— Swine diseases, and the threat of Foreign Animal Diseases (FAD) are a danger to US pork production. If foot and mouth disease (FMD), classical swine fever (CSF), or African Swine Fever (ASF) are found in livestock in the United States, regulatory officials will limit the movement of animals and animal products to try to control the devastating losses and spread of these very contagious diseases.
The Secure Pork Supply (SPS) plan provides for producers’ continuity of business in the event of an outbreak. Voluntary creation of a farm-specific SPS plan will allow swine farms with healthy animals to continue to transport pigs to market or to another swine farm under a movement permit.
University of Minnesota Extension’s swine team is collaborating with Dr. Dave Wright, Minnesota’s SPS coordinator appointed by the MN Board of Animal Health, to provide swine producers the opportunity to create their farm’s SPS plan.
Secure Pork Supply plan workshops in our area will be held on these dates at these locations:
• Monday, November 26, 1:00-4:00 p.m. UM Regional Extension Office, 1527 Prairie Drive, Worthington, MN
• Tuesday, November 27, 9:00 a.m.-12:00 Noon MN West Comm. & Tech. College, 1314 North Hiawatha, Mtg. Rm. 127, Pipestone, MN
The goals of the SPS workshops for producers include: 1) Producers can complete the SPS plan with the least inconvenience to their schedule, 2) Participants will know how to monitor their herd for signs of FMD, CSF, and ASF, 3) Producers will go home with their own SPS plan in hand, and Minnesota swine producers will be ready with a functional disease response plan when a disease outbreak occurs.
Participants are asked to bring a personal or farm laptop, copies of the farm’s Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and the site’s national Premises ID Number and 911 address.
Cost for the workshop is $15/person which includes materials and refreshments.
Registration is encouraged but not required. Registration is available online at z.umn.edu/SPSregistration or by calling 507.389.6714.
If you have questions, please contact Diane DeWitte, UM Extension swine educator, at stouf002@umn.edu or 507.384.1745.
USDA Commodity Loans Available to County Producers
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Murray County Farm Service Agency reminds producers that Marketing Assistance Loans (MALs) and Loan Deficiency Payments (LDPs) are available to help producers through periods of low market prices. The 2014 Farm Bill authorized MALs and LDPs for the 2014 to 2018 crop years.
MALs provide interim financing and allow producers to delay the sale of the commodity at harvest-time lows and wait until more favorable market conditions emerge. A producer who is eligible to obtain a loan, but agrees to forgo the loan, may obtain an LDP if such a payment is available.
MALs and LDPs provide financing and marketing assistance for wheat, feed grains, soybeans and other oilseeds, pulse crops, rice, peanuts, cotton, wool and honey.
The County FSA office is now accepting requests for 2018 MALs and LDPs for all eligible commodities after harvest.
Before MAL repayments and LDP disbursements can be made, producers must meet the requirements of actively engaged in farming, cash-rent tenant and member contribution.
In order to meet eligibility requirements, producers must retain beneficial interest in the commodity, meaning they have control of the commodity or a title to the commodity, until the MAL is repaid or the Commodity Credit Corporation takes title to the commodity.
The 2014 Farm Bill also establishes payment limitations per individual or entity not to exceed $125,000 annually on certain commodities for the following program benefits: Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage payments, Marketing Loan Gains and LDPs. These payment limitations do not apply to MAL disbursements.
Producers or legal entities whose total applicable three-year average adjusted gross income exceeds $900,000 are not eligible for Marketing Loan Gains and LDPs but are eligible for MALs repaid at principal plus interest.
For more information, please visit your local FSA office or www.fsa.usda.gov. To find your local USDA service center, visit www.farmers.gov.
