Nobles Cooperative Electric Urges Members To Be Careful When Shoveling Or Plowing Snow
Are you tired of shoveling or plowing snow? Heavy snow and drifting can bury padmount transformers, guy wires and even entrances to our substations. This can be a big hazard to snow plows, vehicles and snowmobiles. It may also hinder restoration times if an outage occurs in your area. Nobles Cooperative Electric urges you to please be aware of electrical equipment when you are moving snow. Do not pile snow on top of electrical equipment. Be extra careful and be safe!
Nobles Cooperative Electric is your local Touchstone Energy Cooperative providing electric service to 6,700 members in Murray and Nobles Counties.
Farm Transition and Estate Planning Workshop Scheduled
Melissa Runck is an Extension Educator-Ag Production Systems with University of Minnesota Extension in Murray and Pipestone Counties.
Are you thinking about how to transfer your farm business or land to the next generation? University of Minnesota Extension is presenting a workshop on farm transition and estate planning on Thursday, March 21, 2019.
The workshop will be held from 9:30 am – 3:30 pm at the Slayton Pizza Ranch, located at 2306 Broadway Avenue, Slayton, MN. This workshop covers family communications, farm goal setting, business structures, inheritance and transition, estate and gift taxes, and retirement planning. Farmers at any stage, from beginning to retirement, can benefit from the workshop materials. The goal of this program is for participants to have the tools and skills to move forward with developing their farm business transition and personal estate plans.
The workshop is part of a partnership of University of Minnesota Extension and the Minnesota State College and University System. Support for these workshops comes from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.
There is no cost to attend, and lunch is included. To register for the event, go online to z.umn.edu/transitionslayton. Space is limited, so register today! For registration assistance, contact University of Minnesota Extension in Mankato, 507-389-6972 or the Murray County Extension Office at 507-836-6927.
Fish House Removal Deadline Looms
In the southern two-thirds of the state, structures must be off lakes by the end of the day Monday, March 4. For structures on lakes in the northern third of the state, the deadline is by the end of the day Monday, March 18.
If shelters are not removed by the deadline, owners may be prosecuted and structures may be confiscated and removed, or destroyed by a conservation officer.
After the removal date, shelters may remain on the ice between midnight and one hour before sunrise when occupied or attended. Storing or leaving shelters on a public access is prohibited.
Ice is never 100 percent safe. Outdoor enthusiasts should use an auger or ice chisel to test the ice as they venture onto a frozen pond, lake or river.
Dairy Princess Banquet Approaching
Midwest Dairy Association of Murray County will hold their annual Dairy Princess Banquet on Saturday, March 30 at St. Ann’s Catholic Church fellowship hall in Slayton. A delicious catered meal will begin at 7:30 p.m. MCC Rebel Voices are the evening’s featured entertainment. The 2019 Dairy Princess will be crowned and many door prizes will be given away throughout the evening. Anyone wishing to support the local dairy industry is invited to attend.
Potential dairy princess candidates are encouraged to contact princess coordinator Jodi Beckmann for contest information (PH: 507-836-6891).
Tickets for the event are $10.00 and can be obtained from the Extension Office in Slayton or by contacting any of the following Murray County Midwest Dairy Association officers: Dave Schwartz, Slayton; Bill Post, Chandler; Dan Dysthe, Slayton; Richard Kidman, Balaton; Wayne Spielman, Westbrook; Dave Bau, Slayton; Don Van Eck, Ruthton; Jodi Beckmann, Slayton.
Snow Days/Make-Up Days
Dear Parents/Guardians,
After our snow day on February 20th, we are at 8 full days off (7 that we need to make up).
After much discussion and thought, the decision has been made by the school board with my recommendation to add 20 minutes to each day starting on Monday, March 4th for the remainder of the year. Dismissal from Central will be at 3:25 p.m. and approximately 3:35 p.m. from West Elementary.
By adding this time to each day, we will be able to make up 4 of the 7 student and staff days that we have missed. These minutes will be added to the end of each day so the start time will not change.
With this plan, the last student day will be Friday, May 31st. This will be a firm last day of school for students even if we have additional snow days. As of today, the last day for staff will be Monday, June 3rd. Staff will make up additional days after June 3rd if we have additional snow days to meet their contractual agreement.
Our belief is that making up time now is much more beneficial than at the beginning or middle of June. We also understand that this change may be an inconvenience and may affect other schedules but I hope there can be an understanding of this need. Minnesota has a state statute regarding hours and number of days a district must meet during a school year.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me at: Joe Meyer@mcc.mntm.org, call me at 507-836-6575, or stop by the school anytime during the day.
Thank you for your understanding and flexibility. Think Spring!
Joe W. Meyer
Superintendent
How to write a pre-harvest marketing plan
Melissa Runck is an Extension Educator-Ag Production Systems with University of Minnesota Extension in Murray and Pipestone Counties.
Successfully marketing commodities in times of low prices are one of the top ways a producer can generate a higher margin. However, determining when and how to market a crop with current low prices is challenging.
Grain farmers and agri-business professionals are encouraged to attend one of three meetings held across Minnesota that will assist producers with writing a pre-harvest marketing plan. Extension educators and marketing specialists will review pricing tools available to producers, and attendees will have the opportunity to execute a pre-harvest marketing plan in a simulation game.
These workshops will be conducted by Marketing Specialist Ed Usset and David Bau and Nathan Hulinsky, Extension Educators in Ag Business Management. These free meetings are being provided by the University of Minnesota Extension with sponsorship from Minnesota Corn Growers Association.
The three locations include (no pre-registration required):
• March 6 Steele County Community Center, 1380 S. Elm St., Owatonna, MN 55060
Start Time 9:00 a.m.
• March 13 Murray County Fairgrounds 4-H Building, 3048 S. Broadway Ave., Slayton, MN 56172 Start Time 1:00 p.m.
• March 20 Belle Plaine Vets Club, 221 North Meridian Street, Belle Plaine, MN 56011
Start Time 1:00 p.m.
Storage and Handling Trucks Eligible for Farm Storage Facility Loans
Farm Storage Facility Loans (FSFL) provide low-interest financing so producers can build or upgrade facilities to store commodities. Some storage and handling trucks are eligible for the FSFL. These include:
•Cold Storage Trucks-A van or truck designed to carry perishable freight at specific temperatures. Cold storage trucks can be ice-cooled or equipped with any variety of mechanical refrigeration systems.
• Flatbed Trucks-Truck with an open body in the form of a platform with no side walls for easy loading and unloading. These trucks can be categorized into different sizes which range from light, medium, or heavy duty, compact or full-size, or short and expandable beds.
• Grain Trucks-A piece of farm equipment specially made to accommodate grain products and are traditionally truck chassis units with a mounted grain “dump” body where grain commodities are transported from a field to either a grain elevator or a storage bin.
• Storage Trucks with a Chassis Unit-Commonly referred to as a box truck, box van or straight truck, is a truck with a cargo body mounted on the same chassis with the engine and cab.
To be eligible for FSFL, the storage and handling truck must be less than 15 years old and have a maximum of four axles with a gross weight rating of 60,000 pounds or less. Pick-up trucks, semi-trucks, dump trucks, and simple insulated and ventilated vans are ineligible for FSFL.
FSFL for storage and handling trucks must be $100,000 or less. FSFL-financed storage and handling trucks must be used for the purpose for which they were acquired for the entire FSFL term.
Eligible commodities include grains, oilseeds, pulse crops, hay, honey, renewable biomass commodities, fruits and vegetables, floriculture, hops, maple sap, milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, eggs, meat/poultry (unprocessed), rye and aquaculture.
For more information or to apply for a FSFL, contact your local FSA Service Center.
“WWII Prisoner of War Camps in Minnesota” is the topic for the March 14 Dinehart Lunchbox Lecture
Colleen Gengler, Murray County Historical Society volunteer, will present what camp life was like in three Prisoner of War camps in southern Minnesota including Fairmont, New Ulm and Owatonna during the Second World War. The lecture begins at noon at the Murray County Fairgrounds 4-H building on Thursday March 14. The cost of the lecture is $3.00 or free for Historical Society members. Bring a lunch and enjoy the talk. Coffee and tea are provided.
Gengler’s interest in the topic comes from her parents’ use of POW labor on their farm south of Owatonna during the war years. In presentations of her family memoir, “Under Minnesota Skies,” the story of her father’s experience with POWs always generated questions and comments from many people who are not familiar with this part of Minnesota history. From new research, Gengler will share stories from the southern Minnesota camps as well as a few others and give background on WWII POWs in the United State. Minnesota had 19 branch camps overseen by the base camp at Algona, Iowa.
In 1944 and 1945, the Minnesota camps housed mostly German POWs but also a few Italians. The primary reason for POWs in Minnesota was the labor shortage; POWs worked in canneries, logging and other industries as well as providing much needed labor on farms. Although Murray County didn’t house a camp, there was still a labor shortage. Colleen has researched how this was addressed by local leaders including the “county agent” who worked with the local Farm Help Coordinating Committee.
Colleen had a 38 year career with the University of Minnesota Extension working in several counties in southwest Minnesota as well as regionally and statewide. She now enjoys delving into her family’s history.
For more information contact jtimmerman@co.murray.mn.us or call 507-836-6533.
Good News
By: John Stenen
Many today are so frightened by what they hear on the news about Global warming or climate change. “The ice is melting and much of the world will be destroyed!” they say. “We have only ten to twelve years left before our planet will be destroyed. It’s so bad that we shouldn’t have anymore babies. We need to get rid of cows, planes, automobiles, all fossil fuels, etc.” What’s sad is that many people have a great fear after hearing these things over and over. Many are in ‘panic mode.’
So what is the TRUTH of all that is being said today on this subject? Again, we have the choice to believe the fear-mongers who are promoting this fear - or we can believe what God has said about it in His Holy Word. If you study the Bible and read such Scriptures as (Luke 21:25, Revelations 6:12-17, Revelations 8:12, 13, Revelations 16:8-10), God lets us know that our earths atmosphere is going to go through severe changes. Temperatures will change abnormally. There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars and great destruction coming to this earth. It will be God’s Wrath coming upon this world because of all the sin. Stopping the use of fossil fuels or getting rid of the cows won’t stop the climate change.
When will this happen? We are fast approaching what the Bible refers to as a tribulation period of seven years that will be far worse than any tribulation this world has ever experienced in the past. Jesus said it. (Mt. 24:21). Whether or not we believe it – God’s judgment is coming! This could happen soon. No one knows when Jesus is returning for those who belong to Him, but millions and millions of Christians believe that we today could be the last generation before He returns to catch us away. Once this happens, Scripture tells us that the anti-Christ will be revealed and for seven years there will be hell on earth under his rule.
The Good News is this: If you are saved, and Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior, you will not be here when God’s Wrath is poured out on this earth according to Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians and the Book of Revelations. (1 Thes. 1:10; 4:13-18; Romans 5:8,9). In the meantime, consider what God said in Gen. 8:22, “While the earth remains, seed-time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”
Slayton Area Community Lenten Services Planned
Six churches in the Slayton area will be hosting Lenten Services again this Lenten season. The one hour service series will begin on Ash Wednesday, March 6 and will conclude on April 10. Lunch is included at each service.
“Thy Will Be Done” is the name of the series that will be used for the messages. “Not as I will, but as you will,” Jesus prayed to his Father the night before he went to the cross for our salvation. This is the prayer that can be prayed as we seek to do God’s will in our lives, as we draw near to the observance of Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection during Holy Week.
Lenten Services for 2019
March 6 (Ash Wednesday): Iona Presbyterian Church, Pastor Deb Klaassen-God’s Will and God’s Promise
March 13: Slayton Presbyterian Church, Pastor Dave Hollis-Gods’ Will and My Inadequacy
March 20: Lake Sarah Baptist Church, Pastor Daryl Runion and Sue Nelson-God’s Will and My Dreams
March 27: Reformed Church of Slayton, Pastor Aaron Punt-God’s Will and My Identity
April 3: Slayton UMC, Pastor Ethanie Schmidt-God’s Will and My Worldview
April 10: Currie Presbyterian Church, Pastor Dave Erickson-God’s Will and My Response
