Wednesday, November 30: 

This page will be pretty quiet for the next couple of months. What's left below will stay since it has a play for the 2012 season.

We have had several reports of bolters turned into the Ag Staff recently Please be on the lookout as you monitor your fields. If you find a bolter, all you have to do is remember the Three R's:

REMOVE: Pull the root and physically remove (cut) the bolter at the crown. The beet can then be left in the field.

RECORD: Document the bolter in your three-ring binder provided at the APHIS/BRS Training Session. Make sure you provide a brief description of the bolter's location and the action taken to remove it.

REPORT: Notify your Agriculturist immediately. As per the time line set by the USDA, Minn-Dak has 48 hours to report the identified bolter, so time is of the essence.

If you have any questions whatsoever, please contact your Agriculturist.

On another note, the APHIS-BRS auditors and inspectors are still out in our neighborhood actively doing both in-field and on-farm compliance checks - Make sure your binders are up to date.

TEXT MESSAGE SIGNUP:

The revised Text Message system is now up and running. To sign up go to the MDFC web site and click the "Grower Practice Records" tab or click here Grower Practice Records. Next log in using your log in and password and then click the "Messaging" tab and then follow the instructions. For each account you will need to input a name, phone number (twice) and carrier. In addition, you will need to select which station/s you wish to receive info from and whether you wish to receive the info year around or just harvest.

You can also enter an e-mail address to receive the same information on your smart phone or computer. We would prefer users with smart phones/phones with e-mail capability to only enter the e-mail address. E-mail are free and text messages have a charge associated with them.

One common error during the input process is forgetting to hit the “add” button after entering phone number twice. If you don’t hit the add button and go right to the finish button all your work goes down the drain.

If all of this seems a bit much you can email the information to Danyell and Shannon with your name, who you want added with thier phone number and carrier. You need to specify if the text messages should be sent out "year around" or for "harvest only". You can also sign up to recieve the same information via emai. To do so contact Danyell and Shannon vial email for help in setting this up.

I have posted the process MDFC will use to release sugarbeet fields in 2011. It is the same procedure we have used in the past. Your Agriculturist is also aware of the process. No crop insurance agent has the authority to release fields for MDFC. When in doubt, check with your Agriculturist.

Procedure for Crop Release

2011 Crop

• Fields or portions of fields that are 100% lost can be released effective June 21.
• Fields in which there remains no viable, manageable acreage can be released effective June 21.
• All other fields or portions will not be released until July 13 (Monday).
• Two Agriculturists plus consultation with the VP of Agriculture are required prior to release being granted.
• The grower can destroy acreage 0.1 acres per share below the current overplant without approval at any time, however no release form will be granted by Minn-Dak Farmers Cooperative unless it meets the criteria listed below:

Criteria for Release

Fields may be released when the following conditions are met:

• 75% of the field is lost due to but not limited to wind, flood, disease or insect damage.
• The entire field may be released if the remaining areas not affected are not contiguous and would cause significant management problems for the balance of the crop year.
• The beets are unfit for long-term storage (disease).

Fields will not be released due to poor weed control. Those fields could be rejected at the receiving station if the weeds cannot be removed and left in the field.

Planting progress comparison

July Sample Results:

August Sample results: