http://www.thelandonline.com en-us Copyright CNHI All Rights Reserved. 5 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 03:12:00 +0000 http://www.thelandonline.com/l_comment/local_story_184103747.html http://www.thelandonline.com/l_comment/local_story_184103747.html American Energy for the 21st century has the potential to benefit the rural communities of the Upper Minnesota River Watershed and, in contrast to the coal imported from Wyoming and burned in South Dakota, it can be clean, renewable, sustainable, distributed, and to every extent possible, owned and to the benefit of the people who live here in Minnesota. Fri, 06 Jun 2008 03:12:00 +0000 http://www.thelandonline.com/l_comment/local_story_150154542.html http://www.thelandonline.com/l_comment/local_story_150154542.html If there is one thing I’ve learned from my dealings with economists over the years, it’s that their work is very complicated and it’s easy for even the smartest people to make incorrect assumptions if they overlook key factors. Fri, 06 Jun 2008 03:11:00 +0000 http://www.thelandonline.com/l_comment/local_story_150154215.html http://www.thelandonline.com/l_comment/local_story_150154215.html It seems that many who are looking for the cause of rising food costs are looking to the perceived “easy” answer, biofuels, without looking at the complex, global, bigger picture. Fri, 06 Jun 2008 03:10:00 +0000 http://www.thelandonline.com/l_comment/local_story_150153859.html http://www.thelandonline.com/l_comment/local_story_150153859.html In a world of finger pointing, farmers have had to shoulder the blame for the increased costs of food, when in reality, the facts point to other influences that contribute to the rising costs. Fri, 06 Jun 2008 03:09:00 +0000 http://www.thelandonline.com/l_comment/local_story_150153557.html http://www.thelandonline.com/l_comment/local_story_150153557.html A firestorm of negative media about the ethanol industry seems to have become the current rage. The issue is usually presented as a moral controversy by casting it in terms of “food versus fuel.” To portray a complex issue in simplistic moral terms is to trivialize it. Fri, 23 May 2008 03:09:00 +0000 http://www.thelandonline.com/l_comment/local_story_141172916.html http://www.thelandonline.com/l_comment/local_story_141172916.html Despite negative perceptions, the reality is that improving environmental quality is a major focus of agronomy. Fri, 25 Apr 2008 13:09:00 +0000 http://www.thelandonline.com/l_comment/local_story_115110848.html http://www.thelandonline.com/l_comment/local_story_115110848.html Al Gore is launching a $300-million ad campaign to support the banning of fossil fuels. But our faith in manmade global warming will now be tested by news that up to 400 billion barrels of light, sweet crude oil for America’s future can be pumped from under Manitoba and North Dakota. That’s more oil than Saudi Arabia and Russia put together. Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:10:00 +0000 http://www.thelandonline.com/l_comment/local_story_102102651.html http://www.thelandonline.com/l_comment/local_story_102102651.html Unless you’ve lived in a cave for the past five years, you should be aware of the tremendous impact that ethanol production has had on the rural economy of Minnesota. This includes the rural communities as well as farmers. This has been good, and I believe the future of biofuels is bright. Fri, 28 Mar 2008 03:11:00 +0000 http://www.thelandonline.com/l_comment/local_story_087133226.html http://www.thelandonline.com/l_comment/local_story_087133226.html Methane, produced by decaying vegetation, releases more carbon dioxide than man does every year. Man’s activities produce less than 3 percent of the carbon dioxide going into the atmosphere. How much of mankinds’ 3 percent can we eliminate? Fri, 28 Mar 2008 03:10:00 +0000 http://www.thelandonline.com/l_comment/local_story_087132918.html http://www.thelandonline.com/l_comment/local_story_087132918.html It is frustrating for northwestern Minnesota producers to face this new obstacle to profitability, and it is frustrating for producers hundreds of miles away in southern Minnesota to know they will face new movement restrictions and testing requirements simply because they operate in the same state. Fri, 14 Mar 2008 03:12:00 +0000 http://www.thelandonline.com/l_comment/local_story_073114131.html http://www.thelandonline.com/l_comment/local_story_073114131.html Biotech in wheat has a lot of catching up to do. Companies that were willing to invest in wheat have moved their research focus to more accepting crops. While corn and soybean producers can look forward to additional biotech traits that are soon to be released, no such optimism exists for wheat. Fri, 14 Mar 2008 03:10:00 +0000 http://www.thelandonline.com/l_comment/local_story_073113407.html http://www.thelandonline.com/l_comment/local_story_073113407.html Irving Berlin, the man who brought us “White Christmas” and other beloved tunes, once said “the toughest thing about success is that you’ve got to keep on being a success.” This sentiment summarizes Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s message in his recent State of the State Address. Fri, 29 Feb 2008 03:11:00 +0000 http://www.thelandonline.com/l_comment/local_story_059104745.html http://www.thelandonline.com/l_comment/local_story_059104745.html Farmers need all the help we can get to meet global demand for food, feed, fiber and fuel. Modern science gives us confidence, but global politics makes us queasy. Fri, 29 Feb 2008 03:10:00 +0000 http://www.thelandonline.com/l_comment/local_story_059104604.html http://www.thelandonline.com/l_comment/local_story_059104604.html As last year’s outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the United Kingdom once again demonstrated, foreign animal disease outbreaks do have costly affects on producers’ livelihoods, consumer confidence and a country’s ability to keep markets open. Fri, 08 Feb 2008 12:18:00 +0000 http://www.thelandonline.com/l_comment/local_story_039121947.html http://www.thelandonline.com/l_comment/local_story_039121947.html Nuclear power and genetically engineered rice are set to help rescue the world from global warming. This isn’t really what anti-tech activists had in mind when they launched the campaign against fossil fuels, hoping to restrict our current lifestyles.