Farm Market News and Auctions | Features about people in ag.

As harvest ends, planning begins

Kyle Kuphal | Staff reporter
kkuphal@pipestonestar.com

The 2025 harvest is winding down and it’s time to plan for next year’s crop.

Jon Risacher, a crop consultant with Nutrien Ag Solutions in Pipestone, helps farmers do just that. The goal, he said, is to maximize the number of bushels through management practices. That includes looking at fertility, seed, plant health, disease, insects, what worked and what didn’t, and more. He said it all comes down to management.
“You’ve got to be a good manager to be successful,” Risacher said.

Risacher, who also grows corn, soybeans, alfalfa and oats, said planning for the next year starts during the harvest when farmers are out in their fields looking at factors such as weed pressure. He said weeds were a challenge this year, specifically water hemp.

“The weeds take your fertility,” Risacher said. “They take your moisture, they rob from your crop, so if you don’t get them under control you’re going to give up bushels, and it was kind of prevalent this year. In corn we saw some pretty big reductions and definitely in beans. It just choked the beans out.”

Risacher said there were also disease issues with corn this year. He said tar spot was expected to be more prominent, but it turned out that southern rust was the bigger problem.

“I would say between the disease and water hemp, those are going to be our two biggest conversations this year,” Risacher said.

Pests were not as big of an issue this year. Risacher said there were pockets of aphids, but not as extreme as it’s been in other years, and root worms were not as much of a problem as they were a couple years ago. He recommended farmers to keep an eye out for them, however.

Choosing the right seed varieties and hybrids can help with some of these issues and is a major consideration when planning.

“Seed is always the most emotional because that’s the first thing you truly do,” Risacher said. “Yes, fertilizer, but there’s still fertility in the ground. Seed, you’ve got to get it into the ground and get it out of the ground, and you’ve got to wait six months before you know what you did right or wrong.”

For perspective, he said that in a lifetime a farmer might get just 40 chances to decide what seed to use.

Soil sampling is another practice farmers might implement to prepare for the next growing season. It can measure things like nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, zinc, boron and iron. Risacher said that’s typically done every four years or so.
He said marketing is also a factor, and plays a bigger role than it used to.

In general, farming is a risk and the goal is to manage the risk.

“Make a plan and adjust, would be my biggest preach to anybody,” Risacher said. “And don’t be afraid to adjust. You have to adapt because things can change.”

He also encouraged farmers to consider their budget when making management decisions and not to be afraid to ask questions.

“I would say work with somebody that you’re comfortable with and that you trust, and find the right questions that you want to ask,” Risacher said. “I personally write a lot of notes on little things. I write sticky notes everywhere.”

Pre-planners of the future

By Justin R. Lessman

A group of Jackson County Central FFA members are well-poised to be the agricultural pre-planners of the future.

Four members of the chapter’s farm management career-development team recently returned from a grueling national competition that took place in conjunction with the National FFA Convention and Expo in Louisville, Ky. The local team earned the right to compete in the prestigious contest by winning the state contest this past spring.

Retired JCC FFA Chapter advisor Jeff Voss and local ag producer Brad Milbrath are team coaches. They say the scope of knowledge team members are expected to master in order to compete at the highest levels is vast.

“It’s a very diverse set of knowledge these kids need to have,” Milbrath said.

It includes everything from balance sheets to benchmarking, income statements to income taxes, budgeting to types of business organizations, cashflow to insurance, price hedging to risk management, microeconomics to macroeconomics and more.

The state contest consisted of a two-hour test dealing with a specific scenario and a separate hour-long multiple-choice test, Voss said. The national competition was a bit different, consisting of a three-hour individual test and a one-hour team activity.

The slightly different competition format meant a slightly different approach to preparing for the national contest, Milbrath said.

“We’ve been practicing the group test portion quite a bit, while also continuing to brush up on the other general knowledge the students need to have,” he said.

Practice for the national competition began just a few weeks after the team won the state competition during last spring’s Minnesota State FFA Convention, though the team was forced to deal with a little hiccup right off the bat.

“Rachel Mohr, who was a senior at the time, was one of the members of the state-champion team, but due to some scheduling conflicts with college, we needed to find a replacement,” Milbrath said.
Enter Isabelle Henning, sister of team member Samantha Henning, who spent the last several months engaged in crash-course learning to get up to speed.

“If everybody has been working hard to prepare for the national contest, Izzy has worked extra hard to get where she needs to be to help this team compete,” Voss said.

That hard work that began this past spring continued all summer long and ramped up this fall.
“It takes a special kind of kid to want to come into school during the summer and learn about spreadsheets and micro- and macroeconomics,” Voss said. “These kids did that.”

With Samantha Henning also off to college this fall, the team had to pivot again, including her in weekly practices virtually.

“We’ve been practicing at least once per week, with Sam calling in,” Milbrath said. “We do what we have to do.”

“Some of these kids have jobs; some are helping with their family farming operation,” Voss said. “Brad farms; I work. It’s a balancing act.”

The team faced one final hurdle when Samantha Henning fell ill and had to be replaced by fellow chapter member Kylie Zishka at the last minute.
Despite the hiccups and hurdles, Voss said he is proud of the team and how hard team members worked to get ready to represent Minnesota at the national farm management contest.

“To do well, you have to prepare,” he said. “The team did that ahead of the state competition last spring and has done that again ahead of the national competition.”

Milbrath agreed.

“It’s a lot for these kids to know,” he said, “but they know it.”

Other team members include Rylee Benda and Landon Carter.

Downtown Pork Showdown
introduces area residents to pork dishes

By Jen Burris

For the fifth year in a row, competition remains fierce between many downtown Sioux Falls eateries that have developed pork-focused entrees for the annual Downtown Pork Showdown.

Inspired by the success of the annual downtown burger brawl each January, the event was first developed in 2021 through Downtown Sioux Falls Inc. and the South Dakota Pork Producers Council with Smithfield Foods as an initial sponsor. South Dakota Pork Producers Council took over the role of sponsor in 2024.

“We are very happy to be sponsoring the event this year,” said Abbey Riemenschneider, director of programs and communication with the South Dakota Pork Producers Council. “This is the fifth year, and it has been growing every year.”

South Dakota Pork Producers Council is an organization dedicated to advocacy for the South Dakota pork industry through education, research, and marketing, according to their website. The organization also promotes safe food production, protects and promotes animal well-being, protects public health, safeguards natural resources, provides a safe work environment, and contributes to a better quality of life in South Dakota communities.

Additionally, the council works throughout the year to promote the nutritional benefits of including pork in diets and its versatility in various dishes.
“The showdown demonstrates how you can incorporate pork into any type of dish, from breakfast to dessert,” Riemenschneider said.

The month-long competition, which showcases this versatility, was moved to October this year to align with the nationally celebrated Pork Month. Today, hogs are marketed throughout the year, but Pork Month is recognized in October, which is when hogs were previously marketed.

There are a wide variety of dishes this year, from Dongpo Pork Bowls at Bread and Circus to a hog heaven ice cream featuring caramelized pork belly rolled into brown butter ice cream with bourbon candied pecans and bourbon caramel served between two chocolate chip and pecan cookies at Parlour Ice Cream at the Washington Pavilion.
“I’ve only tried a couple,” Riemenschneider said. “I have a really big sweet tooth, so I love the ice cream at the Washington Pavilion. “It’s absolutely to die for.”

While she has several more dishes she hopes to try, she noted that they “all look absolutely phenomenal.”

She is also looking forward to bringing ideas from the competition to her kitchen to try to recreate.
Patrons who try out pork dishes can rate their experience on the passport.dtsf.com.

Participants will be asked to rate the following categories: best use of pork, flavor, tenderness, presentation, and overall experience, on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest. The business with the highest ranking at the end of the month will be the Downtown Pork Showdown Champion and receive the traveling trophy along with bragging rights.

Withers finds success, joy in 4-H swine project

By Justin R. Lessman

Tressa Withers loves competing in 4-H swine shows.

And she’s good at it.

Withers, a junior at Jackson County Central High School and a longtime member of the Petersburg Willing Workers 4-H Club, recently showed her crossbred market barrow to a fourth-place finish at the Minnesota State Fair’s 4-H swine show and showed her own way to a fourth-place finish in the show’s senior market barrow showmanship competition.

Though Withers is involved in many 4-H project areas, the swine project is her favorite.
“I love the swine project and have learned so much throughout the years doing this project,” she said. “I also really enjoy the industrial technology project area and have been fortunate enough to bring multiple of my shop projects to display at the state fair.”

She said she joined 4-H because she saw it as an opportunity to learn and try new things and have personal experiences she might otherwise not have had. She added she’s never regretted the decision.
“I have learned so many things through 4-H,” she said. “I found things I love to do and people I enjoy being with. I have learned through 4-H that everyone is different and good at his or her own things.”

Withers has also taken on leadership roles in 4-H. She has served as 4-H federation treasurer for two years and will serve this coming year as federation reporter. At the club level, she has held the position of treasurer for two years and the position of secretary for three. She is also a 4-H ambassador.
Though she’s unsure of her future plans, she has an idea of the field in which she would like to work. And, given her love of and success in the 4-H swine project, it’s not surprising.

“At this moment, I am unsure of my future plans,” she said, “but I am interested in doing something in the swine industry.”

Keeping a smile alive through farm safety for kids

By Jen Burris

The Boomsma family of Yankton, S.D. has turned a family tragedy into an outreach initiative about farm safety for kids.

In April 2017, seven-year-old Jaxon Boomsma lost his life in a farming accident on his grandparents’ farm when he fell from a cab-less tractor.

Jaxon was the youngest of Troy and Sarah Boomsma’s four kids; his older siblings were Carter, Callie, and Jaiden. While all the siblings enjoyed spending time together on the family farm with their grandparents, it was Jaxon’s favorite place to be.

After his passing, the family wanted to make sure his smile stayed alive, Jaiden shared.

“He had a crossbite smile and a bubbly personality,” she said. “He could make friends with a rock.”

To ensure that his smile lives on, the Boomsma family has dedicated itself to promoting farm safety, particularly for children. They give presentations, host booths at farm safety events, and produce stickers and coloring pages. After Troy found little farm safety materials targeted at children, the family wrote a children’s book, “Staying Safe on the Farm with Jaxon.”

Troy and his sister Mary Boomsma wrote a lot of the book, with Jaiden, Callie, and Carter helping.
“While you can tell adults all the farm safety you want, if you can teach it to kids from day one, they’ll grow up knowing it,” Jaiden explained.

And if parents or other family members are reading the book to children, it can be a great reminder for adults as well.

“So the book has Jaxon and my grandpa giving a tour of the farm,” Jaiden said. “He’s holding grandpa’s hand, and they’re walking through, and he’s giving safety advice about different areas of the farm. Jaxon loved the cows and horses, so there’s a part where it gives you advice on where to stand around a horse or a cow, which you might not typically think about.”

The family had illustrations made based on photos of the family farm. The book was first published in 2021 and has been well-received in the agriculture community.

“We’ve gotten so much support throughout the United States,” she said.

Many have reached out to the family to thank them for their work or share their own stories of loss due to accidents on the farm. Jaiden is proud to help other families keep their loved one’s smiles alive as well.

Jaiden helps run the social media accounts for the Jaxon L. Boomsma Keep His Smile Alive Memorial, promoting their farm safety events, the book, and sharing Jaxon’s story with the public.

A recent SDSU graduate, Jaiden has applied some of the marketing lessons she learned to promote Jaxon and farm safety, highlighting the positive impact social media can have.

One of the main messages they focus on sharing is that if someone is going to allow a child on a tractor, it always needs to have a cab and a child seat. They recommend kids are never without an adult on the farm. Additionally, kids should be dressed appropriately with clothes that cover them, closed shoes, and bright colors that can be easily seen.

The stickers the family make say “farm safety” and are meant to be placed on large machinery to remind people as they get in the equipment. In today’s busy world, the most important thing to remember is to take a deep breath and slow down when working on the farm, Jaiden said.

When asked what Jaxon would think of the family’s efforts to promote farm safety and that he has his own book leading people around his favorite place, Jaiden felt he’s likely excited.

“I think he would love it,” she laughed. “He was very keen on having his picture taken, and knowing that he’s talking about farming, he’s probably very excited to be able to teach other people about it.”

Farm safety at the forefront

By Justin R. Lessman

The list of potential farm — and farm-related — dangers is long.

However, Lakefield Ambulance Service Director Elsie Kruger said, a little forethought and common sense can help everyone — farmer and non-farmer alike — make it through the upcoming harvest season safe and sound.

“We’re lucky in Jackson County that we typically don’t see a lot in the way of farm-related injuries,” Kruger said. “But we all want to make sure we keep it that way.”

To that end, Kruger recently compiled a list of common farm and farm-related hazards all should keep in mind during the upcoming harvest season.
The first is falls.

“We tend to see falls as real issues when farmers are working alone — either up on top of buildings or bins or even up on large pieces of equipment,” Kruger said. “They’ve been up there so many times before, they might not even think of the dangers associated with it, or they get a little sloppy and then something happens.”

Kruger advises farmers to always make sure somebody is with them or knows where they are when they are working and, if they are working up high, to make sure they have proper safety equipment in use.

Another common injury sustained by farmers is slices.

“Farmers are working around sharp edges, fences and other things that can cut,” she said. “Even pressure washers can slice skin.”

Kruger advises farmers first to be exceptionally careful around these hazards and, secondly, to know what to do to mitigate an injury until help arrives.

“Farmers know their equipment and should know how to handle an accident until help arrives,” she said. “And it’s so important for farmers who may be injured to seek help. Too often, farmers who are injured maybe don’t call for help or seek medical care even when they really should.”

Other common farm hazards include livestock, augers and power takeoffs, said Kruger, who added farm-related hazards even extend to non-farmers.

“People out traveling local roadways need to be aware of slow-moving vehicles and large equipment turning into and out of traffic, sometimes without a whole lot of warning,” she said. “And drivers also should be aware of the increased threat posed by deer this time of year. As farmers harvest fields, it stirs up the deer and makes them more active and more of a threat on the roadways.”