Latest news with #MinnesotaDepartmentofAgriculture
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Carlton County is ground zero for spongy moths
May 23—CARLTON COUNTY — As spongy moths, an invasive species that defoliates forests, continue their westward pursuit, Carlton County has become ground zero in Minnesota's effort to scale back the infestation. Having already infested Lake and Cook counties, the invasive moth, formerly known as gypsy moth, is now gaining a foothold in parts of St. Louis and Carlton counties. To combat this, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture plans roughly half of this year's spongy moth treatments in Carlton County. "When you look at that kind of population front, it's a lot farther advanced in the north," said Mark Abrahamson, a plant protection specialist with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. This summer, the MDA plans to aerially treat 12 different areas within Carlton County, totaling about 27,000 acres, using a pheromone to attract and trap male moths to disrupt their mating. A spring treatment using Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki — or Btk, a bacterium that kills the moth's caterpillars — also was scheduled for around 800 acres in Carlton County, but that was canceled after the MDA did not receive the necessary federal funds for the treatment in time. The spongy moth is monitored and controlled through a national Slow the Spread Program — a partnership between the MDA, U.S. Forest Service and 11 states. In Minnesota, the program has been used to manage 1.1 million acres. The program estimates it has slowed the spread of spongy moths by more than 60%. Though Abrahamson said there is no way to eradicate the spongy moth, programs like this can significantly slow the spread. "Without this program, which has been in place for several decades now, it would have been ... pretty much throughout Minnesota, we would just be living with it," Abrahamson said. Abrahamson said about 75% of the state funding to treat the spongy moth comes from the federal government. Though the MDA is planning its summer treatments, it is a possibility that funding will be pulled again. "There's always the possibility that something unexpected could occur as well. So we'll be, you know, prepared if that's the case, but we're optimistic that we should be able to move forward," Abrahamson said. Abrahamson believes the canceled spring treatments won't drastically affect Carlton County's spongy moth population. The moths are already established to a point where Btk would not be as effective as mating disruption, which is more effective among established populations. "By this summer, we wouldn't expect that people are going to really be noticing a lot," Abrahamson said. Originally hailing from Europe, the spongy moth first came to North America from Massachusetts in the 1860s as part of a failed science experiment to breed silk-spinning caterpillars, according to Mass Audubon, a New England-based conservation organization. The caterpillars escaped to the scientists' backyard and began their westward conquest from there. The moth's population has proliferated in the northern parts of the country. Though the reasons are not entirely known, Abrahamson theorizes it could be because the larvae, which move on a silken thread, can travel across lakes great distances.
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Minnesota issues alert for Gerber teething sticks over choking hazard
Minnesota officials are advising consumers against a variety of Gerber baby teething sticks that are reported to be a choking hazard. On Friday, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture issued an alert for Gerber Soothe 'N' Chew Teething Sticks. The alert comes after the Food and Drug Administration issued a recall for the products for posing a choking hazard to babies and children. The FDA had previously recalled the product in January, but issued a second alert after reports it was still on sale in some retail locations and online. The teething sticks come in strawberry apple and banana flavors. The recall applies to all batches of the product. MDA encouraged consumers to discard or return the products and avoid feeding them to children.
CBS News
09-04-2025
- Science
- CBS News
Minnesota's spongy moth mitigation plan canceled due to lack of federal funding, ag officials say
Minnesota's plan to combat an invasive pest is canceled after federal funding fell through, the state said. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture planned to apply an insecticide called Btk to 12 areas throughout the state to fight the spongy moth , whose voracious appetite is devastating to forests. But the department said it did not receive the necessary federal funds in time. "Having to cancel Btk aerial management operations in these areas jeopardizes the future success of this program," department Commissioner Thom Peterson said. "Spongy moth populations in these areas will likely increase and advance quicker into neighboring areas, making future years of management more complicated and costly." Affected counties include Anoka, Carlton, St. Louis and Winona. Temporary quarantines may be put in place to stop the pests from spreading outside these areas. Agriculture officials said they will plan to use other methods to manage the pests, including a pheromone to stop them from reproducing. A yearly survey of the pests will also occur. Both of those operations also rely on "uncertain" federal funding, according to the department. "A threat to Minnesota's forest is a threat to many Minnesotans' livelihoods and our state's economy," the department said. "The MDA will continue to work within its state program to monitor spongy moth populations and to advocate for the best possible management strategies in the future." According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the spongy moth "poses a danger to North America's forests" and has "dramatically changed the landscape" of parts of the country. It eats more than 300 species of trees and shrubs.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Carlton County farmers employ a direct-to-consumer model
Apr. 4—Editor's note: This is part of a multi-part series profiling local Community Supported Agriculture in Carlton County. CARLTON COUNTY — Swaths of local land that have been historically overlooked are now devoted to a model of farming that is simultaneously new and extremely traditional model. Community-supported agriculture — commonly called CSA — is a form of agriculture that allows consumers to purchase a seasonal share in a farm and in turn partake in the farm's harvest throughout the growing season. "We still have a really diverse mosaic across the landscape that has lent itself to these small farms," said Julie Allen, chapter manager of the Lake Superior Sustainable Farming Association, a farmer-to-farmer network trying to make "farming sexy again," as Allen puts it. Though the region is still not conducive to large-scale commercial agriculture, Allen said the landscape is suitable for traditional small-scale farming methods, such as organic and regenerative farming. To remain economically viable, many of these farms use the CSA model. Carlton County has five CSA farms listed on Minnesota Grown, a directory maintained by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture that connects consumers directly with their farmers. Farms offering CSAs are: Rising Phoenix Community Farm, a small vegetable and floral farm in Barum; Prairie Rose Farm and Floral, a regenerative flower farm in Mahtowa; Northern Harvest Farm, a produce CSA in Wrenshall; Food Farm, a produce CSA in Wrenshall; and Roper Farms; a livestock producer near Holyoke. "We often describe it as the original subscription model," said Rachel Wandrei, marketing manager for Minnesota Grown. Wandrei said certain variables support a dynamic CSA scene, including a farm's proximity to a metropolitan area. "It actually doesn't surprise me that Carlton (County), with its proximity to the Duluth/Superior market, would be a perfect spot for why people want to be there," Wandrei said. "It's a great growing area for farmers and a solid market for them to reach." For Janaki Fisher-Merritt, a second-generation farmer at Food Farm, the CSA model provided stability and support, allowing him to expand his farming operation to what it is now. "When the CSA concept came around, that made just a huge difference for us. I mean, that really allowed us to know where our food was going to go and really count on having the market," Fisher-Merritt said. "That's the key thing for us because the growing season is so short here that we can't afford to be spending a bunch of time selling what we're growing during the season." Though local, healthy eating is enjoying a national resurgence, the hyper-seasonality of CSAs can be daunting for people accustomed to year-round produce at the grocery store. "You're eating what's growing right then," Wandrei said. "In the spring, there's lots of greens, and then you wait for the sweet corn and tomatoes to come in, and then the squash and the fall and so again the consumer is reminded of the seasonality and what really grows here in Minnesota." Moreover, the growing season in Minnesota hits fast and hard. People are often hesitant to sign up for a CSA because they fear they won't be able to keep up and end up wasting food, according to Rick Dalen, a farmer at Northern Harvest Farm. Still, compared to the volume of invisible waste in the global supply chain, Dalen said some wasted cabbage is not a big deal. "I'm trying to tell people not to feel bad if they don't use everything in their box, like if they compost some of it, it's not a big deal," Dalen said. "It's still not nearly as wasteful as if they were to be getting their vegetables from some other place where there was all these other aspects of inefficiency in terms of vegetables." Though there is a conscious effort not to saturate the local market, farmers in the area often take a supportive approach towards each other's farming, Dalen said. Dalen, who himself learned much of what he knows about CSAs from neighboring Food Farm, recognizes they are all part of a broader shift to a more sustainable food system. "In general, not just CSA but organic farming in general, most of us are doing it because we believe that we need to have a sort of a transition to a more sustainable and regional food system," Dalen said. The CSA model also lends itself to younger farmers who want to get into agriculture but may not have a generational claim to family farming land — like Prairie Rose Farm and Floral, which had its first growing season last year. "Because of the upfront costs of farming, that's where CSA can really be so important as farms are getting their start, and they don't have the capital," Wandrei said. "To have that CSA cash flow input in the winter is just essential for them as they're getting started." According to Wandrei, there also seems to be a direct correlation between CSAs and insecurities over the global supply chain, who noted that CSAs peaked in Minnesota in 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. She said she wouldn't be surprised if there is increased interest again this year amid uncertainty over global tariffs and how that could affect grocery prices. "People are looking for food security. People are interested in local all the time, and we have been seeing that just continue to grow," she said. Though interest in the CSA model seems to be on the rise, it still has its problems, according to Allen, noting several local farmers have abandoned the model to pursue up-and-coming models like agritourism. In order to fully support local agriculture, people need to change how they think about their food, she said. "There's not enough demand for high-quality food to really increase the demand for farmers, and people just still expect super-cheap food at the grocery store," Allen said. "And cheap food comes from factory farms, where they've scaled up and specialized and are ruining the environment in order to make a living." Northern Harvest Farm, Prairie Rose and Floral and Roper Farms are still accepting CSA sign-ups for the summer season. Food Farm and Rising Phoenix Community Farm have sold out of summer shares for the season but are still offering more targeted shares.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Trump administration abruptly terminates $226M in COVID-19 grants for Minnesota
The Trump administration has terminated about $226 million in grants to the Minnesota Department of Health related to the COVID-19 pandemic. MDH Commissioner Dr. Brooke Cunningham said in a statement the termination is effective immediately and impacts ongoing work and contracts, calling it "sudden and unexpected." "Abrupt terminations of grants and contracts is unprecedented and will impact our work and that of our partners. Every dollar rescinded had been thoroughly reviewed and approved for its intended purpose by the federal government," Cunningham said. "In the past, we could count on the federal government to uphold its commitments and obligations. When changes are necessary, the federal government typically gives sufficient notice to plan and pursue other sources of funding to ensure that the work to protect the health of Minnesotans continues uninterrupted and does not put our residents at risk." Cunningham adds that the cuts are "a tremendous loss" as the department looks to assess the situation going forward. It marks the latest loss of congressionally-approved federal funding for Minnesota, coming on the heels of the Trump administration pausing or terminating 24 federal grants worth $110 million relating to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Minnesota Department of Commerce and Minnesota Department of Public United States Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement on Tuesday it's pulling back $11.4 billion in COVID-19-related funds for state and local public health departments and other health organizations throughout the nation, according to The Associated Press. A department spokesperson declared that the "COVID-19 pandemic is over" as its reasoning, saying money is still being spent on a "non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago While COVID wasn't as prevalent this past winter as in previous years, the virus is still killing Americans. According to CDC data, around 8,000 people in the U.S. have died from COVID-19 between Jan. 1 and mid-March. Since September, more than 500 Minnesotans have died from COVID-19.
