All about alternatives

AURI joins the U of M and Minnesota Department of Agriculture to help farmers assess alternative crop opportunities.

By E. M. Morrison

Steve Dahl farms 1,650 acres in Roseau County. This fall, he had just one 80-acre field that turned a profit.

His neighbors were in the same boat. “Only 25 percent of the farmland in Roseau County was seeded,” says Dahl, 53, who grows wheat, canola and grass seed. “Of that, only about two percent was profitable to harvest. So you can see the economic position here.”

Weather disasters, crop diseases and three years of sliding commodity prices have left Dahl and others “scratching our heads to find anything to survive. We’re researching everything from amaranth to large-scale dairy to wet fractionated alfalfa.”

Dahl, who has been farming for 30 years, fertilized only half his cropland this fall, “because I just don’t know what I’m going to plant next spring.” He’ll spend this winter studying new crops that might fit his northern Minnesota operation.

For farmers like Dahl, a new Minnesota Department of Agriculture program might help. In collaboration with AURI and the University of Minnesota, the Agriculture Diversification Program will provide comprehensive information about growing, marketing and processing new plants and animals. The goal of the program, which is funded by a $330,000 biennial appropriation from the Minnesota Legislature, is greater crop diversity for the state.

More than a little knowledge

“There are numerous challenges to diversifying,” says Chris Hanson of the U of M Center for Alternative Plant and Animal Products. “But the first is becoming well-informed about all aspects of a new crop.”

The Ag Diversification Program will bring together the critical information growers need to decide if an alternative crop is right for them. This includes information about:

• Production, soil, climate and fertility requirements;

• Field trial results, yields, best management practices and cost of production numbers;

• Markets, distribution avenues, price history and consumer trends;

• Processing, current and new uses, local and regional processing facilities, and ways to add value.

Initially, the program will provide detailed information on 10 promising alternative crops. Some, such as cranberries, are new to Minnesota; others, such as flax, are familiar but are getting renewed attention. The remaining eight are hemp, field peas, hazelnuts, buckwheat, medicinal herbs, chicory, hybrid poplars and goats. General information on dozens of other crop and livestock alternatives will also be covered.

The program will help farmers put together business plans for alternative crop ventures, says Kevin Edberg, head of marketing at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.

Balanced risk, not ‘rah-rah’

Although the program aims to nurture diversification, “this is not a ‘rah-rah’ project,” says David Bartholomay, deputy director of AURI. “We want to give balanced, complete information on both the opportunities and the risks.”

That’s important, says Dahl. He points out that alternative crops, which are uninsurable and usually require new capital investment, carry at least as much risk as traditional commodities: “A niche crop can be a very expensive experiment. We’re told to plant alternative crops, and we’re looking for them. But there has to be a market.”

Bartholomay agrees, noting that successful diversification comes down to making well-informed choices. “When times are hard, people get interested in something new. They want to believe in it so badly, they may sometimes fool themselves that it’s the answer.” Instead, the Agriculture Diversification Program will “help farmers get good information, so they can make good choices.”

The program has begun distributing information. To learn more, call the University of Minnesota Center for Alternative Plant and Animal Products at 612-625- 4707.