Local
State says it will provide clean drinking water in southeast Minnesota, but offers no new curbs on farm pollution
State Rep. Rick Hansen, chair of the House environment committee, called the state's response "embarrassing" and said the EPA should reject it.
Business
![Workers make their way out of the Long Prairie Packing Company in Long Prairie, Minn., on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. ] Elizabeth Flores • liz.flores@st](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/OPV5JXHPTYD5DH2A56N6L7ER5A.jpg?h=91&w=145&fit=crop&bg=999&crop=faces)
Race, rural economy and a housing shortage collide in Long Prairie apartment fight
Many community leaders in the central Minnesota town welcome a company plan to build apartments, but the proposal has "brought out a lot of ugly in a small town."
Business
Despite drought, Minnesota corn farmers helped U.S. to record 2023 harvest
Farmers in the state harvested 4% more corn than in 2022, while nationwide, last year saw a record harvest of 177.3 bushels per acre.
Business
More than $135M worth of turkeys and chickens have been killed in Minnesota because of bird flu
That's just what the USDA has reimbursed the state's poultry and egg producers so far.
Business
Minnesota hog farmers shoulder weight of adapting to California's law
Jan. 1 marked the deadline for banning sales in the Golden State of pork raised on farms where sows live in confined pens.
Nation
An $80 billion industry looks for child workers. It keeps missing them.
A New York Times review of confidential audits conducted by several large firms shows that they have consistently missed child labor.
Agriculture
Move over, Kernza — camelina is a new winter oilseed that could save the Mississippi River
Environmentalists say to repair Minnesota's watershed, farmers should switch to perennial grains. But this winter cover crop, with established buyers, may be a better fix.
Agriculture
Minnesota's sugar beet industry celebrates record harvest during the sweetest season
The state is a top producer of beets — almost entirely in the Red River Valley and across a swath of southern Minnesota. But with the Farm Bill in limbo, so, too, is the federal safety-net.
Business
Dozens of Minnesota dairy farms folded in November
Minnesota had 146 fewer dairy farmer permits this month than at the beginning of the year.
Business
Bypass the grocery store meat counter and buy the quarter-beef (or half-hog) to save money
Since the pandemic's run on meat at grocery stores, the old-school lockers of rural Minnesota — purveyors of prime beef, steaks, even lutefisk and once destined for the chopping block — are enjoying a renaissance.
Rochester
Billionaire Glen Taylor announces a new charitable mission for 2024
The Mankato businessman and Star Tribune owner will rent out his farmland, valued at $172 million, and donate the proceeds to charities and southern Minnesota communities.
Business
Bird flu cases slow in Minnesota, but egg producers elsewhere hit again
More than 16 million birds have been affected nationwide since October.
Agriculture
Minnesota farmer gets prison for organic grain fraud scheme
Federal judge delivers three-year sentence to southwestern Minnesota man who undermined the "trust" of U.S. organic grain market.
Agriculture
Monopolies in Minnesota's farm country gaining attention from DOJ, AG Ellison
Fewer companies produce the fertilizer and seed for farmers. There are also only a handful of major commodity buyers. Government prosecutors are taking a look.
Business
Minnesota company scores a win in battle with Chinese pea protein makers
Minneapolis-based Puris, the country's leading pea protein producer, had to shut a Wisconsin facility due to "dumping" of low-cost Chinese imports.
St. Paul
Dredging kept the Mississippi River open this year but creates its own problems
The Army Corps of Engineers spends tens of millions to maintain a shipping channel for barges on the Mississippi.
Business
Lawsuit filed as cantaloupe salmonella cases mount. Who will be held accountable?
Minneapolis law firm seeks unspecified damages over outbreak.
Curious Minnesota
How Minnesota farmers kept booze flowing during Prohibition
Mobsters became famous for bootlegging, but smaller moonshine operations dotted the countryside.
Agriculture
Congressional watchdog: Stop paying big farmers' crop insurance
New report spells out how Congress could drop subsidies for top producers and save millions in taxpayer dollars
Agriculture
'What are we if we are just one thing?': Minnesota farmers face their likely absence from state flag
The finalists to replace Minnesota's current flag lack explicit agricultural imagery — and maybe that's OK, rural advocates say.
Browse Business Sections
Agriculture
News coverage and the latest trends in Minnesota agriculture, including dairy, cattle, poultry and wheat, corn, soybean and potato farming.
