Agriculture has been an integral part of Minnesota’s land and water for a thousand years. While crops have changed, the spirit of farming has remained constant. MPR Archive presents a selection of stories that reflect the diversity of what has been harvested, such as corn, soybeans, wild rice, and even tree fiber. This collection is also about the many hands that toil in, and care for, the soil and water…from the migrant farm worker in Red River Valley’s sugar beet fields, the Hmong immigrant planting near Homer, the Chanarambie Township farmer amidst the 1980s farm crisis, and Ojibwe members following ancient harvesting traditions.
May 31, 1986 - MPR’s Mark Steil presents "Chanarambie Township: Sections 17, 18, 19, and 20," a documentary that explores how farmers in a four-square mile area of Murray County view the farm crisis...where land prices dropped, interest rates went up, and farmers were caught in the middle.
August 8, 1986 - MPR’s Mark Steil reports on massive hailstorm that pounded farmland in Lincoln County. Steil interviews famers about the damage from softball-sized hail.
December 10, 1986 - On this Midday call-in program, a discussion of life on the farm in Minnesota, featuring a live satellite feed from the Curt & Shirley Pietz hog/grain farm near Lakefield, and from a cafe in town. Program also includes a farm report from MPR’s Mark Steil.
September 28, 1987 - MPR Journal presents the documentary “A Visit to Atwater.” The farm crisis of the early 1980s has taken a toll on small towns. MPR reporters Dan Olson and Stephen Smith spent some time in the West Central Minnesota farm town of Atwater to see how one small community is faring, and what the future may hold.
October 19, 1987 - Mainstreet Radio-Brainerd’s John Biewen presents the October Pumpkinland events at Kopischke farm, in Vernon Center. Biewen interviews farm owner Gordie and Dorothy Kopischke.
November 9, 1987 - On this Midday call-in program, MPR’s Dan Olson talks with Willis Eken, president of the Minnesota Farmers Union; and Merlyn Lokensgard, president of the Minnesota Farm Bureau. They discuss the current economy/policy of the farm scene, and answer listener questions.
June 7, 1988 - MPR’s Tom Meersman reports on the troubling conditions facing farmers as drought conditions set in across many areas of the state. Meersman interviews farmers and officials about the potential impact.
November 29, 1988 - MPR’s Stephen Smith profiles those in Meeker County as they endure the extreme drought conditions. This part of the state was one hit hardest by the dry weather in 1988.
December 17, 1988 - MPR’s Kate Smith looks back at the extreme drought that enveloped Minnesota in 1988. Smith speaks with a farmer and climatologist to get their stark take of the weather event.
May 15, 1989 - Mainstreet Radio’s Rachel Reabe interviews Milton Raske, a resident of Pillager, Minnesota, on his astrological gardening system. He has been planting vegetables for decades based on astrological signs. Agricultural officials do not support moon planting as it is not supported by science, but that doesn’t stop Raske.