June 9, 1998 - Midday presents a Mainstreet Radio special broadcast on what's being called the "New Midwestern Farm Crisis." The program contains reports on farming issues, including insurance, scab plant disease, government programs, global markets, and Freedom to Farm Act.
August 26, 1998 - MPR’s Michael Khoo reports on a movement known as Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, which is demonstrating the viability of local, small-scale farming. Members buy shares in a farm at the outset of the growing season and are then entitled to a portion of the weekly harvests.
September 1, 1998 - MPR’s Lynette Nyman visits the stock dog trials at The Minnesota State Fair. The trials demonstrate how dogs can be trained to herd livestock. The superintendent of the trials at the Fair explains details in performance.
September 7, 1998 - Deb Brown, University of Minnesota Extension Horticulturist, visits MPR’s Gary Eichten at the Minnesota State Fair. Brown discusses lawns, gardens and answers questions from the state fairgrounds audience.
September 7, 1998 - MPR's Tom Robertson reports from Bemidji, where It's harvest time for wild rice in Minnesota, and nowhere is the season more important than on the Leech Lake Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota. The reservation has more than 6,000 acres of wild rice beds within its boundaries.
September 7, 1998 - Labor Day marks the end of the Minnesota State Fair. If you got a chance to walk around Machinery Hill this year, you probably noticed lawmowers have replaced many of the tractors. Farm equipment that might have been state of the art at past fairs is now on display at the Old Iron Show, a farm antique show. MPR’s Lorna Benson takes a stroll through Machinery Hill with Michael Dregni, editor of "This Old Tractor."
September 17, 1998 - The small family farm is a dying breed, even in Minnesota. But it remains important in our consciousness as a haven from the ills of society and a refuge to raise strong, wonderful children. In a way, there's some truth in that ... at least for author Kent Meyers.
September 22, 1998 - A Mainstreet Radio special broadcast from Sioux Falls. Program highlights the farm crisis, and the low crop prices. Mark Steil interviews Stan Stevens, University of Minnesota Extension Economist, who shares insights on the factors playing into low prices, including weather and production risk.
November 17, 1998 - MPR’s Dan Olson reports on how some Minnesota farmers are putting a few extra dollars in their pocket by selling what they usually plow under. A St. Peter company is making building materials as strong as wood from the straw left after farmers harvest soybeans and wheat.
November 18, 1998 - As part of the Our State, Our Forests series, a Mainstreet Radio special broadcast from MPR studios in Duluth, highlighting the Minnesota Northwoods. In this hour, MPR’s Rachel Reabe presents stories by reporters Leif Enger and Mary Losure which portray the timber industry past and present and describe its impact on the environment and economy of Northern Minnesota.