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Times of Tough Cash Flow

In times of tough cash flow, Northland Community and Technical College Farm Business Management Instructor Betsy Jensen says debt is part of a farming operation. “Farmers can restructure. They can take existing debt, lump it together and string it out over a few years. That’s not uncommon and not a bad thing to do,” says Jensen. “You don’t want to do it every year, but that can alleviate the cash crunch for 2019.”

Jensen joined NDSU Extension Marketing Specialist Frayne Olson and Emerado farmer Shane Sand in a panel discussion on cash flow at the 2019 International Crop Expo in Grand Forks.

According to Sand, a successful landowner-tenant relationship depends on communication. Sand uses everything from newsletters and phone calls to Snapchat to connect with his landlords. “If I’m on the landlord’s property, I’ll shoot a short video and send them an e-mail link and show them what we’re doing today on their land.” Simply put, Sand treats landlords just like he wants to be treated.

(Source: Red River Farm Network)

A Battle Against Resistant Weeds

While Palmer amaranth is garnering much of the attention, there are other resistant weed battles being fought in the region. According to Brian Jenks, a weed scientist at the NDSU North Central Research Extension Center, waterhemp is probably the bigger issue in eastern North Dakota.

“A couple other weeds we’re concerned about because of resistance are kochia and horseweed. We see kochia blowing across fields, spreading seeds and leaving trails,” says Jenks. “Another is narrowleaf hawksbeard in the western part of the state. It can easily blanket a field in just a year or two, resembling a canola field.”

Jenks spoke at the Wild World of Weeds Workshop in Fargo. Hear more of the conversation.