National Grain Bin Safety Week is February 16-22. Rural Fire Departments spend a lot of time practicing rescue operations in case someone gets stuck in a bin. (Photo from The University of Saskatchewan)
Grain Bin safety. I know you as farmers get tired of the topic. We hit it hard once a year during National Grain Bin Safety Week. But, there’s a reason we in the farm media hit the topic hard. People still get hurt or killed every year, no matter how long they’ve been in the business of farming. Farming is a dangerous profession; the most dangerous in America.
Really, it only takes a moment for tragedy to happen. I can’t imagine what it’s like to know that a family member died by being crushed under a mountain of grain and not being able to breathe. But I know of someone who lived through the nightmare. She’s the current governor of South Dakota.
National Grain Bin Safety week is February 16-22 this year. National Grain Bin Safety Week is a subject that hits home for South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, who grew up on a farm in Hamlin County and lost her father in a grain bin accident…tape
She says farmers and ranchers work with dangerous equipment every day…tape
While you may not think you have time to slow down, Noem reminds producers theirs aren’t the only lives affected if something tragic happens…tape
Noem encourages producers to evaluate safety procedures and equipment on their farms and ranches and to make adjustments when needed.
Older farmers aren’t the only ones hurt in accidents. Twitter was recently ablaze with sadness over the loss of a young man who’d barely lived around twenty years. It only takes a second for life to change forever. It’s worth taking a few extra minutes to be safe. I know how the grind of farming wears on patience. It’s worth it to your family members to have you come home a few minutes later, especially if it’s the difference between life and death, which it certainly can be.
Water quality is a hot topic of conversation in Minnesota right now, with the state’s farmers at the forefront of the discussion in award-winning fashion.
Two Minnesota farmers are being recognized for their commitment to agriculture, water quality, and wildlife. Randy Schmiesing of Stevens County, as well as Tom Cotter of Mower County, were recently given the new Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program (MAWQCP) wildlife endorsement at the Pheasants Forever National Pheasant Fest in Minneapolis. Schmiesing and Cotter are the first farmers in the state to receive the endorsement.
“Conserving our natural resources for future generations to enjoy has been a lifelong goal and commitment,” said Randy Schmiesing. “We are proud to be one of the first farms to be certified by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture for the wildlife endorsement through the Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program and encourage other farmers to pursue this wildlife endorsement and reap the many benefits it achieves.”
Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen presents Tom Cotter of Mower County with his Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program wildlife endorsement. (Contributed photo)
Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen presents Randy Schmiesing of Stevens County with his Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program wildlife endorsement (Contributed photo)
MAWQCP launched the wildlife, soil health, and integrated pest-management endorsements in December as additions to the 10-year certification a farmer or landowner receives in the program. The certification program partnered with various non-profit organizations like Pheasants Forever and the Minnesota Soil Health Coalition, as well as state agencies, to develop the endorsements.
“Many conservation practices targeting water quality also have benefits for other conservation goals, such as wildlife,” said Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen. “With the help of organizations like Pheasants Forever, we want to recognize farmers who are making efforts to protect our numerous natural resources in Minnesota.”
“Pheasants Forever appreciates the opportunity to work alongside the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and other partners in highlighting the new wildlife endorsement through the MAWQCP at Pheasant Fest,” said Tanner Bruse, Agriculture and Conservation Programs Manager, Pheasants Forever. “It’s our honor to be a part of the recognition of those implementing conservation practices that represent a win-win scenario for their operation, soil, water and wildlife. We congratulate them and thank them for their stewardship.”
Certified producers who achieve an endorsement will receive an additional sign for their farm and recognition for their conservation excellence.
Certified farmers and landowners interested in an endorsement, or those interested in in earning a certification in water quality, can contact their local Soil and Water Conservation District. They can also visit MyLandMyLegacy.com.
About the Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program
The Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program is a voluntary opportunity for farmers and agricultural landowners to take the lead in implementing conservation practices that protect our water. Those who implement and maintain approved farm management practices will be certified and in turn obtain regulatory certainty for a period of ten years. The program is available to farmers and landowners statewide. To date, the program has certified 832 farms totaling 566,862 acres.
Sports on any level is never dull. However, professional sports continues to leave me “confuzzled,” as the kids say. Take the Houston Astros “apology tour” press conference they held to start off their spring training to address their sign-stealing scandal. Or WAS it a scandal?
Stealing Signs scandal and the “apology”
Straight from the horse’s mouth right here. Fast forward to about 2:25.
I can remember standing in a batter’s box in both high school (South Dakota calls it American Legion baseball) and amateur games in my youth. I’ll just come out and say it point blank. I would have LOVED to know what pitch is coming. Yes, you still have to put the bat on the ball. I understand it’s one of the hardest things to do in all of sports. But you can’t tell me for one second that knowing what was coming wouldn’t SUBSTANTIALLY improve the odds of at least making solid contact?
Look, I’ll admit I’m not the most perceptive person the Good Lord ever decided to put on this Earth (my wife is currently laughing hard at that statement). How’s that for honesty? Help me out. Were the Astros apologizing for doing something wrong? After all, the reporter in the video clip asked Crane about “cheating.” Crane’s response? Call it “whatever you want.” Seriously? You can’t even use the word “cheating?”
Sounds like someone was apologizing for getting caught. And I don’t think I’m off on that at all. If it “didn’t make any difference in our games,” as you say, then why keep doing it?
Minnesota Wild
Okay, let’s dive into this a little bit. The Wild fired their head coach, which didn’t surprise too many people. I think that’s a relatively safe statement. However, only in Minnesota do we make coaching changes when the team is PLAYING WELL? Seven wins in your last ten games to put you right outside a playoff spot? Here’s a video of the press conference from KAAL TV in Rochester.
I get that Bruce wasn’t coming back. Having watched multiple games over the course of his almost four years here, the guy did an amazing job considering what management gave him to work with. And the new head coach is some guy named Dean Eveson? That’s an improvement over a coach that’s won more than 500 games?
Good luck, coach. His first interview with the St. Paul Pioneer Press has him preaching accountability among the Wild players? I’m honestly not sure some of the older veterans know the meaning of the word. Let’s start with my old buddy, Ryan Suter.
Sports news never ceases to amaze me. Just as their climbing back into the playoffs, the Wild decide to fire Bruce Boudreau? Seriously? He’s one of the least of their problems.
Ryan Suter, who I’ve had a problem with almost since he walked in the door, and Zach Parise are both an albatross to the organization because of their ridiculous contracts (thank you, Chuck Fletcher). However, at least Zach plays hard. Suter looks disinterested to me on the ice. I hope I’m wrong. Oh well, at least he gets paid a lot, right?
Would it be a good thing for this middling franchise to make the playoffs this year? They need a serious influx of young talent that can score goals consistently. They also need a number one goalie. God bless Devyn Dubnyk. I can’t imagine trying to go through the grind of an NHL season worried about the health of your wife and the future of your family. On the ice, however, he looks distracted. I’d like to see Stalock take his spot, at least for the rest of the year.
Oh well. You don’t have to agree with me. Just venting.
Minnesota sports fans, the long-suffering bunch that we are, apparently have to suffer through another rough winter season of mediocrity. Actually, that word doesn’t apply to the “professional” basketball team. That’s just one big bucket of suck.
The Minnesota Wild have a lot of work to do to return to a team that can make a run in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Wild hockey. It’s not fantastic. Watching the Bruins school the Minnesota “professional” hockey team 4-0 after two periods of play. I shudder to think how much further ahead Boston would be if the Wild hadn’t blocked 10 shots through two periods. This team cannot score goals consistently enough to win.
But how do you go about finding good offense to add to the
roster with the salary cap situation and two contracts that are taking up more
of that cap than they should? Minnesota sports STARTS with hockey. We call
ourselves the “State of Hockey” for a reason, right?
What is it with Minnesota sports? The Wild are stuck in neutral and multiple games away from the playoffs. The Timberwolves aren’t even a blip on the sports radar in the Twin Cities. Oh my goodness, are they bad.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have a long way to go to be mildly interesting to watch. They’re not even a blip on the Twin Cities’ sports scene these days.
I know Gersson Rojas and Ryan Saunders have a plan that
involves a lot of threes. It’s an offense tailored to the modern NBA game. But
they don’t have players talented enough to play that system well. Isn’t that
like trying to force a square peg through a round hole? As a coach, don’t you
want to at least somewhat build your offense based on the skillset of your
current roster?
Minnesota sports confuse me, especially when it comes to the
professional football team. An 11-win season and the second round of the NFL
playoffs look good on paper. They beat precisely one team with a winning record,
and we were all impressed with that win in New Orleans. But then you don’t put
up any kind of a fight in San Francisco? It took me back to the Philadelphia
fiasco and the day the Vikings laid one of their biggest eggs in a long line of
said eggs. They didn’t show up at all when they had a chance to be the first
team in the NFL to HOST a Super Bowl in their home stadium.
I’d say there’s a pattern forming in which the Vikings aren’t prepared for their biggest games. Is that coaching or is that on the players?
The Minnesota Vikings confuse me. You want to run the ball but you paid the most offensive money to a quarterback who can’t run and two wide receivers? Mixed messages here.
I’m starting to sour on the purple. So, Mike Zimmer wants to
run the ball? Fine. Then WHY did you invest $84 million in a quarterback who
breaks when a defensive lineman gets within ten yards and put him behind an O
line that can’t block elite pass rushers? Why did we invest around $30 million
in two wide receivers? I’m seeing some mixed messages there. You tailor your
offense to play off the strengths of your roster, right?
Maybe it’s just me. Man, I used to schedule my Sundays around Vikings games. Now it’s kind of blasé. I’m sure I’ll keep watching but with much less interest than ever before. If you believe what you see on social media (be careful about that), I’m starting to wonder if the NFL might be looking for some new fans within 5 to 10 years?
Things like this are why I’m more interested in watching
college sports than a professional event. They’re still kids out there having
fun. The atmosphere is more upbeat as well.
Maybe I’m just mellowing in my middle age. Sports aren’t quite the be-all, end-all that they used to be. Is that normal as fans age?
Joe Vaclavik, founder and president of Standard Grains in Chicago talks about the potential effect the Coronavirus may or may not have on the grains. (Photo from vimeo.com)
Coronavirus. As it continues to make headlines, commodity experts are wondering what kind of effect the spread of the virus will have on markets. Joe Vaclavik, President of Standard Grains in Chicago, says the outbreak will have some effect, but it’s hard to tell what kind or for how long.
“It’s not a positive. I don’t know that it’s the biggest negative in the world. It could be, and that’s why you’re seeing liquidation in some of these markets, like the stock market, and that’s why you’re seeing the grain markets soften up. Nobody wants to be long in this stuff. The Coronavirus probably goes the way of SARS, or some of these other similar types of outbreaks that we’ve last a month, maybe two months, maybe the better part of a year. Then, it probably makes its way out of the headline.”
He says the possibility of a significant impact on markets has likely grown over the past couple of weeks.
“There’s always that risk that it turns into something much bigger. It could eventually disrupt the flow of trade. Maybe there’s a country out there that decides to throw up trade barriers and says ‘hey, we don’t want corn from the U.S. because they’ve got too much of that virus going around. There’s always that sort of risk on the table.”
Mike Zuzolo, President of Global Commodity Analytics in Atchison, Kansas, says there are a couple ways to look at the spread of Coronavirus and it’s possible effect on the livestock markets. (Photo from YouTube.com)
Mike Zuzolo, President of Global Commodity Analytics in Kansas, says the virus will likely have a significant impact on China’s poultry flocks. Separate reports have millions of chickens “on the edge of death.” But they aren’t necessarily sick with Coronavirus.
“Animal feed suppliers cannot get their shipments through, raw materials can’t get through, and this also corresponds with another article from the South China Morning Post that said hedging is not being done, soy meal is not being hedged, so soybeans are not being bought. I think what you’re looking at is probably pent-up demand for the livestock industry and that 300-million chickens die because of not being fed because of Coronavirus. That number of pounds of protein, you’re going to have to replace, eventually.”
There is a long-term buying potential for commodities, but only if the virus outbreak doesn’t last longer than reports are suggesting.
“If China and the scientists are correct and we see a peak in the maximum pressure of this virus, outbreaks of this virus, and, in the next 7-10 days, the price action we’re seeing right now will not last. It will set up a long-term buying potential for commodities.”
Again, that’s Mike Zuzolo of Global Commodity Analytics, as well as Joe Vaclavik of Standard Grains.
Wild Hockey reporter Kevin Gorg interviews Minnesota goalie Devan Dubnyk during the intermission of a recent hockey game. (Photo from Pinterest.com)
Wild hockey, or any hockey, for that matter. You can hear the passion for the sport in the voice of Kevin Gorg, a hockey analyst for Fox Sports North. He was a recent guest on the Minnesota Sports Weekly podcast, a voice we hadn’t heard in a while. Gorg wished he could be talking about the Wild under better circumstances.
“Unfortunately, the season is not going the way we want for
the Minnesota Wild,” he admitted ruefully. “There is still time to get it
turned around. Things were very promising from November through December of
last year, but January has not been kind so far.”
Struggling in the new year
Minnesota was one of the highest-scoring teams in the
National Hockey League from November through December when they didn’t lose a
lot. What happened? First of all, Gorg said no one close to the team saw a
stretch of hockey like that coming from a team built from the defensive zone on
out.
“It’s not a case of the team not being able to score goals,”
he said. “Those of us who cover the team thought if they were to make the
playoffs, it would be with solid goaltending and good defense. The firepower up
front doesn’t match up with some of the elite teams in the NHL. We thought they
could defend, we’ve loved their blue line, and the goaltending’s been good for
years.
“That’s what caught us by surprise,” he said. “They were
outscoring teams. If you look at who the Minnesota Wild really is, that wasn’t
a sustainable way of doing things. Now, goal-scoring has run dry and the team
is having to play from behind, which makes things worse. You saw that the other
night during a (7-2) loss at Pittsburgh.”
It’s difficult in the NHL, the highest level of professional
hockey, to always be down a goal or two and playing from behind. Compounding
that during the recent game at Pittsburgh was the fact that the Penguins were
welcoming back their team captain and top goal scorer, Sidney Crosby. Could the
timing have been any more unfortunate for the Wild?
“He’d been out for nine weeks,” Gorg said. I could almost see him shaking his head even though Gorg was on the phone. “For anyone that knows hockey, he’s a hero in that town. The crowd was amped up, the team was amped up, and Crosby got going. You thought there’d be a little rust there, but no, he put up four points in that game.”
Here’s a few high, er, lowlights from the Wild hockey game at Pittsburgh.
Back to Basics
Teams that hit a losing skid tend to try to do too much to get
off the slide. Players will try to overcompensate and their desire to play
outside of their roles can make things even worse. Gorg, a lifelong hockey fan
and one-time coach, talked about how the Wild get out of their current run of
non-winning hockey.
“They just need to get back to basics,” he said right away. “They’re
not going to outscore people. Maybe that run of high-scoring hockey late last
year got in their heads a bit. They’ve got to be a lot more responsible in
their defensive zone, a better back-checking team, they’ve got to take fewer
penalties, and be much better on the penalty kill.”
Starting goaltender Devan Dubnyk has been carrying quite a load this year. He missed a month of the season because of his wife’s serious health problems and recently came back to take his place between the pipes. Gorg says the Wild’s top goalie is hanging in there through his family challenges.
“He’s got to be a rock back there, along with (backup goalie)
Alex Stalock,” Gorg said. “If you look at the defensemen in front of them, this
core is as good as any you’ll find in the NHL, especially when you talk about
the top four. However, they haven’t played that way.
“The forwards have to be better in the offensive zone,” he
added. “This team has to win games 3-2, rather than 5-4. Score early and play
good defense. We don’t have pure scorers like Crosby on the roster. We do have
Zach Parise (16 goals, 28 points), who’s on pace for 30 goals, Jason Zucker (12
goals despite just coming back from a broken leg), who should score 25-30
goals, and a guy like Eric Staal (16 goals, 33 points), who’s on pace to score
25-30 goals.”
Young players
That core of young players is what will likely put the Wild
into the playoffs if they can raise their level of play. Guys like Kevin Fiala,
Jordan Greenway, Joel Eriksson Ek, and Ryan Donato all have to elevate their games.
So far, it’s just been Fiala (9 goals, 17 assists) that’s taken that step, with
Gorg calling him a potential “25-30-goal scorer.”
The guy many hockey fans are most curious (and maybe
concerned) about is Jordan Greenway (5 goals, 11 assists). The one-time U.S. Olympian
has been a bit of an enigma. Six-foot-six inches tall off his skates, the big left-winger
can look like a freight train on skates, but many times simply disappears in
long stretches.
“Last year was his first full season of professional hockey,” Gorg recalled. Between Iowa and the Wild, he played over 100 games last year. You’d think that foundation would have him set up for bigger and better things this year. We’ve seen the flashes. For a guy his size, he’s got really good hands and offensive instincts. He just can’t stretch it out four or five games. But, you don’t give up on a guy that size.”
Buyers or Sellers?
One interesting topic is the trade deadline, which is coming up on Feb. 24. Will the Wild be buyers or sellers? As of right now, it’s not looking like they’ll be buying under new General Manager Bill Guerin.
“Eight points out of a playoff spot in the standings, I think that’s still to be determined,” Gorg said. “I’m impressed with Guerin’s patience. That may be because he’s already got four Stanley Cups in his pocket, two coming as a player.”
NDSU Bison football. What do you know? They’re in another title game. Here’s a preview of the Saturday matchup with James Madison University.
There’s a third certainty in life besides death and taxes. It’s the North Dakota State University football team making a deep run into the FCS playoffs. The NDSU Bison take on James Madison University for the FCS college football championship on Saturday, Jan. 11, in Frisco, Texas. Kickoff is at 11 a.m. Central time. The Bison (15-0) are the No. 1-ranked team in the land while James Madison (14-1) is No. 2.
North Dakota State and James Madison University meet Saturday for the FCS Division 1 title game on Saturday, Jan. 11, in Frisco, Texas. (photo from collegefootballnews.com).
These two teams have quite a history. First of all, this is
a rematch of the 2017 national championship game. NDSU has won two straight and
seven of the last eight national championship games. JMU took the 2016 national
title game after they beat the Bison in the national semifinals. James Madison
is making its third appearance in the title game in the last four years.
NSDU football beat writer Jeff Kolpack (@FGOSPORTSWRITER) spoke to Travis Aune on Minnesota Sports
Weekly and was refreshingly honest when asked if he thought heading into
the season that the Bison would make yet another appearance in the title game.
“To give you a one-word answer, it’s ‘no,’” he said with a laugh. “I wasn’t expecting it because I thought we had too many young players. It’s tough to depend on a freshman quarterback (Trey Lance of Marshall, MN) to get you back to Frisco (Texas).
Another year, same result
“That being said, there’s something about this program that
just keeps reinventing itself,” he added. “One of the advantages this program
has is they don’t have a lot of players leaving every year. Guys sometimes stick
around for 2-3 years before they even get a shot at seeing the field. I think
that’s a lot of dedication to a program that you don’t see as much of anymore.”
He says a lot of today’s kids that aren’t playing as freshmen
will often bail on their program and look for opportunities elsewhere. It’s the
“instant gratification” part of today’s sports and the Bison program has been
able to avoid a lot of that.
Obviously, the Bison aren’t winning as much as they have without talent. “They have a lot of that,” he said. “They have a lot of support, resources, and money, as well as a university president (Dean. L Bresciani) who’s on board with the program’s success. You need all those things. Did I expect this? No. Am I surprised they’re here again? No.”
Freshman QB
Despite being a redshirt freshman, Marshall native Trey
Lance has shown the ability to be an equally effective passer and runner since
taking over under center for the Bison. For a young player, his accuracy is
remarkable. He’s thrown for 28 touchdowns and doesn’t have a single
interception this season.
“He’s 6-foot-2, 225 pounds, and is a powerful runner,” Kolpack
said. “His development is coming along well. He recognizes what defenses are trying
to do and gets to his check-down points. He’s much farther along mentally than
anyone thought he’d be at this point. It’s sometimes hard to remember that he’s
just a freshman when he’s out there.”
Matt Entz took over as head coach after Chris Kleiman left for Kansas State University after last season. Kolpack said the first year under Entz “couldn’t have gone any better.” He was the defensive coordinator under former Bison coaches Kleiman and Craig Bohl.
Dominance
The Bison have been on a remarkable run of winning football.
Minnesota Sports Weekly host Travis Aune pointed out that NDSU beats most of
its opponents by considerable margins. Why don’t the Bison schedule better
opponents? Kolpack’s answer was a simple one; “No one will play them.” He said
it might be hard to truly appreciate just how good the program has been over many
years.
“It’s one of the most dominant college football programs in history,” he said. “If they win on Saturday, they may win three more. If that’s the case, the NDSU Bison program becomes the most dominant one in college football history.
“However, when you’re watching it before your eyes, it may be hard to recognize that,” Kolpack added. “It’s hard to live in the moment of a history book because technically the book hasn’t been written yet. It’ll be written 10-20 years down the road. You write it after the fact.”
This Saturday
Looking ahead to the title game on Saturday, Kolpack said the
defenses could play a major role in the outcome. James Madison is No. 1 in the
country in terms of yards allowed on the ground, with their opponents averaging
a mere 61 yards per game and 2.2 yards per rush.
“The recent run of NDSU Bison success has been built on good defense,” he said. “They’re a good defensive team again this year. I think the first team to 20 is going to win this game. The teams will open with some basic football early on and get a feel for what each of them is doing.
“Two heavyweights like this are going to come out like boxers,”
Kolpack said. “They’re not going to try for the knockout early. I’m seeing a
close, low-scoring game.”
You can find the whole interview with Jeff Kolpack as part
of Minnesota Sports Weekly right here.
College football recruiting is quite a process, both for players and coaching staffs. A Spring Grove, Minnesota, high school standout had played his first year of college ball for the University of Minnesota-Crookston and very unexpectedly found himself going through the process a second time. Here’s what it looked like when the news first broke late last year.
Spring Grove native Alex Folz enjoyed a successful first
season of college football at the University of Minnesota-Crookston in 2019.
After getting significant playing time as a freshman for the NCAA Division 2
level Golden Eagles, Folz was into offseason workouts and studies when he got the
news that no college athlete expects. He wouldn’t be playing football for
Crookston again.
The school had decided to ax its football program due to “budget concerns.” Folz was left without a team to play for, decided to open himself up to the college football recruiting process once again, and found a new team to play for. This time around, it’s going to be a much-bigger road trip from Spring Grove to his new home. The Spring Grove high school standout is now a member of the Eastern New Mexico State University Greyhounds football team. Why decide to join the team in Portales, New Mexico?
“The first few days of looking for colleges generated some interest from NAIA schools, NCAA Division 3 schools, but nothing that big,” Folz recalled. “I had a couple of offers from NCAA Division 2 schools in southern states like West Virginia. I sent some film out to Eastern New Mexico and by the fourth day of my college football recruiting process, the head coach (Kelley Lee) sent me an email saying he loved my film and thought I’d be a good fit there.
Spring Grove native Alex Folz, shown here as a freshman playing for the University of Minnesota-Crookston, found himself going through college football recruiting for a second time after Crookston decided to cut it’s football program after the 2019 season. (Contributed photo)
“Coach said they might even have opportunities for me to do
more things than just offense, which I loved doing at Spring Grove and did at
Crookston,” he added. “The recruiting coordinator called to talk to me, and
they eventually gave me a pretty nice scholarship.”
He began to look into the team and program, including their
facilities and liked what he saw. Folz said the multiple coaches he talked to
“seemed nice.” Appropriately enough for the social media age, Folz followed
several of the Greyhounds’ players on Twitter, who all seemed to enjoy what
they were doing down in New Mexico.
“I thought to myself ‘is this what I really want?’,” he
recalled with a laugh. “Minnesota is great, and I have family here, but it’s
got to be nice to live in warmer weather and get out to explore the U.S. a
little bit.”
Folz admits that the whole “re-recruiting” process ended a
little quicker than he thought it would.
The highly decorated high school player had a successful
first year with the Crookston program, more so on a personal level than in
terms of team success (0-11). He felt the team had something building as a member
of a large recruiting class for the Northern Sun Conference school. The team
was doing offseason conditioning work when they got notified of an “emergency
team meeting” out of the blue.
“I’d just finished class and was sitting with one of my
roommates when he got a phone call saying a friend had heard the football team
was getting cut,” Folz said. “The friend on the phone knew someone at St. Cloud
State that had a meeting at the same time and their program also got cut. We
initially thought it was just rumors and nothing like that would happen.”
However, after scrolling through social media reports and
other online articles, Folz and his teammates slowly started to think there
might well be bad news coming. A lot of his teammates had no idea what they
were going to do if it was true because this was the only place they could play
while going to school.
“Our coaches came into the meeting room and sat at the back,
which is not something they normally do,” he recalled. “The Chancellor (Mary
Holz-Clause) stepped up to the microphone and told us she was sorry we had to
find out the way we did because they wanted to news to come straight from the administration.
She also said, ‘as of today, we’re cutting the football program.’
“You could see it in the faces of every guy in the room,”
Folz added. “The look in their eyes said, ‘are you kidding me?’”
What Folz didn’t appreciate was the fact that Holz-Clause
told the team they’ve been trying to cut the football team for the previous 18
months. “That’s what got me,” he said emphatically. “Our coaches found out just
ten minutes before she told us (on Dec. 10). Why couldn’t they have told us as
soon as the season ended (Nov. 16)?”
That meant more than 60 players had to find new colleges by
spring. That’s when coaches typically want their new players enrolled so they
can get to know the team and practice in the spring. That left them less than a
month to find a new home.
And, the school wasn’t prepared to offer a lot of extra help to the students. Folz said athletes who had questions could ask and they’d try to assist them. However, the former Golden Eagle football players were on their own in the college football recruiting process.
From a personal perspective, Folz was disappointed because he had a successful freshman season.
Spring Grove, Minnesota, native Alex Folz is shown here carrying the ball for the University of Minnesota-Crookston football team. Crookston decided to cut its program after the 2019 season, forcing Folz to undergo college football recruiting a second time. (Contributed photo)
“I started the season playing on all four of the special
teams’ units,” he said. “I was also a running back. As the season went on, I
took over the punting job, returned kicks, and was on the punt return and
kickoff teams. Halfway through the season, I moved from running back to slot
receiver just because their numbers were low at the position.”
The former high school quarterback also took snaps as the
backup quarterback in practice, just in case of an emergency.
The biggest adjustment to college sports came in the
classroom. He said Friday and Saturday were his busiest days for football. “That
meant you couldn’t be as much of a typical college kid the rest of the week,”
he said. “You really have to take your time to study and get your homework
done. When all that’s done, you still have to pay attention to the game of
football. It’s a big time-balancing exercise.”
Folz is heading out for New Mexico on Jan. 8, will move into
his apartment, and then have a couple of days to adjust to the new
surroundings. School starts on Jan. 13. Folz is leaving familiar surroundings
and heading almost 1,150 miles from home. What’s the first thing that comes to
mind when he thinks about the distance?
“I’m really excited,” he said after some thought. “I’ve
always wanted to get out and see the country. The only thing I’m nervous about
is meeting new teammates. We had a close brotherhood at Crookston. I felt as
though I could have gone to any of the players or coaches with anything. I’m
hoping all those guys down there will be the same way and I’m sure they will.
“We all just want to play football,” he said with a laugh.
Here’s the full conversation with Joe Vaclavik of Standard Grain in Chicago. You can download it on your computer by clicking on the three dots on the right side of the player. Play it here on your mobile device.
Joe Vaclavik is the founder and president of Standard Grain in Chicago. He took a look at 2019 in the grain markets and said the challenges just never let up over the entire length of the calendar. (Photo from Twitter.com)
Grain Markets officially bid 2019 a not-so-fond adieu. Like most other segments of American agriculture, grain farmers are more than happy to put 2019 in the past. Joe Vaclavik, founder and president of Standard Grains in Chicago, says last year didn’t start off well in the grain markets and it just kept going for the next 12 months.
“We had a pretty comfortable, if not burdensome supply situation entering the calendar year, so, the calendar year kind of began similar to what we’ve seen the last two, three, four years, a comfortable supply-demand situation, not anything terribly tight. Low prices, farmers not making a ton of money, you got the trade war going on, a lot of overall negative factors I would say to start the year.”
He says the spring is when things began to get “interesting.”
“Both in the markets and the weather. We basically sold the markets off until about that May time frame, that I think traders started to realize that we had some serious weather problems. Wet weather, cold weather, planting delays continued, and typically we are always told the crop’s always going to be planted, and planting delays are not a cause for concern.”
However, as the spring continued, things turned more serious in the markets.
“Planting delays turned into a major concern. There was a point in time in late May into maybe the mid part of June where we just had no clue what type of production was possible, and out of that, we had a very significant crop scare rally in the corn market and in the soybean market, to a lesser extent.”
Farmers continued to plant corn long past what would be a normal planting date. Vaclavik says the market was rallying as farmers continued to plant, even into early July in a few locations. He says the market peaked in June because it bought a “whole bunch of corn acres” that wouldn’t have been there otherwise.
Vaclavik says farmers faced challenges from a weather standpoint, logistics, and from a demand standpoint with trade challenges in 2019. With all that stacked against them, the question is how much grain U.S. farmers produced last year. Vaclavik says the answer depends on who you ask.
“A lot of people think that the numbers USDA has put out are just not achievable given the late planting, the wet spring, the late harvest, so there’s still some debate out there. I’m not one to tell you with any degree of certainty that we know for sure what the crop is, and we’ve got this big report on January 10, which is the final crop production report, and I suppose if USDA is going to make any sort of sweeping adjustment, it probably comes on that date.”
Again, Joe Vaclavik is the president of Standard Grains in Chicago.
Here’s the complete podcast with Mike Zuzolo. You can play it here or download it by clicking on the three dots on the right side of the player.
“Meat, the redder, the better.” Words of wisdom from the grill master (me). However, those folks who raise that red meat (which includes all types of the protein products in the meat case at your local grocery store), for the most part, had a difficult year.
Mike Zuzolo, President of Global Commodity Analytics, says there IS reason for optimism in the livestock markets as we look ahead to 2020. He’s expecting meat prices to make a rebound. (Photo from YouTube.com)
The U.S. ag sector has to be happy to see the end of the calendar year 2019. It was rough, which might be the understatement of the century so far. I’ve been doing a series of interviews for the National Association of Farm Broadcasting News Service (I’m the assistant editor/reporter) that looks back at 2019 and peeks ahead to next year. I caught up with Mike Zuzolo, President of Global Commodity Analytics in Atchison, Kansas.
2019 was not good for most sectors of the U.S. ag economy,
including the protein sector. “No, it wasn’t,” Zuzolo says. “Given the packer
break-evens being in the hundreds of dollars for much of the year in cattle,
and given the cash prices of hogs struggling to get above $50 live prices, as
well as seeing that African Swine Fever was decimating half of the world’s hog herd,
I’d say 2019 was a very big disappointment to the cattle and hog industry.”
He said the challenges didn’t just include the trade
troubles that dominated headlines throughout the year, they also included a major
fire at a Cargill plant in Holcomb, Kansas. Zuzolo said that shot cattle prices
sharply lower.
“Prices went below break-evens and they didn’t recover for
several weeks,” he recalled. “In my opinion as a livestock analyst, it really
shouldn’t have hit the markets quite that hard. The market saw cash prices for
cattle collapse from around $120 to $100 for several weeks. At the same time,
ground beef and boxed beef prices shot sharply higher because of expectations
for tighter supplies.”
Cattle producers took a major hit at that time. The good news is I want to leave you is that Zuzolo sees potential for several bright spots ahead for the protein sector in 2020.
