Prairie Shortcuts

Spring Wheat Bakers Equity Drive Successful
Members of Spring Wheat Bakers have responded to the closed cooperative’s recent equity drive to raise operating capital.  Members pledged a total of $7.4 million: $2.9 million in the short-term and $4.5 million in contingent funds over the next two years.

SWB Chairman Mike Warner credits the successful equity drive to the size of the company—2,800 members in four states—along with members’ determination to see the project through from the drawing board to full commercial production. “This is the membership saying that they realize the difficulty in starting a large business, and that this is important to them,” Warner says. “It’s a tribute to our members’ determination to add value to their spring wheat crop and reach beyond thin margins and low profitability of commodity wheat farming.”

The company began producing partially-baked (“par-baked”) breads and frozen dough at its plant near McDonough, Georgia, in August, 1999.  It is the largest bakery of its kind in the world. SWB is turning the corner from a startup period where the company was gearing up for production.  Now the pieces are in place for the company to start making money, says Warner, which is expected by mid 2002 when the plant is running at full capacity with new customers in place.

Watch for Grasshopper Hot Spots This Summer
Insects caused only isolated problems in North Dakota wheat this year, says Phil Glogoza, North Dakota State University extension entomologist.  Army worms, cereal aphids, grasshoppers, cereal leaf beetles, and the orange wheat blossom midge were present in numbers generally too low to result in economic damage. Still, there were hot spots of insect activity.

“Watch for hoppers in south central N.D. next year, where hot spots this year could be reason for treatment next year, depending on how the weather develops,” says Glogoza. Producers affected by hot spots of the wheat midge in 2001—generally in northwest N.D.—also need to be mindful of overwintering populations next year, he advised.  Each year since 1995, the N.D. wheat checkoff funds a statewide survey of overwintering midge populations. Survey data is used to identify potential hot spots for midge activity in the next growing season. New survey information will be released in February.  The survey along with other information on the wheat midge can be found on the Internet at www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/aginfo/entomology/entupdates/Wheat Midge/owbm.htm

Online Farm Management Resources|
Following are some of the articles that can be found on the Southwest MN Farm Business Management website, http://swroc.coafes.umn.edu.  Click on the farm business management link.

•  Preparing for an IRS Audit
•  Flexible Crop Cash Rental Arrangements
•  2002 Crop Budgets for SW Minnesota
•  SW MN county land price survey
•  Establishing a Farm Filing System
•  Sharing Farm Machinery
•  Grain and livestock marketing
•Livestock budgets