Feb 28, 2017
An epicenter of food, fellowship and folk music
LAKE CITY, Minn. — The Oak Center General Store looks like every general store you've imagined existed "back in the day."
Just off U.S. 63 as you travel north from Rochester to Lake City, there's a standalone building with large windows and solar panels on the front façade. Inside you'll find produce, coffee beans, miscellaneous items and, usually, Steven Schwen. If he's not in the building, he's probably around the farm working.
At least that's what the note at the checkout counter says, along with a request for customers to figure their own total and leave it on the counter.
That wouldn't fly in most stores, but here, it does. That's because the Oak Center General Store is much more than a throwback to another era; it's a farm, a gathering space, and a place where protecting and preserving the earth is not an afterthought, but its main purpose.
Steven has lived at the store since 1976. A self-described hippie, his faith in pesticide-free produce and cooperative ideals __have been the driving force in his life and a stable foundation for his lifestyle and political ideology.
For the last 40 years, Schwen has maintained a dedication to the store, the farm, and all it stands for. In the '60s, he left his third year of medical school at Mayo to focus on "creating a healthy cooperative food system," he said.
"There was so much hope and optimism for a utopian transformation after victories in civil rights, and the end to the war in Vietnam," Schwen said. "It seemed the forces of conscience and reason, (and the) stewardship of the Earth were in motion...I was joining in the wave of people trying to find ways to change the world for good," a philosophy he still tries to follow through his lifestyle and relationships.
There has been a lot of communal activity at the store, a veritable epicenter of education and camaraderie. Paul Wellstone visited often before he was elected to the Senate. Congressman and Senator Gene McCarthy held two different poetry readings at there. There __have been weekend-long conferences on holistic medicine (along with being a master woodworker, Steven is certified in homeopathy), alternative energy and organic farming, which included workshops on grafting, greenhouses and horse-based farming.
From this flourish of activity, music has risen above. What began as a concert to raise money one month has turned into a weekly folk forum from October through April. Summer months are used for farming and selling at farmer's markets.
"Music took over because musicians were begging to play here," Schwen said. "I didn't have to go through a whole lot of effort to line stuff up."
All he needs is volunteers for the events, and he usually has plenty of willing and regular helpers, from ticket sellers to dishwashers.
Past musical performers include Dean Magraw, Erik Koskinen, Pop Wagner and Charlie Parr. Upcoming shows include Chris Silver and the Good Intentions, Katey Bellville and the Barley Jacks. For a full schedule, visit oakcentergeneralstore.com/events.
There's more than just music on those Saturday evenings, there's a generous meal to kick everything off. Tickets are $15, or whatever you can afford to pay. The shows aren't about making money, they're about providing a space for a community of people to gather, eat, drink and enjoy music.
Schwen's passion for life and community building is clear in everything he does. Oak Center General Store is much more than just a farm or a shopping destination or a trip back to the past; it's a physical manifestation that there is more to life than climbing the corporate ladder or earning a bigger paycheck.
"Where there's a need, if you shine the beacon, it's like a lighthouse. We've attracted the people who want to help this planet," Schwen said. "They've come together, and it's been magical for my family, it's been magical for the community, it's been magical for the musicians that play here. It's a holistic way to have a gathering, it's not just a venue for profit. That's what people understand right away when they come."
Allison Roe is the editor of Radish Magazine, a Post Bulletin Co. publication.
Feb 18, 2017
Skinned grain is ‘not a new phenomenon’ but what causes it?
Skinned malting barley grains are not a new phenomenon, according to Teagasc’s Ciaran Collins, as they __have always been present.
“We __have spoken a lot about skinning in the last 12 months and I nearly have to think to myself did skinning just start to occur last year or the year before.
“We have always had skinning,” he said, and it has been happening for a long time, but the difference now is the implications it has for the malting industry.
Collins, a tillage advisor based in Fermoy, spoke at the recent Teagasc Malting Barley Seminar where he presented work on skinning from the SRUC in Scotland.
What is grain skinning?
Skinning occurs when the husk becomes detached from the underlying endosperm leading to irregular germination during malting, he said.
“This makes water uptake and the conversion of starch into sugars more variable and it is that variability that the maltsters say is the biggest issue.
“In the worst case scenario you could have a grain with no husk at all and it may not even germinate.
Skinning leads to the loss of malting efficiency, variety failure is a big cost breeders and rejection at malting is obviously a big loss to farmers after the investment that has been made in growing the crop.
What causes skinned grains?
Collins also discussed a number of factors that have been show to increase the presence of skinned grains in a harvested malting barley crop.
Citing work carried out by Dr Marie Brennan, Collins said the weather has an impact on the level of skinning seen in malting barley grains.
He said that high humidity and low sunlight levels 19 days after flowering can affect the process of adhesion, while wetting and drying of the mature grain can also have a negative impact on the adhesion of the husk to the grain.
New malting barley varieties, he said, are also more susceptible to skinning but there are seasonal variations as well.
Looking at UK data, Collins said that modern varieties tend to have a weaker husk adhesion and as a result they are more prone to skinning.
The Teagasc representative also cited trial work which showed that the proportion of skinned grains increases as the nitrogen fertiliser level is increased from 120kg/ha to 150kg/ha.
Generally you get a higher percentage of skinned grains as the Nitrogen levels increases, but it’s not black and which as site location may have a role to play
On the issue of sowing date, Collins said earlier sown crops tend to have lower skinning percentages than crops sown and harvested later.
“Late harvested crops tend to have increased levels of skinning.”
Moving to the combine, Collins said research work has shown that the skinning increases, both in susceptible and resistant varieties, when the drum speed is increased.
“At 1,000RPM you are looking at a range of 8-12% skinning for resistant grain varieties and 20-30% in susceptiable varieties
“In both cases as the drum speed increases the percentage of skinning increases irregardless of whether the variety is resistant or susceptible.”
He added that a similar pattern is also seen when it comes to concave settings on the combine.
Updated: Dog that killed over 50 sheep in Wexford shot dead
A dog which has killed over 50 sheep in Co.Wexford and injured countless more has been shot dead.
A farmer shot the animal last night, February 16, after he returned to the scene of where he found some of his sheep dead, only to find the dog there again.
Wexford IFA Chairman, James Kehoe, said that the damage caused by the dog is estimated to be nearly €10,000.
“The dog warden is on the way to see if the dog is micro-chipped.”
He also said that the events over the past number of weeks are going to __have consequences further down the line, with some sheep reportedly being unfit for human consumption due to the tainting of their meat, caused by stress.
Last week, Kehoe said that farmers had tried everything to contain the dog, including trying to shoot it, to no avail.
He said that he had also contacted the Minister of State at the Department of Defence, Paul Kehoe, to see if it would be possible to get the army involved in the matter.
It’s the dog owners responsibility, it’s not the dogs fault, the owners are responsible for keeping the dog under supervision. It’s unfortunate when they attack.
The dog was roaming around in a two-to-three mile radius attacking sheep before the farmer shot it last night.
IFA National Sheep Chairman John Lynskey has said that marauding dogs can inflict horrendous damage on a sheep flock.
With the country’s 30,000 sheep farmers preparing to lamb down 2.5m ewes over the coming three months, this is a very busy and anxious time for farmers, he said.
There is clear evidence that flocks are more vulnerable to dog attacks at this time of year, he added.
Video: Silage addiction draws one young Irish man to Australia and back
An addiction to contracting and the silage season has drawn Irish man Niall Donohue to Australia and back in the space of a couple of months.
The Co. Galway native spent the past few seasons working with local contractors before taking the decision to travel to the other side of the world to see how it’s done in Australia.
After finishing his Leaving Certificate exams in 2016 the 19-year-old decided to fulfil one of his dreams and make the trip to Australia, an experience which delivered above and beyond his expectations.
I’ve always wanted to travel to Australia since I was young and last year I said I might as well go now before college, while I’m young and __have the chance.
Donohue worked with Rural Harvesters briefly before getting a job with Monk and Sons Agri Contractors, in Warrnambool in southern Victoria.
Travelling out after the Irish contracting season came to an end in 2016, Donohue spent close to four months working in Australia before returning home in mid-January.
Daily Routine
The Co. Galway man found himself primarily drawing silage and mowing, with the scale of work dwarfing the size of operations here in Ireland.
“I started off on a New Holland T7.270 drawing silage from the chopper and then moved onto a Fendt 824 with a set of Krone triple mowers.
At silage we usually aimed to be out in the field by around 6am, but this often varied depending on the job and the weather.
“Generally we finished around midnight but this often varied too depending on if we had a job finished, sometimes we had to work a few hours later to get the work done.
“The days are long but I know nothing better to be honest, silage is all I’ve known and worked at. So I’m used to the long hours and take no notice of them anymore,” he said.
Working with a group of close to 20, 13 of which were Irish, Donohue often found himself working long hours to get work finished on time.
“Over here you get payed by the hour, unlike at home where it’s a daily rate at silage. So it’s worth staying working long hours when you know you’ll get rewarded for it when the pay cheque comes.
“I remember driving more or less non-stop for nearly 42 hours, with a few breaks, when we were pushed for time to get a job finished.
“The largest job we worked on was a pit of 800ac, which took close to a week to complete,” he said.
Machinery Fleet
Donohue found himself working for a contractor who had a fleet of impressive machines, which included three 900 series Fendts, two 800 series Fendts, five Claas tractors and two John Deeres, as well as a few rented tractors.
Alongside these tractors he also ran a number of Lely Welger balers and silage wagons, a Claas Jaguar 890 self-propelled harvester, two tube wrappers and a number of trucks for drawing silage.
However, the scale of the work in Australia and the rough terrain takes it’s toll on the machines a lot faster there than they would in Ireland, Donohue said.
“The Krone mowers I had were brand new and falling apart. They had mowed 14,000ac, so they had their work done.
The mowers were in the same condition after one season as mowers here in Ireland would be after having four or five seasons done.
Homeward Bound
At times, working in a foreign country so far away from friends and family was tough, Donohue said.
“The weather and pay was good in Australia, but at times you would miss the craic at home, especially when you would be talking to friends and family at home.
I made friends for life out in Australia and I’ve seen more than any picture or video could show me.
Donohue would encourage any young person thinking of travelling out to the likes of New Zealand or Australia to go for it, but warned them that the work would be tough and conditions would be challenging.
Temperatures were often up around 30 degrees and reaching as high as 40 degrees on some days, he said.
Having recently returned home, the young Co. Galway man has yet to decide on his plans for the future, but it will involve contracting in some form or another.
“It’s a disease really, you could never get away from it fully. I also __have the option of studying Mechanical Engineering in GMIT.
“But there is a possibility that I will go out to Australia again to work for another season or two,” he said.