The Minnesota cultivated wild rice industry is in transition. Many farmers are nearing retirement and need help transitioning their farms to the next generation, young farmers need an adequate safety net, and growth in foreign markets is bringing added regulatory concerns in terms of crop protection tools and maximum residue limits. There is a distinct need to prepare our farmers for these all of these transitions.
Our proposed "Audience Emphasis" was extremely accurate as we focused on beginning and retiring producers, many of whom were in attendance as this particular meeting attracted over 90% of cultivated wild rice farmers in Minnesota. Wild rice farmers are considered to be "specialty crop producers" as well.
More than anything, attendance and participation in this event was driven by a strong agenda, one which addressed the topics farmers themselves identified as the most important to their operations. In-person learning is the most effective and impactful for this group because it included the opportunity to interact informally with speakers. Additionally, the location of the event was centrally located to all the major cultivated wild rice-producing areas in Minnesota. More than 70 participants attended, 40 of whom were cultivated wild rice farmers.
The outcomes of this project were a better understanding on the part of cultivated wild rice farmers of 1) the importance of transition plans and the things farmers should consider and include in these plans, as well as how to create/execute a formal plan; 2) the safety net available to them in terms of crop insurance (not being a Title 1 crop or Specialty Crop limits their safety net options); and 3) the impacts of foreign regulations (i.e., pesticide MRLs). By the feedback we received from participants following the event, we strongly believe all of the intended outcomes of the project were achieved.