Foreign ag attachés visit Wells farm

Sep. 22—Technology, precision farming and conservation were of high interest to a group of agriculture trade officials from around the world as they visited a corn and soybean farm near Wells.

Forty agricultural attachés representing 20 countries were at one of the Johnson family farms Wednesday to get an up close look at the operation from Darrin Johnson.

Each year, the USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service organizes a trip to showcase United States crops to agricultural attachés and this year brought a group to Minnesota.

Johnson, who serves as vice president of the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association, has had many trade groups visit his farm, including from China, Taiwan and the Philippines, but this is the first time for a visit from the Foreign Ag Service.

There are 99 different FAS locations around the world.

"They just want to learn and see about our farming practices. They want to be able to take it back to the country they're working with to tell them how the American farmer is being as efficient as they can but also using conservation and stewardship practices," Johnson said.

He said that while conservation efforts are important to trade partners, he stresses to visitors that there isn't a one-size-fits-all approach.

"Conservation practices are different from one county to the next based on topography, soil types and the crops you're growing. So we tell them about the different practices."

The attachés, who came from France, Australia, Niger, South Korea, Netherlands and many other countries, were particularly interested in the new technologies Johnson and other farmers are using.

He showed them one piece of equipment that applies nutrients to the fields in the fall. Based on highly detailed soil analysis of every square foot of a farm field, the equipment applies only the amount of fertilizer needed in any given area as it moves across the field.

Johnson talked about the dizzying array of technology being used, including drones that can go into fields and apply weed killer precisely to specific areas rather than spraying the entire field.

And he pointed to a large tractor in the machine shed, saying he could start it and close the doors in the shed and you'd smell virtually no exhaust.

"These tractors burn cleaner than any car on the road," Johnson said.

The attachés are in the state for the week and will visit ag-related venues across Minnesota. Earlier on Wednesday they visited a commercial tomato greenhouse near Owatonna and Hormel in Austin, including the Spam Museum, where many bought Spam-related sweatshirts and other items.

Soybeans are Minnesota's top agricultural export. Corn is second and pork exports are third.

Johnson said the state's location offers some export advantages.

"Minnesota is kind of unique. We can ship to the Pacific Northwest, We can ship on the St. Lawrence Seaway to the east and we can ship down the Mississippi River, so we have a lot of options where we can go."

He said the Soybean Association, headquartered in Mankato, is an active promoter of exports. "The Minnesota Soybean Association is very strong and active and has a lot of leaders who take time to meet with these attachés and other leaders.

This summer Johnson was part of a trade trip to the Philippines, which is the top international purchaser of U.S. soybean meal and the eighth largest market for U.S. agricultural exports, averaging $3.1 billion annually.