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Community rallies for 'Farming In Faith'

By
Lori Sorenson

“Farming is an occupation that requires a tremendous amount of faith,” Rev. Billy Skaggs told about 60 people at Thursday night’s Farming in Faith event in Luverne.
Skaggs is pastor of Living Rock Church, which hosted the gathering in Grand Prairie Events in response to increasing stresses on the farming community.
Farmers across the region are up against a fourth year in a row of record low farm income, continuous wet weather that’s preventing planting and hurting livestock operations and a global trade war that’s hurting ag markets.
Farmers are no strangers to adversity, but the combination of hardships over an increasing length of time is wearing on their resiliency, according to organizers of Thursday’s gathering.
“I felt really strongly that we needed to do something for our farming community,” said Tor Boen, a Rock County farmer and member of Living Rock Church.
“I wanted to do something that would offer some hope. … If one person benefits from this in some way, then we’ve done our job.”
The event resembled both a church service and farm seminar. It started and ended with prayer and singing, and included ag business tips and spiritual guidance for handling stress.
 
Stress of the unknowns
Lucas Peters, a marketing rep with NAU Crop Insurance, helped the group focus on ag business priorities at hand.
For example, they need to take stock of how much corn they’ve planted and how much corn didn’t get planted by May 31 and record that information with their crop insurance agents.
“Talk to your agent about your options,” Peters said. “If you decide to keep planting, keep track of how many acres were planted on which dates. It’s very important to keep your records in order this spring.”
Corn has to be planted by May 31 in order to qualify for full crop insurance coverage.
Producers that missed that deadline have a host of options to consider — plant late, don’t plant, switch to soybeans, plant something else …
At stake are a host of outcomes with potential for major impact on farm revenue — insurance coverage, reduced yield, prevent plant payments, possible disaster compensation and more.
Not all options offer the same guarantees, and too many rely on variables yet to be determined. That’s why Peters cautioned producers to reach out for guidance.
He said the Land Management Office or Natural Resources Conservation Service may have options for cover crops on prevent plant acres.
“Talk to your agent on your crop insurance coverage, talk to your adjuster about your claim, and talk to the Land Management Office or Natural Resources Conservation Service about options for cover crops on prevent plant acres,” Peters said.
“And talk to each other. Go have a cup of coffee with other farmers … It’s good to get everyone in the same room like we are tonight, to realize we’re not alone.”
 
‘Don’t worry about anything; pray about everything’
Skaggs said this year’s combination of factors beyond the farmer’s control is perhaps what’s most stressful.
“We like to be in control, and when we’re not, it causes stress and anxiety,” he said. “And it can affect our families, our marriage and our health.”
In addition to caring for their health and wellbeing — like getting adequate rest, Skaggs urged farmers and community members to pray and trust God.
“You hear all the time, ‘I’ve done what I can and now all I can do is pray.’ But that’s the first thing we should do is pray,” Skaggs said.
He said remembering that God is in control is often the first step toward stress relief.
“You do the best you can — you put the crop in the ground — and then you have to trust the Lord with the rest,” he said.
He closed by reading from the Bible, Philippians Chapter 4, verses 6 and 7.
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done,” the passage reads.
“Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

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