On the job with ... Eli Gindele

 

Eli Gindele is the University of Minnesota Extension Educator for Clearwater and Polk Counties. 

“What got me interested in my career in horticulture and agriculture is planting tulips with my mom when I was quite young, and gardening,” Eli says. “I grew up in a family of five kids, and it was ideal to have a big garden. I took over the large garden as a young boy, about 12 years old. My first job was milking cows for my neighbor at their nearby farm at age 14.”

Eli spent about 10 years in 4-H in the St. Michael, Minnesota area where he grew up and went to high school. The family raised ducks, chickens and goats on the hobby farm, and some of those were among his 4-H projects. 

“I got to go to the State Fair a number of times, and had several roles in our club. I was a County Ambassador, and also on the Advisory Council. I got to start college a year early through the Post Secondary Enrollment Option (PSEO).” 

Eli went to the University of Wisconsin at River Falls south of Hudson, Wisconsin where he studied  Crop Science, the study of plant diseases, agronomy (field crops) and horticulture, which is to do with vegetable production, greenhouse, landscaping, and gardening. He participated in a number of summer internships during college, ranging from being a gopher and a crop scout at the Centra Sota Coop in Santiago, Minnesota; to site safety for trucks during the oil boom in Dickinson, North Dakota. One summer was spent scouting the potato fields around Central Sands, Wisconsin looking for diseases and beetles for Pest Pros. 

“These positions helped me with the agronomy studies, and to get some loans paid off,” Eli is glad to say. 

When he graduated, Eli helped the University of Wisconsin in Madison with plant pathology vegetable trials, and Soil Science technician – researching a project including the integration of cover crops and manure for corn silage yield. 

On January 14, 2017 Eli took a new turn in his career when he came to Bagley to become the part time University of Minnesota Extension Educator for Clearwater and Polk Counties. He says there are a great many things for him to begin working on to accomplish in this job.

“I want to get a strong foothold in the community by getting out and making more farm visits,” he says as a major goal of his job. “I want to use agronomy and On-Farm Research data about soil sampling, plant populations and fertilizer rates to start.”

“We have a Green Bean Initiative planned to support green beans at the County Fair for the ‘ One Vegetable – One Community’   program.” 

One of the goals Eli has planned in the future is to get connected with the master gardening program. 

“There are a lot of garden clubs in this area. I’ d like to do an on-line screening of the program here at the Court House.”

“Another goal I have planned is to do Rain Garden projects through the Lake Associations. This is to slow down the water before it runs into the lakes late in summer to balance the shoreline habitats.”  

“We have been in tough times with drought conditions for about ten years in northern Minnesota, with rains bringing some relief last year. It helps to be open to changing weather patterns, with 10-year and 5-year storms much more frequent, and the longer season in fall which affect the plant growth. 

Eli says different amounts of rain falls and droughts require different management practices. It is important to choose the right varieties of crops and fertilizers for this area and the wide range of soil types that occur in Clearwater County. 

“The soils in northern Minnesota range from beach sand to loams, then rocks. Looking at what the data from the University of Minnesota variety trials show can help take out the emotions from choosing what to plant. There is a limited amount of data for this area, but in time, he says there will be more information available. 

“We need to take out the emotional side and drive the statistics,” Eli says. “Soil testing can be helpful to get to know the best things that will maximize what will grow on the soils here. There are things that just don’  t work up here.”

“Crop rotation is a big key to economics,” is one thing Eli is adamant about when it comes to farming. “Beans and legumes such as alfalfa are good to break up hard pans. Some farmers raise crops for animal needs and others farm without animals for cash crops, so knowing your neighbor is key.” 

Eli says a big challenge for him is combining his previous focus of crops with animals raised here, such as beef cattle, for their feed and nutrition plans, and animal health.  

“This position is only three days a week (one in Clearwater, two in Polk), and there is so much more to do than I am able to accomplish in that time,” Eli says. 

Northern Minnesota is certainly going to give Eli many opportunities to pursue his hobbies, which include trapping, fishing, hiking and camping. But his favorite hobby still remains to be gardening. 

“I find gardening very relaxing and meditative,” he ponders, envisioning his future here. 

Eli’  s favorite Bible verse comes from 1 Samuel 16:7.

“The Lord does not look at things people look at. 

People look at the outward appearance, 

But the Lord looks at the heart.”