Eye on Agriculture Guide

Bear hunt lottery applications available
Prospective bear hunters have until Friday, May 3 to apply for a bear hunting license from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Applications for the 2024 season can be submitted online, at any license agent or by telephone at 888-665-4236.
A total of 4,030 licenses are available in 15 quota areas where licenses are limited for the 2024 season, which opens Sunday, Sept. 1, and closes Sunday, Oct. 13.
The number of licenses available each year in the quota area is based on Minnesota’s bear population trends for those areas. The trends indicate the bear population has stabilized and is slowly increasing, in part because of recent conservative license quotas. License quotas for the 2024 season are similar to those available for the 2023 season.
Bear hunters who plan to apply for bear permit area 51 should review the boundaries for newly created bear permit area 53 to ensure they select the right area they intend to hunt. Twenty licenses will be available in area 53, which DNR created at the request of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.
Lottery winners will be notified by Saturday, June 1. The deadline to purchase bear hunting licenses awarded by lottery is Thursday, Aug. 1. Any remaining unpurchased licenses will be available over the counter starting at noon on Tuesday, Aug. 6.
An unlimited number of bear licenses also will be sold over-the-counter for the no-quota area that includes east-central and far northwestern Minnesota. No-quota licenses are valid only in the no-quota area.
Hunters with either a quota or no-quota license who are interested in taking a problem bear should contact the DNR wildlife manager (mndnr.gov/areas/wildlife) for their area(s) of interest to be added to the hunter contact list for any opportunities that might arise.
Complete instructions about how to apply for a bear hunting license, maps of permit areas and a listing of permit availability for each area are available on the Minnesota DNR website (mndnr.gov/hunting/bear).

Minnesota Hemp Growers and Processors Must Apply by April 30 for 2024 Season
St. Paul, MN: Those wanting to grow and process hemp in Minnesota in 2024 must apply for a license with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) by April 30. To date, about 113 people have applied for an MDA license. A license from the MDA is required for individuals and businesses.
Applications must be submitted by April 30, 2024, and a license is valid for the 2024 calendar year.
The application can be found on the MDA website. Along with the online form, first-time applicants and authorized representatives need to submit fingerprints and pass a criminal background check. These licenses are for growing and processing industrial hemp only. The hemp grower or processor application is not for the growth or sale of adult-use or medical cannabis. The application is also not intended for the sale of hemp-derived cannabinoid products. Adult-use cannabis information can be found on the Office of Cannabis Management website. Information related to medical cannabis and hemp-derived cannabinoid products can be found at the Minnesota Department of Health website.
License fees will remain the same. The minimum cost of a grower license is $400. A processing license is a minimum of $500.
Questions about the MDA’s Industrial Hemp Program should be sent to hemp.mda@state.mn.us or 651-201-6600.

Upper Sioux Community and State of Minnesota mark the return of sacred land
March 15, tribal and state officials gathered to enact the official transfer of the state-owned land that was within the boundaries of Upper Sioux Agency State Park to the Upper Sioux Community (Pezihutazizi Oyate).
“After years of work, I’m grateful to mark the official return of this land to the Yellow Medicine Dakota People,” said Governor Walz. “In 2019, Chairman Kevin Jensvold shared with me the history and significance of this land to the Yellow Medicine People. Together as partners — Tribal, state, and federal — we worked to return the land to its original caretakers. This isn’t us doing the right thing, we are simply undoing the wrong thing.”
The transferred land is the sacred homeland of Dakota people. It was also the site of starvation and death of native people during the summer of 1862 when the United States government did not provide food promised by treaty. Today, descendants of those who died shared their stories as part of the land transfer ceremony.
Consistent with legislation enacted in 2023, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources closed Upper Sioux Agency State Park on February 16, 2024, marking an important step toward today’s transfer of the land to the Upper Sioux Community.
“This land transfer is an important moment in our state’s history. Given its significance to Dakota people and the tragic events that took place there, it was inappropriate to continue to operate a park at that site,” DNR Commissioner Sarah Strommen said. “Minnesota DNR has been honored and humbled to have worked with the Upper Sioux Community on the return this land to the Community. We now look forward to continuing to explore new recreation opportunities in the Minnesota River Valley.”

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