Archive for November 2021
Dirt Rich: (Pastured) Turkey Talk
This week on Dirt Rich, we’re revisiting our episode on the bird of the hour: turkeys! Kathy Zeman pasture-raises a veritable menagerie: goats, sheep, pigs, ducks, geese, turkeys, broilers, hens, meat rabbits, and honeybees graze her twenty acres at Simple Harvest Farm Organics. The array of animals she raises now ensures she never has to…
Read MoreBuild farm resilience when you Give to the Max
My name is Jared Luhman, Soil Health Lead for the Sustainable Farming Association, SFA member, and grazier in southeast Minnesota. 2021 was a challenging year for farmers across the state. With Covid increasing the demand for local meat along with shortages of processing and possibly the worst drought in decades, we were challenged. The thing…
Read MoreDirt Rich: Studying Soil Health
On this week’s episode of Dirt Rich, Dr. Anna Cates, the State Soil Health Specialist for the Minnesota Office for Soil Health (MOSH), discusses the roles and interplay of both scientific research and anecdotes in soil health education and implementation with host Jared Luhman. In her opinion, both are quite valuable in making the case…
Read MoreDirt Rich: Field Notes
We’re shaking things up! My cohost and colleague Jared Luhman and I are playing the roles of both guests and hosts (ghosts?) in today’s episode. Join us for some “field notes” as we reflect on the past year: drought challenges and lessons, in-field experiences across the state, hopeful moments, and observations from different spaces in…
Read MoreLuhman: Lightening the Load
So often people fear that in order to improve their soil health and regenerate their soil it will come at the expense of their profitability and the success of their farming business. And while it is true that adopting regenerative farming practices can be a learning experience, and sometimes that comes with yield hits or…
Read MoreFrom the Executive Director: Our Strength is in Our Staff
In the two months since I joined the SFA staff as incoming Executive Director, I’ve taken every opportunity I can to attend field days, workshops, chapter meetings and events. One of my top priorities is to observe and understand the work we do alongside our partners and get to know some members. The events I’ve…
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