Posts by kfeterl
Dirt Rich: Fundamentals of Adaptive Grazing
In the latest episode of Dirt Rich, you’ll hear a presentation that our Soil Health Specialist Jonathan Kilpatrick gave on adaptive grazing at a recent field day. He’ll bring you through the fundamentals, always keeping in mind the importance of context in grazing management. Jonathan believes that grazing is one of the most powerful forces we…
Read MoreDirt Rich: Get to Know Jonathan Kilpatrick
In the latest episode of our podcast series, Dirt Rich, Jared Luhman sits down with our new Soil Health Specialist, Jonathan Kilpatrick. Jonathan comes to Minnesota after several years in several states, where he built a diverse background in agricultural work. He grew up farming with his family, eventually building up a 250-300 member CSA…
Read MoreDirt Rich: Soil lab tests for regenerative ag
There are many tests you can do yourself on your farm to measure soil health, and we’ve talked about some of them before (check out Episode 47: Four DIY Soil Health Tests). In this new episode of Dirt Rich, Jared interviews Lance Gunderson of Regen Ag Lab on the utility of lab soil testing, particularly…
Read MoreTC Growers Visit St. Paul; Minneapolis
The Twin Cities Metro Growers Network was busy in June, fitting in two farm visits in a week! A small but mighty group of growers and local foods supporters gathered to explore Prairie Smoke Gardens in St. Paul on June 3. Katie and Madrone Kubovcik led us through the “neighborhood supported agriculture” operation on a…
Read MoreGoats at Work in Theodore Wirth Park
Enjoy this clip of the herd resting after what must have been an *exhausting* morning of eating. Diversity Landworks and Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board are working together to restore ecological health to neglected, graze-obligate lands with livestock. The Ecological Service Livestock Network (ESLN) paid a visit to Theodore Wirth Park in Minneapolis for a tour…
Read MoreDirt Rich: What’s a REKO Ring?
Finnish farmer Thomas Snellman coined the concept of REKO Rings in 2013, and in the last few years they’ve begun to sprout in Wisconsin and Minnesota. This unique model of a local food market is connecting thousands of eaters directly to their local farmers using regional Facebook groups for each ring. To explain how REKO…
Read MoreDirt Rich: Endorsed for Water Quality
“I went in thinking I wouldn’t have to do a darn thing.” Farmer Dale Buendorf was well on his way to becoming certified through the Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program at the outset, having implemented no-till and strip-till on his acres of corn and soybeans. While working with his certifier, Herman Bartsch, they discovered…
Read MoreRestoring Oak Savanna
As we approach our big field day at the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge that will demonstrate targeted grazing to restore oak savanna, we thought it would be a good time to revisit this episode with Tyler Carlson and Stephen Thomforde we released last February. Tyler and Stephen pick up their conversation on oak savanna from Episode…
Read MoreThree Conversations on Farm Succession
Today we released the final part of Dirt Rich’s Farm Succession Miniseries. Over the last three weeks, the podcast series has featured guests with varying experiences in farm transitions, succession, and estate planning: Megan Roberts, farmer and Executive Director of the Southern Agricultural Center of Excellence; Jerry Ford, SFA and Living Song Farm; and today’s…
Read MoreDirt Rich: Transferring a Land Ethic Legacy Farm
Jerry Ford and Mariénne Kreitlow are the fourth generation on a farm with a legacy in conservation. Living Song Farm sits on highly erodible land near Minnesota’s Crow River, but the practices introduced in the 1940’s by Mariénne’s father, Willard Kreitlow, have generated topsoil for decades. Jerry and Mariénne share Willard’s land ethic, and have…
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