Posts by kfeterl
Next in the Queue: Part 2 of our Farm Succession Miniseries
This week on Dirt Rich: Part 2 of our Farm Succession Miniseries. On April 27, look for our episode with Jerry Ford on transferring a farm with a legacy in conservation. Ford will describe his and his wife’s goals for succession (including living on the farm even after retirement) and his experience with both family and…
Read MoreDirt Rich: Farm Succession Miniseries Launches
Today we released the first of a three-part miniseries on farm succession. This first episode features a conversation with Megan Roberts, Executive Director of the Southern Agricultural Center of Excellence. Roberts has experienced many farm transitions: as a non-farm heir to her family dairy farm, as an in-law in a family farm transition, and as…
Read MoreDirt Rich: Grazing Cattle to Restore Oak Savanna in the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge
Using livestock to restore landscapes may seem like a contradiction, but oak savannas thrive with disturbance. Grazier Doug Voss and PhD candidate Austin Yantes are involved in a project at the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge, studying the results of carefully managed cattle grazing, tree thinning, and burning in striving to meet Sherburne’s ecological goals. The…
Read MoreDirt Rich: Managing Spring Grazing
With springtime around the corner, we’re revisiting our 2021 episode on managing spring grazing. When is the best time to turn the cows out? Kent Solberg and Jared Luhman dig into this decision that sets you up for the rest of the grazing season. It can be awful tempting to get started as soon as…
Read MoreA View from the Summit, Part 2
Read Part 1 here. Recently, I shared some moments from the first day of our Midwest Soil Health Summit. Our second day was more tailored to crop and livestock farmers, and it was a delight to see over half of our guests attend both days, regardless of their focus. There’s always something to learn. Featured…
Read MoreA View from the Summit, Part 1
What a simple joy it was to come together again for the Midwest Soil Health Summit! Fruit, vegetable, and perennial presentations kicked the Summit off on Tuesday, March 8. After a welcome from Commissioner Thom Petersen, Sarah Lindblom presented the opening plenary, encouraging attendees to apply a systems thinking approach to soil health. Lindblom also…
Read MoreDirt Rich Returns!
Dirt Rich is back, kicking off our third season with pasture-raised chickens by one of our own! When Jared and Valerie Luhmans’ customers started requesting soy- and corn-free chicken, they decided to try making some changes to the way they raised their flock on pasture in order to see how they might sustainably meet this…
Read MoreHeirloom Apples & Craft Cider
Mehgan Blair (Lake Superior Chapter) and Nate Watters (Cannon River Chapter) are two orchardists and hyper-local craft cidermakers in different Minnesota landscapes. Blair and her family steward a historic dairy farm with an heirloom orchard in Duluth: Canosia Grove. Icelandic sheep are their “land managers,” grazing and conditioning the soil to expand their orchard. Watters…
Read MoreConventional to Kernza®: A Soil Health Journey
Kaleb Anderson is the third generation of his family farm in Goodhue, Minnesota, and grew up with a conventional ag background. Living in the Driftless region, soil degradation and erosion were always a big concern. Since moving back onto the farm in 2006, Anderson has adjusted practices and diversified the business. He would say that…
Read MoreDirt 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…
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