Conservation & Restoration
Kernza Ale Taste & Tour
Enjoy a brew and take a tour with your friends at the Twin Cities Metro Growers Network at Finnegans! Join the TC Growers on a brewery tour featuring Finnegans’ new Buckwheat Honey Brown Kernza Ale on Thursday, March 30, 4:30-7:30 PM. Minnesota farmers and researchers are at the forefront of developing Kernza, a perennial wheatgrass with…
Read More$1k for ‘Climate Smart’ Farms
How does an extra $1,000 sound to you? How could that help your farm? What would you spend the $1,000 on? Maybe a new piece of equipment for your farming operation? Maybe a vacation to escape the long MN winter? You can spend it on anything that you want! How do you get this extra…
Read MoreBeyond Your Backyard: Better with Beavers
By Megan Benage I recently took a long winter break through January as I recovered from surgery. I wish I could share that I spent that time brushing up on my ecological knowledge and am now ready to share lots of cool and interesting facts about the natural world with all of you. Unfortunately, if…
Read MoreDig Deep at the Midwest Soil Health Summit
Our flagship soil health event in the region, the Midwest Soil Health Summit, is celebrating its 10th year of networking, sharing, and education on all things soil health and regenerative agriculture! This year we are bringing internationally acclaimed soil microbiologist Dr. Elaine Ingham, who nearly four decades ago discovered the soil food web, and has pioneered research and…
Read MoreBeyond Your Backyard: Snow Covered Prairies
For southern Minnesota at least it seems winter is truly here. As I watched the snow falling (and inevitably then blowing) outside my window today I was as enchanted as I always am when I’m tucked away in my warm house. Snow always seems to make winter feel more cozy. Its sparkling snowflakes cloak the…
Read MoreSlate of Experts to Convene at 2023 Midwest Soil Health Summit
Dave Brandt, Gene Goven, Dr. Elaine Ingham, and local experts including Anna Cates, PhD and our own Kent Solberg are among the presenters at the 2023 Midwest Soil Health Summit: Pioneering the Future: The Soil Health Mavericks. SFA’s premier soil health event will be held at the Holiday Inn in Alexandria, Minnesota on March 8 and…
Read MorePioneering the Future: The Soil Health Mavericks
SFA’s premier soil health event, the Midwest Soil Health Summit, will be held at the Holiday Inn in Alexandria, Minnesota on March 8 and 9, 2023. Join pioneering experts in the soil health world from near and far for our 10th annual Summit! Featured speakers include Dave Brandt, Gene Goven, Dr. Elaine Ingham, and local…
Read MoreBeyond Your Backyard: Prairies do that
I feel like I blinked and suddenly it’s November! I’m always impressed with how quickly time can move and how slow it can seem under other circumstances (ahem is it 4:30 yet on a work day?). I’ve spent the summer how I spend most summers—immersed in the prairies and fens of southern Minnesota. Now that…
Read MoreSeeing the farm with fresh eyes
A wonderful aspect of our farmer-to-farmer network is the energy and idea generation that happens when we’re together. Sometimes getting a new set of eyes on a challenge that you’re experiencing can spur a sustainable solution. Beyond our group field days and workshops, SFA has a team of farmers that offer individualized, on-farm consulting to…
Read MoreFunding for ‘Climate Smart’ Farms
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) received a $100,000 grant from the McKnight Foundation to help farmers develop climate-smart farming practices that can mitigate climate change and build farm resiliency while cultivating a new income stream. The money will be used for the new Climate Smart Farms Project, part of the Minnesota Ag Water Quality…
Read More