Conservation & Restoration
Luhman: FAMP Helps Minnesota’s Northwoods Adapt
This week I wanted to share an opportunity for SFA farmers to transition the northwoods. Below is an article about the Forest Assisted Migration Project, authored by Joel Bransky, David Abazs, Gabrea Francis, and Leah Karmaker. -Jared The northwoods of Minnesota are steadily disappearing. Researchers predict the forests in northeastern Minnesota will continue to decline as grasslands move…
Read MoreBeyond Your Backyard: Mussel Mania
As the weather gets crisp, I find myself thinking of Halloween and what great costumes I could make with a bucket of papier-mâché and a will to create. Even though Halloween will likely be different this year as everything has been, that’s no reason not to come up with a stellar costume. And what better…
Read MoreMeet the Regenerative Grazier: Tyler Carlson
This interview with Tyler Carlson originally appeared in the Silvopasture Learning Network’s first e-newsletter. The Silvopasture Learning Network is a project to research effective silvopasture practices and innovations, and educate farmers, agricultural and natural resource professionals and conservationists throughout the state on silvopasture and oak savanna restoration principles and practices. SLN is a partnership among…
Read MoreBeyond Your Backyard: The Magic Lights of Summer
“Oh hey, can you please turn your outdoor lights off at night? I’ve got some fireflies trying to mate in my backyard and you’re ruining their date night.” These are the neighbor chats we ecologists have. Outdoor lights can interfere with female fireflies being able to see the male signal (and flash back depending on…
Read MoreBeyond Your Backyard: Good or Bad?
Good or bad? I’ve been asked this question a lot in my career. Is haying good or bad? Is grazing good or bad? Is fire good or bad for the prairie? The answer is always the same: a question. What time of year? How short are you haying? How often? How many animals? What kind?…
Read MoreBeyond Your Backyard: A Place to Be Broken
When I was a little girl and I would get in trouble, I often ran to the forest. My brother and I had a grapevine that hung across the creek that ran by our house. We’d hook it around a tree stump on one side, stretching it out so that when you unhooked it and…
Read MoreBeyond your Backyard: July is Grassland Month in Minnesota
Holy wow! We just finished celebrating Pollinator Week and now we slide right into Grassland Month for all of July! The cake just doesn’t stop over here. Did you know that prairies are incredibly complex systems? They are powerhouses at production. In fact, those rich deep soils are why much of this area has been…
Read MoreDirt Rich Episode 5: To Clip, or Not to Clip?
The latest episode of Dirt Rich gets into clipping: a pasture management tool with a lot of potential so long as it is used in the right context, as members of our Soil Health Team remind us. Kent Solberg and Doug Voss discuss a variety of factors to take into consideration as you decide whether…
Read MoreBeyond Your Backyard: Little Things That Make the World Go ‘Round
June 22-28 is National Pollinator week. One week to celebrate the little things that make the world go round. What’s all the buzz? Pollinators are a huge group of insects with species that have different life histories, biologies, and needs. They boggle the mind at all that they’re doing right under our noses and we…
Read MoreBeyond Your Backyard: Diversity and Connection
Editor’s Note: Megan Benage of New Ulm is an ecologist who works to conserve and restore prairies, grasslands, and savannas with a focus on diversity, pollinators, and working collaboratively with agriculture producers to integrate conservation across the landscape. This will be a recurring feature. Hear more from Megan at the Prairie Pod. I’ve been thinking…
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