Education
DGA Update: Ag Water Certified Farms Show Higher Profits
A new study by the Minnesota State Agricultural Centers of Excellence shows that farmers enrolled in the Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program (MAWQCP) had higher profits than non-certified farms. The MN Ag Water Quality Certification Program is a voluntary program for farmers and landowners that protects the state’s water resources by putting farmers in…
Read MoreQuick Cover Crops Guide and other New Soil Health Resources
A few new soil health resources for growers have been added to our website in the past few months, created by Conservation Connector Sarah Lindblom. The newest is a Quick Cover Crops Guide that can help you identify your needs in the context of the land you’re working with, and the cover crops that may…
Read MoreDGA Update: Fair Season Celebrates Farmers
It’s fair season in MN! Next week is the start of the Minnesota State Fair. The first Minnesota State Fair was held in 1859 near what became downtown Minneapolis. This was a year after Minnesota was granted statehood. During the fair’s early years, the site of the exposition changed annually with stops in Minneapolis, St.…
Read MorePodcast: Growing Grazing Dairy Farmers
Angie Walter and her husband Nate run an organic dairy in Central Minnesota, and are also masters in the Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship program. Today’s episode of Dirt Rich features them in conversation with their first apprentice, Ryan Heinen, who now manages a dairy in Waukesha, Wisconsin. His passion for ecology and restoration led him to…
Read MoreDGA Update: Take the lead in protecting water
SFA has partnered with NRCS to promote the MN Ag Water Quality Certification Program (MAWQCP). This program is supported by the Natural Resource Conservation Service’s Resource Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). There are currently 1,085 farms certified in the MAWQCP making up 780,000 acres. The MAWQCP is a voluntary opportunity for farmers and agricultural landowners to…
Read MoreTwin Cities Metro Growers Network Tours Holistic Health Farms
The heat didn’t stop Twin Cities Metro Growers Network from enjoying our very first live, in-person event of 2021! About 20 metro growers gathered for a tour at Holistic Health Farms in St. Paul to learn about creative crop cultivation in small spaces. Tim Page and Cherry Flowers showed us the ginger, garlic, turmeric, tomatoes, galangal, herb…
Read MoreDirt Rich: Growing a CSA from 8 to 80
Get to know our SFA Community Organizer and Outreach Coordinator, Dan Zimmerli, in today’s episode of Dirt Rich! Dan farms full time with his wife at Cedar Crate Farm southeast of Mankato, growing produce for their CSA members. They started out with 8 members in their first season in 2015, and six seasons later they’ve…
Read MoreLuhman: New Soil Health for Fruit and Vegetable Growers Resources
Soil Health is an incredible concept but can be difficult to implement because how we create soil health can be different on every single farm. A practice that works in one area may not work in another, and practices that work in one type of production system may not work in another production system. The important…
Read MoreLuhman: A Good time to Share Your Regenerative Story
2020 was an interesting year, presenting countless challenges from not being able to see family and friends to roller-coaster rides of commodity markets. We saw processing plants shut down, leaving store shelves empty and farmyards full of livestock. But one silver lining of all these challenges was that demand went through the roof for local,…
Read MorePodcast: Family Dairies & Apprenticeships
“My hope for dairy in the future…is trying to keep these small family farms alive.” Angie Walter runs an organic, grazing dairy farm with her family in central Minnesota. The family of four raise 100 Norwegian Red, Red Holstein, and Guernsey crosses on 370 acres. Angie is also the Central Minnesota Education Coordinator for the…
Read More