Grazing
Dirt 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 MoreA Growing Culture of Soil Health
On the latest episode of our Dirt Rich podcast series, Theresa Keaveny calls up Troy Daniell, NRCS State Conservationist. Personally, I really enjoyed listening to their conversation unfold on soil health work in Minnesota, the role livestock play, and land healing and resilience. An ecologist by training and passion, he says “we’ve always got to be in…
Read MoreDirt Rich Hits the Airwaves
We’re excited to announce the debut of SFA’s new podcast series: Dirt Rich. Each episode will bring you a seasonal conversation on food and farming, and highlight the regenerative agriculture work in Minnesota. As you know, there’s a wealth of knowledge in the farmer-to-farmer network, and plenty of people willing to share their experiences. Farmers,…
Read MoreDGA Update: Develop, Improve Skills With Our New Borrower Training Program
The Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship has some exciting news to share! DGA has been approved as a national vendor for FSA’s Borrower Training Program. Farm Service Agency, which requires financial management training for its beginning farmer loan agreements, has approved DGA to provide that training nationwide. FSA works with local and national vendors to help borrowers…
Read MoreDGA Update: Data Show Resilient Dairy Farms Typically Smaller, High-Quality & Well-Planned
Recently I attended the Women in Ag Conference in Willmar, where I attended several sessions on farm topics. There was one that really hit home with me. It was called, “Building Resilient Dairy Farms.” Agricultural resilience is about equipping farmers to absorb and recover from shocks and stresses to their agricultural production and livelihoods. Right…
Read MoreDGA Update: MDA Report Illustrates Issues Facing Emerging Farmers
The demographic of farmers is changing as more women and minority groups are getting involved in agriculture. The Minnesota Dept. of Agriculture has been busy making a plan to help these emerging farmers; Patrice Bailey, MDA assistant commissioner, started by hosting six listening sessions around the state to discover how we can help advance the…
Read MoreDGA Update: Grazing Innovation Center Now Open to the Public
Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship has its own course offering that has been traditionally for apprentices going through the DGA program, the Managed Grazing Innovation Center. It is also now available to Masters, Interns, and the public for the first time! The MGIC currently has seven different offerings. In the fall, you can take Dairy Cattle Health…
Read MoreDGA Update: Hiring Support Another Benefit Provided to Master Graziers
Farmers are busy people who often don’t have extra time in their day. If you are a Master Grazier in the Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship program, DGA will advertise a job opening for you! This is one of the many advantages of being involved with DGA as a Master Grazier. DGA wants to help you find…
Read MoreSolberg on Soil: Wide-Row Corn Can Generate Two Income Streams
There has been considerable buzz about 60-inch corn rows, and several Minnesota producers are dabbling with this idea. Here’s an article summarizing what some Iowa innovators are learning. If you grow crops and have beef or dairy replacements you would like to graze on corn stubble, wide-row corn with interseeded cover crops may generate two income streams…
Read MoreSolberg on Soil: The Basics of Creating Wildlife Habitat
Creating wildlife habitat is often cited among landowners and farmers as a reason to alter management on their land, including moving to a focus on soil health. For some species generalists such as deer, downy woodpeckers and Canada geese, this is easy as they can thrive in suburban areas, golf courses and parks as well…
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