Grazing
The 1000 Farms Initiative
On Thursday March 10, we hosted a soil health event in Ivanhoe, MN highlighting the research and work done by Dr. Jonathan Lundgren and his team at Ecdysis, as well as Grant and Dawn Breitkreutz and their inspiring story of success with soil health on their crop and livestock farm near Redwood Falls. If you…
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 MoreManaging Land with Solar Grazing
Audrey Lomax manages the grazing enterprises of MNL, a Minnesota-based land management and restoration company that provides ecological products and services. One of the neat parts of her job is that she manages thousands of acres under solar arrays with their flock of 2500 Katahdin sheep. This service provides vegetation management and pollinator habitat in…
Read MoreLuhman: Connect with Your Cohort
I have heard more than once from farmers that it’s tough to find networks or resources related to the livestock that they raise. We wanted to create an opportunity for people to connect with others who are raising the same livestock in similar ways, and to ask questions and share ideas and information. To do…
Read MorePodcast: Local Meats and Processing in Southeast Minnesota
Meat processing has long been a challenge for local food producers in Minnesota. In the latest episode of Dirt Rich, we discuss meat production and processing in the southeast part of the state with Eric Klein of Hidden Stream Farm and Dover Processing. Klein’s diverse array of businesses compliment each other, both improving soil health…
Read MoreSpring calving in May keeps some challenges at bay
As many farmers are beginning what they call their “spring calving” here in January and early February, I am grateful that we have set our calving season back to true spring calving in May. I am writing this after coming in from morning chores of breaking ice off a tire tank for our heifer calves…
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 MorePayments for Hauling Water and Feed to Pasture
Attention to livestock producers with pasture: as a result of the drought we had this summer, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) has edited the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish program (ELAP) and it will now give producers payments for hauling water and feed to livestock on pasture. The payments are easy to…
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