Livestock
Luhman: Dealing with Drought
It is time for Minnesota livestock producers to get creative with how we are going to feed our cow herds through the winter. Below are a few things that we can consider. If you are a crop farmer who has never considered bringing livestock onto the farm, there are livestock producers who need your help.…
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 MoreLuhman: Drought Resources
I wanted to take a moment to share a little bit of information that may be helpful during this drought we are experiencing in 2021. Forage and hay is in short supply and when it can be found it is expensive. If you are in need of forage, there are a few places that you…
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 MoreDirt Rich: Pastured Pork & an Incubator Farm
“What else is livestock farming but sort of a dance and a balance between farmer happiness, livestock happiness, and soil health happiness?” Dayna Burtness discusses her “pastured pig-centric farm,” marketing enterprise, and incubator farm near Spring Grove, in the Driftless region of Minnesota. Dayna is the sixth generation in her family to farm in Houston…
Read MoreDGA Update: The Pasture Productivity Pail
I attended a field day last week about the Pasture Productivity Pail (PPP). This pail contains a set of tools used to make informed decisions on pasture management and improvement. It is modeled after and complements the NRCS Soil Health Bucket. The PPP provides additional information on many above-ground factors that influence pasture productivity. It…
Read MoreLuhman: Drought
I wanted to take a moment to share a little bit of information that may be helpful during this drought we are experiencing in 2021. Forage and hay is in short supply and when it can be found it is expensive. If you are in need of forage, there are a few places that you…
Read MoreDirt Rich: Silvopasture Library Revisited
In anticipation of our trio of silvopasture field days and workshops next week, we wanted to highlight the five episodes we’ve made that cover this management approach with ecological and indigenous origins: Episode 9: “Silvopasture in Minnesota” with SFA’s Tyler Carlson and Jared Luhman. Episode 10: “Implementing Silvopasture” with SFA’s Tyler Carlson and Jared Luhman.…
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…
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