Members
New Staff Spotlight: Andrea Lynn
This month we welcomed Andrea Lynn to the team as our new Grant Administrator Specialist. Andrea lives in New Ulm with her three children, fifty-two chickens, and Australian Shepard/Husky mix puppy, Maui. Since 2019 she has owned and operated a regenerative specialty crop, free-range egg, and agritourism farm – Clear Lake Farms. Andrea has crafted…
Read MoreDirt Rich: Grazing Tech – Paddock Track
On the latest episode of Dirt Rich, Organic dairy grazier Angie Walter shares her experience using PaddockTrac, a grazing tool being developed by the University of Missouri. Angie’s family runs a 100-cow organic dairy in Villard, Minn., grazing 80-100 acres at any given time. Theirs and 12 other Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship farms are piloting the PaddockTrac…
Read MoreAnnual Conference a Smash
“This year’s conference had such an amazing energy to it. With 17 sessions on a wide variety of topics, a number of first-time exhibitors, a book and apple scion wood swap, and a day-long opportunity to catch up with old friends over coffee and banana bread, I’m not sure how we’re going to top it next year.”
Read MoreBeyond Your Backyard: Snow Covered Prairies
For southern Minnesota at least it seems winter is truly here. As I watched the snow falling (and inevitably then blowing) outside my window today I was as enchanted as I always am when I’m tucked away in my warm house. Snow always seems to make winter feel more cozy. Its sparkling snowflakes cloak the…
Read MoreFrom the Executive Director: A New Website in the New Year
My first full year at SFA sped by in a blur of meeting members, attending events and forging relationships with our partners, allies and funders. It was also the year we decided to take on the challenge of designing and a new SFA website, a team effort led by Laura Borgendale, with assistance from Katie…
Read MoreSlate of Experts to Convene at 2023 Midwest Soil Health Summit
Dave Brandt, Gene Goven, Dr. Elaine Ingham, and local experts including Anna Cates, PhD and our own Kent Solberg are among the presenters at the 2023 Midwest Soil Health Summit: Pioneering the Future: The Soil Health Mavericks. SFA’s premier soil health event will be held at the Holiday Inn in Alexandria, Minnesota on March 8 and…
Read MoreSeason 3 Comes to a Close
Somehow we’ve already reached the end of our third season of Dirt Rich. This month we released two episodes with our staff, finishing out the year with some food for thought as folks plan for the next growing season. In Episode 61: What’s on your mind?, Jared Luhman, Doug Voss, Kent Solberg, and Jonathan Kilpatrick…
Read MoreConsults & Conferences
In this episode of Dirt Rich, Katie Feterl and Jared Luhman discuss SFA’s on-farm consulting offering, Give to the Max and SFA membership, and highlight two big upcoming events: Annual Conference and Midwest Soil Health Summit. Listen to Dirt Rich anywhere you get your podcasts, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Podbean, YouTube, and on the SFA website.…
Read MoreCaring for our Mental Health
At an event I attended before Thanksgiving, the topic came up about farmers and mental health. This is such an important topic and one that is not talked about enough! It is imperative that all farmers spend time taking care of their physical health and mental health. There has always been a stigma around this…
Read MorePioneering the Future: The Soil Health Mavericks
SFA’s premier soil health event, the Midwest Soil Health Summit, will be held at the Holiday Inn in Alexandria, Minnesota on March 8 and 9, 2023. Join pioneering experts in the soil health world from near and far for our 10th annual Summit! Featured speakers include Dave Brandt, Gene Goven, Dr. Elaine Ingham, and local…
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