Build Biodiversity or Bus(t) – A Grazing, Wildlife, and Cover Crops Tour

Join us for a full-day educational bus tour exploring the powerful intersection of regenerative grazing, cover crops, and wildlife habitat. This unique learning opportunity will showcase local farms using good management of grazing and cover crops and emphasize how they improve wildlife habitat. Innovative and proven management strategies to boost forage production, improve soil health, and create thriving, biodiverse landscapes will be the theme of the day. Whether you’re new to regenerative practices or looking to refine your grazing system, this tour will offer inspiration, insights, and real-world solutions to help build diversity—before you go bust.

We’ll visit operations that demonstrate:

• How annual cover crops can be used to both extend the grazing season and build a forage chain
• Pasture management practices that optimize forage quality and resilience
• Real-life examples of how farmers are seeing measurable benefits—economically and ecologically—from investing in biodiversity
• Through on-the-ground conversations and expert-led breakout sessions, we’ll dive deeper into:
  • The symbiotic relationship between livestock, plants, soil, and wildlife
  • The impact of diverse plant communities on landscape awareness, water infiltration, and long-term productivity
  • Practical strategies for integrating conservation goals with production goals

Breakout Sessions Include:

• Economics of Adding Small Ruminants
• Grazing & Soil Health
• Soil Health Demonstrations
• Pollinators and invertebrates
• Songbirds response to cover crops

Registration: This tour is free to attend, and lunch is included. Please register by June 17 to ensure a seat on the bus + lunch.

Meeting Address: Southwest Minnesota State University – 1501 State St. Marshall, MN 56258

Agenda

We’ll start the day at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, MN and tour Redwood River Farms, owned and operated by Allen and Kathleen Deutz. We’ll see how grazing perennial pastures and annual cover crop mixes adds diversity and builds soil health. We’ll also hear why they have decided to diversify their grazing by adding sheep to their grazing operation. Several break-out sessions led by experts from around the state will dive into grazing soil health, the effects of cover cropping on bird populations, grazing economics, and water quality.

After grabbing a box lunch, we’ll board the buses and head over to Lake Benton to tour the Nick Thooft operation. We’ll have several experts on hand to lead breakouts focusing on the effects of well-managed grazing on invertebrates and bird populations, building grazing plans for DNR Wildlife Management Areas, public/private management partnerships, and more!

Detailed Schedule:

8:00 am: Registration and coffee.

9:00 am: Bus leaves SMSU

9:15 am: Arrive at DNR-managed public land

10:30 am: Bus leaves DNR-managed public land

10:45 am: Arrive at Redwood River Farm Marshall, MN

Break-out stations:
Station A: Grazing for Soil Health (infiltration ring, shovel test, Brix, penetrometer,
Station B: Small Ruminant Economics
Station C: Water and Stream Quality
Station D: Songbird use of Cover Crops

12:15 pm- 1:00pm: Travel to Nick Thooft’s, Lake Benton, MN

1:00 pm: Arrive at Hole-in-the-Mountain Wildlife Management Area or Nick Thooft’s Farm

Breakout stations:
Station A: Effects of Grazing on non-game species
Station B: DNR Wildlife Management Area grazing
Station C: Plant identification on some key forage species
Station D: Difference between cool season and warm season grasses

3:00 pm: Board buses

3:45 pm: Arrive back at SMSU

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This event is supported by:

This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, under agreement number 2004.25.085287 “Expanding Regenerative Grazing in the Upper Mississippi Watershed.”

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SFA staff and volunteers occasionally take photos during our workshops, cafe chats and field days for promotional purposes and to use as documentation of events to share with our funders.  If you do not wish to be photographed, please let our event host know — we’ll make every effort to make sure you are not photographed.