Registration for this event closed Tuesday, June 17. 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…

Kevin Flowers will talk about his crops, pasture management and forest management plan. More information on the Greater Mille Lacs Chapter Webpage. Registration: All are welcome. Registration requested, walkups welcome. About the farm: Ole Lake Farm is home to farmers Kevin and Debby Flowers, a flock of free-range laying hens, heritage breed turkeys, pampered Alpine dairy…

Join us for the first pasture walk of the season at Ironwood Ranch, just outside of Brainerd! Justin Smude and his family run a 350-acre operation where they raise cow/calf pairs and sheep, grow hay and oats, and integrate annual forages into a diverse grazing system. Justin Smude, Kent Solberg, and Jonathan Kilpatrick will lead this walk. We’ll…

You’ve probably heard that chickens are the gateway into Homesteading life. There’s a reason! Raising your own chicken meat and eggs requires fairly minimal inputs and infrastructure to begin on your own.  With egg and meat prices on the rise, this summer sounds like a great time to begin raising your own! Jonathan Kilpatrick has been raising…

Join Leah Matzke for a full milking on the farm and an inside look at keeping a family cow, from daily care to safely processing fresh dairy at home. We’ll hear about managing farm-direct sales and how her on-site farm store connects customers with pasture-raised beef, pork, lamb, and even cheese cultures. This event is…

Join the Lake of the Woods and Roseau SWCDs and SFA for a free hands-on workshop focused on understanding your cost of production in agriculture. Led by Doug Voss and Jonathan Kilpatrick, this session will equip you with the tools to analyze your farm economics, uncover hidden costs, and make informed financial decisions.  We’ll go beyond…

Join us at Dave Evans Farms, a working cattle operation, for an illuminating demonstration of silvopasture by subtraction. Dave will walk attendees through his process for opening up oak savannas overtaken by other trees. We’ll also have a seeding demonstration showcasing various application methods. Bryan Simon, a silvopasture specialist with SFA, and DNR forester Brett…

Join the Sustainable Farming Association and the Minnesota Dairy Initiative for a free workshop aimed at helping dairy producers maximize on-farm resources to improve productivity and profitability. Featuring Doug Voss and Derek Schmitz*, this event will provide actionable strategies through two focused sessions:– Cutting the Crap with Manure – Discover where nutrient losses occur in…

*Note: Online registration for this event closed on 2/6/25. Registration will still be available at the door. Advanced Grazing Techniques for Building Soil Health(201 Level Workshop) Steve Kenyon of Greener Pastures Ranching is coming back for the Crow Wing River Basin Forage Council‘s winter meeting. The Alberta grazer who drew great reviews when he was…

October 31, 2024 Update: This event has been postponed to March 2025. Date TBA. The East Central Chapter of SFA is hosting a discussion with Dan MacSwain on Saturday November 2, 2024,  that touches on pasture improvement practices, how to win against invasive species and transitioning crop fields into grazing pastures. Dan MacSwain is the Natural Resource Coordinator…