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A Sense of Where You Are: Against the Grain

Part 12 in a Series

By Brian DeVore
January 10, 2025

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Note: This is the 12th installment in the 12-part “A Sense of Where You Are” series. 

In case Allen and Kathleen Deutz need a reminder of one of the main reasons corn dominates the landscape in their part of southwestern Minnesota, they need to look no further than the massive Archer-Daniels-Midland ethanol plant that rises to the sky just across one of their fields. Here’s their context: that plant has been gobbling up corn in the region since the mid-1980s. As a result, fences have been taken down, pastures and hay ground plowed up, and livestock pretty much removed from the land.

Allen Deutz examines a stand of forages he plans to graze. In the background is an ADM ethanol plant, which buys corn from a wide area around his southwestern Minnesota farm. The farmer sees not devoting his entire land base to growing corn for the plant as a way to stay economically and agronomically nimble.

“It changed the landscape,” said Allen one evening recently, gesturing toward the biofuel plant across the Redwood River.

The Deutzes farm some 800 acres in Lyon County. They do raise corn, and yes, much of it goes to that ADM plant. But as farmers from throughout the region haul corn past the Deutz place — Allen jokes that “every farmer in four counties drives by my farm at some point” — they can’t help but notice a different look to this particular farm’s landscape: there are small grains such as wheat, well-kept fences, and forages — and animals out there grazing those forages.

Literally in biofuel’s massive shadow, the Deutzes are going against the grain. About half the acres that make up Redwood River Farms produce crops for the organic market. They have a cow-calf beef herd, as well as a flock of hair sheep. Goats and hogs are also part of the mix, and the couple direct-markets meat to area eaters. All those animals are raised on rotationally grazed perennials and summer annuals. They also graze a local Minnesota Department of Natural Resources wildlife area. The Deutzes dairy farmed until they sold the herd in 2016, and re-integrating animals onto the farm hasn’t been easy. For one thing, they had to set up miles of fencing, which they were able to do with the help of the NRCS’s EQIP program.

At first glance, not taking full advantage of a handy local market for a crop that grows well on this land may not seem to make sense. But the Deutzes have some good, commonsense reasons for not going whole hog into growing corn for biofuels. Allen has a master’s degree in economics and teaches ag business at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, so he knows how to crunch the numbers and do financial projections. He sees livestock as a way to diversify the farm’s income stream while providing a kind of insurance policy that fortifies the farm against crop failures — something that’s become particularly critical in recent years as climate change cooks up extreme weather events on a regular basis.

For example, during a September field day sponsored by the Sustainable Farming Association and the Department of Natural Resources, Allen explained how a drought in 2023 devastated a corn crop he had planted. However, after checking with his insurance agent, he was able to bring cattle onto the fenced field and graze it. That not only produced some economic value from the ruined crop while controlling weeds, but built soil fertility for the next growing season, when he planted organic wheat on the field. That wheat was his most profitable crop in 2024. The Deutzes knew that the drought-stricken field probably got some second looks from farmers driving to the ethanol plant, but over the long-term, it’s turned out to be a success.

“It didn’t look good, but I knew that failed corn field made sense economically,” Allen said while standing at the edge of the 40-acre plot. “I’m not stuck in a rut of always having to make money from having corn and soybeans in my rotation. The livestock and fencing system gives us options, and with the erratic weather systems we have now, it provides some resilience.”

At one point, the Deutzes took the field day participants to a 170-acre parcel north of the farmstead. Allen explained how this “summer pasture,” which was made up of wheat, oats, barley, field peas, common vetch, and buckwheat, would be grazed. In 2025, organic corn will be planted in the resulting nutrient-rich soil.

As the sun set, the lights of the ADM plant twinkled at the edge of the field. Biofuel was being distilled above the ground. Biology was being built beneath it.

Brian DeVore edits the Land Stewardship Letter and produces the Ear to the Ground podcast.

Give it a Listen

  • Ear to the Ground 357: Against the Grain (Allen Deutz)

Installments in the ‘A Sense of Where You Are’ Series:

  1. Introduction to the Series: A Sense of Where You Are
  2. Red Dresses & Magic Management
  3. In the Blood
  4. Seeking Signs of Life
  5. Forest for the Trees
  6. The Quickening
  7. Food Bank Booster
  8. First Things First
  9. The Big Picture
  10. The Snowball Effect
  11. 7 Years Later
  12. Against the Grain

 

Category: Blog
Tags: adaptive managed grazing • Allen and Kathleen Deutz • diversity • drought • ethanol • grazing cover crops • integrating livestock • mono cropping • organic crops • Redwood River Farms • soil health

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October 2025

Wednesday October 29

4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Book Event: We Can Do Better: Collected Writings on Land, Conservation, and Public Policy
Wednesday October 29
4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Book Event: We Can Do Better: Collected Writings on Land, Conservation, and Public Policy
The Harkin Institute for Public Policy & Citizen Engagement, 2800 University Ave, Des Moines, IA 50311, USA

The Johnson Center for Land Stewardship Policy is excited to share that one of our its primary pillars of work — a published collection of Paul Johnson’s writings —  is set for release on Oct. 2.  The book features a brief biography and a discussion of Paul’s ideas within the historical and future contexts of private lands conservation. 

For details on We Can Do Better: Collected Writings on Land, Conservation, and Public Policy click here.

Thursday October 30

5:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Book Event: We Can Do Better: Collected Writings on Land, Conservation, and Public Policy
Thursday October 30
5:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Book Event: We Can Do Better: Collected Writings on Land, Conservation, and Public Policy
Ames Public Library, 515 Douglas Ave, Ames, IA 50010, USA

The Johnson Center for Land Stewardship Policy is excited to share that one of our its primary pillars of work — a published collection of Paul Johnson’s writings —  is set for release on Oct. 2.  The book features a brief biography and a discussion of Paul’s ideas within the historical and future contexts of private lands conservation. 

For details on We Can Do Better: Collected Writings on Land, Conservation, and Public Policy click here.

November 2025

Saturday November 1

6:15 pm – 9:15 pm
Community Potluck & Folk Dance in Bay City, Wis.
Saturday November 1
6:15 pm – 9:15 pm
Community Potluck & Folk Dance in Bay City, Wis.
W6275 Main St, Bay City, WI 54723, USA

Calling all folk dance lovers! The Land Stewardship Project is co-sponsoring a potluck and folk dance at the Town Hall in Bay City, Wis., on Saturday, Nov. 1. Can you attend or volunteer? LSP is looking for one or two more people to help represent our people-powered organization by tabling at this event. To volunteer, reply directly to this e-mail and let me know you’re available. 
 
For details, check out this flier. 

The potluck and dance are co-hosted by LSP members from Oxheart Farm and the Oak Center General Store. No RSVP required; please direct questions to Emmet at oxheartfarm@gmail.com.
 

Folk Dance Flyer 2025.jpg

Tuesday November 4

11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Birds in the Balance: Pest Control Services Across Crop Types
Tuesday November 4
11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Birds in the Balance: Pest Control Services Across Crop Types
Online

This 10-lesson Wild Farm Alliance virtual course teaches agricultural professionals and farmers how to support beneficial birds and manage pest birds on farms. By learning how to assess the farm’s avian needs and opportunities, farms can be designed to provide for a diversity of beneficial birds. 

If pest birds are a problem, they can be discouraged with specific practices during the shorter periods when they cause damage. The sessions cover the latest research, tools and resources, and are given by experts in avian pest control, entomology, ornithology and conservation. While many topics and species are specific to the Midwest, most of the principles discussed are applicable across regions. 

Continuing Education Credits have been requested and are expected to be approved from American Society of Agronomy.

For details and to register, click here. 

The Course Schedule:

LESSON 1

Why Birds Belong on the Farm: Biodiversity, Pest Control & A Thriving Landscape

Tuesday, September 23, 2 p.m. CT


LESSON 2

Birds as Pest Control Allies on the Farm

Tuesday, October 14, 11 a.m. CT


LESSON 3

Birds in the Balance: Pest Control Services Across Crop Types

Tuesday, November 4, 11 a.m. CT


LESSON 4

Integrating Habitat into Croplands: Prairie Strips and Bird Conservation

Tuesday, December 2, 11 a.m. CT


LESSON 5

Birds on the Farm: Balancing Biodiversity and Food Safety

Tuesday, January 13, 11 a.m. CT


LESSON 6

Beyond the Crop: Birds, Biodiversity, and the Power of Edge Habitat

Tuesday, February 3, 11 a.m. CT


LESSON 7

Bridging Forestry, Farming, and Habitat

Tuesday, February 24, 11 a.m. CT


LESSON 8

Perennial Pathways: Agroforestry for Birds and Biodiversity on Farms

Tuesday, March 17, 11 a.m. CT


LESSON 9

Birds on the Range: How Grazing Practices Shape Habitat for Grassland Species

Tuesday, April 7, 11 a.m. CT


LESSON 10

Birds at Risk: How Pesticides Shape Safety on Agricultural Lands

Tuesday, April 28, 11 a.m. CT

7:00 pm – 9:30 pm
Big Ag, Big Problems: LSP Panel on Rural Consolidation
Tuesday November 4
7:00 pm – 9:30 pm
Big Ag, Big Problems: LSP Panel on Rural Consolidation
Lanesboro Community Center, 202 Parkway Ave S, Lanesboro, MN 55949, USA

 
The concentration of money and power in our food and farming system is a threat to our rural way of life, the land, and Main Street economies. According to research compiled by Farm Action, agricultural industries ranging from poultry processing to seed distribution are now dominated by four or fewer corporations, creating a system that for all intents and purposes no longer represents an open market situation. This makes it next to impossible for small and mid-sized farms to compete economically.  

Those of us who grew up in the rural Midwest have seen these effects firsthand. As once vibrant agricultural economies diminish, so too do community resources: hospitals, public schools, religious institutions, grocery stores, and more. Young people who see little opportunity in their hometowns move to cities and suburbs to start their careers and families. 
 
A consolidated, corporate-controlled agricultural system is also wreaking havoc on our natural environment. Runoff from large-scale factory farms and row cropping operations threatens our drinking water and spoils natural landscapes that people from all walks of life cherish. Without intervention, it won’t be long before all of us — urban or rural, farmers and non-farmers, rich or poor, young or old — will be impacted by the devastation of Big Ag. 

Join the Land Stewardship Project on Tuesday, Nov. 4, to hear from two people who think a lot about the power of Big Ag and its negative impacts — Austin Frerick and Sonja Trom Eayrs. They will lead a discussion about the forces threatening our rural communities and how we build the people power to take them on. 

This is an opportunity to take the first steps toward developing the kind of positive future for our communities that builds homegrown wealth, treats people fairly, and is resilient in the long term. If you love something and someone, you fight for it. Come fight with us! 
 
Austin Frerick Biography: Austin Frerick is an expert on agricultural and antitrust policy. In 2024, he published his debut book, Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of America’s Food Industry.
 
Sonja Trom Eayrs Biography: Sonja Trom Eayrs, author of Dodge County, Incorporated: Big Ag and the Undoing of Rural America, is a farmer’s daughter, rural advocate, and attorney.

To register for this event, click here.

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Recent Posts

  •  ‘Big Ag, Big Problems’ Panel to Feature 2 Experts on Consolidation Nov. 4 in Lanesboro October 27, 2025
  • Reflections from LSP’s 2025 Summer Events Season October 24, 2025
  • Another Farm Crisis Looms, but it’s Not too Late to Take Action October 23, 2025
  • Tell Congress: Support Market Access for Farmers by Funding Local Food Purchasing October 22, 2025
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