Land Stewardship Project

Land Stewardship Project
  • About Us
    • Our Mission
    • Long Range Plan
    • Staff Directory
    • Board of Directors
    • Contact Us
    • Past LSP Projects
    • Employment & Volunteer Opportunities
    • LSP Publications
  • The Latest
    • 40th Anniversary Events
    • Tell us an LSP Story
    • Songs for the Soil
    • CSA Farm Directory
    • Upcoming Events
    • News
      • News Releases
      • Media Contacts
      • LSP in the News
    • Blog
    • Podcast
    • Land Stewardship Letter
    • LIVE-WIRE Sign-up
    • Myth Busters
    • Fact Sheets
    • Farm Crisis Resources
  • For Farmers & Landowners
    • New Farmers
      • Farm Beginnings Class
      • Journeyperson Course
      • Farm Dreams Workshop
      • Farmland Clearinghouse
      • Accessing Farmland
      • Beginning/Retiring Farmer Tax Credit
      • Beginning Farmer Profiles
    • Retiring Farmers & Landowners
      • Farmland Clearinghouse
      • Conservation Leases
      • Beginning/Retiring Farmer Tax Credit
      • Land Transition Tools
      • Transition Stories
    • Soil Health
      • Cover Crops
      • Grazing
      • No-till
      • Microbiology
      • Soil Builders’ Network
      • Soil Builders’ E-Letters
    • Cropping Systems Calculator
    • Conservation Leases
  • Creating Change
    • Community-Based Food Systems
      • Community Food Webs Learning Circles
    • Policy Campaigns
      • Soil Health & Climate Change
      • Healthcare
      • Factory Farms
      • Federal Policy
      • State Policy
      • Developing Leadership
      • Caucus for Land Stewardship
    • Justice & Stewardship
    • Organizational Stewardship
    • Building People Power
  • Get Involved
    • Take Action!
    • Upcoming Events
    • Land Stewardship Action Fund
    • Connect with LSP
      • Stay Connected
      • Join, Donate, or Renew Today!
      • Shop
      • Employment & Volunteer Opportunities
      • Legacy Giving
    • Network with LSP Members
      • Farmland Clearinghouse
      • Soil Health
  • Join, Donate, or Renew Today!
  • Stay Connected
  • Contact Us
  • Shop
Search
More...

Billboard Campaign Highlights the Power of Healthy Soil in Southern MN

Warning: ‘Farming Naked’ isn’t a Good Idea When it Comes to Building Resilient Fields

February 17, 2022

Share

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • email

LEWISTON, Minn. — When isn’t farming naked a good idea? A new Land Stewardship Project (LSP) billboard campaign promoting the power of building healthy soil on southern Minnesota farms answers that question and more. The billboards, which made their debut this month near the Minnesota communities of Austin, Spring Valley, Fountain, Preston, Dexter, Grand Meadow and Minnesota City, utilize striking photos, inspiring quotes, and, in the case of one revealing sign, a little bawdy humor, to get across the benefits of utilizing cover cropping, managed rotational grazing, no-till and diverse rotations to build resilient, biologically healthy soil.

Shona Snater, who directs LSP’s soil health program, said the campaign was inspired by the eight farmers who sit on the group’s Soil Builders’ Network steering committee. The Soil Builders’ Network is made up of over 800 farmers and others located across southern Minnesota, as well as in northeastern Iowa and southwestern Wisconsin. Members of the Network regularly come together via field days, workshops, pasture walks and Zoom calls to discuss various ways of building soil profitably.

This farmer-to-farmer networking, combined with other efforts on the part of government agencies and nonprofits, has led to an increase in the number of acres in the region that are managed utilizing methods such as cover cropping. During one recent five-year period, cover cropped acreage in Minnesota increased almost 42% to 579,147 acres, according to the U.S. Census of Agriculture. According to a Minnesota Department of Agriculture 2020 report, the majority of southeastern Minnesota counties in the heart of LSP’s Soil Builders’ Network are showing cover crop adoption on over 10% of the farms.

“This increase in the use of soil healthy practices didn’t happen by accident,” said Snater. “There’s no doubt that farmers are inspired by and learn best from other farmers when it comes to innovative practices like cover cropping and rotational grazing.” She added that despite the impressive increase in the use of soil building practices, in total only around 3% of Minnesota’s farm ground is cover cropped on a regular basis. “We have a lot more room to grow when it comes to acres that would benefit from these practices. As the 2022 growing season approaches, we’re hoping these billboards will spark more connections between farmers seeking to build soil profitably.”

In one case, a billboard posted near Austin and Minnesota City could spawn a little laughter as well. The sign, which was posted in collaboration with Practical Farmers of Iowa, features a farmer’s bare legs and the phrase, “Don’t Farm Naked: Plant Cover Crops.”

“Part of the message we’re trying to get across is that building healthy soil is not only good for the land and a farmer’s bottom line, but is a fun way to take control and build resiliency when it comes to raising crops and livestock,” said Snater.

For more information on building soil health profitably and to view images of the billboards, see landstewardshipproject.org/soil-health.

-30-

One of the “soil health” billboards is located near Austin, Minn.

 

Category: News Releases
Tags: cover crops • don't farm naked • LSP Soil Builders' Network • managed rotational grazing • no-till • soil billboards • soil health

Contact

Shona Snater, LSP, e-mail, 612-767-9886

Images Available

For digital photos of the “Power of Soil Health” billboards, contact contact Snater.

Upcoming Events

×

February 2023

Tuesday February 7

9:00 am – 12:30 pm
Wholesale Readiness Training for Farmers
Wholesale Readiness Training for Farmers
Tuesday February 7
9:00 am – 12:30 pm

MISA, UMN Extension and Renewing the Countryside are offering training and one-to-one technical assistance for farmers who want to grow their operation into wholesale markets. Wholesale isn’t just for large-scale distributors. You can use this training and support team to prepare to sell to schools, restaurants, grocery stores and hospitals in your community. Participating farmers will be eligible for $500 mini-grants to cover expenses related to launching a wholesale enterprise. 

For details, click here.

10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Crop, Livestock & Soil Innovation Conferences Workshop
Crop, Livestock & Soil Innovation Conferences Workshop
Tuesday February 7
10:00 am – 2:00 pm

The Land Stewardship Project is a co-sponsor of the 2023 I-90 & Highway 14 Tour CLASIC. Network, learn, and get inspired with area farmers and regional farming innovators as we discuss current trends for improving productivity and profitability in crop and livestock operations utilizing soil-healthy practices. The Crop, Livestock, and Soil Innovation Conferences (CLASIC) is made up of two tours in Minnesota, traveling along Interstate 90 and Highway 14, consisting of several stops.

Click this link for more details and a complete listing of workshops. Each venue’s program is unique and varied — be sure to check them all out and register for multiple events.

The speakers for the Feb. 7 workshop are Dean Sponheim and Andy Linder. Sponheim is a 4th generation farmer from Mitchell County Iowa. He began strip-tilling in 1999, aerial applying cover crops in the fall of 2012, and started a cover crop seed business in 2014 and no-tilling corn and soybeans in 2019.

Linder farms with his dad near Easton, Minn. Their soil health journey unintentionally started in 2010 when they purchased a vertical tillage machine. In fall 2016 they put cover crops on every acre.They now no-till most of their corn aces and do some strip-till trials.

For more information and to register, click here.

Wednesday February 8

9:00 am – 2:30 pm
Crop, Livestock & Soil Health Conferences Workshop
Crop, Livestock & Soil Health Conferences Workshop
Wednesday February 8
9:00 am – 2:30 pm

The Land Stewardship Project is a co-sponsor of the 2023 I-90 & Highway 14 Tour CLASIC. Network, learn, and get inspired with area farmers and regional farming innovators as we discuss current trends for improving productivity and profitability in crop and livestock operations utilizing soil-healthy practices. The Crop, Livestock, and Soil Innovation Conferences (CLASIC) is made up of two tours in Minnesota, traveling along Interstate 90 and Highway 14, consisting of several stops.

Click this link for more details and a complete listing of workshops. Each venue’s program is unique and varied — be sure to check them all out and register for multiple events.

The speakers for the Feb. 8 workshop are Dean Sponheim, Martin Larsen, and Andy Linder.

Sponheim is a fourth-generation farmer from Mitchell County, Iowa. He began strip-tilling in 1999 and began no-tilling his corn and soybean acres in 2019. Sponheim started aerial applying cover crops in 2012 and in 2014 started a cover crop seed business.

Martin Larsen farms 700 acres near Byron, Minn., producing corn, soybeans, cover crops and food-grade oats in a full no-till system. As an Olmsted County Soil and Water Conservation District staffer, he gives technical assistance to farmers and manages soil health test plots.

Andy Linder farms with his dad, Don, near Easton, Minn. Together, they raise corn, soybeans, oats, canning crops, and grass hay. Their journey to soil health unintentionally started in 2010 when they purchased a vertical tillage machine. In the fall of 2016, a cover crop was put on every acre and they continue using cover crops. He has transitioned to most corn being no-till.

For more information and to register for the Feb. 8 workshop, click here.

Thursday February 9

9:30 am – 1:30 pm
Crop, Livestock & Soil Innovation Conferences Workshop
Crop, Livestock & Soil Innovation Conferences Workshop
Thursday February 9
9:30 am – 1:30 pm

The Land Stewardship Project is a co-sponsor of the 2023 I-90 & Highway 14 Tour CLASIC. Network, learn, and get inspired with area farmers and regional farming innovators as we discuss current trends for improving productivity and profitability in crop and livestock operations utilizing soil-healthy practices. The Crop, Livestock, and Soil Innovation Conferences (CLASIC) is made up of two tours in Minnesota, traveling along Interstate 90 and Highway 14, consisting of several stops.

Click this link for more details and a complete listing of workshops. Each venue’s program is unique and varied — be sure to check them all out and register for multiple events.

The speakers for the Feb. 9 workshop are Dean Sponheim and Martin Larsen.

Sponheim is a fourth-generation farmer from Mitchell County, Iowa. He began strip-tilling in 1999 and began no-tilling his corn and soybean acres in 2019. Sponheim started aerial applying cover crops in 2012 and in 2014 started a cover crop seed business.

Martin Larsen farms 700 acres near Byron, Minn., producing corn, soybeans, cover crops, and food-grade oats in a full no-till system. As an
Olmsted County Soil and Water Conservation District staffer, he gives technical assistance to farmers and manages soil health test plots.

For more information and to register for the Feb. 9 workshop, click here.

5:30 pm – 8:30 pm
LSP Farm Transition Planning Course: Session 3
LSP Farm Transition Planning Course: Session 3
Thursday February 9
5:30 pm – 8:30 pm

…Are you a farm family or landowner thinking about the future or next steps for your farm?

…Are you interested in planning for the next generation of farmers on your land?

…Do you have a spouse/partner helping to make these decisions? Are you both on the same page?

…Are you ready to begin the planning process but don’t know where to start?

THE WORKSHOPS WILL FOCUS ON: 

  • Values and Vision;  
  • Financial,  tax, and legal considerations; 
  • Options for farm transitions; 
  • Resources to guide the planning process,
  • Communication tools. 

YOU WILL COME AWAY WITH:

  • Tools to use that will help gain clarity around your future planning
  • Next steps toward creating a farm transition plan
  • Ideas and advice from other farmers and professionals 
  • Networks and support to continue to share and learn
  • Individualized support

Session One: Thursday, Jan. 26: The focus will be on values and vision. In addition, we will be getting to know one another, discussing expectations for the course, and understanding where folks are in the transition planning process.

Session Two: Thursday, Feb. 2: The focus will be on financial planning. Presenter Joy Kirkpatrick, a Succession Outreach Specialist for the University of Wisconsin Center for Dairy Profitability, will share her 29 years of experience working with farm families as they assess their financial needs for retirement and how that impacts their farm transition.

Session Three: Thursday, Feb. 9: The focus will be on legal issues in planning a farm transition. Jason Wagner, an attorney with Wagner Oehler Ltd., will share his experience and knowledge regarding legal aspects that need to be considered when planning a farm transition.

Session Four: Thursday, Feb. 16: The focus will be on communications and intergenerational considerations which are critical to a successful farm transition and that are often overlooked.

Session Five: Thursday, Feb. 23: The focus will be on long -term care issues. Kate Graham, an attorney with an elder law focus, will share her knowledge and experience of what needs to be considered when planning long-term care and how a farm transition can be impacted.  

Session Six: Thursday, March 2: The focus will be on integrating all that has been discussed and sharing resources (people, organizations, and materials) that are available to help continue the farm transition planning process. The goal is for each family to create individual next steps to continue the farm transition planning process once the course is over.

To register, click here.

View Full Calendar

Recent Posts

  • Workshop on ‘3 Secrets for Increasing Farm Profit’ March 23 in Red Wing February 2, 2023
  • Regenerative Farming Systems ‘Peer-to-Peer’ Workshop March 1 in Bellechester January 26, 2023
  • Line 3 Environmental Damage & State Regulatory Failure January 12, 2023
  • ‘Exploring Conservation on Rented Farmland’ Online Workshop Jan. 24 January 3, 2023
  • Our Minnesota Food & Farm Campaign Platform December 22, 2022

Montevideo

117 South First Street
Montevideo, MN 56265

(320) 269-2105

Lewiston

180 E. Main Street
Lewiston, MN 55952

(507) 523-3366

Minneapolis

821 E. 35th Street #200
Minneapolis, MN 55407

(612) 722-6377

Copyright © 2023 Land Stewardship Project. All rights reserved.

https://landstewardshipproject.org/billboard-campaign-highlights-the-power-of-healthy-soil-in-southern-mn