SPRING GROVE, Minn. — A farm tour on “Getting Started with Permaculture and Regenerative Agriculture” will be held Sunday, July 28, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., at Nettle Valley Farm in Spring Grove (23970 County Rd. 19). This event is free for Land Stewardship Project (LSP) members and $10 for non-members. Please RSVP by July 25 at www.landstewardshipproject.org/events/nettlevalleyfarm or by contacting Annelie Livingston-Anderson at 507-523-3366 or annelie@landstewardshipproject.org.

Nettle Valley Farm is a pastured hog farm owned and operated by Dayna Burtness and Nick Nguyen. It provides whole and half heritage breed pigs for direct sale. Their pigs get fresh pasture at least once a week and feast on seasonal treats like apples, pumpkins, acorns, and black walnuts, as well as certified organic feed made from peas and barley (feed is free of corn/soybean/fishmeal).

Burtness has several years of experience working with permaculture and regenerative agriculture principles on other farms, as well as her own. She’ll be sharing how they have been implementing some of these practices on their own farm, including mimicking natural systems, designing from pattern to detail, and applying self-regulation, as well as welcoming feedback, protecting soil, increasing biodiversity, and more.

Burtness and Nguyen also run an incubator farm program for beginning regenerative farmers and are currently hosting farmers raising meat goats, chickens, ducks, hair sheep, and more.

This farm tour is being organized by LSP’s Farm Beginnings Program. LSP will be offering its one-day Farm Dreams class Aug. 25 and will begin its 12-month 2019-2020 Farm Beginnings course Oct. 26. Both training opportunities will be offered in Menomonie, Wis. For more on these and other LSP training opportunities, see www.landstewardshipproject.org/morefarmers/farm or contact Livingston-Anderson.

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