Ear to the Ground 196: Turning Back the Clock

A farmer and a soil health expert talk about how livestock, cover crops and pastures are the “rock stars” of building soil health.

Upcoming Events

September 2024

Monday September 9

4:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Soil Health & Urban Farm Conservation Practices

Monday September 9

4:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Soil Health & Urban Farm Conservation Practices

72 22nd Ave NE, Minneapolis, MN 55418, USA

Join the Twin Cities Metro Growers Network at California Street Farm for a tour and discussion on Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) opportunities for urban and peri-urban growers.

California Street Farm is an urban farm located in Northeast Minneapolis that produces fresh, local vegetables, fruits, herbs, and flowers for the neighborhood. The farmer and manager, Elyssa Eull, does all the farm work by hand and uses many organic farming practices to support pollinators and soil health (but is not certified organic). The tour will also include information from NRCS and University of Minnesota Extension staff that can help growers learn about and receive funding for farm practices that benefit environmental health.

This event is free to attend. Registration is requested; walkups are welcome.

Attendees should be prepared to walk. Limited seating is available, so bring a folding chair if preferred. Also, bring a water bottle since no potable water is available on site.

Agenda:

4 p.m.: Arrival and networking time
4:30 p.m: Farm tour and discussion — Elyssa Eull, farmer-manager of California Street Farm, will discuss her farm and conservation practices, such as high tunnels, managing soil fertility, drip irrigation and more.
5:15 p.m.: John Brezinka, soil/urban conservationist with NRCS, will discuss funding opportunities for growers who implement conservation practices on their farms including the EQIP high tunnel financial assistance program. Lia Spaniolo, University of Minnesota Extension educator in Hennepin County, will discuss nutrient management in high tunnels and the results of the 100 farms soil study.

For details and to register, click here.

Wednesday September 11

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Green Acres Oat Milling Info Session

Wednesday September 11

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Green Acres Oat Milling Info Session

Zoom Online

Do you grow oats or want to start a third-crop rotation? We are connecting farmers who practice regenerative farming to a potential market for their oats. On Wednesday, Sept. 11, join the Land Stewardship Project for a conversation with Landon Plagge, co-founder of Green Acres Milling. He will discuss the firm’s proposed oat processing facility in Albert Lea, Minn. Farmers have been expressing the need for additional market opportunities to sell oats into, and this is one possibility that the Plagge family has been working on.

Landon will do a brief presentation on the opportunity to invest in Green Acres Milling, followed by some time for farmers to ask questions and listen to what others are thinking about when it comes to marketing oats.

Pre-registration required, RSVP by 8 a.m. on Wednesday, September 11.

Zoom link + passcode is needed to join the meeting and will be e-mailed to all registrants on Wednesday morning.

This meeting will be recorded and can be shared to those who registered, but couldn’t attend.

Time available for Q & A.

To register, click here.

For more information, contact Shea-Lynn Ramthun, LSP Soil Health Organizer, at slramthun@landstewardshipproject.org; or Scott DeMuth, LSP Regional Food Systems Organizer, at sdemuth@landstewardshipproject.org

Thursday September 12

11:30 am – 12:30 pm: Life After Farming…What’s Next for You and Your Land? (part 2)
Thursday September 12
11:30 am – 12:30 pm
Life After Farming…What’s Next for You and Your Land? (part 2)
Webinar

The Farmland Access Hub, which the Land Stewardship Project belongs to, is hosting two online webinars — one in August and one inSeptember — with the goal of providing resources to farmland owners interested intransitioning their land with a positive community legacy while engaging inpeer-driven problem solving.

Whether you are interested in renting, selling, ortransitioning your farm to a new owner, the information provided during these one-hour programs is geared to help landowners and retiring farmers identify andovercome fears and challenges as they think through the next steps for theirland.

Come to Session 1 (Aug. 14) with your questions, ready to learn and gatherresources. In Session 2 (Sept. 12), landowners will dive deeper into specific challengesand scenarios with facilitated support from succession coordinators and landtransfer specialists.

For details and to register for Session 1, click here; for Session 2, click here.
5:00 pm – 7:30 pm: Green Lands Blue Waters: “Match Made In Heaven: Livestock + Crops” Field Day
Thursday September 12
5:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Green Lands Blue Waters: “Match Made In Heaven: Livestock + Crops” Field Day
Langdon Collum Farm, Eagle Bend, MN 56446, USA
“Match Made In Heaven: Livestock + Crops” is a 3-year, 6-state grant project that creates opportunities for farmers to share their interests, challenges, and needs, and for the crop and livestock organizations that they engage with to hear from their members and meet their needs with their programming and resources. The project is a collaboration between 50+ groups including crop and livestock associations, universities, public agencies, and soil/water groups.

For details and to register for the Sept. 12 field day, click here.

Saturday September 14

10:00 am – 12:00 pm: Multi-species Pasture Walk
Saturday September 14
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Multi-species Pasture Walk
Meadow Hill Farm, 1359A, 100th St., Amery, WI

The NW Wisconsin Graziers Network, River Country RC & D, and UW-Madison Extension invite you to a multi-species pasture walk hosted by Meadow Hill Farm seven miles north of Amery in Polk County on Saturday, Sept. 14, from 10 a.m. to noon. This educational event will emphasize developing silvopasture, planting trees and perennials, NRCS cost-share programs, small ruminants, pastured laying hens, direct marketing, out wintering, bale grazing, soil health, permaculture and regenerative agriculture principles.

The host farm is home to Dave Engen and Justine Hinderliter and their family, doing business as Meadow Hill Farm. They raise grass fed sheep (50) and goats (36) and pastured laying hens (50). Their locally processed meat and eggs are marketed directly to customers.

The Engen family has been at this location for 2.5 years and are focused on a variety of techniques for improving soil fertility, forest utilization, and pastures through building the soil food web. The operation consists of about 130 acres with 30 acres in rotated pastures and hayfields and the remainder in mature woods along the Apple River.

Use of high-tensile perimeter fencing, temporary livestock netting, and predator control challenges will be discussed, along with answering any and all questions from pasture walk participants.

The farm is enrolled in several NRCS cost share programs, including: winter waterer and heavy use area, underground water pipe, surface water pipe, perimeter fence, cross fence, interseeding, silvopasture windbreaks, and rotational grazing. NRCS cost-share programs will be discussed and shown on the farm tour.

Dave has developed a diversified direct marketing program that includes farmers markets, e-commerce, on-farm sales, and networking with targeted communities of customers to support direct sales to people seeking specific diets.

The farm is located at 1359A, 100^th St., Amery in central Polk County. From Hwy 8 north of Amery take county H north (the first road north after the junction with highway 46 south), go north about 0.5 mile and turn left into driveway, a dirt road on the south border of the Browtine Restaurant’s parking lot. Watch for the signs.

For more information, contact Dave at 415-867-7577, Becky Brathal, UW-Madison Extension Regional Crops Educator, at 651-302-6520, or Lynn Johnson at 715-225-9882 with NW Graziers.

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