My journey into conservation started as a teenager in the mid-1980s— I was tired of picking rocks every year and filling ditches from erosion on a regular basis. We had changed to mulch-till by then to reduce erosion. We had also started transitioning from a corn and hay rotation to a corn and soybean rotation.…  Read More →

A group of prospective farmers gathered recently for a Land Stewardship Project Farm Dreams workshop at Gale Woods Farm in Minnetrista, Minn., to network and identify next steps in their journey into farming. Farm Dreams is a four-hour workshop designed to help people clarify what motivates them to farm, get their vision on paper, inventory…  Read More →

Climate change is happening. Farmers who work with higher elevations may be able to deny it. Those of us on more variable and wetter soils cannot. I have been aware of it in our farming for 20 years. The water cycle is impaired. This is the most obvious. Excessive rainfall spreads into a huge number…  Read More →

From the beginning of the 2018 Minnesota Legislative session, it was clear that corporate interests and their legislative allies were pushing for special treatment at the expense of rural communities, family farmers and Minnesota values. As an example, six days into the session, Dr. Marin Bozic, a dairy economist at the University of Minnesota, testified…  Read More →

With spring fully and finally here, things are busy on my farm, but I wanted to take a moment to write to you about an issue moving forward at the Minnesota Capitol that goes against some of the most important principles and values I have. And I want to ask you to take action with…  Read More →