How critical is nitrogen to raising corn in the Midwest? Well, consider the fact that farmers feel compelled to pay for it, even at a time when the war with Iran is sending prices to dizzying heights during the 2026 planting season. The agronomic value of nitrogen became clear during a special oversight hearing held… Read More →
Note: This is the 8th installment in the 12-part “A Sense of Where You Are” series. So, here’s a chicken or egg situation to ponder: when launching a farming operation, when should you approach the local NRCS office about applying for funding to set up infrastructure such as a high tunnel or a rotational grazing system?… Read More →
Charles is seeking a renter for 75 acres (15 tillable, 21 pasture, 18 forest and 21 other) in Mille Lacs, Minnesota. There is no housing and the land is available 4/1/26.
I recently witnessed the return of life to Jordan and Rachelle Meyers’ fields, which are transitioning from giant ragweed and thistles into soil-building plants such as chicory, red clover, and wild bergamot. During the past few years, the family, which farms in southeastern Minnesota’s Houston County, has used hard work and attention to the soil… Read More →
With a single phrase, we can put conservation to work on rented land. And that would have a major impact from a landscape point of view: more than half the crops in Minnesota and Iowa alone are produced on rented acres, and every one of them could be saving soil, water, habitat and money with… Read More →
Farm Manager | The Boreal Farm Certified Organic · Full-Time · Year-Round · Northeastern Minnesota About the Farm- The Boreal Farm is a certified organic operation just outside Duluth, Minnesota, growing vegetables, flowers, herbs, and native plants for a CSA and farmstand in rhythm with the Northern season. Big sky. Lake Superior wind. Long summer… Read More →
I’m not sure I would recommend this, but I recently read two books back-to-back that represent the “how” extremes of today’s food system. I started out with The Town That Food Saved: How One Community Found Vitality in Local Food, and, literally within minutes of finishing it, picked up Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food… Read More →
Myron is seeking a farmer to buy 35 acres (17 tillable, 12 pasture, 6 other) in Eagle Bend, Minnesota. There is a 32′ X40′ shop with 20’X16′ internally framed shop, well lighted, cement floor, 220 electrical service, 2 10′ X 10′ roll up doors. (One on a gable end, the other on a side wall).… Read More →
Paul is seeking a farmer to buy 40 acres (20 open to plant or graze; 15 woodland; 5 homestead) near Hager City, Wisconsin. There is large vegetable garden, all wooden raised beds. No chemicals have been used on the ag land or in the veggie gardens. The largest section of open land is planted in… Read More →
After a lifetime of working for others in agricultural jobs, and retired after a career with the postal service, Tom Hoekstra and his wife, Lisa, bought a 150-acre farm outside of Plainview in southeastern Minnesota. Tom was 59 when they bought the farm in 2009. Right after their purchase, they immediately went to work re-building… Read More →
