Wendy Johnson is experimenting with Kernza because she believes in the power of perennials. And livestock are helping make this cutting-edge crop a little less of a gamble. More Information • Jóia Food & Fiber Farm • Forever Green Initiative • Ear to the Ground 365: Perennial Pivot • Ear to the Ground 229: Kernza’s Continuous… Read More →
Note: This is the 5th installment in the 12-part “A Sense of Where You Are” series. Grazing livestock have been described as “combines that poop.” That’s an accurate, if somewhat graphic, depiction of how moving cattle and other animals through well-managed paddocks can rebuild soil that’s been decimated by tillage, chemical use, and compaction. Langdon… Read More →
Note: This is the 12th installment in the 12-part “A Sense of Where You Are” series. In case Allen and Kathleen Deutz need a reminder of one of the main reasons corn dominates the landscape in their part of southwestern Minnesota, they need to look no further than the massive Archer-Daniels-Midland ethanol plant that rises to… Read More →
In case you haven’t noticed, the humble oat is having a bit of a moment. After decades of declines in oat plantings in Minnesota, acreage increased this year. Market demand for the small grain is up, a group of farmers are attempting to pull together funding for a major processing plant in southern Minnesota, and… Read More →
As farmers from across the region haul corn past Allen and Kathleen Deutz’s farm to the local ethanol plant, they can’t help but notice fences, livestock, and a diversity of plants. What’s not as immediately evident is how this counter- intuitive way of farming is building long-term soil health and resilience. More Information • LSP’s Soil Health Web Page… Read More →
When Jay Fuhrer first started talking to his conservation colleagues about a different approach to protecting and building soil, he ended up eating lunch alone. But eventually the Burleigh County Soil Health Team helped launch a movement that’s showing how farming, the environment, and local economies benefit when people stop accepting soil as a degraded resource. More… Read More →
By building soil biology via managed grazing, Langdon Collom is learning that expanding a farm’s capacity doesn’t always require horizontal expansion — sometimes you can simply go vertical. More Information • LSP’s Grazing & Soil Health Web Page • Match Made in Heaven: Livestock + Crops • Sustainable Farming Association • Midwest Grazing Exchange • Minnesota Cropland… Read More →
