Winter can be the most expensive time to own a cow in the Midwest. As the season changes, five of our staff who also raise beef and dairy cows gathered to share the ways that they’ve found to reduce the cost (and labor) of wintering cattle on their unique operations. All five live in different parts of Minnesota and run pasture-based farms, some raising organic dairy, some grass-fed or grass-finished beef.

While there’s no one-size fits all management style to wintering livestock, the team discusses a variety of practices that have worked for them, including bale grazing, stockpiling perennial pasture to extend the grazing season, and the timing of calving. They’ve also found benefits extending beyond the cost savings of quality winter feed: Doug Voss finds that by bale grazing, he also saves on labor and improves the health of his herd. And farmers certainly don’t need to outwinter their cattle 100% of the time to start seeing the benefits--just making a few changes can show cost savings, a boost to herd health, and improvements in soil biology.

Jared Luhman, SFA Soil Health Lead

Angie Walter, Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship Central Minnesota Education Coordinator

Doug Voss, SFA Grazing Lead

Tyler Carlson, SFA Silvopasture & Agroforestry Lead

Kent Solberg, SFA Senior Technical Advisor

The viewpoints of the speakers expressed within or outside of this episode do not necessarily reflect the goals and mission of SFA.

Dirt Rich is produced by the Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota.

Kathy Zeman pasture-raises a veritable menagerie: goats, sheep, pigs, ducks, geese, turkeys, broilers, hens, meat rabbits, and honeybees graze her twenty acres at Simple Harvest Farm Organics. She grew up farming, and first got started on poultry with her brother for a 4-H project. “Nick’s Eggs” continues today, available at the Just Food Co-op in Northfield. 

The array of animals she raises now ensures she never has to buy fertilizer--the manure production keeps pastures lush, and is a piece of her vision of resiliency and being self-sustaining. In fact, Kathy says that the grass actually grows back thicker and healthier behind a well-paced turkey tractor. Her Bourbon Red and Broad Breasted White turkeys happily graze in cattle panel hoop tractors, enjoying fresh grass once or twice a day safe from predators.

Kathy built her farm business on her values. She’s certified organic, and raises a heritage breed in part to keep the genetic diversity going. They’re “spendy,” but her customers are willing to pay for that fresher turkey flavor and the value of the environmental stewardship that the birds provide. “I always tell people when they buy from us, they’re really protecting these 20 acres. These little 20 acres on this planet are going to be no soil erosion, no water pollution, we’re not building antibiotic-resisting bacteria. That’s what they’re supporting.”

In addition to farming, Kathy Zeman is also the executive director of the Minnesota Farmers’ Market Association. That work aligns with her values, too. MFMA has been able to advance policy important to local foods. She describes farmers markets as the place “where community eats and meets.” They shorten food miles and keep money circulating locally. The community of people surrounding farmers markets are her crowd, too--resilient, boots-on-the-ground folks.

Host Jared Luhman’s conversation with Kathy Zeman naturally branches out from pastured turkey production and into thoughts about farm/land/life sustainability, pricing and food access, and the need for more BIPOC voices at the agricultural table. Listen in for comical stories, seasoned advice, and reflections on topics that are top-of-mind for many growers these days.

Kathy Zeman, Simple Harvest Farm Organics, Minnesota Farmers’ Market Association

Jared Luhman, Soil Health Lead of SFA

The viewpoints of the speakers expressed within or outside of this episode do not necessarily reflect the goals and mission of SFA.

Dirt Rich is produced by the Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota.

“We want a vast array of solar collectors out there.” Kent Solberg and Doug Voss are striving to get as much plant diversity in their pastures as possible. The benefits for animal performance, soil microbes, profitability, resiliency, and the function of the ecosystem as a whole are exponential. 

Prairielands can have upwards of 150 varieties of plants, with a healthy balance of all three plant functional groups: grasses, forbs, and legumes. A dream pasture! This range of plant life helps stimulate soil microbe populations and mycorrhizal fungi. Mycorrhizal fungi are tied to only certain species of plants, and play an important role in making minerals and nutrients plant-available.

Different plants offer different benefits at different times. Kent says that if given the opportunity, grazing animals will select from 30-75 different plant species for their meal. They are going after the unique phytochemicals that they need, which are produced by a variety of different plant species. Having a diverse array of plants available gives animals the ability to select exactly what they need at that time, and boosts their performance, nutrition, and health. Additionally, better animal performance means more nutrient-dense food for us as eaters. Kent and Doug also note that many issues in the field disappear and there are much fewer vet visits when farmers build pasture plant diversity--saving time and money.

Grazing management is also a key part of encouraging plant diversity. Adjusting rest periods and stock density can produce the results you’re looking for without dropping a lot of money. Proper grazing management can create the environment to tap into the latent seed bank. Kent also describes in the episode how frost (or stomp) seeding, which can be done in the late fall in addition to the spring, and no-till techniques can help expand the diversity of the pasture. Doug notes that grazing is not only instinctive, it is a learned behavior as well. If animals haven’t grazed before, that will need to be factored into the management plan.

Overall, plant diversity builds health and resiliency. As the soil biology flourishes, the soil aggregate makes the land less vulnerable to heavy rainfall events, improves water quality downstream and for your animals, and reduces the risk of nutrient runoff. Being able to select from a wide variety of plants improves animal health, nutrition, and boosts performance, creating more nutrient-dense food and reducing vet visits. Resilient land and animals boosts financial resiliency. The benefits continue to ripple out from what can be relatively simple changes, and Kent & Doug give advice on where to start.

Kent’s Seed Suggestions for Building Plant Diversity:

Doug Voss, SFA Grazing Lead, Voss Farms

Kent Solberg, SFA Senior Technical Advisor, Seven Pines Farm & Fence

Katie Feterl, SFA Communications Director

The viewpoints of the speakers expressed within or outside of this episode do not necessarily reflect the goals and mission of SFA.

Reach out to Kent, Doug, Katie or any other member of the SFA team here. SFA has a variety of resources on soil health and grazing available on our website.

Suggestions, comments? Drop us a line.

Dirt Rich is produced by the Sustainable Farming Association.

Kent Solberg has yet to see a piece of land that can’t be renovated, even an old gravel pit. With the right tools, vision, and management system, Kent Solberg and Doug Voss believe that we can almost always make a piece of land more productive.

To get started they recommend “looking at the entire context” of the particular pasture, including physical characteristics like soil type, slope, and aspect, as well as the history of the land that shaped it into what you’re seeing today like rainfall events, cattle class, and grazing duration. Once what you want to work on is identified, using the resources you already have and targeting the “low-hanging fruit” is a great place to start. Oftentimes, changing management practices such as stock density and grazing periods is the cheapest way to improve pasture performance, and you can see changes relatively quickly.

It’s important to remember that conditions change, so being adaptable is critical. There isn’t a silver bullet kind of recipe that will work every time. That’s why it’s important to have a long term vision, understand carbon cycling and rest & recovery periods, and to start small. Here are just a few tools that you might use:

-Animal diversity in pasture

-Bale grazing

-Systematic outwintering (keep an eye out for a future episode on this)

-Long rest/recovery periods

-High stock density grazing

Doug Voss - SFA Grazing Lead, Voss Farms

Kent Solberg - SFA Senior Technical Advisor, Seven Pines Farm and Fence

Katie Feterl - SFA Communications Director

The viewpoints of the speakers expressed within or outside of this episode do not necessarily reflect the goals and mission of SFA.

Reach out to Kent, Doug, Katie or any other member of the SFA team here. SFA has a variety of resources on soil health and grazing available on our website.

Suggestions, comments? Drop us a line.

“Minnesotans don’t like that garlic. They don’t eat that spicy stuff, dontcha know?” Jerry and Sunny and their sold-out-by-August harvest beg to differ!

Jerry Ford and Sunny Ruthchild  are longtime friends in Minnesota garlic and organic farming. Sunny runs Merryweather Gardens near Walnut Grove, raising garlic, poultry, vegetables, and pigs who are happy to be the clean-up crew for her orchard. Jerry raises replacement dairy heifers, grass-fed beef, and garlic with his family at Living Song Farm near Howard Lake.

Before they get back out there to plant next year’s garlic crop, they’re taking some time to compare notes and philosophies as they prepare for the next season and climate unknowns. They get into:

• Site Selection - Jerry’s land is hilly, Sunny’s land is flat. They both make it work.

Garlic is a high-value, premium crop here in Minnesota. As Sunny says, “the truth is, Minnesota can grow garlic. And the other truth is, people in Minnesota love good garlic, don’t let anybody tell you anything else.”

Jerry Ford - Living Song Farm, SFA Network Coordinator

Sunny Ruthchild - Merryweather Farm

Katie Feterl - SFA Communications Director

The viewpoints of the speakers expressed within or outside of this episode do not necessarily reflect the goals and mission of SFA.

Resources:

Minnesota Premium Garlic Project

Minnesota Garlic Festival & Virtual Directory

Dirt Rich Episode 6: Harvesting Minnesota Garlic

SFA Garlic Videos

Sarah Lindblom and Josh Reinitz join Dirt Rich to talk about how they’ve been growing food for their communities with food safety in mind--through the pandemic, and always.

Sarah runs Solar Fresh Produce, a three acre 40-member CSA farm outside of Buffalo, Minn. and has a small flock of laying hens. An hour south, Josh has farmed with his family for 12 years on East Henderson Farm. They primarily grow vegetables and also have laying hens. They recently moved from the CSA model to wholesale accounts with restaurants, co-ops, and schools, as well as some agrotourism ventures.

Unsurprisingly, food safety is a cornerstone for successful farms. With more of an eye on health this growing season, farmers have been “bringing their food safety A-game” to ensure that they continue to keep their customers safe. For Josh and Sarah, that has meant maintaining safe COVID habits among themselves, staff, and buyers, as well as adding focus to their usual food safety practices during day-to-day tasks. 

And it’s working! As they see sales pick up, they also see the public perception of the health and safety of locally grown foods continuing to trend towards trust in smaller-scale operations. Providing a high-quality and clean-looking product has been valuable in that it catches customers’ attention and opens the door for conversation. Even noting “triple-washed” on salad greens suggests the amount of work that went in before it reached the hands of the eater. 

“I can safely say that there’s not a thing I can grow right now that I can’t sell,” says Josh. Sarah sold out of her CSA shares this season sooner than ever before. There’s momentum in buying local, and the two agree that small-scale farmers continuing to prioritize food safety practices will build trust in the broader local foods movement.

Listen in for how they weave food safety into their daily tasks, how their practices are part of wholesale account relationships, and some training resources:

FSMA Produce Safety Rule - FDA

Does the Rule Apply to Me? - U of MN Extension

Food Safety - U of MN Extension

Produce Safety Alliance

Josh Reinitz, East Henderson Farm

Sarah Lindblom, Solar Fresh Produce

Katie Feterl, SFA Communications Director

The viewpoints of the speakers expressed within or outside of this episode do not necessarily reflect the goals and mission of SFA.

Dirt Rich is produced by the Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota

Sarah Lindblom has always grown herbs for her CSA. She started off growing some popular favorites for her shares: basil, parsley, cilantro. A workshop with herbalist Connie Karstens soon sparked an interest in medicinal herbs. She began cultivating holy basil, marshmallow, calendula, and lemon balm--just to name a few.

Now Sarah sells both fresh and dried herbs at the farmers market, as well as herbal tea blends, creating a unique value-added offering in the marketplace and through the winter. She’s also integrated herbs into her soil health practices, using them to attract pollinators, keep a living root in the soil, and build plant diversity. Today she shares how she ensures she grows a quality product, the benefits of cultivating herbs that continue to unfold on her farm, and how simple it is to start growing your own herbs--whether it’s in your windowsill or on your farm.

Katie Feterl, SFA Multimedia Coordinator and Development Assistant.

Sarah Lindblom, Solar Fresh Produce

The viewpoints of the speakers expressed within or outside of this episode do not necessarily reflect the goals and mission of SFA.

*Note: Dirt Rich is going biweekly! Catch our next episode on August 19.

Jared Luhman and Tyler Carlson return to further discuss Silvopasture: “the intentional integration of trees, forage, and livestock into one intensively managed system.” Formerly a trope to “keep livestock out of the woods,” now farmers have the tools to properly manage their impact. 

By intensively managing trees to optimize the growing environment for the forage below, as well as the timing and location of livestock grazing, farmers can reap numerous benefits. Silvopasture practices can boost soil health, water quality, wildlife habitat and diversity, and carbon sequestration. Silvopasture can also raise timber value, animal performance, and overall economic returns, making this system an attractive option for some farmers.

Tyler describes his own operation, from his intensive study of agroforestry as a student at the University of Minnesota, to his 200 acres in Todd County today. He and his wife raise grass-fed beef, pastured lamb, and perennial fruits on their farm. Tyler shares his experience in working with both existing woodlands and establishing silvopasture on cleared land for those looking to get started.

Resources:

SFA Silvopasture & Agroforestry Homepage - Learn more and register for upcoming workshops here.

Silvopasture Handbook

Silvopasture Webinar Series

University of Minnesota Silvopasture Learning Network

NRCS EQIP

Jared Luhman, SFA Soil Health Lead

Tyler Carlson, SFA Silvopasture & Agroforestry Project Lead

The viewpoints of the speakers expressed within or outside of this episode do not necessarily reflect the goals and mission of SFA.

This episode is supported and funded by a grant from the Legislative Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR). It is part of the “Oak Savanna Restoration through Silvopasture Project” in cooperation with University of Minnesota Agricultural Extension, Center for Integrated Natural Resources and Agricultural Management (CINRAM) at the University of Minnesota, and Great River Greening.

Silvopasture: “the intentional integration of trees, forage, and livestock into one intensively managed system.” 

New Dirt Rich voices Jared Luhman and Tyler Carlson give an intro to silvopasture practices, covering a little history, how silvopasture looks today, and the economic and biological benefits these systems can provide to Minnesota farmers. Stay tuned for next week’s episode, where Tyler and Jared will give examples of how farmers can implement silvopasture on their farms.

Resources:

SFA Silvopasture & Agroforestry Homepage - Learn more and register for upcoming workshops here.

Silvopasture Handbook

Silvopasture Webinar Series

University of Minnesota Silvopasture Learning Network

Jared Luhman, SFA Soil Health Lead

Tyler Carlson, SFA Silvopasture & Agroforestry Project Lead

The viewpoints of the speakers expressed within or outside of this episode do not necessarily reflect the goals and mission of SFA.

Dirt Rich is produced by the Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota.

This episode is supported and funded by a grant from the Legislative Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR). It is part of the “Oak Savanna Restoration through Silvopasture Project” in cooperation with University of Minnesota Agricultural Extension, Center for Integrated Natural Resources and Agricultural Management (CINRAM) at the University of Minnesota, and Great River Greening.

Kent Solberg brings his expertise in energized fencing to Dirt Rich. Energized fencing is a psychological, rather than a physical barrier for livestock. Because of their portable nature, they are easy to modify, expand, and can be ideal for a rental scenario. They can be less costly than a barbed wire or woven wire fence as well.

Kent details the key considerations for energized fencing, the components of an energized fence (braces, line posts, wires, energizers, gates), and how to ensure that the fence will work properly. Those interested in gaining hands-on experience with fencing will want to check out our schedule of upcoming in-person workshops around Minnesota.

Kent’s key considerations for energized fencing:

• Energized fence is a psychological barrier rather than a physical barrier.

Kent Solberg - SFA Senior Technical Advisor

Katie Feterl - SFA Multimedia Coordinator and Development Assistant

Reach out to Kent, Katie, or any other member of the SFA team here.

The viewpoints of the speakers expressed within or outside of this episode do not necessarily reflect the goals and mission of SFA.

Dirt Rich is produced by the Sustainable Farming Association.