Dirt Rich Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota

Organic dairy grazier Angie Walter shares her experience using PaddockTrac, a grazing tool being developed by the University of Missouri. Angie's family runs a 100-cow organic dairy in Villard, Minn., grazing 80-100 acres at any given time. Theirs and 12 other Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship farms are piloting the PaddockTrac through an NRCS cooperative agreement.
The PaddockTrac device, which is in the prototype phase, mounts to the front of a UTV or 4-wheeler and uses sonar waves to measure forage height in pastures. Once the data is saved and uploaded, its app generates a grazing wedge.
The Walters drive their pastures weekly, using their eyes and the data from the grazing wedge to get a fuller picture to base their grazing management decisions from. As organic producers, it also aids in necessary record keeping for quantifying what the cows are eating.
PaddockTrac could hit the market in early 2024. Read more about the DGA/PaddockTrac project here.
 
Jared Luhman, SFA Soil Health Lead
Angie Walter, Central Minnesota Education Coordinator, Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship
 
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.
If you enjoy Dirt Rich, consider supporting our work by becoming a member of SFA or donating at www.sfa-mn.org.
 

We're back! Dirt Rich kicks off its fourth season with the second part of Jared Luhman's interview with Dan Zimmerli (check out part one here). The two get into the business management side of the farm -- employees, task tracking, data management and record keeping -- and how the Zimmerlis have leveraged it all to improve efficiency, profitability, and quality of life for them and their staff.
Dan and his wife operate Cedar Crate Farm southeast of Mankato, growing produce for their CSA members. He also works for SFA as a soil health educator for fruit and vegetable producers.
Resources mentioned: Lean Farm, Harvie, Microsoft To Do, Cornell Small Farms online courses
 
Schedule update: Dirt Rich is moving to a monthly release schedule. We will continue to release on Wednesdays.
 
Jared Luhman, SFA Soil Health Lead
Dan Zimmerli, SFA Community Organizer and Outreach Coordinator, Cedar Crate Farm. Contact at dan@cedarcratefarm.com or dan@sfa-mn.org 
 
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.
If you enjoy Dirt Rich, consider supporting our work by becoming a member of SFA or donating at www.sfa-mn.org.

This will be the last episode of season 3, and 2022! Thanks for listening, and we'll see you back in 2023 with another episode on vegetable production with Dan, conversations on new grazing technology, and other great interviews!
Jared Luhman and Dan Zimmerli in conversation about vegetable production logistics from planting to harvest on Cedar Crate Farm. They discuss equipment, planning tools, pack shed layout, seed bed prep, food safety considerations, Lean Farm techniques and more. You just might get ideas for the next growing season!
Dan and his wife operate Cedar Crate Farm southeast of Mankato, growing produce for their CSA members. He also works for SFA as a soil health educator for fruit and vegetable producers.
Check out our first episode with Dan Zimmerli, Episode 33: Growing a CSA from 8 to 80, here.
What’s a finger weeder?
 
Jared Luhman, SFA Soil Health Lead
Dan Zimmerli, SFA Community Organizer and Outreach Coordinator, Cedar Crate Farm
 
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.
If you enjoy Dirt Rich, consider supporting our work by becoming a member of SFA or donating at www.sfa-mn.org.

Jared Luhman, Doug Voss, Kent Solberg, and Jonathan Kilpatrick discuss what's on their mind in the ag world at this point in the season.
As we approach winter in the Midwest, folks are looking ahead and planning for next year. The team highlights the many opportunities for making changes on the farm in the next season guided by the principles of soil health.
 
Jared Luhman, SFA Soil Health Lead
Doug Voss, SFA Grazing Lead
Kent Solberg, SFA Senior Technical Advisor
Jonathan Kilpatrick, SFA Soil Health Specialist
 
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.
If you enjoy Dirt Rich, consider supporting our work by becoming a member of SFA or donating at www.sfa-mn.org.

Katie Feterl and Jared Luhman discuss SFA's on-farm consulting offering, how you can support our work, and highlight two big upcoming events: Annual Conference and Midwest Soil Health Summit.
Contact Jared Luhman about consulting at jared@sfa-mn.org. You can also visit our Staff Page.
 
Give to the Max: November 17, 2022 (Giving open through the end of November). You can also support by giving through the SFA website or becoming a member at any time.
 
SFA Annual Conference: February 11, 2023 in St. Joseph, MN. Visit the webpage to learn more, register, and see exhibitor and sponsor information.
 
Midwest Soil Health Summit: March 8-9, 2023 in Alexandria, MN. Visit the webpage to learn more, register, and see exhibitor and sponsor information.
 
Jared Luhman, SFA Soil Health Lead
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.
If you enjoy Dirt Rich, consider supporting our work by becoming a member of SFA or donating at www.sfa-mn.org.

Originally released November 16, 2020.
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.
If you enjoy Dirt Rich, consider supporting our work by becoming a member of SFA or donating at www.sfa-mn.org.