Dirt Rich

Sep 11 2024 83 ep. 41 mins 51
Dirt Rich Podcast artwork

Seasonal conversations on food and farming. Produced by the Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota. www.sfa-mn.org Follow SFA's work by signing up for our e-newsletter: https://sfamn.z2systems.com/np/clients/sfamn/subscribe.jsp?subscription=7&

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Revisited: Shifting Agriculture with Dan Kittredge

Sep 11 2024 56 mins  
Dan Kittredge grew up on a homestead with a family deeply engaged in the organic movement. Over the years, he worked on farms across the globe and learned from permaculture, biodynamic, agroecology, indigenous, conventional, and microbiological perspectives. With a foundation in both the practical and the philosophical, he created the Bionutrient Food Association (BFA) in 2010, who

73: Direct Marketing for Produce Growers

Aug 28 2024 59 mins  
Two farmers on the SFA team share what they've learned over several years of operating CSAs and selling at farmers' markets. Dan Zimmerli of Cedar Crate Farm (Waldorf) and Lauren Barry of Dancing Gnome Farm (Wabasha) talk about how they've grown their businesses, the tech that helps them day-to-day, and how they design their farm stands at the market to boost sales and build relati

72: Farm Marketing & Mindset with Charlotte Smith

Mar 27 2024 59 mins  
Click here to learn more and register for the upcoming workshop with Charlotte Smith. Charlotte Smith swore she would never return to farming after a very difficult family farm bankruptcy while growing up. Spoiler: After some time working in the corporate world, she started a farm in 2009. She found that the time management, hiring, and interpersonal skills she had learned also

71: Shifting Agriculture with Dan Kittredge

Jan 08 2024 56 mins  
Dan Kittredge grew up on a homestead with a family deeply engaged in the organic movement. Over the years, he worked on farms across the globe and learned from permaculture, biodynamic, agroecology, indigenous, conventional, and microbiological perspectives. With a foundation in both the practical and the philosophical, he created the Bionutrient Food Association (BFA) in 2010, who

70: Building Your Dream Team and Farm with Derek Schmitz

Oct 04 2023 53 mins  
Derek Schmitz has never dreamt of being anything other than a farmer. He also really doesn't like doing field work. An adaptively managed, perennial grazing dairy just makes sense. In this conversation Schmitz shares how fellow dairy farmers helped him get started, and how genetics, observation and building his own farm team through the Minnesota Dairy Initiative have been key to

69: Grazing Management, Drought, & the NRCS

Aug 23 2023 60 mins  
Jeff Duchene is a Grazing Specialist for the Minnesota NRCS, which offers both financial and technical assistance to producers to help them meet their land management goals and address their natural resource concerns. In conversation with host Jonathan Kilpatrick, Duchene shares how his formal education combined with years of learning directly from producers has been foundational i

68: Dealing with Drought Roundtable

Jul 27 2023 52 mins  
Five SFA farm consultants from across Minnesota discuss how they are approaching and planning ahead for drought conditions on their varying grazing operations. While conditions have changed since this conversation was recorded in early June 2023, their goals and decision-making strategies are evergreen. Listeners are welcome to reach out with questions. Drop us a line! SFA also off

67: What is Farm Profitability?

Jun 14 2023 61 mins  
Jonathan Kilpatrick and Jared Luhman return to the mic to explore farm financial health. Doing a thorough business analysis can help you clearly identify specifically where your profits and losses lie across your enterprises, and in turn help you make confident decisions for your farm’s future. In their experience, the time you take to get a handle on your numbers usually pays it

66: From Farm to SFA and Back

May 31 2023 46 mins  
We’re switching it up today! Jonathan Kilpatrick moves into the host seat and interviews Jared Luhman about the history of farming in his family and about his time working for Sustainable Farming Association. A pivotal moment for the trajectory of the family farm came when a visiting student told them they were working too hard. The listening and learning (and traveling!) that fo

65: The Emerging Farmers Office

Apr 05 2023 50 mins  
In 2022, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) opened the state's first Emerging Farmers Office. Lillian Otieno and Assistant Commissioner Patrice Bailey of the MDA Commissioner’s Office share how it came to be, the value it brings to our agricultural landscape, and the impacts they are seeing. SFA’s Executive Director Lucinda Winter hosts this discussion, exploring the