We’ve spent the past week here at MinnesotaCornerstone.com highlighting some of the common, everyday conservation efforts of Minnesota’s corn farmers.
To many farmers, conservation practices like buffer strips, grass waterways or setting aside wildlife habitat is part of everyday life on the farm. But non-farmers might not be familiar with such practices and how farmers implement them.
That’s why it’s important for farmers to tell their own story, with an emphasis on conservation efforts. Too often, farmers let others tell their story for them. When agriculture’s critics are allowed to take the lead on talking about farming in Minnesota, the results are messy (and inaccurate).
The four profiles we published this week at MinnesotaCornerstone.com were seen by nearly 200,000 people on Facebook and generated over 1,000 “likes.” They also set records for readership at MinnesotaCornerstone.com.
What’s the lesson here? People want to know more about modern farming, especially in the area of conservation. When farmers step up and tell their own story, it benefits all of agriculture. If you’re interested in having your conservation story told on MinnesotaCornerstone.com, contact Adam Czech, public relations manager at the Minnesota Corn Growers Association.
We’ll be back at MinnesotaCornerstone.com next week with more profiles of Minnesota farmers who are growing food, feed, fiber and fuel while taking steps to protect our land, soil and water resources. Meantime, here are links to this week’s stories:
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Check out how this MN farmer protects water quality and soil fertility. Bryan Biegler has experimented with several conservation practices over the years. “We feed what we grow to our kids with no concerns,” Biegler said. “We care for our children very much and work hard to preserve all of this for them.”
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Toquam family carries on conservation and farming tradition. Since the 1930s, the Toquam family has been implementing conservation efforts on their farm. “There’s something bred in a farmer about knowing what’s the right thing to do,” Roger said. “It bothers us if we see soil erosion or runoff happening. It’s in our DNA.”
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Amazing drone footage of a MN farmer protecting water quality. What is side-dressing nitrogen and how does it help farmers protect water quality? Read this profile of Dan Erickson’s family farm and watch this great drone footage to find out.
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Field-to-Stream Partnership helps farmers improve water quality in Southeast MN. When agencies, industry and farmers are able to work together, it goes a long way toward improving ag water quality. Here is a prime example of such a partnership in Southeast Minnesota.