Lori Feltis: Playing a no-tillage tune

The Minnesota Corn Growers Association launched its “Minnesota Farm Team” campaign last week to highlight how corn farmers take care of our land, water and soil. MinnesotaCornerstone.com will profile a different member of the Farm Team every day this week.

If you’re looking for someone who is passionate about farming, Lori Feltis fits the bill. If you’re looking for someone to play a few tunes on the accordion, Lori can do that, too.

Lori farms with her husband, two sons and daughter in Stewartville. On their family farm, the Feltis’s grow corn, soybeans, alfalfa and wheat. They’ve also practiced no-tillage farming since the early 1980s.

By not tilling the soil, Lori and her family significantly reduce soil erosion and increase the amount of organic matter and nutrient retention in the soil.

When you’re as passionate about farming as Lori is, being a good steward of the land is second nature. When she’s not farming, Lori speaks to community groups about farming and maintains an active Facebook page with pictures from her farm.

Oh, and Lori also owns 17 accordions. What does that have to do with farming? Nothing, unless you happen to hear Lori playing at a local threshing show. Lori got an accordion for Christmas from her father when she was a kid and taught herself how to play.

“I learned on church music,” Lori says. “That’s the easiest. Eventually I learned some country tunes and it went from there.”

Thank you, Lori, for being both the no-tillage specialist and musician of the Minnesota Farm Team!

To learn more about the Minnesota Farm Team, visit MNFarmteam.com. You can register to serve as groundskeeper for a day at a Minnesota Twins game and win other great prizes. You can listen to all four Minnesota Farm Team radio commercials below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBuA-YrYRUQ