FAQs

Explore videos of local farmers answering frequently asked questions about soil health in southern Minnesota

Why do you farm the way you do?

Are you struggling to find the time to get everything done? This is a common challenge on a farm. There’s an endless list of things to do, and a limited amount of time to get it done.

The reality is that you can’t fit six gallons of water in a five gallon bucket. You have to prioritize and choose how to use your time.

Mark Portner faces the same challenge on his farm, and it led him and his family to make some changes.

Mark introduces us to his farm and explains what they did on his farm to create more time.

Mark Portner, Port Haven Farm

Video title: How to create more time on the farm

The farm is not just a place of business where you earn money. It is also a place to live. A place where values, knowledge and traditions of previous generations are carried forward and passed on to the next generation. This dependence on the land and continuity of caretakers is often an underlying foundation for decision making on the farm. Of course, the farm needs to be profitable to be successful, and it also needs a farmer with an ethic of land stewardship. Someone with farming in his blood. Someone who gets bothered when he sees soil blowing away and can make a decision to do something about it. Which is exactly what this Watonwan County farmer did. In this video, George Sill introduces us to his farm. He explains why he started to minimize tillage in 2012, and why it’s important to him to stay focused on his soil.

George Sill

Video title: The real reason farmers adopt soil health practices

You've probably heard abut the soil health benefits and reduced erosion from no-till planting, but many farmers start for other reasons. Tom Muller din't start no-tilling soybeans in 1988 to improve soil health. Watch this video to hear Tom explain why his family started no-tilling so long ago. After all those years, Tom says that no-tilling and strip-tilling have become a way to keep his banker happy and ensure he can continue farming.

Tom Muller, David Muller Farms

Video title: Why Tom Muller started no-tilling soybeans in 1988

We know that taking care of your land and being profitable are essential to your farm. So, have you ever wondered why some farmers are adopting cover crops across their entire operation? You know how short our growing season is, and the narrow window we have to get our primary crops planted let alone a cover crop in between crops. Pat Duncanson had these same hesitations, and he tried to prove that it wouldn’t work. Learn what happened when Pat tried to prove that cover crops wouldn’t work around here, and why he now uses cover crops as much as possible across his operation.