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Walk into any feed store (or scroll online for five minutes), and you’ll see it: Organic. Non-GMO. Soy-Free. Conventional. All-Natural. It starts to feel less like buying feed… and more like trying to decode a secret language. Here’s the truth: Most of these labels weren’t created for the animals, they were created for people. Now, that doesn’t make them bad. Some labels reflect meaningful production practices. Others help farmers access premium markets. And some? Well… some

Over the past four weeks, we’ve walked through something that doesn’t always get talked about openly—but sits quietly behind a lot of farms today: What happens next? Not just next season. Not just next year. But the next generation. There’s No One-Size-Fits-All Answer If there’s one thing this series made clear, it’s this: There isn’t one “right” way to transition a farm. Every operation is different. Every family is different. Every piece of land carries its own story. But

Learning the Work, Earning the Ground There’s a way into farming that doesn’t start with a loan. No massive land purchase. No overwhelming upfront investment. No trying to figure it all out alone. It starts with showing up. An Old Model That Still Works Before formal programs, before ag loans and business plans, people learned to farm one way: By working alongside someone who already knew how. You didn’t just learn what to do. You learned: When to do it Why it mattered And

Co-Farming: Sharing the Load, Sharing the Future It seems we're finally seeing what we've all hoped for...Agriculture is growing as a desirable lifestyle/career by many in both younger and mid-range generations. While this is exciting news, there’s a hard reality in farming right now: Getting started from scratch is tough. Land prices are high. Equipment costs aren’t slowing down. And even if you’ve got the skills—you still need access. At the same time, there are establish

Step onto any farm with more than one generation involved, and you’ll feel it right away. Not tension, necessarily—but difference . We all want the dream-a family of multiple generations working together in harmony with a common goal. Often times, we get something else... Different ways of thinking. Different ways of working. Different ideas about what the farm should be. Because the truth is: Farming looks different depending on where you stand. Two Perspectives, One Piece

Wills, Trusts & Keeping It All Together There’s a hard truth in farming that doesn’t get talked about enough: You can do everything right in the field and still lose the farm at the kitchen table. We’ve all seen it. A good farm. Paid-for equipment. Generations of hard work. Then something happens: unexpected illness, a passing, or even just time catching up and suddenly everything is uncertain. Not because the farm wasn’t strong, but because there was no plan. Why This Matter

There’s a quiet question sitting at the edge of many kitchen tables, shop conversations, and pasture walks right now: What happens next? Across the Midwest—and especially here at home—farms are facing a turning point. The land is still good. The knowledge is still here. But the bridge between generations? That’s where things get uncertain. Some farms have no clear transition plan. Others have eager next-generation farmers but no clear pathway in. And many are somewhere in bet

photo credit: ReSprout (left) Sierra Flower Farm (middle) Landon Gilfillan(right) Every winter in northern gardens, while the snow piles up outside and the coffee pot works overtime, farmers and gardeners start dreaming about seed trays, greenhouse benches, and the promise of spring. One seed-starting method that has gained popularity in recent years is soil blocking . Some gardeners swear by it, while others quietly return to their trusty plastic trays after one messy attem

FINALLY. We've made it through all the false springs into warm weather...and then the unseen enemy comes in for an attack. There’s a certain romance to spring on the farm. The calves hit the ground. The lambs start bouncing. The chickens lay like they’re trying to win a blue ribbon. The snow melts and the fields begin to breathe again. But as the mud thaws… so do the parasites lurking in our fields. And while no one is pinning spring deworming photos on Pinteres t , it might