Renewing the Countryside team member, Lisa Kivirist, bakes up these muffins regularly for her B&B guests at her farmstay,
Inn Serendipity. Recipe from her Farmstead Chef cookbook:

INGREDIENTS:
1 t. canola oil
2 eggs
1 c. winter squash puree
1/2 c. butter, melted (1 stick)
2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. ginger
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. allspice
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
3/4 c. sugar
1 3/4 c. flour
3/4 c. chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:
1. Lightly oil 12 standard muffin cups.
2. In a large bowl, combine eggs, squash and butter. Add spices, baking soda, baking powder, salt, sugar and flour. Mix until well blended. Fold in chocolate chips.
3. Fill prepared muffin cups until almost full.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for about 10 minutes before removing
from pan and placing on wire rack.

Good Turn Farm, WI

www.goodturnfarm.com

My husband Kevin and I run a small-scale vegetable farm in Stockholm, WI. This is our second full year of production & marketing as Good Turn Farm and we became certified organic for mixed vegetables, cut flowers, and mushrooms by Midwest Organic Services Association (MOSA) in July 2017.

Because we were paying for our organic certification in quarterly payments, we had to talk to someone at MOSA to find out what we were qualified to get reimbursed for at that period in time. The woman at MOSA was very helpful and encouraged us to give her contact information to our FSA office if there were any questions because MOSA really wants these cost-share reimbursements to go smoothly.

Dorothy’s Range, WI
www.dorothysgrange.com

April was not new to farming when she first connected to the Farm Service Agency, but she was new to the opportunity of farming her own land. April has made her home at Dorothy’s Range, surrounded by prairie, streams, oak savanna, and farm fields, just an hour southwest of Madison, and a few hours northwest of Chicago. With a background in environmental science and ethics, and managing a wholesale CSA, she had many tools in her toolbox. But when she moved onto 50 mixed acres that belonged to her partner, Steve, an ecologist, she began taking a larger view and questioning how this particular landscape might best be used.

Although April had been a vegetarian for years, it was a conversation with another female farmer friend about how pigs might compliment her vegetable sales, strengthen her anemic health, and benefit her landscape, that propelled her into giving hogs a try, and put her on the track she is today at Dorothy’s Range.

April works specifically with Glouchestershire Old Spots and Large Black hogs, breeds in danger of disappearing and chosen for their grazing quality, mothering skills, and delicious marbling. Spending her days working with animals is a bit different than her professional experience with vegetables. She says, “I feel accountable to the hogs, they’re something to get up for. And I get to share everything that is great about pigs with people.” Heritage pork is sold at the farm and local farmers’ markets, and piglets are sold to small farms as breeding stock and feeder hogs. When the opportunity to purchase 28 upland acres from a neighbor came up, she was excited at the prospect of owning her own land. “You know what to do,” April said, about the confidence that comes with years of farming. She had always checked in with Steve on decisions about the land before, and was excited about the prospect of streamlining and directing more of her farming processes. 

Welcome -- 

Here we are, already at the edition of our quarterly Women in Ag Newsletter Soil Sisters: Conservation Harvest, focused on women farmland owners, women farmers, and those devoted to the conservation of our farmland!

Please encourage your friends and colleagues to join the list. Remember, we'll just send out quarterly emails like this one, and we will not sell or share your email address. Enjoy!

The Buzz About Buffers

Buffers, also known as filter strips, are an important tool in the soil and water conservation tool box.  They are typically located along streams, rivers and lakes to slow the flow of water from the surrounding landscape and filter out pollutants such as phosphorus, nitrogen and sediment found in the runoff after snow melt and rain events.  They also help to stabilize shorelines during flood events provided they have plants with good root structures.  Buffers can be grasses, trees or even crops such as alfalfa.  Some are native plants but not all. Minnesota has actually had a law requiring shoreland (aka riparian) buffers since 1989 but knowledge about the law and enforcement was spotty at best.  It was time for a reboot. More here...

Conservation Expert Profile

Today we are highlighting one of the women SWCD Supervisors who is truly “outstanding in her field”. Dr. Kathryn Kelly has served in this role in Renville County for many years.  She is a retired professional educator, having served on the Education Department faculty at St. Cloud State University.  

She has owned farmland for much of her life but now lives “in town”  in Olivia, Minnesota. Kathryn’s passion for involvement and protecting natural resources began at an early age. She notes “My father was the impetus for my involvement. He led by example through his work in early adoption of conservation practices."

 More here...

Peaches and Blueberry Oatmeal

Buffers, also known as filter strips, are an important tool in the soil and water conservation tool box.  They are typically located along streams, rivers and lakes to slow the flow of water from the surrounding landscape and filter out pollutants such as phosphorus, nitrogen and sediment found in the runoff after snow melt and rain events.  They also help to stabilize shorelines during flood events provided they have plants with good root structures.  Buffers can be grasses, trees or even crops such as alfalfa.  Some are native plants but not all. Minnesota has actually had a law requiring shoreland (aka riparian) buffers since 1989 but knowledge about the law and enforcement was spotty at best.  It was time for a reboot.

In June of 2015 Governor Dayton signed the new statewide Buffer Law to help protect and improve the quality of our streams, rivers and lakes in Minnesota.  After some tweaking and clarifications during the spring 2016 legislative session this new law is ready to go.  Buffers of some kind of perennial vegetation will be required on public waters and public drainage systems.  There is no requirement for private drainage systems but having that buffer is certainly a good idea.

As the warm spring sunshine and rains were waking up the landscape women landowners and farmers gathered together for something most have never done before.  They gathered to meet other women like them, learn about healthy soil and actions that can be taken to nurture their land, meet women whose job it is to assist, and view examples on the landscape to spur actions. They gathered from a diversity of backgrounds and experiences: farm wives, mothers, teachers, nurses, active farmers (row crop to organic vegetables), retired farmers living in town, and the list goes on.  They shared a desire to better understand how farming affects their land, how to protect and improve the soil, and leave a legacy for their heirs.  

Women learning about healthy soil at the Kroeker Farm.

These gatherings are different from traditional farm education events in that they are not a room full of men and are designed for the way women prefer to learn. One participant noted  “When people close their eyes and think of a farmer they don’t think of people who look like us.”  However, more women are becoming owners or co-owners of land and they need to have the knowledge and resources to take care of that land.

Soil & Water Conservation District Supervisor Kathryn Kelly

As this election season is in full swing it seems appropriate to highlight an elected office that few people know about and where there is a need for women leaders; Soil & Water Conservation District Supervisor.  SWCDs as they are know can be found in most counties of Minnesota. They are local units of government that help landowners protect and restore soil, water and natural resources.  The Supervisors serve as the Board helping to provide guidance and policies for these organizations.  Learn more by finding your SWCD on the web.

Today we are highlighting one of the women SWCD Supervisors who is truly “outstanding in her field”. Dr. Kathryn Kelly has served in this role in Renville County for many years.  She is a retired professional educator, having served on the Education Department faculty at St. Cloud State University.  She has owned farmland for much of her life but now lives “in town”  in Olivia, Minnesota.

Kathryn’s passion for involvement and protecting natural resources began at an early age. She notes “My father was the impetus for my involvement. He led by example through his work in early adoption of conservation practices. He also advised me from my earliest memory that,  "when you  retire, you need to become involved in doing things that make things better. After all, others did things to pave the way for opportunities you had." Wise advice I have followed! And....I'm not a rocking chair type of person!!”

Five Tips for Beginning Women Farmers

Soil Sisters: Sara Freid, Lake City Catholic Worker Farm (Lake City, MN)
By Lisa Kivirist, author of Soil Sisters: A Toolkit for Women Farmers

Just about all farm women plant seeds and harvest crops, as does Sara Freid on her diversified operation in Lake City, Minnesota. However, dig a little deeper into Sara’s story and you quickly see she’s growing more than dinner on her land, she’s cultivating change.

“As a Catholic Worker Farm, our operation carries on the lay movement started by Dorothy Day during the Depression in the 1930s, a woman who grew disappointed in the church’s non- presence working to address issues of the day such as hunger and homelessness,” explains Sara. “Her core teaching is to identify needs in your community and then, importantly, act on what you can do to help resolve it.”

For Sara and her family, starting the Lake City Catholic Worker Farm in 2007 serves as their vivid and tangible action to both bringing healthy, fresh food to their community while providing a venue to tackle the broader issue of serving people in need. Today they raise diversified produce, pigs, chickens and eggs and sell at the Lake City farmers’ market, local schools, group homes, donate to area food pantries and other Catholic Worker homes and offer a fall CSA (community supported agriculture) share.

“Each Catholic Worker community is an independent entity that each strive in their own way to serve those in need, ranging from homes offering food and shelter to working farms like ours,” shares Sara. Her farm welcomes and hosts people in need of support, from lodging to meals. “Folks who come are our guests and we strive to make them feel welcomed, safe and loved. While guests can help in the gardens, it’s not a requirement to stay.”

For women interested in creating a farm venture in this same spirit of blending a successful farm enterprise with their social justice mission, read on for five tips from Sara: