Building Profits and Soil Health

Faced with challenging financial pressure and growing weather extremes, how do farmers go about building soil and improving yields and profits? A "Building Soil for Farm Profitability: Key Steps to Successful Financial Decision-making" workshop will answer this question, and a local farm panel will share their experiences implementing soil health practices. The workshop will take place on Tuesday, Jan. 22, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., at the First Congregational United Church of Christ (221 Seventh Ave. W) in Alexandria. The cost is $10 per individual, $25 for families and includes a light supper. Sign-in begins at 5:00 p.m. To register for this Land Stewardship Project workshop by Jan. 21, call LSP's Robin Moore at 320-269-2105 or email her at rmoore@landstewardshipproject.org.

The lead presenter will be Joshua Dukart, who will address on-farm financial decision-making in the context of soil health. Whether farming conventionally or organically, raising grain or livestock, this workshop is a chance for farmers to focus a financial lens on soil building methods like cover crops, managed rotational grazing, reduced tillage and no-till. Dukart's simple approach to teaching financial decision-making aims to help farmers understand the big picture as well as make critical production decisions based on a clear sense of cost of production for different enterprises.

Dukart speaks, teaches and consults regularly on an international basis. In addition, Dukart and his wife Tara are two of the country's leading instructors in Holistic Management. They own and manage Seek First Ranch in Hazen, N. Dak. The Soil & Water Conservation Society presented Dukart its Excellence in Conservation Award in 2017 and Cattle Business Weekly presented him with a Top 10 National Industry Leaders Award in 2015.

Along with Dukart's presentation and group discussion on Jan. 24, there will be a panel consisting of southern Minnesota farmers sharing their experiences with soil building methods like cover cropping, reduced tillage and managed rotational grazing.

"Dukart is a great presenter. He helps us look at the economics, the family quality of life and the environment, and how it all needs to fit together," said crop and livestock farmer Jon Luhman of Goodhue, Minn. "Whether it's with livestock or with cropping, he understands where farmers are coming from. And Dukart puts it all together in a way that farmers can understand."

Click on this link to download the full flyer PDF on this event: https://landstewardshipproject.org/repository/1/2756/josh_dukart_w_mn.pdf.