Minnesota farmers turn to regenerative agriculture to deal with climate extremes

COLD SPRING, Minn. — Farmers in Minnesota are in a tough spot. Climate extremes, things like floods and droughts, are hurting production and the state is asking them to cut emissions and do their best to farm sustainably. So what does that look like?

At Derek Schmitz's farm in Cold Spring, they follow a set of land management principles known as regenerative agriculture — essentially trying to work with nature instead of against it to restore and enhance the ecosystem.

"The reason we moved to it is that it just made sense. Mother Nature always wins," Schmitz said.

Just ask farmer John Willenbring. He bought the farm from his father and now rents it out.

But he decided to make big changes, like getting rid of chemicals on the land because of health concerns and converting the pastures to perennial grasses.

Willenbring says the first three years were tough — yield dropped — but then there was healing, which surprised the lifelong farmer.

"It's really a good feeling," he said.

It's healing Kent Solberg can see in the soil.

"Some people say it looks like chocolate cottage cheese or chocolate cake," he said. "It creates a sponge-like texture to the soil that allows water to infiltrate when it rains, it holds and stores it."

Solberg runs his own farm and teaches others around the country how to implement regenerative practices.

He says the steps Schmitz and Willenbring are taking to restore the landscape are working, and it's something we should all be invested in.

"We know there's a direct correlation between the health of the soil and the nutrient quality of the food we eat," Solberg said. "If we eat food, if we breathe air, if we drink water, this is something that should resonate with all of us."

Farmer Doug Voss says he was able to improve the water quality around his plot of land in Stearns County.

"We're standing right next to a well that used to have to test routinely for nitrate levels in their well water," Voss said. "Now, he's had undetectable levels of nitrates. We associate that directly with our management practices."

He planted multiple crops to increase biodiversity and cut synthetics use. No synthetic fertilizers, pesticides or tillage — the cows do that all on their own.

"So we emulate nature by keeping the cattle on the land instead of spending so much time working ground, growing crops to store feed," Voss said. "It is working from a business perspective because we've lowered our overheard. We don't have near the expenses anymore."

"We're making more money, and on top of that, our soils are greatly improving, our cow health is way better than it ever was," Schmitz said.

And it makes these farms more resilient to climate extremes.

"We found with providing adequate rest, everything bounces back so we haven't had the disaster we anticipated," Voss said.