More pics here from Michelle’s Farm Beginnings project to show their farm through every month of the season. This first cow is Speckles, she is Missy’s half sister. You may remember seeing Missy in other PastureLand photos. She is a beautiful cow with a similar speckled pattern.

We will put a round bale out in the middle of a pasture like this to reduce wear and tear on the pastures, and so the cows spread their manure on the pastures. It’s one of the great labor saving devices of raising pastured livestock, keep the farmer from having to load up the manure spreader and use fossil fuel to spread around the natural fertilizer!

Good place to bed down and stay out of the wind. The hay is a nice insulator when the cows want to lay down. One way this post ties in to the “Access To Pasture Rule” conversation is that this is what grazing cows look like in winter. They still need access to fresh air, still need to be able to move around, but the farmers have to protect the cows from the weather at times, and they also need to take care of their pasture resources and make sure the cows don’t get hurt on a slippery pasture, or destroy a sensitive pasture if it’s muddy or wet.

Here are some more pics of the Benrud farm in winter. These are more pics for the Farm Beginning’s program. Looking a little colder here, but you get a good view of what it’s like to be a cow outside in winter, in Minnesota. Stand around, eat some hay, move out of the wind, drink some water, get milked twice a day. You’d be amazed to feel how warm they are. With their coats thick and fuzzy they are impervious to the cold most days.

We’ve spoken here and on the PastureLand website about the work Michelle and Roger are doing with Land Stewardship Project’s Farm Beginnings Program. Michelle’s new project is to take pics on the first of each month to show how the farm changes through the seasons. From the depths of winter, even the November 1 pics will make you ache for spring. We still had green grass, the cows were still happily getting most of their nutritition from the pastures, and we were not quite at the end of the butter and cheese-making season.

This one shows what the cows get to eat late in the season. Yummy turnips and oats!We’ll try to put up more of the seasonal pics. Keep dreaming – spring is coming!

I have been working with Dakota Rural Action on implementing a program to get more individuals and families growing and producing here in eastern South Dakota.

The Farm Beginnings program, developed by the Land Stewardship Project, includes classes, mentorship, and farm tours/skill lessons to help beginning farmers learn how to get growing/producing, and focuses on sustainability and profitability in farm enterprises.

We talk a lot about how difficult it is for young people (or even not-so-young people) to transition into farming.  This is one method that has proven successful in other states where it has been implemented.

I have been drafting a letter to my past CSA members and farmers market customers asking for support.  While I don’t make a habit of using my mailing list to solicit donations, Farm Beginnings is a program that could really make a diffference in the number of sustainable family farms and the availability of local food in our region.

Local Food Hero — AM 950 KTNF — The Voice of Minnesota

1:00, April 5, 2008

A show where we discuss the growing, cooking, eating and yes…the politics of what you put in your mouth.

What’s in the Pot: Tracy Singleton, Owner and Restaurateur, Birchwood Cafe

National Spotlight: Bobby King, Policy Program Organizer, Land Stewardship Project

Outstanding in Their Field: Jodi Ohlsen-Read, Co-owner, Cheesemaker, Shepherd’s Way Farm

Health and Wellness: Dr. William Klevos, the health benefits of grass-fed dairy and sheep cheese.

Email us at localfoodhero@gmail.com