Come for the economics, stay for the soil health benefits.

Although it sounds like a travel brochure marketing pitch, that in a nutshell is an explanation for the farming practices implemented by the Udermann family at Meadowbrook Dairy Inc. near Sartell in Stearns County, Minn.

John, Mary Lou, Alex, Kirsten, Jake and Sam Udermann operate 1,000 no-till acres (130 acres of which are irrigated) of corn, soybeans, small grains and alfalfa, along with operating an 80-cow dairy and 300 feeder steers. That is a lot of work for the brothers and Alex’s wife, Kirsten.

“We had so much work to do when we’re running conventional practices,” Alex says. “There wasn’t enough time in the day or enough money to hire in extra labor. So, we started our conservation practices based on the economic side of, ‘How can we reduce our labor and our financial load to farm what we have without going broke?’”

Admitting that conservation practices require new management, the Udermann family attended a field day within the county, attending “with an open mind just to learn more about soil and how you can improve it,” Alex says.

In addition to lessons learned through various field days, the Udermanns also rely on the expertise of the staff at the Stearns County Soil and Water Conservation District office and use such programs as the Minnesota water-quality certification program to guide their farm in the right direction for their conservation goals. They became certified in 2021. They also have used the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Conservation Stewardship Program. Through the CSP, the family has been able to offset the cost and risks of changing land-management practices.

Related:Conservation highlighted at annual convention

The Udermanns’ reduced tillage journey began with no-till soybeans in 2016, soon followed by no fall tillage and a “light” disk pass only on corn acres in the spring.

“We still kind of had the attitude that this is just good economics of farming,” Alex says. “Financially, we were doing a lot better because we’re not running our high horsepower four-wheel drives, making multiple trips across the field, picking rocks, buying expensive parts and hiring extra labor to help in season.”

Once they got to the third year of operating that way, they realized there was more going on than merely saving money from the reduced tillage. “That’s when we could start seeing the soil is starting to change,” Alex says. “It got darker. We’re starting to see some worms actually in the soil profile.” By the fourth year, they saw still more soil improvement. “At year five, it’s like, yeah, there’s more science behind this than just saving money. We started to see the soil build structure and form aggregates.”

Related:Best nitrogen practices: It depends

Seeing these improvements in the soil, they then added limited cover crops to the mix, “just to see how it would go.”

Their current CSP contract expired, and they applied for a new one in 2021. “And that’s when we signed up for no-till, cover crops, nutrient management, irrigation management — kind of went full throttle,” Alex says.

In 2022, the family went full no-till, adding their corn acres to the previous no-tilled soybean acres, and a year later they added cover crops to all of their acres.

The Udermanns’ work got noticed beyond their farm gate, as in early December, they were named the 2024 Minnesota outstanding conservationists by the Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts, an award sponsored by The Farmer. The Udermanns represent West Central Area 2 and were nominated by the Stearns SWCD.

Lacking the tools

Despite the Udermanns converting full-bore to no-till and cover crops, they lacked the proper tools of the trade. Agricultural Best Management Practices loans allowed the Udermanns to lighten their iron load by trading 23 pieces of equipment including a chisel plow, a field cultivator, two four-wheel drive high-horsepower tractors, a 12-row planter, a 25-foot drill and other equipment.

Related:Multiple early killing frosts of September ’74

They then purchased smaller tractors, a no-till corn planter, a no-till drill, vertical beater spreaders and liquid manure equipment.

One knock against no-till is that farmers will experience yield drag, but that has not occurred on the Udermann farm. “If you want to make it work, it’s going to work,” Alex says.

Purchased manure equipment allows them to haul their livestock manure farther from the home farm to improve soil health on all their farmland, and they have not purchased any commercial phosphorus and potassium since then. Additionally, the Udermanns custom-apply manure for other producers.

“After eight years implementing regenerative practices, it seems to be getting easier to some degree,” Alex says, adding that it’s also getting stressful as they continue to learn about soil biology and its functions. “We quickly become very humbled when listening to presenters speak about the forms of life in the soil such as bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms. Instead of looking at [nitrogen], P, K and micronutrients, today we are looking at soil and compost under a microscope to see where we can make improvements.”

Aiming to spread the message of the soil benefits that they have seen, the Udermanns also have started custom no-till planting and seeding cover crops for other farmers.

“After you successfully adopt no-till, the sky is the limit when it comes to improving soil health and water quality,” Alex says. “It’s not just about not tilling the soil anymore, it’s, ‘How do we continually improve, even when we have high-functioning soils?’ We can see earthworm middens/castings have reached 1.5 million earthworms per acre, mushrooms are growing in fields, and some fields the cover crop — and last year crop residue — is eaten and completely gone by the fall.”

In addition, they plan to add multispecies legume cover crops, non-GMO crops and composting.

Although they are still learning by attending field days and conferences, the Udermanns also have begun hosting field days on their own farm, sharing their lessons learned.

The Udermanns say that the close working relationship with their SWCD/NRCS, ongoing education on regenerative farming, implementing the five soil health principles and a deep passion for conservation are the keys to their success.

“Since transitioning to regenerative farming, our farm, livestock and community have thrived,” Alex says. “We have grown as individuals, understanding the importance of sustainable practices.”

Conservation of the Year finalists

Northwest Area 1

Tim and Angie Lehrke, Ogema, Minn., nominated by Becker SWCD. Tim and Angie Lehrke of Ogema farm with son Weston, daughters Wren and Annalise, and grandson Drue. The Lehrkes operate a 400-acre livestock farm raising 60 head of Angus cow-calf pairs. Through the federal Environmental Quality Incentives Program, prescribed grazing was implemented on 55 acres of pasture with fencing, pipeline and water tanks.

Tim is a big fan of soil health. They practice no-till and incorporate cover crops into their conservation crop rotation. Full-season cover crops are grazed to extend the grazing season into early winter. This benefits the soil but also relieves them from hauling manure. The cows do all the work for them. Livestock shelters are used to protect cattle from the northwest Minnesota winds when grazing into winter.

Northeast Area 3

Frechette Farms, Hinckley, Minn., nominated by Pine SWCD. Jack Frechette and Julie Kraft Frechette operate a diversified farm focused on heritage pork, Texas longhorn and Angus-crossed cattle, and a large vegetable garden. Jack and Julie integrate conservation and fellowship into every aspect of their lives and farm. They rotationally graze their cattle and pigs, use soil health best management practices on their garden, plant native species and have a proposal to restore 80 acres of wetland.

They also are active in their community through their nonprofit Meating the Need, the Pine Center for the Arts, the Pine County Northern Lights Lions Club, A Place For You Shelter and the Pine County Farmers Union.

Metro Area 4

Maxine Hughes, Shakopee, Minn., nominated by Scott SWCD. Maxine Hughes of Shakopee has become a community leader for urban conservation and healthy lakeshore stewardship. Maxine and her husband, Keiran, improved their entire 165 feet of O’Dowd Lake shoreline through a native buffer project. At the same time, they converted more than a half-acre upland of the lake into native prairie, preventing even more runoff from getting into the lake. Her property also boasts hand-planted native trees and no-mow fescue lawn that all add biodiversity.

In addition to her conservation projects, you can find her volunteering for organizations such as Great River Greening, the Metropolitan Council, the O’Dowd Lake Association and more.

Southwest Area 5

Curtis and Carla Trost, Wabasso, Minn., nominated by Redwood SWCD. Curtis and Carla Trost of Wabasso operate a large corn and soybean farm in rural Redwood County, cultivating more than 1,400 acres. The Trosts have been farming for 42 years, with the farm site being in Carla’s family since 1893, making them the fourth generation to live there. Over the years, they have used many soil health practices to prevent soil movement. The Trosts see firsthand the importance of how cover crops and no-till planting stop soil movement on their operation. Cover crops not only help keep the soils covered from the elements but also provide refuge and a food source for the abundant local wildlife.

South Central Area 6

Mark and Randy Depuydt, Mankato, Minn., nominated by Blue Earth SWCD. Mark and Randy Depuydt have implemented soil health practices not only on their family farm but also for the custom strip-till business they run, strip-tilling thousands of acres throughout south-central Minnesota. The Depuydts run a corn and soybean operation between St. Clair and Mankato. They recently have begun using cover crops. This wouldn’t be possible without using the district’s cost-share program. Their work shows others in the area that implementing soil health practices can be used effectively in the region.

Sadly, Mark Depuydt passed away Nov. 20 after battling cancer.

Southeast Area 7

Gary and Sandy Klinski, Caledonia, Minn., nominated by Root River SWCD. Gary and Sandy Klinski of Caledonia have upland cropping surrounded by pasture below. The valley crop land has been enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program. Conservation projects implemented include waterways, pushup ponds, contour strips, brush management, feedlot improvements and rotational grazing. In the 1970s, Gary helped establish wild turkeys in Houston County. The crop land is planted on the contour, with many acres dedicated to contour strips. They rotate between corn, soybeans and alfalfa. The Klinskis worked with the Root River SWCD and the Crooked Creek Watershed District to install a stormwater reduction/retention structure and waterway in 2021 and 2022 that has a drainage area of 1,010 acres. This will help to slow the runoff rate and reduce flooding downstream.

North Central Area 8

Stattelman Family Ranch, Pine River, Minn., nominated by Cass and Crow Wing SWCDs. Thomas and Cyriana Stattelman operate a beef cattle operation consisting of cow-calf pairs, yearling heifers and bulls. Thomas grew up on this farm, which has been in the family since 1976. The family’s focus for years has been that of minimal disturbance. Thomas has put effort into fine-tuning the genetics of his herd in a way that favors grazing and efficiency. They have practiced rotational grazing, bale grazing, annual forages and temporary fencing with the goal of increasing the grazing season and improving nutrient cycling. The Stattelmans have now expanded their practices onto rented land with a new prescribed grazing plan.The Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts contributed to this