HMI is excited to be collaborating with Kaesebier Farm of Elkhart, Illionis and the Soil Health Partnership in offering a full-day workshop on August 28th with Gabe Brown titled: “Putting the Farm Back in Farming." The cost is only $50 per person and the workshop is limited to 75 people. The first part of the day will be a farm tour of the Kaesebier Farm where they are experimenting with cover crops. You'll see some of those test plots as well as a soil pit dig and learn about soil health and farm productivity as Gabe leads the tour. The afternoon will be more presentations by Gabe and times for Q&A.
Click here to register. Directions will be sent upon registration. Limited spots available so register soon!
Agenda
9:00 - Registration
10:00 – Introduction from HMI
10:10 – Rick and Kathy Kaesebier—Kaesebier Farm
10:30 - Farm Tour lead by Gabe Brown. View cover crop test plots and soil pit dig
11:45 - Caravan to in town venue for lunch and afternoon presentations
Noon - Lunch (included in registration)
1 - 4 p.m Soil Health Practices that increase Profitability—Presentations by Gabe Brown
We believe in and practice Holistic Management, a part of which is farming and ranching in nature’s image. We strive to solve problems in a natural and sustainable way. Soil is a biological system. Its health provides the nutrients we need to sustain life, thus improving soil health must be the focus of our operation. We have practiced no-till farming since 1993. We use a diverse cropping strategy which includes cover and companion crops. We have now eliminated the use of synthetic fertilizers, fungicides, and pesticides. Our ever-evolving high density grazing strategy allows most of our pastures a recovery period of over 360 days. All these strategies have allowed the health of the soil, the mineral and water cycles to greatly improve. In other words, the natural resources have benefited. This results in increased production, profit and a higher quality of life for us. It is our belief that we need to regenerate our landscapes in order for both our and future generations to be sustainable.
Rick and Kathy Kaesebier started their grain farm in 1980 when they rented their first field. Through the years farms have been added and subtracted, so that they are currently at 800 acres. With this amount of acreage, they decided they had to increase their farms vertically rather than horizontally by improving their soils and integrating other enterprises. In 2015 Rick planted their first cover crop field of cereal rye before soy beans on their 100% no-till farm. In 2016, their cover crop acreage increased to nearly 300 acres of cereal rye as well as the addition of rapeseed on some of the acreage. In June of 2017,Rick and Kathy both successfully completed the 18-month Advanced Soil Health Training provided by American Farmland Trust, North Central SARE, and Ag Conservation Solutions which only increased their desire to add more enterprises to their farm. The latest additions include adding beef cattle and meat chickens.
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