Ben Dwire

bdwire@mnsoilhealth.org

We farm in both Lincoln and Lyon counties, near Arco, MN.  My wife Kristi is a pharmacist, and I farm full time.  Kristi and I are both graduates of South Dakota State University.  We have two daughters, Sara and Madison, who are both in elementary school.

We farm about 650 acres of cropland, and 150 acres of hay and pasture land.  Our crops are 100% no-till, and non GMO.  We raise soybeans, oats, wheat, corn, and various annual forage crops.  We usually try to have at least 2/3 of our acres or more, receive cover crops each year.

Our farm was enrolled in the MN clean water certification program in the fall of 2016.  On our pasture, we practice management intensive grazing, where animals are moved either daily or at 3 day intervals, depending on time of year and management objectives.  We raise beef, pork and chicken, all on pasture.