Chris Schmidt

cschmidt@mnsoilhealth.org

I farm in Murray county, near Garvin, MN.  I am a graduate of Pine Technical College.  I have four children: Brad, Jordan, Taylor and Lane, of which three are grown, pursuing or working in the agricultural field and the medical field with one of high school age.

After 18 yrs of being in the construction industry and the “Green” movement for energy efficiency, it was time to come back to the family farm.  After a little convincing, my son Brad and I converted my father, Dale to 100% no- till and cover crops.  After 7 years of being in the regenerative agricultural community and meeting like-minded producers, educators and researchers, we have diversified our livestock from cattle, to cattle, sheep, hogs, chicken, and turkeys. We are working towards pastured raised animals as much as possible.  We also have a diversified crop rotation, raising corn, soybeans, wheat, rye, triticale, and alfalfa with grass mixes.   100 % of our crop land receives a multi-species cover crop mix.

Our farm was enrolled in the MN Ag Water Quality Certification Program in early 2018 and appreciated the process of evaluating the operation and seeing where we are at.   I am excited about continuing to meet new producers and hear their experiences and ideas on this soil health journey!