By Paul Wolfe
In Blue Earth County, Minnesota, farmer Kristin Duncanson and her family run a large, conservation-minded hog, corn and soybean operation.
A proving ground of sorts, the family has tested and employed regenerative practices on their land for more than 40 years. The key to their success? “A strong stomach, and a good lender,” says Kristin.
The health and productivity of this farm is a long game for the Duncanson family. Now in its fifth generation of operation, they believe regenerative practices have made their production not only more valuable, but more resilient. “Where we live, there’s a whole lot of water. At the end of the day, it really is all about water. Its quality. Its abundance. We need to keep the soil in place and not let it slide away after a heavy rain.”
Right now, about a quarter of their acreage is certified organic, allowing them to sell crops grown on that land at a significant premium. Across both their organic and conventional acreage, they use regenerative practices such as cover cropping, minimizing tillage and managing nutrients more efficiently. These practices have also helped them significantly reduce the chemicals they use on the land.
Achieving organic certification can be complicated, but their regenerative approach helps build healthier soil and reduce inputs across the farm. Their hog sites, isolated for biosecurity, collect manure under the barns, which is then injected into the soil as fertilizer. And the corn they grow? It’s sold to an elevator, much of which is returned as feed.
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