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HENDRICKS, Minn. — Mitch Pederson grew up near Hendricks, Minnesota, and first started his farming venture by purchasing 80 acres of land from his great uncle and moving his family of five onto the farm.
Getting a start in farming can be tough, so Pederson decided to try and implement some alternative strategies to make the transition a bit easier.
“It’s really hard for a young producer to get started on just corn and soybeans, so I was looking at a lot of conservation programs for the soils that I have here. The ground, the way it is, I needed some alternative options on some of my acres,” Pederson said.
While researching ways to get his operation off the ground, Pederson came across AgSpire’s SustainAg Network which offered him the resources and solutions he was looking for.
“They had a platform for me to kind of see what I was maybe interested in or what would fit my operation,” he said. “I was able to choose different conservation programs and not be tied in long-term or have so much red tape, so it really gave me the flexibility to try some things short-term. Now some of them are going to be, hopefully, a continuous part of my operation.”
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Pederson is currently utilizing the Grass is Greener program to fund the transition of about 100 row crop acres on his farm to forage for his cow/calf herd. Starting the transition by seeding a forage cover crop mix to graze this fall, Pederson plans to follow the cover crops with a perennial forage seed mix.
Because his farm is located in the Prairie Pothole region, Pederson’s ultimate goal is to transition all of his row crop acres to perennial grasses and use his cattle to harvest them. He is using the Grass is Greener and other SustainAg Network programs to help cover the costs.
AgSpire offers short-term contracts — one to five years, depending on the practice — so that producers like Pederson can make management decisions based on how the program outcomes align with their overall goals.
In addition to helping cover the costs associated with establishing the perennial forages, AgSpire connected him with one of their technical advisors to maximize success. And because Pederson is enrolled in the Grass is Greener program, he will also receive a per-head premium for cattle that graze on the pastures where he implemented the practice.
“It just gives you that boost of confidence having one of those guys work with you and look at your operation and they kind of have an outside opinion or idea and you can take it or leave it,” Pederson said. “The other good thing is, they have some program incentives for you to try cover crops if you want to try them and then if it isn’t for you or didn’t work on that farm, or something changed, you’re not tied into it long term. It’s really flexible to work with, so in the farming world, it’s hard to not take a chance on a program like what they have.”
Grass is Greener is just one of six programs offered by AgSpire through the SustainAg Network. According to the recently released SustainAg Insights quarterly report, there are around 278 producers from across the United States who make up AgSpire’s newly formed SustainAg Network of farmers and ranchers interested in adopting sustainable land and livestock management practices.
Once a producer selects and enrolls in a program, they connect with an advisor who helps them figure out the details and best practices for success in their growing conditions. Advisors also verify the practice and streamline incentive or premium payments.
Kristina Porter is one of the technical advisors at AgSpire who supports producers by understanding the operations’ existing management practices and overall herd health to determine if there are any operational efficiencies that could be gained through enhanced genetics or implementation of other customized management practices, like interseeding rangeland or pastures with native or non-native perennial grasses.
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Porter grew up near Huron, South Dakota, and after earning her doctorate of veterinary medicine from Kansas State University moved back to her home state with her husband where they have been practicing veterinary medicine for the last 15 years.
After originally joining as a producer when the SustainAg Network launched in January 2024, Porter was excited about the work AgSpire was doing and realized she wanted to join in on helping producers make a plan and utilize their resources wisely. Currently, Porter is working specifically with the Ranching for the Future program.
“My work as a technical service advisor is very small, just with a cow/calf role,” she said. “But, when you combine that with a grazing specialist and agronomist, it’s really amazing what we can come up with as we all sit around the table and the ideas and innovative practices that we can offer to the producers have been really exciting.”
Ryan Eichler, AgSpire’s director of producer programs and a Lake Preston, South Dakota, cattle producer, said the SustainAg Network’s mission is to be a trusted source for producers across the country to help them navigate the emerging sustainability space in agriculture.
“It’s really our intention to be the most producer focused, really, of any group that is in this space,” Eichler said. “We developed this SustainAg Network with the intent of educating producers about opportunities that exist both with public and private finance programs and our goal is to match them with the programs that make the most sense for their operations.”
Producers can visit the SustainAg Network website to view all program offerings and learn more.
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