Bethany Prairie Farm south of Wimbledon, N.D., a farm transitioning to organic agriculture, was the site of the Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society’s Summer Symposium and Farm Tour on July 11. Farmers, ranchers, businessmen, and ag and education representatives were on hand as hosts Dick and Linda Grotberg and Dick Lovestrand gave visitors a taste of life on a sustainable farm.

Founded in 1978 as a small agrarian, Christian community, Bethany Prairie Farm sits on 400 acres of prime Barnes County farmland, which until now was farmed conventionally. Two years ago, Lovestrand and the Grotbergs launched the Prairie Farm Pilot Project to restore their farm to a sustainable, organic, integrated crop/livestock farming unit. They are accomplishing this with a bio-diverse, holistic, synergistic, organic farming plan which is healthy soil=healthy plants=healthy animals= healthy food=healthy people. Linda Grotberg explained one of their main motivations to go organic. “How,” she said, “could we sell food to others if it isn’t what we would eat ourselves, that is, the healthiest food possible?”

Diversity, a key element in a sustainable farming system, is evident on Bethany Prairie. A variety of livestock are present including Scottish Highland cattle, goats, Welsh/Curly ponies, and poultry, all part of a multi-species grazing plan used to build healthy soils. The grain farming incorporates a nine-year cropping rotation, with five years of a legume pasture, followed by four years of small grains and row crops, including wheat, millet, field peas, oil sunflowers, and corn.

The cattle, an ancient breed known for their healthy meat, are finished off with a grass only ration in sectioned paddocks and are raised antibiotic and hormone free. Beef from Bethany Prairie Farm is sold locally under the Prairie Highland Beef label.

Bethany Prairie is the home of the Central N.D. Pastured Poultry Institute, an organization that teaches pastured poultry production and provides the tools for organic feeding and processing of the birds. Hens and broilers are housed in portable chicken runs, or tractors, that are moved on a daily basis, providing fresh grass for the birds and fertilizer for the soil.

Three guesthouses are used for a bed and breakfast operation to provide additional income for the farm, although guests are not charged a set rate for their stay. “The bed and breakfast is by donation, a part of our ministry,” said Linda Grotberg. Tours of the farm showed the guesthouses, plus the gardens and the Big House, their living space that includes a huge kitchen and room enough to serve 100 people.

Annette Schilling of the N.D. Dept. of Commerce Tourism Division was on hand to speak about the opportunities available for tourism on farms and ranches, giving examples of activities that can become learning-based vacations. According to Schilling, activities that seem mundane to farmers and ranchers would be a unique experience for someone from the city. NPSAS member Patti Patrie gave tips on growing and marketing raspberries. She and her husband, Loren, grow four acres of raspberries on their farm near Bowdon, N.D., for a “U Pick and We Pick” operation. They are also members of Pride of Dakota, selling value-added products such as jams, syrups, tea, candles and lotions.

Breakout discussions in the afternoon focused on organic and grass-fed beef, organic potatoes and the process of transitioning to organic/sustainable agriculture. The transitioning discussion featured some farmers who are just in the process of transitioning, plus farmers newly certified as organic. “Being sustainable,” Linda Grotberg told those gathered, “means it must be socially, environmentally and economically viable.”

NPSAS board of director member and extension agent Brad Brummond said he foresees a bright future for sustainable agriculture. He feels sustainable agriculture is gaining momentum, as evidenced by the increase in the number of sustainable farms, acceptance by the general public, and by changes he sees in the North Dakota extension service, where some extension agents are receiving training in organic production.

Carolyn Lane of Northland Organic Foods in St. Paul summed up the day with her thoughts on the symposium. “It really struck me how peaceful organic events always leave me feeling. I agree with Brad Brummond’s comment, that it becomes almost impossible to separate the spiritual context from the production side. I’m sure it warms God’s heart to see farmers truly striving to take care of His creation in the way He intended.”