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Bluff Country tour highlights conservation efforts

A county farm bureau leader in southeast Minnesota has organized a tour showcasing the conservation efforts of farmers.

Houston County president Cynthie Christensen says the multiple stops through Bluff Country highlight the area’s diverse agriculture and landscape.

“There’s continued talk about farmers and what they’re not doing, and living in this area, I know what we are doing.  So I thought we should do a tour and invite people to come on down to our part of the country and actually see what we’re doing.”

The Bluff Country tour visited Shooting Star Native Seeds near Spring Grove, the Cedar Tree Revetment Project and Johnson Rolling Acres farm.

Christensen tells Brownfield the Revetment Project is funded by the Minnesota Corn Growers Association and involved planting cedar trees into the sides of streams.

“(So when) heavier rains come, those cedar trees collect silt and help the grass grow back up the banks (to) heal the banks and streams.”

Participants on Friday’s tour included members of Ag Committees in both the Minnesota Senate and House, the Department of Agriculture, as well as local Soil and Water Conservation Districts.