Michael Fields Agricultural Institute

Contemporary "industrial" agriculture concentrates power, land and wealth in the hands of a few large corporations or, more commonly called, corporate family farms. Contemporary farming is wiping out diversity (just the opposite of biodynamic farming) in the name of short term profit. It will, we believe, ultimately undermine humanity's ability to sustain a large population.

In 2011, MFAI expanded services to include work in food systems policy and in 2013, youth in urban agriculture. Through the GULFS initiative, lessons are developed to cater the the interests of young adults and teens. These lessons may be applied in the classroom or for outdoor learning spaces. Lessons promote gardening and cooking activities as well as provide historical and modern context to food sovereignty in the US.

Through field trials on the Institute's research land, and via on-farm trials, MFAI will collaborate with The Land Institute and University of Minnesota partners to develop agronomic management guidelines tailored to maximize grain yields in years 1-5 of the Kernza stand, assess environmental quality impacts of growing Kernza compared to annual grain crops like wheat, corn, and soybean, and build processing and supply chain networks to bring Kernza products to local grocery shelves and dinner tables.

Only six percent of Wisconsin's agricultural acres are planted to cover crops. MFAI supports a program such as one launched by Iowa's Department of Agriculture in 2017 and Illinois in 2019, which would discount a farmer's crop insurance premium by $5/acre for acres planted into cover crops.

MFAI's budget request for the program is for $400,000 annually, plus the cost of new staffing at the Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection to administer the program.Summer cover cropping is a conservation management practice that aims to provide soil cover for erosion prevention, maintain living roots for improved summer precipitation capture, and suppress weeds during the summer months when a cash crop is not cultivated.

We are breeding corn to work with organic systems - that means it needs to be strong, able to out compete weeds, resist other pests and diseases, adapt to changing climatic conditions, and it needs to stand and yield well. Our breeding work, both nursery and grow-out trials is conducted on certified organic land using practices employed by successful organic growers.