Photo provided by the Monenken Farm
Building soil health through a systems approach is the focus of the Menoken Farm near Bismarck, North Dakota. Owned and operated by the Burleigh County Soil Conservation District (BCSCD) as a demonstration site since 2009, the 150-acre farm shows visitors what’s possible when soil is managed for the end aim of rejuvenating soil function.
The farm’s goals go far beyond “conserving degraded soil,” says Jay Fuhrer, an internationally recognized soil health specialist now retired from the Natural Resources Conservation Service while retaining his affiliation with the Menoken Farm.
“When you focus on rejuvenating soil by putting carbon back, the work comes with some excitement,” he says. “Visitors to the farm see what we’re doing, and they get excited. They want to go home, take a degraded field, and build health back into the soil on their own farm.”