East Troy, WI organization works to support local food systems and sustainable farmers
Before AGC existed, organizations like the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute (MFAI) in East Troy, WI were among the few groups supporting the regional grain system in the Midwest. An example of their efforts bringing together grain value chain stakeholders can be seen in this video, which was created following a June 2019 field day at Meadowlark Organics in Ridgeway, WI, organized and hosted by MFAI and farmers in their Uplands Watershed Group in partnership with county conservation and Extension staff (see photo below).
Founded in 1983, MFAI works to support local food systems and sustainable farmers. Their work focuses on soil health, fostering interdisciplinary research, and crafting policies that can help diverse Upper Midwest farms thrive. MFAI’s education and community-building initiatives include the Wisconsin Women in Conservation (WiWiC) program led by Dr. Esther Shekinah Durairaj (pictured here, right) that fosters conservation practices among women landowners—in collaboration with AGC members Renewing the Countryside and MOSES, plus the Wisconsin Farmers Union.
MFAI also engages in stakeholder outreach on a wide range of food systems topics connecting rural and urban communities, coordinated by Food Systems Program Manager Donale Richards. Research on their 250+ acre campus ranges from Allison Pratt-Szeliga’s organic corn breeding program to Dr. Nicole Tautges’ (pictured here at left) deep involvement in the Kernza® CAP project of which AGC is also a part—MFAI manages and stewards one of only three licensed Kernza plantings in the state.
The MFAI team also conducts research on summer cover crops and performs variety testing and no-till production research for industrial and grain hemp. Policy Director Margaret Krome and Conservation Policy Associate Alejandra Hernandez coordinate a farmer-led watershed group in Iowa County that brings together farmers and explores their connection to and impact on ecosystems and fishers in the Mississippi River basin. Additionally, they work to advance research, conservation, crop insurance, and other federal and state policies that support cover crops, small grains, grazing, and related sustainable agriculture systems.
Luckily for our network, grains hold a special place in the organization's heart—and programming. MFAI has participated in the Wisconsin Integrated Cropping Systems Trials and conducted field research on small grains for over 25 years. In the 1990s, they successfully advocated to ensure that UW-Madison would continue to employ a small grains breeder, a position currently held by Dr. Lucia Gutierrez, an AGC member and critical partner.
In the coming years, MFAI hopes to leverage their experience and focus on supporting local farmers to increase the number of Black and Brown farmers in the region by building policy support, technical assistance, educational opportunities, and financial resources to create more pathways for these producers. They will expand their research and educational work related to keeping lands covered with growing plants year-round—promoting the use of winter crops, cover crops, perennials, and pasture lands—consistent with their belief that diversified grain production is a critical element for soil health and water quality. (We enthusiastically agree!)
As we mentioned in our last newsletter, AGC began working with MFAI this spring on a NCR-SARE Partnership grant to develop post-harvest handling resources for small and mid-size farms serving food-grade markets. There are several other policy, research, and education projects relevant to diversified staple crop production in the works that MFAI will be excited to announce in the coming few months.
After reading about this great work, you may still be wondering: who is Michael Fields? The name comes from a school in England where one of the organization’s founders taught—the fields of St. Michael’s school. You can learn more about MFAI's three founders on their new website at the link below, and be sure to follow along with their efforts via social!