Donna and Austin
Flint Hills, KS
Donna remembers her father and grandfather growing mostly wheat and occasionally oats, barley, alfalfa, and milo. In her decades watching the landscape around her farm change, she has seen more farmers grow corn and increase their use of chemical inputs like fertilizer, herbicides and pesticides.
When Donna and Austin met over fifteen years ago, they connected over their mutual love of cattle. She watched Austin discover his passion for regenerative agriculture, saw him flourish in his job helping other farmers improve their soil health, and over time wanted to see more of those practices on her land. Today, as Donna’s farm and ranch manager, Austin grows a variety of cover crop mixes as feed for their cow-calf operation, and rotationally grazes stocker cattle on pasture in the Flint Hills.
“It’s thinking outside of yourself and outside of your operation. This land is going to stick around regardless of who’s farming it, so how do we start to build that and improve it?”
Austin
How do Donna and Austin collaborate to achieve goals?
Donna and Austin recognize how unfamiliar regenerative farming still is to many of their neighbors, and acknowledge that they can’t change everyone’s mind. As they prepared to work with other farmers in their area to manage Donna’s land, Donna and Austin outlined specific practices in their lease agreement that would support their regenerative vision, such as planting and grazing cover crops. By writing these practices directly into their lease, Donna and Austin not only ensured the type of management they want to see, but were also able to connect with other operators in their neighborhood who would be interested in managing in a similar way.
Austin frequently shares resources with Donna like articles and videos to help explain ideas he has for decisions they could make on the farm and ranch. He says that even though she isn’t doing the day-to-day farming, he values the sounding board Donna provides and that she helps him to consider questions or details he might not have thought of.
“It’s all new. The older generations may not know, just like my dad and grandfather didn’t know there was an alternative for bettering the soil for the next generation.”
Donna
Why is it important for landowners like Donna and young farmers like Austin to work together?
Donna and Austin know there is mutual benefit at the heart of their partnership. Austin’s knowledge, skills, and new perspective have helped to bring the practices Donna wants to see onto her land. Donna provides Austin with an opportunity to access land and capital that he may otherwise struggle to access as a young producer. Together, they are laying the groundwork for Donna’s agricultural legacy, and making management decisions for the soil, water, and animals that will, as Austin puts it, “leave the land better than they found it” for the next generation.
Do you own agricultural land in Kansas?
Are you interested in providing an opportunity to a young farmer or rancher who can carry on your agricultural legacy?
Check out the resources below!
AgKansitions from the Office of Farm and Ranch Transition at K-State offers many services and resources with the mission of keeping families on farms in Kansas. The Land Link program is intended for landowners or retiring producers who are looking to transition to the next generation. Real connections are made in this program between landowners like you and young farmers!
Kansas Agricultural Mediation Services (KAMS) can help to answer your questions about succession planning, farm ownership transfer, financial implications, and much more.
FarmTender is an online service created to match landowners and operators who are both interested in regenerative practices.
The American Farmland Trust has an abundance of resources for planning your farm or ranch transition and beyond. Whether you are transitioning to someone within in your family or someone outside of it, this toolkit can help you to clarify your goals and take the next steps.
Before you even connect with a young farmer or rancher, it’s important to understand your vision for the future of your agricultural land. This workbook, created by experts in the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Extension system, walks you through essential questions that are relevant to landowners and producers across the country in the process of transitioning.
Videos by Michael Wunsch, Edward Wunsch, Olivia Crouch, and Claire Wineman.
