Beginning Farmer Profile: Young MN Couple
Launches a Dairy with Goals, Grass & Grit

CONTACT: Karen Stettler, LSP, 507-523-3366
PHOTO AVAILABLE: For a digital photo of the Benruds, e-mail bdevore@landstewardshipproject.org

7/30/07
GOODHUE, Minn.—When Roger and Michelle Benrud took the first Farm Beginnings course offered by the Land Stewardship Project a decade ago, they had a five-year plan: have a farming operation that would support both of them financially without the help of off-farm income. A few years ago Michelle quit her job at IBM in Rochester, two months shy of that five-year deadline.

Having a farm support an entire family—they have two children, ages 2 and 7—is increasingly rare. And the couple’s dairy enterprise isn’t just surviving, it’s thriving. The Benruds, who are in their mid-30s, were named Goodhue County Farm Family of the Year in 2006, and the butter that’s made from their milk has won national awards. The conventional wisdom is that young people cannot get started in farming, but the Benruds have defied the odds.

“In the six miles between here and Goodue there are three less dairy farms than there were when we started,” said Michelle. “We kind of started from scratch, which is rare these days, and I hope more people can do that in the future.”

The Benruds feel Farm Beginnings is one of the key reasons they have been able to start from scratch. The course provides firsthand training in low-cost, sustainable methods of farming. Through Farm Beginnings, the Benruds learned business planning, goal setting and marketing methods that help farmers capture the most value for their production. Through the class they were also introduced to farmers who were already running profitable operations of their own in southeast Minnesota.

“It’s different than a university where it’s theoretical,” said Michelle. “Farm Beginnings is being taught by people who actually do it.”

From these farmers, the couple learned that there are alternatives to raising thousands of acres of corn and soybeans, or investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in a large-scale livestock operation.

“We looked at everything from direct marketing beef and poultry to grapes,” recalled Michelle.

They settled on grass-based dairying. Crunching the numbers, the Benruds found that milk produced the most consistent source of income for their situation. Rotationally grazing the cows allowed the couple to get started without investing heavily in housing, manure handling facilities and cropping equipment.

Today, the Benruds milk around 100 cows on a 260-acre farm they rent from Roger’s parents. The genesis of the Benrud herd was an interest-free Heifer International livestock loan they qualified for as Farm Beginnings graduates. Those first 15 heifers provided by the loan primed the pump and led to other creditors taking them seriously.

“That was very important to help us get started because once you’ve got a milk check, people are willing to talk to you about a loan,” said Roger.

Their certified organic milk is sold to a cooperative consisting of southeast Minnesota farms that market grass-based butter and cheese under the PastureLand label. This means the Benruds receive a premium price from health-conscious consumers who also appreciate the environmental benefits of pasture-based dairying.

The Benruds aren't the only Farm Beginnings graduates farming these days. As the program celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2007, surveys show that 60 percent of the more than 300 people who have been through the program are farming, according to Karen Stettler, Farm Beginnings Program Director. The program, which began in Wabasha County in 1997, will be holding its 2007-2008 classes in La Crosse, Wis., and Marshall, Minn., beginning this fall. The program has also been extended to Illinois, Nebraska and North Dakota.

As the Benruds assess their own operation and look to the future, they find themselves revisiting the goals they set for themselves while taking the Farm Beginnings class. Those goals include making sure their farming methods are good for the soil and the environment in general and eventually hiring someone to help with milking so they can get away more.

They’ve also taken tentative steps toward another long-term goal: mentoring yet another generation of farmers. For the past several months a couple that recently graduated from Farm Beginnings has been coming to the Benrud farm periodically to learn the basics of dairying.

Said Michelle, “We’re starting to do the kind of giving back that we had always wanted to do.”

The deadline for the 2007-2008 Minnesota region Farm Beginnings course is Aug. 30. For more on enrolling in the La Crosse area class, contact Karen Benson at 507-523-3366 or lspse@landstewardshipproject.org. In the Marshall area, contact contact Susan Hurst at 320-269-2105 or fbwest@landstewardshipproject.org, Details are at www.farmbeginnings.org.

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