We went deep about soil at Field Day 2021 !

At our annual Grain Place Foundation Field Day on July 17, guest speaker David R. Montgomery shared about his work on soils and civilization (and why he’s hopeful!) as our keynote speaker. His presentation gave a big-picture frame to the importance of our work, and underlined the importance of making farming decisions that promote the health of our soil.

Grain Place Farm founder David Vetter offered this year’s farm tour, with a description of our 9-year crop rotation system, as well as some history about rotations we tried over the decades of organic farming on this land.

Our Grain Place Farm Tour gives you an introduction to our 9-year crop rotation

Grain Place Foods President Christian Evans led our tour of Grain Place Foods, focusing on the community of people who work at our organic food and feed processing plant; these are some of the people who make it possible to live out our motto: How your food is produced does matter.

Our tour of Grain Place Foods features the people who make it happen

Grain Place Foundation Board Member Dr. Charles Francis (University of Nebraska) gave a quick overview of some of the research we’ve been working on, including long-term comparisons of crop yields on conventional and organic farms.

Dr. Charles Francis shares about some of our research on organic farming

We were inspired by the conversation we shared–we talked about the farm with current Grain Place farmers Raymond Hain and Jason Smith. We also reflected on David Montgomery’s presentation with a panel discussion that featured Grain Place Foundation board member Dr. Kathleen Delate (Iowa State), and Mad Agriculture’s Rebecca Baldwin-Kordick.

Watch our 2020 Farm Tour & Field Day Any Time!

Our 2020 Grain Place Foundation Field Day is now available to watch from wherever you are! You can see our Farm Tour, make a visit to Grain Place Foods, hear our keynote from Brise Tencer of the Organic Farming Research Foundation, or watch the panel discussion the followed the keynote.

Grain Place Farm Tour 2020
Grain Place Foods Tour (our on-site organic grain processing facility)
Keynote address from Brise Tencer, Executive Director of the Organic Farming Research Foundation
(plus a quick tour of our Foundation House on the farm)
Panel conversation with Brise Tencer of the Organic Farming Research Foundation, David Vetter of Grain Place Foods, Bill Whitney of the Prairie Plains Resource Institute and Graham Christensen of GC Resolve. Plus GPF Board Member Dr. Kathleen Delate of Iowa State University.

July 13 Farm Tour Welcome Bob Quinn and Liz Carlisle

We are pleased to announce that our 2019 Farm Tour will be Saturday, July 13, at the Grain Place Farm in Marquette, Nebraska. Our afternoon keynote speaker will be Bob Quinn, organic farmer, businessman and author of the upcoming book Grain by Grain: A Quest to Revive Ancient Wheat, Rural Jobs, and Healthy Food.

In Grain by Grain, Quinn and Liz Carlisle, author of Lentil Underground, show how his story can become the future of American agriculture. Quinn not only created successful, sustainable farming businesses, he demonstrated that healthy food depends on healthy soil – and healthy seeds. With more and more people complaining of gluten sensitivity, scientists have found that while cheap modern wheat increases inflammation in the human body, ancient varieties like the one Quinn produces actually lower it.

When Quinn stopped growing food on the cheap, he discovered a whole new kind of value. By combining age-old practices like cover cropping and crop rotation with modern science, he was able to return health to his land, customers, and even to his hometown through local jobs. Quinn shows us that we don’t have to accept stagnating rural communities, degraded soil, or poor health. By following his example, we can grow a healthy future, grain by grain.

Our annual Grain Place Farm Tour & Field Day gives guests an opportunity to tour the farm and grain processing plant in the morning, join us for an afternoon program with keynote speaker Bob Quinn and Liz Carlisle, plus a lunch of organic food on the farm. The tour and keynote are free, and lunch tickets will be available for sale ahead of time. Come for all or part of the day!