MN Agriculture: Bryan and Lauren Biegler, Incorporating New Farming Practices
Day 12 of my “30 Days of MN Ag” is Bryan and Lauren Biegler. The Biegler’s are a family farm located in Lake Wilson in southwest Minnesota. They have three children, Alaina, Aubrey and Wesley. Bryan is also a third generation farmer and his dad continues to help Bryan on the farm.
Lauren and I are both volunteers for CommonGround in Minnesota. CommonGround is a women volunteer organization where we have conversations about food with other women – answer questions they may have about how their food is raised or grown.
Social Media Sites:
Blog: The Bieg Picture
Tell me a little about your farm and/or business?
“We do row crops – just corn and beans – and Bryan also does a little custom work with his strip till bar and side dressing. This year was the first year he started a customer cover crop application business. It’s been a learning experience for sure!”
How long have you farmed or been in business?
“I grew up on a farm in Iowa, went to school for ag, and worked on the business side of ag at Pioneer and Cargill, but didn’t return to a working farm until I married Bryan 8 years ago. He has been farming all this life and was born and raised around the area, but making it a living for a little over 20 years.“
Tell me a little about what you grown/raise/produce or service provided.
“We grow corn and soybeans and also have a custom cover crop business.” Cover crops are crops grown for the protection and enrichment of the soil. Some of the cover crops they plant are rye grasses, radishes, turnips and clovers.
Where do you sell or provide services to? Who is your end consumer?
“We sell to our local elevator. It’s really convenient at about four miles down the road. We have started selling to other local elevators around the area as bids are competitive.”
What makes your farm/business unique or special? What are you proud of?
“It’s doesn’t make our farm special necessarily, but we’ve had an interesting few years completely switching up our tillage practices. We’ve learned a lot about trying to improve our soil health and fertility. We do a combo of no-till/strip tilling/vertical tilling now. It’s been a big learning experience but are enjoying learning something new and seeing what the results are for us. It has been a fun year also as Bryan bought a high boy sprayer and made a custom cover crop applicator. This year was the first year he did custom application with it and that was another huge learning experience for us. It’s fun and rewarding to research and learn something new and see it come to life!”
What do you love most about farming/business?
“I think what we both love most is the farming community and having the chance to raise our kids in the same type of environment. Bryan likes being his own boss and making his own decisions for the operation. It is long hours at times, but you also have the flexibility to be able to leave whenever you want – especially when we don’t have livestock right now.”
What is one thing you wish consumers knew about what you do or your farm/business?
“I think we all know the challenges agriculture faces as far as perceptions people have who know very little about ag. I want people to know that we raise our kids here…we live here too. We want to preserve the land and leave it better for the next generation if possible. Farming is not a get rich quick scheme and it takes a lot of hard work. I wish everyone in this country could visit a real, working farm at least once in their life!”
What is your favorite Minnesota location?
“Being an Iowa girl and not having experienced TOO much of the state, I love the Twin Cities! I lived there for a little while and I love all the things you can get there, eat there and experience there, and then leave the hustle and bustle behind and come home. It’s the best of both worlds.”
Read the other people featured in my “30 Days of MN Ag. ”
There are others that are also participating in the 30 Days of Blogging Challenge. Feel free to check these out:
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