"To Be A Good Home" Short Film

I was beyond honored to be featured in Evan Flom’s beautiful short film “To Be a Good Home” alongside my friends Starr and Kaitlyn.

This is a story about a place. It’s a story about growing, connecting, and caring. This is a story about soil, water, and land.

To Be A Good Home follows three women farming and stewarding the land in northern Minnesota. One is a direct descendant of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, tending her plot at the place of the gardens, Gitigaaning. One is an urban farmer, feeding her neighborhood near the shores of Lake Superior, Gichigami. One is a regenerative farmer and rancher, caring for her herd and building the soil with them.

To Be A Good Home features Starr Brainard of Saltless Sea Urban Farm, Hannah Bernhardt of Medicine Creek Farm, and Kaitlyn Walsh of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.

This project was made possible in part by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

Check out more of Evan’s work here.

Minnesota Bound Feature

We were thrilled to be featured on an episode of Minnesota Bound about soil health and water quality! Our segment starts at the 14:30 minute mark. Can’t thank producer Kyle Heidenreich enough for telling the story of regenerative agriculture so clearly and compellingly!

Conservation Cookout and Live Music!

In partnership with the Pine County Soil and Water Conservation District , the Minnesota Ag Water Quality Program, and our local NRCS office, we will be hosting a conservation cookout and soil health field day on Friday, August 5th from 4-7pm.

We’ll be giving a tour of the farm followed by serving beef and lamb burgers and breakout sessions for those interested in going more in-depth.

Be sure to stick around as Jason’s band A Heartbreak Affair will be playing live music in the barn afterwards starting at 7pm!

Please RSVP to grace.guyette@co.pine.mn.us

Start Shepherding from Scratch Webinar

I gave an online presentation called “Start Shepherding from Scratch” at the Practical Farmers of Iowa Winter Conference in January. It was thrilling to get to talk about sheep for a whole hour... and I don’t even really like public speaking!⁣⁣

My goal was to share some ideas on how to start grazing sheep with no permanent infrastructure (which is how we got started five years ago), but it also included shepherding basics for anyone looking to raise sheep for the first time. ⁣

I also tried to make the case for why I think sheep make a good first farming enterprise... as if their cute sheepy faces weren’t enough! I’ve been thinking about it, and I’m pretty certain the world needs more sheep people.⁣

The presentation is now available online on the PFI YouTube channel for those who missed it at the conference.

If you have any remaining questions after watching the presentation, let me know! You can send me an email at hannah@medicinecreekfarm.com

Land Stewardship Project Summer Grazing Photo Contest

I took this photo for the Land Stewardship Project Summer Grazing Photo Contest to try to encapsulate the many aspects of rotational grazing, and I got pretty lucky capturing so many parts of it in one composition—livestock on the move, portable fencing that makes grazing possible, livestock guardian dogs that make having sheep in this part of Minnesota possible, and the shepherd that has for centuries been in deep relationship with the sheep and dogs, making the regeneration of the soil possible. ⁣

If you’re unfamiliar with the Land Stewardship Project or their work, I encourage you to check them out and consider becoming a member! ⁣

As beginning farmers we have benefitted from their Farm Beginnings and Journeyperson programs which teach farmers the skills to be financially sustainable without making “bottom line” decisions that will harm the land.⁣

I’ve continued to participate on committees that are working to further programs and policies that help farmers do right by the land while fighting for economic and racial justice.⁣

It’s been hard lately to feel positive about the world, but in the words of Mr. Rogers, I’ve been looking for the helpers. The Land Stewardship Project is full of them. ⁣

You don’t have to be a farmer to get involved, and in fact I’d argue we need more urban and suburban helpers using their voices to change agricultural policy. ⁣⁣

Your tax dollars play a huge role in what kind of agriculture is viable for farmers, and you have a say in helping more of them use practices that sequester carbon, regenerate the soil, prevent erosion and runoff, provide habitat for wildlife and pollinators, create meaningful jobs, and grow healthy food we can all feel good eating.⁣

I talk a little more about this is the latest issue of LSP’s newsletter: https://landstewardshipproject.org/repository/1/3466/people_agenda.pdf

MN Ag Water Quality Certified!

We are super excited to announce we are now a Minnesota Ag Water Quality Certified Farm with Soil Health Endorsement!