Sustainability Focused

That education piece allows Jessica to be a representative and advocate of agriculture. “I especially want people to know that each cut of beef, each pound of hamburger is a long time in the making.” Your hamburger patty starts with the soil. The better the soil conditions, the more nutritionally dense the corn, grasses, and hay that feed the cattle. 

North Circle Seeds Farm in Vergas, Minnesota cultivates dozens of organic seeds for gardens and farms throughout the upper Midwest. Led by Zachary Paige, North Circle Seeds (NCS) commits daily to creating an ecologically diverse, equitable, and inclusive food system. “We are a small company focused on adapting seeds to our area and stewarding different varieties that other companies don’t carry,” states Rachael Roisum, a longtime volunteer at the farm. 

Does your favorite pancake mix or locally-crafted brew filter stormwater runoff, improve water quality and work towards a healthier future for Minnesota’s rivers? If it carries the Perennial Percent label, it already has. 

As the baroness of Get Bentz Farm, Theresa uses both wool from her flock and fleece purchased from shepherds throughout the region to create her signature products. “I love that I’ve become a producer of yarn in our industry,” smiles Theresa. “I enjoy having control over the end product. I get to collaborate with others to create something that people use.” 

Fiddlehead Knob continues to increase their annual production to better meet demand in southern Minnesota and northern Iowa. To continue their quest to do this sustainably, geothermal heating and cooling is part of the farm vision board.

The MTRY & Co’s online marketplace, based in Mankato, offers beef, chicken and pork specialty boxes along with local cheese, spice rubs, and bacon socks that are shipped directly from the producer farms in sustainable packaging.