Wonderful Water
Courtney Cheever
Minnesota State Water Quality Specialist
Courtney Cheever works with farmers and ranchers to help them plan, design, and implement conservation practices and become Ag Water Quality Certified. This is a special certification for farmers and ranchers who manage their land in a way that protects water quality. Courtney helps farmers and ranchers keep their soil from washing away after a heavy rain into streams and lakes by planting a buffer strip or creating a windbreak with trees and shrubs. She can help a farmer plan the right time to spray pesticides or apply manure to fields to make sure it doesn’t blow away in a heavy wind. Courtney’s goal is to help farmers and ranchers grow healthy crops and livestock and keep the water the cleanest it can be for years and years to come.
Courtney says “You can help keep streams and lakes cleaner too! In the winter try to shovel your driveway instead of using salt to melt it. Too much salt can runoff and pollute the water and can kill fish and other animals."
Caring for our Water
Andre and Morgan LaSalle own ForageScape Farm in Onamia, Minnesota. Together with their two kids they raise beef cattle, pigs, turkeys, lambs and chickens for eggs. Andre and Morgan are serious about protecting the water on their farm. Recently they worked to become Minnesota Ag Water Quality Certified. This means that they are ranching in a way that not only produces healthy animals, but keeps the ground and surface water healthy too.
LaSalle Family
Some of these practices include moving their cattle around their farm often so the manure is spread out and has less of a chance to run into streams and lakes when it rains. This farming practice is called rotational grazing.
Andre and Morgan want to make sure their kids have a healthy farm to live on and raise animals on for years to come. Keeping the water clean is one way they can do that.
Cattle at ForageScape Farm within a fence that can be easily moved for rotational grazing.