FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, August 13, 2010

CONTACT:
Margaret Hart, Communications Coordinator
651.201.6131, Margaret.hart@state.mn.us

Pope County’s Prairie Horizons Farm wins MDA honor

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Pope County farm family has been named the July recipients of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s (MDA) Good Farm Neighbor award.  Mary Jo and Luverne Forbord were chosen for the award because of their environmental stewardship, animal care practices and involvement in their rural Starbuck community.

The Forbords have a 150 head organic grass-fed beef operation and are diversifying into vegetable and fruit production.  Prairie Horizons Farm is located in rolling topography that was once tall grass prairie and oak savannah.  The farm has several original native prairie tracts, nine ponds and wetlands, and two lakes nearby.

Mary Jo Forbord says these conditions, along with a growing interest in direct marketing, are what prompted them to transition from a dairy farm to a grass-fed beef operation eight years ago. The Forbords consulted grazing specialists and worked with a number of partners and agencies to convert 300 acres of cropland into perennials, using diverse mixes of cool and warm season native grasses and legumes. 

“Biodiversity is a huge part of conservation.  Almost ninety percent of our acreage is in perennials, including all of the pastures where we rotationally graze our cattle,” said Forbord.  “Diversified perennial systems have additional benefits for water quality, wildlife habitat, and reducing soil erosion.”

More than half of the 480 acre farm is certified organic and has passed inspection for organic certification in Japan and the European Union.  The Forbords are in the process of transitioning the remaining acreage to certified organic production.

The Forbords hosted the first “Grazefest Minnesota” in 2005, as well as several other farm tours and grazing workshops.  They have mentored and helped others who have explored and incorporated grazing into their farming operations and are a model for low input/high output farm operations.

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