Soul of the Soil Conference

Soul of the Soil Conference

Launched in 2024, Fields of Sinsinawa is creating a farmer-led learning center where soil care is at the heart of everything we do.
Based in southwest Wisconsin, just seven miles from Dubuque, IA, and 15 miles from Galena, IL, Fields of Sinsinawa is nestled among the hills and valleys of the Driftless Region and conveniently situated in the Tri-State area.

Join us for our first annual Soul of the Soil Conference, to learn how better soil health practices grow resilient crops, healthy people, and vibrant communities. The day-and-a-half event will feature inspiring speakers, hands-on soil health demos, an informative farmer panel discussion, and a tour of the farmland, pastures, oak savannas, and prairies at Sinsinawa Mound.

Plus, we’ll enjoy networking, meals and snacks, and a spirited performance by Minneapolis-based musician Bret Helsa, who will entertain with original songs such as “Got Cover Crops,” “Back to Soil,” and “Boundless Earth.”

You can download the flyer and share this webpage with your community to invite them!

Scholarships are now available to cover the ticket cost! Applications are due September 15!

Join us Sept. 23-24 to explore the connection between farming, faith, food, and the human spirit.

Please register by Sept. 15 so that we can accurately assess meal quantities.

Registration is open now!

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Save the date for the Soul of the Soil Conference, Sept. 23-24, 2024

Program Summary

Day 1–Monday, Sept. 23 at Sinsinawa Mound

585 County Road Z, Sinsinawa, WI 53824

12:45   Registration opens at the Mound
1:15     Welcome, program overview
1:30     Meet the tenant farmers
2:00     Field Tours at the Mound: Soil pit, adaptive management grazing, interseeding and cover crops, rainfall simulator, tour of the grounds
4:30     Tour Leibfried’s robotic dairy
5:00     Depart for Chestnut Mountain Resort, Galena
6:30     Dinner (provided)
7:30     Entertainment, networking

Day 2–Tuesday, Sept. 24 at Chestnut Mountain Resort, Galena, IL.

8700 West Chestnut Mountain Rd., Galena, IL 61036

7:00     Breakfast (provided)
8:00     Program begins
8:30     Dawn & Grant Breitkreutz
9:30     Adam Lasch
10:30   Break
10:45   William Thiele
Noon   Lunch (provided) 
1:00     Zack Smith
2:00     Tom Cotter
3:00     Dani Heisler
3:30     Rick Bieber
4:30     Event Concludes

BONUS! Check in at Chestnut Mountain Resort a day before the conference (Sunday, Sept. 22) to take part in several optional fun activities, such as a river cruise, an Alpine slide, zipline, scenic Segway tours, mini golf, and more networking. Visit chestnutmtn.com and click on the “On the Mountain” tab to see the summer activities that are available.

Speakers

Dawn & Grant Breitkreutz: 

Becoming Unconventional

As former conventional crop and cow/calf operators, Dawn and Grant Breitkreutz now call themselves “farmers of life for life” and run a multi-enterprise family farm. The Redwood Falls, MN, couple will explain how they are healing the land with practices such as cover crops and intensive grazing.

Watch this video from Farmer’s Footprint featuring Dawn and Grant.

Zach Smith

Growing Farmoniously

The creative force behind the Stock Cropper, a company offering a new line of autonomous livestock barns, Zack Smith of Buffalo Center, Iowa, will explain why he left a promising agronomy career to design and produce these mobile barns and how they can reinvigorate soil, soul, and rural communities.

Listen to Zack on John Kempf’s Regenerative Agriculture podcast.

Tom Cotter

Farming for Quality, Not Quantity

Balancing conventional and organic practices on his Austin, MN, farm and ranch, Tom Cotter says he strives for quality, not quantity. He’ll discuss his practices and the ripple effects of his approach, including becoming Water Quality Certified, reducing synthetic inputs, and adopting healthier habits.

Learn more about Tom on the Minnesota Soil Health Coalition website.

Adam Lasch

Reviving Rural America with Biological Capital

With a focus on family, faith, and farming, first-generation dairy- and cattleman Adam Lasch of Lake Geneva, WI, strives to improve the soil while boosting milk and beef quality. He’ll talk about the trajectory of ag policies and demographics – and what can be done to alter the course.

Listen to Adam talk about interseeding on this Cover Crop Strategies podcast.

William Thiele

Investing in the Land for Better Outcomes

Farming in a high-rainfall area in Pennsylvania, William Thiele says a 2015 switch to no-till with cover crops has resulted in greatly reduced ponding and run-off during wet periods. He’ll discuss the benefits his family dairy farm has seen from planting green and why he keeps experimenting with new practices.

Learn more about William with this case study from American Farmland Trust.

Rick Bieber

Connecting U and I

A soil care taker from Trail City, South Dakota, Rick Bieber was recruited to be the “eyes and ears” of the soil at Fields of Sinsinawa this spring. He’ll discuss the deep interrelationship and how Fields of Sinsinawa is seeking to illuminate and support the connection between U and I.

Learn more about Rick in this video from the Utah Soil Health Partnership.

Accommodations

A room block is reserved under “Fields of Sinsinawa” at Chestnut Mountain Resort in Galena for $99-$109 per room. Call 800-397-1320 for reservations, or reserve your room online.

Scholarships

Scholarships to cover the ticket cost of the Soul of the Soil conference are available! Applications are due September 15, 2024.

Current livestock, produce, and/or grain farmers who reside in the U.S. and are interested in learning about soil care practices and principles are eligible. In addition, conservation-minded students and professionals who work in or volunteer for agriculture-related or sustainability-oriented organizations are also eligible.

We encourage limited resource farmers, beginning farmers, veteran farmers, BIPOC farmers, and farmers belonging to other historically underserved or marginalized groups to apply for a scholarship. We also encourage students and people who work or volunteer within the realm of conservation agriculture to apply.

Visit the scholarship page for more information and the application.

Questions

Please contact us or call 414-394-9973.

Registration is open now!

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Tony Peirick
Wisconsin

Tony Peirick

I am co-chair of Fields of Sinsinawa. I farm south-central Wisconsin in Watertown with my brother, sons, and family members. We are a 200-cow dairy and 1100-acre cash grain farm. We do no-till, cover cropping and planting green. I’m also the Chairman of our farmer-led group, Dodge County Farmers for Healthy Soil & Healthy Water. I’m very excited about the Fields of Sinsinawa. We have a great opportunity here!

Wisconsin Lead Contact

Peirick0583@gmail.com

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Marty Weiss
Wisconsin

Marty Weiss

I am from Beaver Dam WI. I’ve been married to my wife Sue for 48 years and we have three children (Michele, Kelso MO; Monica, Ham Lake MN; and Douglas, Beaver Dam WI). Until 2003 I was a dairyman with a registered Holstein herd which I rotationally grazed. Then I custom grazed breeding age dairy heifers until 2022. Now I cash crop corn, soybean, and winter wheat with cover crops following corn and soybean harvest and a multi-species 15-way mix following wheat harvest. I’ve been no-tilling for the 5 years and previously strip-tilled for 25 years. I’m co-chair for the Dodge County Farmers for Healthy Soil & Healthy Water and am also on the facilities and steering committees for the Fields of Sinsinawa.

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Jerry Daniels
Wisconsin

Jerry Daniels

My wife, Barb, and I are former dairy farmers from Kenosha County, having moved out to Juda, Wisconsin about 18 years ago. We crop farm using no-till, cover crops and planting green on our acres. We believe in the health of the soil and what we can do to improve our soil and try to help anyone else who is interested in this ever-growing and changing endeavor. Our crops include wheat, oats, corn, beans, grass mix hay and cover crop mixes. Additionally, we have CRP and CREP acres as well as timber with which we are looking to help our wildlife. We are active members in our watershed group, Farmers of the Sugar River Watershed. Every day provides a new opportunity to learn, share and grow, and we are truly enjoying our life.

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Dani Heisler
Wisconsin

Dani Heisler

I’m nestled into the driftless region of southwest Wisconsin near Richland Center, where my two Australian Cattle dogs and I enjoy our wooded and managed prairie acreage. Growing up, I was actively involved in my family’s beef operation that cultured my love for the land and cattle from a young age. I attended University of Wisconsin at River Falls where I achieved a Bachelor of Science, studying Animal Science, Agronomy and Food Science. Throughout my professional career I’ve worked across production agriculture, organic production, livestock nutrition, and non-profit work in Regenerative Agriculture. I currently serve Wisconsin farmers and landowners at the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) through my role as the Producer-Led Watershed Protection Grant Program Manager. It’s inspiring to have the opportunity to support and promote producer-led initiatives in soil and water quality improvement goals, through the interconnectedness of agricultural sectors, conservation, and social science.

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Myron Sylling
Minnesota

Myron Sylling

I farm 900 acres of corn and soybeans with my wife, Nikki, and son Camron in southeast Minnesota. My brother Mikal and I work together to help each other out. I have no-tilled since the early 90’s and have used cover crops since 2013. I have experience aerial seeding, drilling, and frost seeding covers and primarily drill my cover crops after harvest. I am a mentor with the Minnesota Soil Health Coalition. I also sell AgriGold seed as well as BW Fusion products. Part of these roles is helping farmers understand their soil potential through soil and tissue testing.

Minnesota Lead Contact

myronsyl@gmail.com

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Tom Cotter
Minnesota

Tom Cotter

I am a fourth generation farmer in Austin, MN. My wife Alma and I raised four kids and are trying our best to raise healthy food and to take care of our land for future generations. I currently farm 800 acres with a third of those being certified Organic and two thirds being No-Till with covers on all acres. In my rotation I raise corn, sweetcorn, soybeans, peas, oats, alfalfa, sunflowers, buckwheat, hemp grain and fiber, Organic CBD hemp for Superior Cannabis Company that I co-own with a friend, and a grass-finished cow/calf herd. I started planting cover crops in the late 90’s and have done strip till/no till since 2013. My cattle graze every acre which consists of cash crops, large multi species cocktails, V4-V6 inter-seeding, winter rye before no-till soybeans, sweet corn and organic ground. Back in the 90’s I had nowhere to go for help with cover crops and soil health. That is why now I want to make sure that the new adopters to soil health have help and don’t feel alone like my Dad, Mike, and I felt back then. My Dad was a nationally-known Storyteller and I am continuing that tradition and sharing my Soil Health journey with those that listen and care about our future.

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Karl Dallefeld
Iowa

Karl Dallefeld

I have been involved with soil health for the past 30 years. This journey started with grassland management across the Midwest and soon encompassed cover crops with grain farms. I have had the honor to work with farms across the U.S. and Canada. The blessing of working with so many awesome farms and ranches directly influenced my personal livestock operation. Utilizing techniques to build soil health while raising healthy cattle increases profitability. It is my passion to keep the next generations on the farms and in turn keep our local communities thriving.

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Dennis Rauen
Iowa

Dennis Rauen

I have been involved with soil health for the past 30 years. This journey started with grassland management across the Midwest and soon encompassed cover crops with grain farms. I have had the honor to work with farms across the U.S. and Canada. The blessing of working with so many awesome farms and ranches directly influenced my personal livestock operation. Utilizing techniques to build soil health while raising healthy cattle increases profitability. It is my passion to keep the next generations on the farms and in turn keep our local communities thriving.

Iowa Lead Contact

dennis@rpmfarley.com

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Eric Schmechel
Iowa

Eric Schmechel

I have been working with the Dubuque Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD) for over a decade on both agricultural and urban watershed management policies, projects, and programs. I began working with agricultural landowners on a cold-water trout stream (Catfish Creek) project in 2007 and since have collaborated with both Dubuque County and the City of Dubuque, managing stormwater and floodplain permits, projects, and policies. In 2020, the 28e watershed agreement was formed with me leading the Dubuque County Watersheds team, working with both agricultural and urban watershed components. I enjoy being outside as much as possible – fishing, camping, hunting, exploring, bluegrass festivals, and spending time with my kids.

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Ted Smith
Iowa

Ted Smith

I live on our family’s Century Farm in Northeast Iowa with my wife and three kids. We regeneratively farm cover crops, corn, soybeans, hay, and cow-calf herd with only family labor. We’ve seen firsthand changes in soil health and its benefits leading to profitability. We enjoy working with and learning from nature to better our operation.

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Rick Kaesebier
Illinois

Rick Kaesebier

Over the last ten years, I have transformed from simply a dirt farmer in central Illinois into a regenerative farmer. I and my wife Kathy have transitioned from a corn and soybean rotation to an expanded rotation also including cover crops, wheat, and animal impact from the hooves of beef cattle and Khatadin sheep. A keeper of honeybees, I specialize in bourbon barrel aging honey. I believe that regenerative farming has made me a better and more observant farmer, and my relationship with the land is mutually beneficial. Not only does the land give you a return for your investment, but if you invest in the land, you can help renew it to its former function.

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Kathy Kaesebier
Illinois

Kathy Kaesebier

I am the final generation to farm following many generations, going back to the days of my ancestral Cherokee nation. I and my husband, Rick, have been farming regeneratively in central Illinois for the past ten years, when we added cover crops, wheat, and Khatadin sheep and beef cattle to our rotation. Our three grown daughters are not returning to the farm to raise food, but instead are busy teaching and guiding pre-K to university students as well as corporate executives.

Illinois Lead Contact

rkkaesebier@gmail.com

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Walter Lynn
Illinois

Walter Lynn

I have a decades-long portfolio of experience working with NGOs, businesses and industry leaders involved in all facets of production agriculture, agribusiness and conservation. I currently serve as a board member and was past chair of Holistic Management International. I see my role with Fields of Sinsinawa as an opportunity to significantly increase adoption of regenerative agriculture throughout the nation and beyond.

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Greg Thoren
Illinois

Greg Thoren

I farm regeneratively with my wife, Janis, on 2200 acres in the Stockton area in Jo Daviess County, Illinois. I have been incorporating regenerative practices for more than 12 years. All land is non-GMO, no-till, and is operated in continuous cover crop. We also produce beef cattle using managed grazing and are developing direct marketing strategies for our product. In 2023 we became certified at Regenified’s highest level: Tier 5 certification. In addition to being on the Fields of Sinsinawa Steering Committee and Land Committee, I serve on the Jo Daviess County Farm Bureau board and am a Director for the farmer-led Jo Daviess County Soil & Water Health Coalition.

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Julie Schwab
Dominicans of Sinsinawa, Administrative Support Team

Julie Schwab

I have a B.S.E. in Elementary Education and Special Education, an MA in Theology and an MA in Sustainability. Some of my professional experiences include: grade school teacher, chaplain for individuals with AIDS, solidarity accompaniment in Guatemala, co-director of a center for people who were experiencing homelessness, and I presently serve on the leadership team for the Sinsinawa Dominican Congregation.

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Sheila Fitzgerald
Dominicans of Sinsinawa, Administrative Support Team

Sheila Fitzgerald

I grew up on a small family farm in Washington County, Nebraska on land originally homesteaded by my great grandparents in 1854. I became a Sinsinawa Dominican in 1957 and served in a variety of educational and social service ministries for over 60 years. For many of those years I also served on our Sinsinawa Land Committees helping to envision how, in partnership with this land, the mission and legacy of the Sinsinawa Dominicans will continue to be a vital presence in the agricultural community. I believe that Fields of Sinsinawa will carry that mission forward.

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Jeanne Tranel
Dominicans of Sinsinawa

Jeanne Tranel

I was born and raised on a farm in Northwestern Illinois. It was here that I grew to love the earth and creation and to respect and find the soil as a source of life. The Dominicans of Sinsinawa always impressed me because of their respect for the earth. At present I am living at the Academy Apartments at Sinsinawa Mound and feel as though I have come home to the land that has nourished me.

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Jay Brandt
National

Jay Brandt

I farm with my wife Ann, and our two grown children Christopher and Isaac. The Brandt Family Farm is located in central Ohio, just south east of Columbus, the state capital. The Brandt Family has been farming in the area for 4 generations and produces corn, soybeans and wheat. Our farm hosts Walnut Creek Seeds, a dealer of cover crops and forages, and participates as a regenerative grain hub, providing seed cleaning and flour milling for ancient, heirloom and landrace grain. Our current operation has been focused on education of conservation practices, with an emphasis on cover crop adoption, for the last 30 years. My father, David Brandt, has been coined the godfather of the soil health movement, and is world renown for his passion about soil conservation and use of the soil health principles to reduce reliance on synthetic inputs and to farm in nature’s image.

National Lead Contact

jay.brandt@walnutcreekseeds.com

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Loran Steinlage
National

Loran Steinlage

I am a farmer, fabricator and Ag industry engineering consultant. I and my wife, Brenda, live on FLO farms near West Union in northeast Iowa. We are evolving towards a companion/relay no-till cropping system which is focused on cycling plants to keep a living plant in the soil at all times. We currently produce corn, soybeans, cereal rye, winter wheat, malt barley and buckwheat. I am an AgVenture Investment board member, an AgLaunch judge, and Northeast Iowa Dairy/Ag Foundation board president and lead on the net zero committee. I am a recipient of the Iowa Environmental Leadership Award, the 2020 No Till Farmer Innovators Award, the No Till Farmer 2023 Conservation Ag Operator Fellowship, and the 2023 Iowa Leopold Conservation Award.

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Rick Clark
National

Rick Clark

I am a fifth-generation farmer in Warren County, Indiana on the land my family has farmed since the 1880s. I hold a degree in agriculture and economics from Purdue University. For over 10 years, I have been shifting my operation to focus on soil health and diversity. I use non-GMO seeds, no-till farming, crop rotation, and cover crop diversity to regenerate soils and create profit. I speak nationally on the importance and success of this approach and work with other farmers trying to do the same. I received a Land O’ Lakes Outstanding Sustainability Award, a regional American Soybean Association Conservation Legacy Award, and the 2019 Field to Markets Sustainable Farmer of the Year award, and am showcased in the movie “Common Ground.”

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Jimmy Emmons
National

Jimmy Emmons

I am the Senior Vice President of Climate Smart Programs with Trust in Food. I farm in Dewey County, Oklahoma where I represent the third generation on the family farm. I and my wife Ginger have been farming and ranching together since 1980. We have a diverse 2000-acre cropping operation, a 250 cow/calf herd, and take in yearling cattle for custom grazing on nearly 6000 acres of native range. I share what we’ve learned about soil health on our farm through workshops, field days and test plots and travel across the country speaking about soil health from a producer’s point of view. In 2017, my wife and I were awarded the first Oklahoma Leopold Conservation Award for the conservation work we’ve done on our operation.

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Tom Mosgaller
Administrative Support Team

Tom Mosgaller

My work has been in helping organizations and communities improve their quality of life. As Director of Quality for the City of Madison and past president of the American Society for Quality (ASQ) I have worked nationally and internationally spreading the good news of quality.

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Beth Baranski
Administrative Support Team

Beth Baranski

My husband, Jim, and I live in Galena, Illinois where we raised our son, Alex. We have an
architectural firm, and I am an active volunteer. I became involved in local water
resource management issues through the League of Women Voters of Jo Daviess County.
We facilitated the development of a county-wide water resource management plan and
an Illinois EPA-approved watershed plan for the lower Galena River. I serve as Organizing
Secretary for the farmer-led Jo Daviess County Soil & Water Health Coalition. I believe
that Fields of Sinsinawa has the potential to address many of the social and
environmental concerns that all of us share and l’m excited to be involved!

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Evan Hudson
Administrative Support Team

Evan Hudson

I am an Iowa native who moved to Dubuque in 2017. I started my current role as a nonprofit program coordinator after a decade teaching English as a Second Language, including seven years teaching in Vietnam and two at Divine Word Seminary in Epworth. My current role with Dubuque Harm Reduction revolves around providing and advocating for evidence-based addiction recovery policies in the Dubuque area. I am strongly motivated by the concept of regeneration, and Sinsinawa Mound has occupied a special place in my heart since I moved to Dubuque. I am excited to collaborate with the Fields of Sinsinawa team and the broader network of aligned people and projects as we collectively work together to heal ourselves, our communities and the environment, and build the world we all know is possible.

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