Section B: Real People, Real Farms – Case Studies

• Projected Outcomes
• Dick and Sharon Thompson, IA
• Other Case Studies
• Activity
• Career Pathway content standards

Projected outcomes:

• Students will learn about examples of sustainable farms both in the region and around the country and the world.
• Students will be able to apply the concepts taught in the module to real situations.

Dick and Sharon Thompson, IA

Dick and Sharon Thompson were established leaders in sustainable agriculture in the Midwest. Their profile here is taken from The New American Farmer: Profiles of Agricultural Innovation, published by the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program of the US Department of Agriculture.

Other Case Studies

• Tsyunhehkw^ – Preserving Native American Corn and Culture – The Oneida Nation in Wisconsin raises their traditional white corn in ways that support both the land and the community. This description of their agricultural operation was provided by Jeff Metoxen, the former manager of their farming operation. For more information, see the Oneida Nation website.
• The Ifft family, a northcentral Illinois corn-soybean farm employs soil health practices like the use of cover crops.
• Another showcase of the benefits of cover crops, Dave Brandt’s Ohio farm is a prime example of how cover cropping can result in increasing yields, improving soil carbon, and relying less on pesticides and fertilizers.
• The Sustainable Farming Association has an array of soil health case studies of Minnesota farms covering farmers using techniques such as rotational grazing, minimal/no-tillage, livestock integration, and cover crops.

Case Study Activity: Evaluating Sustainability

There are many short videos on the web addressing aspects of sustainable field crop production, especially use of cover crops, including Gabe and Paul Brown, North Dakota and the Cover Crop Innovators video series.

Older but still useful profiles for this region can be found in The New American Farmer.

Career Pathway content standards