The Back 40

Sand County Foundation and the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation hosted a tour of Koepke Farms, Inc, located in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, June 28. The Koepkes are the recipients of the 2011 Leopold Conservation Award in Wisconsin. “The Koepkes have made conservation a family tradition,” said Brent Haglund, Sand County Foundation President. “The program and tour provided [...]

By Brent M. Haglund, Ph.D. A recent article in The Economist deals with a significant issue that has been a main focus of Sand County Foundation Foundation for nearly a decade. The issue is nutrient, primarily phosphorous and nitrogen, runoff from agricultural lands that is polluting our nation’s waterways including significantly, the Mississippi River and [...]

Today’s New York Times has an opinion piece on the farm bill, which just cleared the U.S. Senate. The Times writes that the Senate version of the bill takes too much away from agricultural conservation programs and is too biased toward corn, wheat and soybean farmers, which is the case made by other farm bill [...]

Atlantic writer Chrystia Freeland writes that “the family farm’s decline, and the inevitable loss of the homestead” is an “obsolete” story. Instead, she claims that the agricultural industry is in excellent shape. Freeland argues that the impression of big business dominating agriculture is not true. She cites a 2010 statistic that states that of all U.S. [...]

During an election year, when many doubted its chances of getting done, a new Farm Bill is one big step closer to reality as it cleared the U.S. Senate on Thursday. This version of the five year bill cuts farm subsidies and land conservation spending by approximately $2 billion per year. The bill cuts costs by reducing [...]

Enjoy a summer evening outdoors with gourmet food, friends and some of the rarest birds on earth.  On Saturday, June 23 from 5 – 8 PM the International Crane Foundation (ICF), located on Shady Lane Road between Baraboo and Wisconsin Dells, will be hosting its 3rd Evening with the Cranes to kick off the summer [...]