Listen "70: Building Your Dream Team and Farm with Derek Schmitz"
Episode Synopsis
Derek Schmitz has never dreamt of being anything other than a farmer. He also really doesn't like doing field work. An adaptively managed, perennial grazing dairy just makes sense.
In this conversation Schmitz shares how fellow dairy farmers helped him get started, and how genetics, observation and building his own farm team through the Minnesota Dairy Initiative have been key to his success -- and has even reduced his labor by about half.
Jonathan Kilpatrick, SFA Farmer Education Director
Derek Schmitz, SFA Minnesota Dairy Initiative Coordinator
Resources:
-MDI Website
-Newman Turner books
-"Farm as Ecosystem" by Jerry Brunetti
-"Dirt to Soil" by Gabe Brown
-"Building a Profitable Dairy Herd"
The viewpoints of the speakers expressed within or outside of this episode do not necessarily reflect the goals and mission of SFA.
Dirt Rich is produced by the Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota.
If you enjoy Dirt Rich, consider supporting our work by becoming a member of SFA or donating at www.sfa-mn.org.
In this conversation Schmitz shares how fellow dairy farmers helped him get started, and how genetics, observation and building his own farm team through the Minnesota Dairy Initiative have been key to his success -- and has even reduced his labor by about half.
Jonathan Kilpatrick, SFA Farmer Education Director
Derek Schmitz, SFA Minnesota Dairy Initiative Coordinator
Resources:
-MDI Website
-Newman Turner books
-"Farm as Ecosystem" by Jerry Brunetti
-"Dirt to Soil" by Gabe Brown
-"Building a Profitable Dairy Herd"
The viewpoints of the speakers expressed within or outside of this episode do not necessarily reflect the goals and mission of SFA.
Dirt Rich is produced by the Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota.
If you enjoy Dirt Rich, consider supporting our work by becoming a member of SFA or donating at www.sfa-mn.org.
More episodes of the podcast Dirt Rich
77: Simplifying Farm Management
27/08/2025
75: Come and Get It: Hosting On-Farm Events.
20/12/2024
74: No-till can work here.
04/12/2024
73: Direct Marketing for Produce Growers
28/08/2024
71: Shifting Agriculture with Dan Kittredge
08/01/2024
69: Grazing Management, Drought, & the NRCS
23/08/2023
ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.