The SILT Farmer Committee and Board are pleased to announce the newest farmers for Luzum Heritage Farm, SILT's 170-acre span of pasture, prairie, trees and hoop houses located just south of Decorah in Northeast Iowa. Carly McAndrews and Bryant Mann are two best friends who have been farming together for four years. They have a combined 13 seasons of experience working on small-scale, diversified vegetable farms. Carly has worked on farms in Vermont, Connecticut, California, and Iowa. Bryant got his start growing produce for donation under the mentorship of Sonia Kendrick at the non-profit Feed Iowa First in Cedar [...]

SILT's Small Farm Summer continued in June with the Garlic Festival at Grade A Gardens in Earlham. More than 230 guests arrived before a downpour in the last hour moved a smaller party into the new barn. Bob Winchell, the executor of his wife TC's estate, donated the easement on this 25 acres that made it affordable enough for Jordan and Whitney Clasen to purchase. In a single year, they've been able to build a house and barn, erect a number of hoop houses and get garlic and more into the ground. "This is just an amazing, hardworking couple," [...]

https://www.morningagclips.com/farms-following-soil-friendly-practices-grow-healthier-food-study-suggests/

WEST BRANCH IA Feb. 2022– One thing that unites us as a nation is land: Americans strongly support saving the open spaces they love. Since 2015, the Sustainable Iowa Land Trust has been doing just that for the people of Iowa. Now SILT announced it has achieved national recognition – joining a network of over 450 accredited land trusts across the nation that have demonstrated their commitment to professional excellence and to maintaining the public’s trust in their work. “Accreditation demonstrates SILT’s commitment to permanent farmland conservation in Iowa,” said Suzan Erem, SILT Community Engagement Specialist. “We are a [...]

Pott County Farm Sells for Just $5,000/acre HONEY CREEK– Making good on its promise, the Sustainable Iowa Land Trust sold a farm to beginning farmers Tanna and John Piniarski today for more than 50 percent under market rate. “Our job is to get affordable land into the hands of regenerative table food farmers,” said Community Engagement Specialist Suzan Erem. “Thanks to a lot of good people, we were able to do that.” The farm, sold in 2015 to SILT at a deep discount by Honey Creek resident Joe Driscoll, was the first acquisition by the nonprofit organization. The [...]

SILT has already made the (good) news this year in two major media outlets! Co-founder and former treasurer Kathy Dice was featured on KCII radio describing how Red Fern Farm will be hosting a Small Farm Summer event this year. Listen to it here Community Engagement Specialist Suzan Erem was featured in a "Where are they now?" piece in the Des Moines Register for People to Watch the newspaper had profiled over the last 10 years. It was a subscriber-only story but you can download the pdf here. Getting SILT's good work in the news increases our visibility, lets [...]

SILT welcomes Teresa Kurtz as Operations Specialist in charge of administrative support and finances. Teresa grew up in southeastern Minnesota but has called Iowa her home for 30 years.  She is a graduate of the University of Minnesota with a B.S. in Home Economics/Human Ecology.  Teresa’s passion for the environment and sustainability took root with her field work at Appalachia Science in the Public Interest in the mid-80s, leading to a long career in the government and nonprofit sectors. Teresa's experience includes serving as an executive director of a statewide recycling nonprofit and as a development team member of [...]