Staff and board members from EcoSun Prairie Farm hosted about fifty visitors for our annual tour on August 3rd.  The weather was warm, and beautiful clouds swarmed about the sky.  EcoSun farm is certainly feeling the impacts of pronounced heat and drought, but our perennial grasses are holding up impressively.  Visitors were surprised at the prodigious growth and health of the prairie. They traveled across the farm and learned about biodiversity, our cattle herd, wetlands, grasslands, and our marketing plans. We brought three special guests to address our three primary marketing and sales pursuits: seed, hay, and prairie-raised beef. Paul McGill, owner of Rock Valley Hay Auction, Travis Petersen, meat department manager at The Co-Op Natural Foods store in Sioux Falls, and Matt Fenske of Millborn Seeds spoke about their respective specialties.  Board members speaking during the tour were Drs. Carter Johnson,  and Arvid Boe.  Farm manager Craig Novotny and livestock researcher Cody Zilverberg  also spoke.  Thanks to those who attended, and thanks also to the newspapers, blogs, organizations, and radio and television stations that helped us publicize the tour.  The Sioux Falls Argus Leader newspaper and the Dakota Farmer magazine sent journalists, and we appreciate their extra effort in reporting about our special farm.

Click on the image below for a better look at the farm.

Visitors to EcoSun farm toured healthy tallgrass prairie and listened to speakers describe our farming practices and our marketing objectives.