Voigt Family Farms, based in the Taopi area, is Mower County’s 2024 Outstanding Conservationists of the Year as chosen by the Mower SWCD Board of Supervisors. Picture here are Darin, Devin, David, Dustin and Dallas Voigt.

Voigts honored for conservation farming efforts

Mower family highlighted with others at state SWCD convention

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Dec. 20, 2024 — Using a variety of practices on their cropland to improve soil health and reduce erosion, Voigt Family Farms is a strong example of conservation-minded farmers in Mower County.

This month, members of the Voigt family were recognized with dozens of other conservationists at the 88th annual convention of the Minnesota Association of Soil & Water Conservation Districts in the Twin Cities.

In December 2024 at the annual MASWCD convention are (left to right) Jim Kellogg, SWCD board member; Cody Fox, SWCD manager; Randy Smith, SWCD board chair; Dustin and Molly Voigt; Rachel and Dallas Voigt; Darin Voigt; Jessica Bulman, SWCD staff; and Paul Hunter, SWCD staff.

Based in the Taopi area of southeast Mower County, the Voigts — Devin, Darin, Dustin and Dallas, with their parents David and Beth — are Mower County’s 2024 Outstanding Conservationists of the Year as chosen by the Mower Soil & Water Conservation District’s Board of Supervisors.

“They really are a great family to work with on projects that support their farming operation while also protecting our natural resources,” Mower SWCD manager Cody Fox said. “The Voigts have seen firsthand the value of rotating crops, applying cattle to the landscape and reducing tillage.”

Aside from raising beef cattle, the Voigts’ operation also grows cash crops on a corn-soybean rotation and running a manure-pumping business. Over the years, they have maintained and installed numerous grassed waterways that help protect against field erosion on their cropland.

Voigts use a no-till planter on cropland with cover crops on one of their Mower County fields.

More recently, the Voigt family has focused on incorporating soil-health practices, including starting a strip-till system, planting more small grains, using cover crops and adopting no-till on some fields. Strip till involves tilling a narrow band of soil, placing fertilizer and leaving the other soil undisturbed.

The Voigts also have worked voluntarily with the Cedar River Watershed District, staffed by Mower SWCD, on major flood-reduction projects and the ongoing SWCD-CRWD water-monitoring efforts for 16 years.

Voigt Family Farms is highlighted Dec. 4, 2024, during the annual convention of the Minnesota Association of Soil & Water Conservation Districts (MASWCD) in the Twin Cities.

MASWCD’s annual convention this year brought together more than 760 conservation leaders from across the state for two days of state leaders and environmental professionals discussing conservation policies, implementation strategies and the latest technologies in natural-resource management.

With more than 75 percent of Minnesota’s land under private ownership, voluntary conservation on private lands is key to protecting and enhancing natural resources for all to enjoy, said Chuck Rau, MASWCD’s board president and a Benton County SWCD board member.

“Creating abundant habitat for wildlife, healthy soil to grow our food and clean groundwater for our homes and businesses does not happen in a vacuum,” Rau said. “These resources don’t follow property lines. An impact in one area will affect another area downstream.”

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Cedar River Watershed District
Cedar River Watershed District

Written by Cedar River Watershed District

Formed in 2007, CRWD works to reduce flooding and improve water quality on the Cedar River State Water Trail and its tributaries in southern Minnesota.

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