Sustaining your Soil and your Legacy: A Discussion on Farm Health and Succession
Teton Regional Land Trust is pleased to invite our community to an evening discussion about soil stewardship and farm succession planning at 6pm on Thursday, July 24 at Seniors West of the Tetons in downtown Driggs.
Conservation easement landowners, Tim and Wendy Brockish, and their lessee, Daniel Wilcox, will tell the conservation story behind their partnership on the Brockish’s protected farmland along Texas Slough in Madison County, Idaho. With common interests in conservation and soil health, it was only a matter of time before these two families met, and when they did, big ideas started to brew. The Brockishes and Daniel entered into an agreement for the evolution of their farm ground, which enabled Daniel to expand his sustainable operation focused on improving soil health, while allowing Tim and Wendy to provide a case study of the potential of the soil in eastern Idaho when tenets of soil health are employed.
Soil health has always been an important topic to the farming community, and with terms like “regenerative agriculture” and “holistic grazing”, the topic is becoming more widely discussed, as maintaining healthy soils is not just a best practice for great yields, but now an obligation to the land, future generations, and the communities and food systems that depend on it. Healthy soil is the foundation of resilient farms, clean water, and thriving ecosystems, sustaining productive agriculture while safeguarding our natural resources.
Because soil is fundamental to life, it is imperative that, as stewards of the land, we care for our soils in a way that builds organic matter, improves water filtration, reduces erosion, and enhances biological diversity through innovative practices like cover cropping, reduced tillage, and nutrient management to ensure our farmland remains viable, productive, and ecologically sustainable well into the future.
The event will also discuss farm succession planning – a critical topic for many families in eastern Idaho who are facing a transfer in farm leadership. This becomes even more important given the development pressure that we are facing in this area. Farmland is at its most vulnerable to development when it is transferring hands and management. A predetermined farm succession plan can help keep land in agriculture and in working hands.
Tim and Wendy are in the process of transferring a majority of their farm ground to Daniel. It is a long-term plan that will be executed over a few years and will involve a benefit to both parties. The transfer is meant to provide sufficient resources for the Brockishes to comfortably live out their days and to allow Daniel to purchase the farm ground in a way that allows him to grow and sustain his agricultural operation. Daniel and the Brockish’s story provides an incredible example of a non-familial farm transfer that demonstrates the importance of collaboration.
Both Tim and Daniel will be presenting their experience with soil and farm succession planning. This presentation will provide a tangible example of both how to create more fertile soil and how to transfer a farming operation.
There will be other resources available at the event, and participants can engage with regional land use professionals to find out what can be done to enrich their own piece of land, whether that is less than an acre or thousands of acres!
We hope you will join the Land Trust and our incredible partners and speakers on July 24th at 6pm at Seniors West of the Tetons. There will be complimentary drinks, snacks, and a raffle. Special thanks to the American Farmland Trust Soil Stewards Program for making this event possible. To learn more and to RSVP, please visit tetonlandtrust.org.
