Industrial agriculture and its effects are hard to miss. By comparison, the rapidly
growing regenerative agriculture movement flies below the radar. The Agriculture Policy
and Practices Team of the climate action group 350 Wisconsin is trying to do something
about that by showcasing local farmers who are producing food in environmentally
sustainable ways.
Farmers like Bethanee Wright, who runs Winterfell Acres in Green County near
Brooklyn with the help of her husband Travis. On their 45 acres, certified organic
produce is grown without chemical pesticides, fertilizers, herbicides or bioengineered
seeds and plants. Winterfell Acres relies on composting, cover crops, mulching, minimal
tillage and crop rotation to maintain soil quality, even planting the walkways between the
production beds to further nourish the soil, prevent erosion and provide habitat for
pollinators and pest predators.
Over half of the farm’s electricity needs are supplied by a 48-panel solar array installed
in 2020. Organic fruits and vegetables are grown year-round thanks to a geothermal,
passive solar greenhouse. Pastured hogs and chickens also are raised on the farm. In
addition to providing wholesome food to customers who purchase shares in the farm’s
CSA, Winterfell Acres offers classes in chicken and hog butchering.
More about Winterfell Acres and the family’s contact information can be found at
winterfellacres.com.
350 Wisconsin’s Agriculture Policy and Practices Team is a subgroup of its Dane
County Community Working Group that interacts with the Dane County Board of
Supervisors, the county’s Office of Energy and Climate Change, the Capitol Area
Regional Planning Commission and others on implementation of key elements of Dane
County’s Climate Action Plan.
For more information on 350’s Agricultural Policy and Practices Team and Community
Working Group, contact Mike Friend at [email protected].
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