Happy Dancing Blog

Recently a small group of people gathered at Island Lake Farm on a cool fall evening to talk about Climate on the Farm. Sponsored by the Climate Land Leaders  and supported by Happy Dancing Turtle, the evening started with a history of the farm. We have been on our farm for thirty years and consider it to be a special place. With a half mile of shoreline on a natural wild rice lake and the headwaters for the Ripple River, we have kept conservation at the heart of our farm ope

Recently I had the opportunity to attend the 19th Biennial North American Agroforestry Conference. As part of the conference, the Working...

My family tries our best to reduce the food waste in our kitchen–even just by doing things as simple as not peeling carrots, cucumbers,...

Planting trees has long been seen as an act of faith, action, and stewardship.  Trees provide numerous benefits. They protect the soil,...

Based on the premise that adaptive grazing management is vital to mimicking the natural systems that build healthy soils and landscapes,...

What is your definition of rural? Whatever it is, Benjamin Winchester, a sociologist who focuses on rural living, wants it to be a...

Climate change is a hoax, or at least the notion that reducing carbon and other heat-trapping gasses in our atmosphere can stabilize our...

Jim Chamberlin, Happy Dancing Turtle’s Conservation Technician, also operates a 109-acre diversified farm and forestry operation near...

Jim Chamberlin, Happy Dancing Turtle’s Conservation Technician, with his wife, Audra, operates a 109-acre diversified farm and forestry...

Sustainable agriculture gives me hope. What gives me hope is the knowledge that much of what ails us and the planet we are part of can be...

Jim Chamberlin, Happy Dancing Turtle’s Conservation Technician, also operates a 109-acre diversified farm and forestry operation near...