Nor-Kin Dairy Farms owner Sam Kinnard is not doing things the same way he did five years ago. The small Casco operation sold off his dairy herd about five years ago, opting to instead raise heifers for other operations on his 270-acre farm. He has also changed how he farms his land to be a better steward. He has implemented some no-till practices and low-disturbance manure application on some of his fields over the years and has started to get into cover cropping. He hosted farmers earlier this year to show how installing a grass waterway can help keep water in the fields with the crops and not causing soil erosion. While some small farms have gone under due to the economy and the growth of larger farms, Kinnard has been able to adjust and stay connected to agriculture. A member of Peninsula Pride Farms, he does not see himself much differently than the bigger operations in the organization.

Kinnard believes farmers have recognized their role in some of the land and water quality issues and the area and says they have placed a higher focus on environmental practices over the last four to five years.

Picture courtesy of Peninsula Pride Farms