Field Day at Mud Ridge Ranch

Farmers, landowners and friends of farmers are invited to participate in Practical Farmers’ 2024 field day season, which includes 59 farmer-led events across Iowa and surrounding states through November.
All events are led by PFI farmer members who believe in sharing their knowledge, discoveries, mistakes and successes so others can learn and grow their own operations.
Mud Ridge Ranch at 1582 200th St. in Red Oak will be hosting a Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI) field day from 10 a.m. to noon on Sept. 3 The event is free to attend and open to the public.
Matt and Jocelyn Vermeersch are first-generation farmers now in their second year collaborating on a farm transition with Maggie McQuown outside of Red Oak. Maggie McQuown owns Resilient Farms; Maggie and her husband Steve Turman co-manage the farm. Matt and Jocelyn Vermeersch operate Mud Ridge Ranch, which is now located on Resilient Farms.
McQuown said there have been numerous changes since she and Steve initially moved to the farm in 2012.
“After joining Practical Farmers of Iowa we started attending conferences, learning about cover crops and doing intensive research and study about soil health, integrated farm management and regenerative agriculture. We set goals to limit our carbon footprint and transition the farm for carbon impact. We built our passive house and installed solar. Over the next 10 years we added a produce market garden, prairie strips, pollinator plots, cover crops, and a riparian buffer to protect the creek that runs through our farm,” McQuown said.
As they’ve reached 70, McQuown said she knew that when the time came to pass the farm on to another generation, it wouldn’t be a fifth generation family member.
“We started searching for a young, beginning farm family who shared our vision and values – mimicking nature using regenerative agriculture practices, growing nutritious food sold through local food systems, embracing the small farm lifestyle, and minimizing our carbon footprint on earth. After lots of networking through Practical Farmers of Iowa and other channels, it was ultimately a word-of-mouth referral that connected us with Matt and Jocelyn Vermeersch,” McQuown explained. “We had a series of conversations with them and really did our due diligence to make sure our values aligned. We decided to move forward with a collaboration on our farm. This launched us into a major renovation of the old farmhouse and cleaning up the farmstead, so that the Vermeersches could move onto the land.”
Besides transitioning generations, they are also working to transition the row crop ground to permanent pasture. Matt is striving to raise healthy animals on year-round grazing and minimal inputs. The row crop ground, currently in cereal rye, will be planted in a warm-season annual mix that will be grazed before planting perennials.
“In 2024 the focus is getting Resilient Farms ready for livestock. It’s been primarily in row crops for several decades, so we’ve been putting in about 60 acres of fencing this year. We are bringing life back to a barn that was used for milk cows and horses when Maggie was young. We now have our working facility around it as well as some pens for calving. Maggie seeded cereal rye last fall, so once fences are up we will bring our cows onto the land to graze it,” Matt commented. “When the warm season arrives, we plan to plant a diverse, warm-season pasture mix to graze until fall, then come back and plant another cool-season mix. In addition to that, we’re planting 200 trees for animal shade and wildlife purposes. We are planting lots of oaks as well as some faster growing trees so that we can get shade sooner while the stronger trees are growing.”
McQuown also shared the ultimate goal for the farm’s future.
“Our goal is to invest enough of our retirement resource into the farm to make the conversion to perennial pasture and prairie with restored buildings and infrastructure. Matt and Jocelyn will be the tenants and stewards of the farm along with help from Steve and I as long as our health allows. This transition plan is not a typical one and is a huge step for Steve and me. It works for us since we want this land cared for and in the hands of someone who values the heritage, sees value in an old farmstead and will really take time to live on the land, smell the roses, play in the creek, love the animals and provide real food for people,” said McQuown.
McQuown commented on one of the key takeaways she’s hoping visitors will get from the field day.
“The importance of planning ahead for your farm’s generational transition, whether it be to a family member (a single child, a group of children, or a grandchild) or to a non-family member. So many people don’t talk about and deal with the transition issue ahead of time, often resulting in the transition causing family discord or even the land be sold at auction because the family members disagree on how or who should manage it going forward. This includes how all farm transitions - whether within the family or with a non-family tenant - takes planning, collaboration, and shared values,” said McQuown.
Other takeaways include:
• Options available for protecting land with conservation easement or other methods.
• The value of regenerative agriculture practices which focus on farming for longterm soil health as opposed to crop yield and commodity prices. Practices include: Use of cover crops and/or perennials (pasture and prairie) with roots in the soil year around to improve soil health; reduced use of synthetic fertilizers and chemicals; rotational grazing; and the value of having livestock on the land.
• The challenges of converting from a 100% row crop (corn/soybean) operation to a 100% grazing operation.
The public is invited to come learn how Matt, Jocelyn, Steve, and Maggie are making these transitions work and what the vision for their regenerative, grass-based system is.
Practical Farmers of Iowa education director Liz Kolbe shared what makes field days so special.
“It’s the open, honest conversation,” said Kolbe. “Hosts are transparent and share what’s working and what’s not. Attendees also get to see practices in action, which sparks new ideas to bring back to their own farms.”
Field day topics span the agricultural spectrum and showcase farmers with operations of all sizes and production practices. This year, events will explore conventional and organic field crops, cover crops and small grains; livestock systems of differing scales and species; vegetable production, flowers and orcharding; collaborative farming; efforts to add habitat and conservation practices; land access and more.
To continue to serve PFI’s growing network, Practical Farmers has planned a record 12 out-of-state events. In addition to Iowa, field days this year will take place in Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and Wisconsin.
“We’re excited to have so many out-of-state events this year,” Kolbe said. “We’re able to bring more farmers together than ever, connect them to PFI’s broader network and spread the spirit of curiosity and learning.”
PFI field days are free for anyone to attend – membership in Practical Farmers of Iowa is not required or expected. Events are marked by a welcoming atmosphere, a spirit of curiosity, a culture of mutual respect and farmers openly sharing their knowledge and experience.
All events occur rain or shine. While RSVPs are not required for the majority of field days, they are appreciated to help with event and meal planning. The full roster of events – along with additional information about PFI field day policies and logistics – is available at practicalfarmers.org/field-days.