Support our mission

Donate Today: Support Sustainable Farming Across the Upper Midwest

At Farmers for Sustainable Food, we support farmers who are leading the way in sustainable farming practices, which benefit not only their farms but also their entire communities. With farmers leading the way, we’re finding long-term solutions to today’s environmental challenges that collectively focus on environmental, economic and social good. We’re driven to create sustainable prosperity for the entire food system and the world as a whole.

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Our Impact

In 2024, 257 farmers from seven different farmer-led groups supported by Farmers for Sustainable Food participated in the annual survey, encompassing 278,329 acres. 

The sustainable practices measured in the survey include soil sampling, nutrient management planning, cover cropping, reduced tillage, no-tillage, low disturbance manure application, planting green, nitrogen stabilizer and split nitrogen application.  

Results show potential valuable benefits to climate health, soil health and water quality:

Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 30,839 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents, equivalent to the emissions produced by 7,342 cars in a year. 
Prevention of sediment loss from farm fields of 368,948 tons, equivalent to 36,894 dump trucks’ worth of soil. 
Reduction of phosphorus runoff by 518,898 pounds of phosphorus, potentially preventing 259.5 million pounds of algae growth in local water bodies.

In 2025, we continue to make an impact and expand our efforts to unite, inspire and empower more farmers and their partners in conservation.

Meet the farmers

Derek Sippel is a fifth-generation dairy farmer in St. Cloud, Wis., where he farms with his wife, Nicole, and his parents, Earl and Yvonne. On the family farm, they milk 120 cows, raise 75 Angus cross beef and manage 850 acres of cropland.

“The practices we’re using, such as cover cropping, no-tillage and strategic crop rotation, help protect our soils, increase nutrient holding, and regulate soil moisture,” he said. “I deeply value sustainable agriculture because it’s a way of life for our family, and I want to be able to pass that down to future generations.”

Sippel and his wife also own a small business, Airy Point Farms, which specializes in no-till flowers and pumpkins. They enjoy hosting on-farm events and sharing sustainable agriculture with the local community.

Learn more about Derek and his family farm here.

LASA member spotlight - Chris Wilson (1)

Wilson Organic Farms in Lafayette County, Wis., has been operating since 1848. Today, the farm is managed by a group of Wilson family members, including Chris Wilson, a Lafayette Ag Stewardship Alliance member.

The farm was an early adopter of USDA-certified organic farming, making the transition in 1996. It operates based on a closed system, where nearly all feed and crop fertilizers (manure), are produced on the farm.

“Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do because we want to ensure that our land, water and ecological resources are healthy and highly productive for future generations,” Wilson said.

The Wilsons have adopted various progressive farming practices, such as organic no-till, cover cropping, diverse cropping rotations and adaptive managed grazing.

Learn more about Chris here.

Scott and Emma Mathison of Mathison Farms, members of Peninsula Pride Farms, continue learning about and adopting new sustainable farming practices that benefit their farm and the surrounding environment.

Scott and Emma are fifth-generation farmers in Door County, Wis., farming alongside their parents, Allan and Becky Mathison, and Scott’s wife, Morgan. They are in the process of transitioning the ownership of the farm from their parents and are now making more farm management decisions.

“We started implementing rotational grazing in 2021 and quickly realized how beneficial this system was for the environment and for our cows,” Scott said. “Since then, we’ve been able to expand our grazing acres and look to continue to do so in the future as we expand our herd size.”

Learn more about Scott and Emma here.

We can't do this alone

Stand with us as we cultivate a brighter future for generations to come. Your support fuels our work as we empower farmers in their sustainability journeys.

We’re asking for your support as we continue our mission. We can’t do this alone – donate today!

Please note:  FSF is a 501(c)(3) and donations to it may be tax deductible as allowed by law.

I will cover the 3% credit card processing fee.

Item	Charge
Donation	$NONE
Fees ( 3% )	$NONE
Total	$No Charge

Thank you to our 2024 donors!

Anonymous

General Mills

Holly Bellmund

Kerri Olson

Lakeshore Natural Resources Partnership through an award to Peninsula Pride Farms

Lloyd and Daphne Holterman

Mary Lou Egan and Marc Bendick Jr

Midwest Specialty Products

Steve Richter