Menoken Farm: Where the land teaches
Editor’s note: This is the final part in a multi-part series covering the Crops, Covers and Cows Field Day on July 30 at Menoken Farm.
Rain moved across the highway in narrow bands on the drive in, clearing just long enough for sunlight to hit a stretch of blooming sunflowers north of town. By the time attendees stepped into Menoken Farm’s new presentation building, the weather had settled and the room was full.
The building, completed in 2024, features murals of prairie roots and soil horizons, along with quotes that frame the farm’s mission. One reads, “The history of every Nation is eventually written in the way in which it cares for its soil,” attributed to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Another, from Aldo Leopold, states, “The oldest task in human history: to live on the land without spoiling it.”
Those ideas reflect the purpose of Menoken Farm, a 150acre demonstration site operated by the Burleigh County Soil Conservation District. The farm is designed to show producers what soil health looks like in practice, not just theory.
More than 150 farmers and ranchers attended the July 30 Crops, Covers and Cows Field Day. Keynote speaker Dallas Mount discussed the business side of agriculture, while Cass County farmer Phil Faught walked through the biological side — carbon layering, residue management and microbial activity.