Duane and Doreen Laveau purchased their 300-acre farm in Wrenshall in 1993, one mile away from where Duane’s parents farmed. Together with their son Paul, his wife Sheila, and their two children, the Laveaus manage Grandview Dairy.  

The Laveaus have long been conservationists. The family was selected by Carlton Soil and Water Conservation District as the 2007 Outstanding Conservationists of the Year, and Grandview Dairy was first in the county to become certified through the Minnesota Ag Water Quality Certification Program (MAWQCP) in 2017.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.  

What is the background of your farm?   

Duane: In 1993 we purchased this farm. It was a dairy farm that sat empty for years and the land was kind of run down. My home farm is only one mile away, so I also grow crops on about 40 acres of the land that my dad farmed.

My wife Doreen, our son Paul, his wife Sheila and their children Carson and Mia are involved on the farm. Carson and Mia come over for chores every night.  

Our barn holds 52 cows and we keep it full, so we milk that many cows at a time. With replacements and other cattle, we probably have about 120 animals on the farm in total. It’s teeny weeny compared to other dairy farms in the state. We ship our milk to First District Association in Litchfield.

For our crops, we have a five-year rotation for corn, alfalfa and soybeans. Our fields are in corn for two years, then soy for two years, then we’ll plant alfalfa in the fifth year. The row crops are all used on the farm as animal feed. 

What is the climate like in Carlton County, and how does it affect your farm? Have you noticed any weather patterns shifting?

Duane: The biggest influence on our weather is Lake Superior since it is 25 miles away from us. We feel that influence especially in the spring when the wind blows off the lake, because the temperature can go from 75 degrees to 50 degrees in just a few minutes. 

A change with climate I’ve noticed is that we definitely have warmer weather during the fall than we used to. Years ago it was a challenge to grow corn and soy in northern Minnesota, but they grow great now because it doesn’t freeze in August anymore like it did when I was a kid. Instead now we wait for below freezing temperatures in October so we can chop corn. 

In 2007 your family was selected by Carlton SWCD as Outstanding Conservationists of the Year. What types of farming practices led you to become outstanding conservationists?

Duane: We’ve been doing environmental practices since we started on the farm because we believe it’s the right thing to do. I’ve always had the mindset to be proactive with environmental programs, and I’m definitely an environmentalist. I recently talked to a friend and he reminded me that 20 years ago I told him “you have to leave the land better than how you found it.” That’s how my dad was and it really stuck with me.

On our fields we use no commercial fertilizer and instead use natural fertilizer, which is cow manure that we produce here on the farm. Manure is the best thing for the soil because it adds organic matter which makes the soil softer and better for growing plants. It’s especially helpful to add organic matter to our soil because we have a lot of red clay on our farm, which can be really hard to work with if you’re not used to it. We apply both solid and liquid manure to our soil, and for the liquid we incorporate it within 24 hours to prevent runoff. 

We also do tillage in the spring rather than the fall. We leave residue from soy and corn on the ground during the fall and winter, and we plow it under in the spring. We do that because fields without residue are more susceptible to erosion from water and wind. I’ve worked too hard to make that topsoil, so I don’t want it to run away—and that’s besides the damage soil and fertilizer does to waterways.  

We have a lot of waterways naturally in our fields because of the hills, and a trout stream called Clear Creek runs right through our land. It’s important to me that we aren’t damaging the waterways with our practices. To prevent erosion of soil and manure from our fields into the trout stream, we worked with Carlton SWCD to plant grassways along the stream. There are areas that are in grass year-round up to 300 feet away from the stream. Three years ago Carlton SWCD also helped us build a building for our cattle that has a concrete slab on the bottom to prevent runoff from dry manure in the spring.

Along with those practices, we have also planted thousands of trees for wildlife habitat, and three years ago we installed solar panels for clean energy.

Your family’s dedication to conservation is impressive. Are there different considerations you have to make for conservation practices in the northern region of Minnesota?

Duane: Cover crops are a little tricky for us in this part of the state because the growing season is shorter. Since we harvest crops later in the year, there’s less time for a cover crop to establish before the winter. However, we took advantage of funding from Carlton SWCD to pay for our first year of cover crop seed and have tried a couple different methods of growing them. There have been years that I tried to plant cover crops after corn harvest, but the weather wasn’t warm enough for it to establish. I’ve also tried planting cover crops during the summer into my corn when it was about waist high, and with that method the cover crop did really well but my corn didn’t yield as well. I know my average tonnage for corn, and those years it was lower because the cover crop took nutrients from the soil. Because of those experiences, if it’s feasible I will plant a rye cover crop in the fall when I harvest corn early enough. 

Another practice I would like to add to our farm is no-till planting for corn, but there’s a tradeoff with equipment expenses and access in our area. No-till planters are expensive, but if we want to retrofit our corn planter for no-till the closest place for us to purchase parts would be two hours away in St. Cloud. Ag equipment is not as accessible in Carlton County as it is in southern Minnesota.

Your family has hosted a community event called Breakfast on the Farm several times. What is the purpose of that event?

Duane: We have done Breakfast on the Farm three times. It’s an event that Doreen and I get our whole family involved with, and the purpose is for people to come see where their food comes from, and for us to show  them how we take care of the animals. There are a lot of city and even rural people who are generations removed from farming, and the event helps people understand that farmers can be good for animals and the environment.

When people come to our farm they can see that our cows are clean, well taken care of, and each cow has a name. I feel strongly about raising cattle humanely. During the summer we feed them hay and corn silage from bail feeders inside a building, but they also have access to our 14 acres of pasture and can go out to graze when they want. If they are grazing they can find shelter from rain and sun in our manure building, so they have the best of both worlds. 

People love Breakfast on the Farm, and I’m amazed by how many people leave the event saying they’re glad they came. We know people are disappointed we aren’t hosting an event this summer.

What does the future of your farm look like?

Duane: I’ll be 65 in August and will be retiring from dairy farming. My son has been farming with us since he graduated from high school, always with the plan to take over the farm eventually. Expenses have gotten so high and I’m probably getting paid the same for my milk as when I started farming in the 90s, so in order for Doreen and I to retire we will have to sell our cows, which is disappointing. However, next year even after the cows are gone we will probably host another Breakfast on the Farm because there will still be lots to see on the farm, and we know people love the event.

Besides that, my brother and nephew are in the process of building a federally inspected meat processing plant in partnership with MFU in our area. They are the owners, but the whole family will be involved. They’ve been working on it for over a year and once it is finished it will be a micro processing plant that accepts animals from anyone, so I’m looking forward to seeing progress on that.

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From heavy rains to extreme drought and damaging winds, farmers are adapting and changing. The ‘Climate Resilience on the Farm’ series features Minnesota farmers who are using practices to make their farms more resilient as the climate changes. Read other articles in this series here.