We have partnered with farmers in the southern region of Minnesota to implement soil health practices and offer their support to other farmers. Our contracted farmers have years of experience with soil health practices and offer mentorship style assistance to landowners looking to implement new practices.

Jessica Barbosa Oliveira

Jessica Barbosa Oliveira is a Conservation Agronomist at Great River Greening. She provides technical assistance for practices like continuous living cover, perennial crops, and agroforestry. She is based in St. Paul. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What is your background and how did you become a conservation agronomist at Great River Greening?  

Jessica: I have a background in agronomy and soil science. I’m originally from Brazil and I got my undergraduate degree at São Paulo State University in the agronomy school, and after that I came to the United States for an internship at the University of Nebraska Lincoln working on weed science and I really enjoyed that.

I decided to go to grad school at the University of Minnesota for the land and atmospheric science program with a focus on soil science, and during that time I worked on developing nutrient recommendations for east African crops.  

After I got my graduate degree, I worked as a soil health conservationist at a Soil and Water Conservation District in Minnesota for some time. Then I started working in my current role for Great River Greening as a conservation agronomist.  

What are the responsibilities of your role at Great River Greening?  

Jessica: As a conservation agronomist, I’m part of what we call the regenerative agriculture team at Great River Greening. Me and my coworker, Ben Boo, have similar responsibilities, which is to work directly with farmers and partners including Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD), Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA), and nonprofit organizations to help private and public landowners explore and implement conservation practices such as continuous living cover and silvopasture on their land. Our program offers technical support, demonstration and education events, as well as building out conservation plans for state and federal cost-share programs.  

How does regenerative agriculture align with the mission of Great River Greening?  

Jessica: Great River Greening’s mission is to inspire, engage and lead local communities in conserving and caring for the water and land of Minnesota. Our agriculture-related work started around 2010 and was concentrated in Nicollet County and throughout the Seven Mile Creek watershed, focusing on best management practices to improve watershed health through decreased sediment and nitrate loss.  

Since that initial work with agriculture in 2010, Great River Greening has expanded into broader regenerative agriculture assistance, and today we focus mostly on expanding soil health practices like continuous living cover, perennial crops, and agroforestry practices such as silvopasture in Minnesota. We are currently growing our partnerships with organizations and farmers throughout the state of Minnesota.

How does Great River Greening help farmers overcome challenges with implementing conservation practices?  

Jessica: One example of how we help farmers overcome challenges is in our partnership with farmers growing small grains such as winter camelina. Since winter camelina is a new crop that’s still being developed to be better adapted to Minnesota, we like to connect farmers with specialists like Cargill and Forever Green Initiative, and inform them about the types of cost-share contracts that are available, like Forever Green’s EECO program.  

Farmer-to-farmer support is another way we are assisting those who have challenges with conservation practices. We have partnered with farmers in the southern region of Minnesota to implement soil health practices and offer their support to other farmers. Our contracted farmers have years of experience with soil health practices and offer mentorship style assistance to landowners looking to implement new practices. Some of our partner farmers are able to offer custom work to other farmers that need assistance implementing a new soil health practice on their farm. Farmers are welcome to reach out to the Great River Greening regenerative agriculture team and we can help connect them with farmers who can provide mentorship and support for soil health practices when appropriate.

What upcoming events for farmers is Great River Greening hosting?  

Jessica: We have a few agriculture related events coming up; one is a Farmer Meetup for Conservation and Soil Health happening in Hutchinson on July 15^th. The goal of that event is to connect farmers and landowners with conservation funding opportunities and technical support through federal, state, and nonprofit partners, while giving farmers the chance to network with each other.  

On July 30^th we are hosting a Savanna Restoration Field Day in Dassel, Minnesota in partnership with Pheasants Forever. That field day will showcase different approaches for brush management and cost-share programs to help make the practice happen.   

Another event we are planning is a Silvopasture field day on August 13^th at Clay Hill Farm in Brainerd.  

Can you share a success story of your team’s work?  

Jessica: As part of our silvopasture project funded by the State’s Environmental and Natural Resources Trust Fund, we worked on sites across Minnesota to implement silvopasture, which is a practice that incorporates grazing within forested lands. On one site we worked with a producer in Le Sueur County who wanted to increase his forage acres. Woodland areas on his land were thinned in 2024 and reseeded in 2025 to create new grazing lands. During a 2026 site visit, Great River Greening staff observed excellent forage establishment, including a diverse mix of species and native plants. Managed with rotational grazing, this site is a great example of how trees, livestock, and diverse vegetation can work together to create resilient systems for both livestock and wildlife.   

What are you looking forward to in the 2026 growing season?  

Jessica: For this 2026 growing season, we’re hoping to increase the number of farmers that we interact with through our projects and outreach events so that more farmers are getting soil health practices on the ground. We also look forward to continuing to support local SWCD and NRCS offices by assisting them with conservation plan writing for producers.   

How can people stay up to date with Great River Greening and your conservation support?  

Jessica: On our website we have an events page where people can find our agriculture-related and other Great River Greening events. People can also subscribe to our newsletter, explore our Regenerative Agriculture webpage for more information about our work and frequently asked questions (FAQs), or reach out to me or my team directly.

Interested in working with Jessica or the regenerative agriculture team at Great River Greening? Connect with her at jbarbosaoliveira@greatrivergreening.org or 651-291-3811 

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Conservation advisors work one-on-one with farmers to assess resource concerns and find opportunities for stewardship improvements. These advisors can be found at organizations across the state, from Extension offices to Soil and Water Conservation Districts to wildlife-focused non-profits. MFU regularly features conservation advisors to share how their assistance can support your farm goals. Read more in this series here.