Pasture Walk at Anathoth Community Farm

The NW Wisconsin Graziers Network, GrassWorks, and UW-Madison Extension invite you to a multi-enterprise pasture walk hosted by Anathoth Community Farm. This educational event will emphasize using hay to enhance soil fertility, pollinator pasture and habitat, multi-species grazing for meat production, farm to food bank sales, regenerative agriculture and watershed protection.

The Anathoth Community Farm is home to Mike Miles, Barb Kass, and their extended family. They raise fully pastured beef, poultry, and pork and partner with the St Croix Valley Food Alliance and St Croix Food Bank to make “farm to food bank sales”. Learn more about this and how it benefits both farmers and the community.  Lunch will be provided after the farm tour.

The farm consists of about 60 acres on gently rolling lighter soils with pastures and wooded areas. Using temporary polywire fencing and portable animal paddocks, Miles moves animals up to three times per day, thereby creating better soil health, water infiltration and diversified animal nutrition. Short term high stocking density grazing, out-wintering beef cattle and bale grazing will be discussed along with answering any questions from pasture walk participants.

The farm has established key-line swales to harvest melted snow and rain water run-off which could otherwise cause erosion. The swale borders are planted with various perennials both trees and shrubs.  Forages are grown in the alleys.  Silvopasturing include both partial clearing for grazing and establishment of trees in existing pastures.

A newly developed 2.5acre pollinator pasture is being established with a grant from the Xerces Society will be discussed.  The farm features rotational beef grazing, pastured poultry, layers and broilers, pastured hogs, and solar power that supplies electricity to the grid.  The farm also uses a three-point, no-till seeder to inter-seed forage mixes and cover crops in heavy use areas.