“The soil is our most precious resource, and it’s really important to do everything we can to protect it from future degradation—and it’s possible!” With these words, it’s evident Julia Gerlach (pictured above) is excited about her work as project manager for Fields of Sinsinawa.
Julia was drawn to Fields of Sinsinawa because it’s led by farmers, in a compelling location, and filled with amazing people. “Farmers trust other farmers, and they trust seeing results for themselves. With Fields of Sinsinawa, we want to work on issues farmers care about and find ways to share that information in a way that is useful and accessible,” she said. “This land [at Sinsinawa] has been used for educational purposes by the Sisters for a long time, and it’s important to see that legacy continue. Being in the tristate area, we have opportunities to be a resource for farmers in a pretty big area. . . . I’m impressed with the people who are on the Fields of Sinsinawa governing body—they’re very passionate and very real people who care. The Sisters and staff at Sinsinawa Mound have been welcoming and open to ideas.”
In the next year, Julia hopes to talk with farmers about issues and work with farmer-led groups to see if Fields of Sinsin- awa can fill gaps in their resources. “I’ll be working with our soil advisor and governing body to plan and implement some demos on the Sinsinawa grounds or with cooperating area farmers. We will put together various events, organize systems and logistics, and work on updating our website.”
Julia was most recently the managing editor at No-Till Farmer magazine. “It was an amazing opportunity to get to know this vast array of people—farmers, researchers, industry folk—who are deeply passionate about land stewardship and who want to find better ways to farm that will leave the land in better shape or at least stop the damage,” she said. “I’m not an alarmist about climate change, but it is a fact that since the dawn of agriculture, humankind has repeatedly overworked the land to the point that it was no longer productive and then they went off to find new land to support their communities. The trouble is, they didn’t change their farming practices. . . . And what are we seeing now? Big dust storms in the corn belt, massive amounts of erosion into our lakes and rivers, and terrible problems with salinity in the Dakotas.” She knows there has been a lot of research done that supports practices that can stop the destruction through covering the soil with vegetation and keeping roots in the ground for as much of the year as possible. “Farmers have access to the information, but there are also a lot of conflicting opinions about what it all means,” she said.
Communication is key for her as project manager. “Communications output is important because what we’re doing won’t have any impact if we don’t communicate it to the outside world,” said Julia. In her free time, she enjoys beadwork and biking.
