About us
Providing a framework for positive change in food and farming systems, food policy, and food production
"The land speaks ever so softly, ever so persistently --in case we chance to listen, or fail to."
Terry Jacobson, farmer in Langon, North Dakota
Executive Director Ron Doetch was recently interviewed on the "Successful Farming Radio Magazine". Click one of the buttons below to hear the interview (running time is 1 minute, 20 seconds). 
Michael Fields Agricultural Institute is devoted to developing an agriculture that can sustain the land and its resources. As a public non-profit organization, it strives to revitalize farming through research, education, technical assistance and public policy. Consider why this mission is so important to each of us...
Few of us ever pause to consider either the present - or the future - of agriculture in America. Yet much of what we hold as vital and hope to keep for generations is deeply rooted in farming. A democracy sprang up and thrived on this ground by strength of individual land ownership and the industry that comes with toil from the earth. How long will we have our values, our freedoms without the land?
In the life of this nation, over a few hundred years, the number of people who own or work our farmland has steadily fallen. On this one occupation, all livelihoods, all sustenance, our very existence depends. Yet farming's essentials -- its biology, cultivation, husbandry, conservation - are being lost to generations. And with this shift has come the loss of a rich culture; a sense of community; and human ties to soil, plant and animal life.
Michael Fields Agricultural Institute is a response to the challenges we face in these profound changes. It is a response to the needs of the human race from the agricultural resources that sustain life on this planet. Through education and research, Michael Fields seeks to help both urban and rural populations meet common problems. We seek to address problems we face as a people who vitally need a sustainable agriculture:
- How our food is grown.
- Who grows our food.
- Whether growing food is a profitable enterprise.
- Fertility of the soil.
- Purity of water.
- Conservation of the Earth's resources.
- Sustainability of farming practices, food production and food distribution.
Whether we live in a city or derive an income from the land, these issues are vital to all of us. Michael Fields is devoted to their consideration. Since 1984 our public, non-profit agricultural institute has been steadily expanding its pursuit of practical, ethical solutions to such questions. And it continues its quest to perfect practices that take such considerations seriously. In this pursuit, our commitment has not changed.
- We are committed to conducting research into agricultural practices and to providing information on those findings that will make a difference in the lives of farmers and their communities.
- We are committed to education - from concentrated workshops on techniques, to rigorous internships in fundamentals, to widespread public forums and conferences.
- We are committed to helping both farm and non-farm people address each of these concerns together and to establishing a food system that does not gobble up our non-renewable resources, but which thrives on practices that can be sustained for generations to come.
Without you the picture is incomplete, the vision is pointless. Without collaboration from other organizations and institutions, this mission cannot succeed. And without public support, our goals - in sustainable agriculture research and education, in biodynamic and organic research and education, in public policy toward sustainable agriculture, in farm apprentice and internship training - will never be fully realized.
To enhance the fertility of the soil, the quality of food, the health of animals, the strength of the human spirit, we ask you to help us revitalize the culture of agriculture.