Loran Steinlage

What are you doing to practice and promote soil and water quality?

We have always focused on doing what we thought was simply the right thing to do, but along the way we felt obligated to start sharing our story. The first thing we quickly learned is the more we share, the more folks share. That mindset has helped us accelerate the learning curve as we’ve dived deeper into some new practices that have helped us regenerate soil beyond what many had thought possible and helped others understand the potential through the data we’ve provided to verify these practices.

What is being done in your county to support soil and water quality?

The strongest thing we have going locally is probably the RC&D office. They have been leading the way on conservation and water quality, highlighting proactive practices and focusing on things on the watershed scale. With their help we have been able to reach folks far beyond our local level and bring that home.

What could be done with more public funding for soil and water quality?

More money is not always the answer. What I feel is more powerful is consumer demand and that’s why I’ve switched a big part of my focus to reaching out towards the youth. I learned a long time ago if the kids demand it, generally the parents follow. While education is a great avenue, another is through folk’s stomachs. That is a big reason I think we should focus on chefs and food programs if we can adjust focus to quality versus quantity by eliminating waste.