Kunstleben, Thielen honored as conservationists
John Kunstleben and Lois Thielen of Swan Lake Acres, Grey Eagle, were honored as outstanding conservationists at the annual convention of the Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts (MASWCD) in Bloomington. The event hosted landowners from around Minnesota – each nominated by individual Soil Water Conservation District (SWCD’s).
Todd SWCD selected Swan Lake Acres as its 2016 Conservation Landowner Award Winner. Swan Lake Acres is a farm managed by John Kunstleben and Lois Thielen who have owned and operated the 185 acre farm since 1987.
They have always had dairy cows on the farm, currently milk 45 head, but have milked up to 99 at times over the years.
John and Lois participate in the Farmers Assuring Responsible Management program through their local dairy which recognizes excellent animal husbandry practices. Their cattle are let out daily to graze on pasture during the summer months and for exercise.
In 2015, Lois and John worked collaboratively with the Swan Lake Association to ensure protection of water quality by installing an engineered designed vegetative treatment area, clean water diversions, and settling basins to reduce, collect and treat any potential runoff from the cattle feeding area.
They volunteered as site hosts for 2015 Todd County SWCD Tour opening their farm to a tour bus of farmers, board members, commissioners, citizens and professional agencies showcasing the runoff control practices installed on their farm. They’ve also offered to be contacts for others who are considering installing similar practices.
John raises hay, corn, grains and soybeans on their 185 acres and on an additional 450 rented acres.
They tackle field erosion in the moment with Lois’ philosophy “if erosion exists, we are doing something wrong and we fix it; we don’t wait for it to get worse.”
They experienced soil erosion on some fields in their early years and solved these issues through adoption of minimum tillage and vertical tillage, strip cropping, grassed waterways and maintenance of buffers to Schwanke Creek and to Big Swan Lake. They own 1,320 feet of Big Swan Lake shore frontage which has always been maintained in a natural condition.
John also enjoys renovating old farm buildings in their original vintage condition – a few of which dot the landscape along the shore of Swan Lake.
One of Lois’s many hobbies and careers includes writing for the Times Writers Group. She has used this forum to raise awareness about the difficulty agriculture has with recycling plastics and other waste products that are produced as a result of modern farming practices.
John and Lois go to great lengths to recycle their farm and home wastes. “Everything is separated and recycled.”
Lois also has a large organic garden which she maintains every year. Their diet is farm raised and Lois’ baking skills are often rewarded with ribbons at the state fair.
Lois has actively participated in the Adopt-A-Highway program for the past 13 years-caring for and cleaning up miles of Highway 287.
John and Lois consider wildlife an important part of their farm. There’s been a bald eagle nesting near the lake almost every year and other wildlife are commonly spotted. John usually plants small wildlife food plots or leaves a few rows for game to tide them over the winter. They leave patches of milkweed around the farm to help support Monarch butterflies and fondly remember the year when a major Monarch migration stopped at their place.
In a generation of waning family farms, Lois and John continue to thrive—making conservation key in the foundation for farm management. They are lifelong and enlightened learners, continually evolving their farm with best management practices that secure longevity and health for the environment.
For more information on other Outstanding Conservationists, visit: www.maswcd.org/Award_Program/2016.
