The Palouse region has been shaped by over 120 years of agriculturally productive soils

Land Stewardship

Jacie & Wayne Jensen - Farm Owners

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To us it is a way of life and a way to conduct business. In the broad sense, ‘sustainable’ is about meeting today’s needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. We want to manage our farm to lead to the best possible outcomes for consumers, employees and the land. It is a moving target because at its heart, ‘sustainable’ means we can always do better.

We do our best to be good stewards of the land. We reduce soil erosion and improve soil health through various conservation practices, such as no-till direct seeding systems, innovative cropping rotations and by installing erosion control structures and grassed waterways.

Over the past years, we recognized another land stewardship need- one involving the Palouse Prairie. With our natural land we recognized two challenges: the threat of invasive plants caused by man and moved by animals, and the lack of tools for restoration and expansion. We realized that restoration and conservation of Palouse Prairie, long-term, requires invasive weed monitoring and control, the availability of local native seeds and plants, and tools to plant native seeds.

When we realized that restoration and conservation of Palouse Prairie requires the availability of seeds from our native wildflowers, we decided to tackle that problem with Thorn Creek Native Seed Farm. The seed and plants we produce are used for our own prairie restoration and expansion efforts first. Another truism -When you take a weed or plant out, you must replace it with seeds or plants of your choice, such as native wildflowers. Weeds are opportunistic, they will fill any open space.

Photographs by Martha Mintz