Mahtowa farm gets county, state kudos

Joe and Amanda Lambert grew up on farms less than a mile apart in rural Mahtowa. In 2010, the couple bought part of Amanda's family farm as a place to live. In 2015, they bought Joe's grandparents' farmstead near Barnum and started their own chapter in a long farming history: Happy Critters Farm, focussed on producing sustainable food for the local economy.

This year, the farm and family has been honored by the University of Minnesota and Carlton County Extension office in the "Farm Family Recognition" program to represent Carlton County.

"Owning a farm is something I have wanted my whole life," Joe says on the farm website. "And now I can't wait to raise my family in the same lifestyle Amanda and I were raised. Our mission is to raise quality, healthy meat. Each animal we raise plays an important role. They help us cultivate, fertilize, and nourish the land. Our ultimate goal is to heal the land and leave a better place for our kids."

Each year the University of Minnesota honors farm families throughout Minnesota for their significant contributions to the agriculture industry and their local communities. Every county from across the state selects a local farm to celebrate.

Amanda grew up on a beef cattle operation. Joe started milking cows for the neighbors in elementary school and fell in love with the lifestyle. He started raising his own cattle when he was just 12. After graduation, he went to school for agronomy to learn how large-scale farms operate.

After returning home, Joe knew that he wanted to pursue a farming operation here, but to "do it his own way." He didn't want to use chemicals and he wanted to be able to run a sustainable operation with the landscape.

Happy Critters is operated using regenerative farming practices, caring for the animals and the land at the same time. All animals are raised on pasture to allow for a diverse diet, with plenty of space for expression of natural behaviors. They follow a rotational grazing pattern to both ensure continuation of grasses to feed the animals while restoring the soil health to leave the land better than they found it for the next generation.

Operating a farm takes a lot of hands. Joe focuses on the more hands-on portion with the livestock and Amanda takes on the responsibilities of the marketing side. Their three kids - Jack (8), Ben (5) and Dot (3) - show their passion for farming and help participate in the farming activities, along with other family members who help make their operation possible. Amanda said she enjoys working on the advertising for Happy Critters. She started spreading the word through a flyer and then began to use social media as a tool. From here they built a website where people can make direct sales from them. They also have a newsletter that allows people to learn more about the operation and to stay up to date on farm happenings.

Happy Critters' entire business model of direct marketing sales is driven by Joe's passion that food that is grown locally should be consumed locally. This is his best attempt at keeping food and profits within Carlton County.

The farm does not ship food. "If you are outside our food shed (driving distance) we encourage you to find a farm in your community, verify their commitment to environmental and animal health, and support their efforts," Joe said.

Happy Critters always supports other local farmers by using locally produced grains, when needed, and uses local processors. They make sure consumers are eating the best possible pasture-raised pork, chicken, and grass-finished beef in the area.

When not farming, Joe and Amanda enjoy sharing their knowledge with the community. Amanda homeschools the children and opens the farm to numerous school tours and homeschool groups. They also hosted the Cloquet Library for story time on the farm to help expose youth to farming and agriculture.

Joe is often asked to speak about their farm practices. He has also served as a Carlton Soil & Water Conservation District board member.

"Carlton County is proud to celebrate the Lambert family and we are honored to recognize them for all their hard work and dedication," said Ann Rust, a volunteer coordinator and horticulture assistant at Carlton County

Extension.