Annie's Organic Farmers: Stentoft Family Farm

 

Martin and Laurie were up to their ears in harvest when we visited, and we had to track them down in the field for a visit. Their neighbor, another organic farmer Mikel Lund, gave me excellent directions through the windy dirt roads, and we found the Stentoft’s just as the sun was setting.

 

The Stentoft’s farm is about 5,500 acres and just south of Scobey, Montana - on the “Highline” where some of the best durum in the world grows. The rolling hills are divided by shrubby draws and grassland. Deer, antelope, hawks, raccoons and a whole assortment of rabbits make the land their home. When we looked at the durum, a prairie dog hole near the field had a scattering of durum kernels outside it’s frnt door. Martin joked that maybe he could get extra money for this “organic” prairie dog.

 

This year the Stentoft’s grew durum, peas, flax and kamut, a type of Egyptian wheat grown as an alternative to wheat. It’s been a tough year since hail hit their fields this summer and knocked their peas to the ground with holes. Combining damaged peas and durum is hard, and yields will be less because of the hail’s damage. Martin doesn’t sound too bitter, and tells me that “Somedays you have to pay the fiddler,” a good explanation for Mother Nature’s fickle moods.
 

Martin’s Grandfather came from Denmark and homesteaded in Montana, and they farm a combination of this land and land settled by Laurie’s family. They are both lucky, because their son David likes to farm and hopefully he will continue the family tradition. Martin became organic over 6 years ago, and made the switch from chemicals to avoid spraying. He also likes the additional markets that he can access with organic crops.

 

They maintain soil fertility with a good rotation and summer fallow.Darkness is falling fast and at 9pm the Martin and Laurie are ready to pack up and head home for a late dinner. We leave with a glimpse of their busy harvest and their lives. Hopefully, their durum will yield high protein this year and we wish them as much success as possible with the hailed crop.