Tom Cotter believes that when you do good things, other good things happen. He’s seen it firsthand.

Thanks to a soil health discovery he and his father made in the late 1990s, his farm has become a testament to transformation. The pivotal moment happened shortly after his father, Mike, bought a tile plow. Four feet beneath the ground, areas that had been tilled for generations showed signs of poor soil quality, an unpleasant odor and a lack of earthworms. 

For the next decade, the Cotters had successes and failures when growing cereal rye as a cover crop. While he now mentors other farmers looking to control erosion and increase soil biodiversity by planting cover crops, Tom says there was little guidance on the practice back then. 

By 2015, Tom embraced reduced tillage and began finding like-minded farmers committed to a comprehensive approach to soil health and sustainable farming. The following year, Cotter Farms became the first in Mower County to be certified as a Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Farm for implementing conservation practices that far exceed regulatory requirements. 

Tom’s transition to no-till was a considerable risk in Minnesota’s colder, wetter soils, requiring equipment modifications and adjustment of planting dates. He says combining cover crops with no-till and livestock grazing was the game changer for his farm. 

He’s become a vocal advocate for conservation practices that can enhance biodiversity, improve water quality, increase carbon sequestration, boost farm resiliency, ensure financial viability, and revitalize rural communities. 

Successfully controlling weeds with cover crops convinced Tom to transition about 40 percent of his acreage to organic production. Regenerative practices are followed on the rest of the farm where a rotation of corn, soybeans, sweet corn, sunflowers, peas, oats, and alfalfa are grown. 

Tom grows diverse cover crop mixes not typically used in Minnesota. Leveraging this expertise, he produces and sells cover crop seed mixes, creating an additional revenue stream from his conservation knowledge. He has invested in specialized equipment to interseed cover crops into standing cash crops to extend the growing season for cover crops. He’s also a pioneer in using roller-crimpers to terminate cover crops without herbicides. 

Tom transitioned from raising beef cattle in a feed lot to grazing cow-calf pairs across all 850 acres of his farm. He says this type of farming tugs at his heart and stimulates his mind. 

Despite a complex regulatory landscape, Tom further diversified his farm to become an early adopter of hemp cultivation in Minnesota. Investment in on-farm processing equipment to produce CBD oil captures more of the value chain. He also participated in a multi-year demonstration of how soil sensors providing data on soil temperature and water infiltration rates can inform farmers’ day-to-day decision making. 

Despite all his innovations, some say what truly sets Tom apart is his commitment to sharing. He has hosted thousands of visitors on his farm -- farmers, students, researchers, agency staff, and food company executives -- so they can see what it looks like when land and livelihood are in harmony. 

“Tom doesn’t just practice conservation, he builds community around it,” said Dr. Liz Haney, who nominated Tom for the Leopold Conservation Award. “He lifts up others with his knowledge, humor, and lived example. His work embodies Aldo Leopold’s land ethic and inspires the kind of stewardship this award was meant to honor.”

Further proof that when you do good things, good things happen.