R.D. Offutt Wadena Farm Receives ‘Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification’
The R.D. Offutt Wadena Farm joined other producers as a recognized leader in the state for water stewardship after receiving the Department of Agriculture’s ‘Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification’ following a year-long review.
Farmers and agricultural landowners have the voluntary chance to lead the way in putting conservation measures in place to save water through the certification program. The fields, traits, crop rotation histories, nutrition and pesticide management strategies, tillage, and irrigation practices are all thoroughly examined for applicants.
Jim Lahn, Area Certification Specialist for the Minnesota Ag Water Quality Certification Program, worked with his conservation team to conduct the assessment of R.D. Offutt’s Wadena operation, in partnership with MDA staff members from the St. Paul office.
“I appreciated the great conversations with Jonathan Robbins, RDO Farm Manager, and Mark Riepe, RDO Agronomist, about farming practices, investments in soil health, and water quality protection efforts. Jonathan and Mark were also willing to adopt new conservation practices, such as additional cover crops and new pest management practices, in the certification process,” Lahn said.
He added that as a result of the detailed assessment, MDA determined that RDO’s Wadena Farm meets or exceeds all the requirements to achieve ‘Ag Water Quality Certification’.
Wadena is the second RDO operation to earn the certification (RDO’s Twin Rivers Seed Farm was certified in 2024), joining more than 1,500 Minnesota producers, farming more than 1,100,000 acres, now certified under the Minnesota program.
RDO’s Wadena farm, established in 1996, spans fields in Wadena, Otter Tail, and Todd Counties. Wadena Farm Manager and 15+ year RDO team member, Jonathan Robbins, leads a team that grows about 2,000 acres of potatoes every year.
Robbins said he works with approximately nine to twelve other farmers in the area, trading land and rotating crops to benefit and improve soil health. More than 9,700 acres were evaluated as part of the certification assessment.
“We only plant potatoes on any given field about once every five years. We are proud of the way we farm, and how all the farmers in the area work together to protect the soil and water,” Robbins mentioned.
When RDO is not growing potatoes on a field, other farmers raise corn, soybeans, edible beans, and other crops during the rotation. The practice has been so effective that the RDO team has reduced the number of potato acres grown each year but has maintained the same yield. Other farmers are finding similar success.
