“We’re just always looking for ways to be good people,” says Chris Schmidt of Heartland Heritage Farms in Garvin, Minnesota, about 15 miles south of Marshall. You can feel that spirit talking to Chris, and it comes through in how they work their land and in their service to others.
The farm is a multi-generational operation. Chris cofounded Heartland Heritage Farm (HHF) with his father, Dale, and son, Brad. “Mom and Dad (Dale and Kathy) raise the cattle and handle the beef side of things,” shares Chris. “I raise the pork, lamb, chickens and turkeys, while Brad handles the online store, website and communications.”
Brad learned about regenerative agriculture in college and brought the ideas back to the family farm. Together they began adopting regenerative practices and changing the way they do things. “We started to think holistically and how we could farm in Mother Nature's image,” states their website. “We quit tilling the land, and we started to diversify our cropping rotations and adding cover crops. Soon after, we realized that livestock was a missing key to the operation. We decided to use our livestock to mimic the animals that used to roam the great plains.” Chris became one of the founders of the Minnesota Soil Health Coalition and loves talking about how they have been able to reduce commercial inputs to their crops by working with nature.
Raising better crops through regenerative practices is the primary focus of the farm and selling meat directly to consumers through an online store came about through that. Buyers can appreciate it, though, as the online store ships throughout the upper Midwest and offers mouth-watering items like andouille sausage, pineapple brats, and pork belly as well as staples like chicken breasts and ground beef. In the summer you can find HHF at several farmers’ markets and even in winter Chris heads up to the sites of the Golden Valley and New Hope farmers’ markets roughly once a month where customers can pick up pre-orders and get to know their farmer.
Shop the online store at www.heartlandheritagefarms.com, or contact them through their website to pre-order pick up.
In the fall of 2022, the family began serving the community in a new way by starting Jamie’s Helping Hands, in memory of a close friend lost to suicide. “Jamie and I used to talk multiple times a day and he raised eggs and laying hens for us,” Chris shared, “he was passionate about regenerative agriculture like we are.” On the day after Jamie passed, they received a letter and check from him with instructions to start a credited account for a specific person in need so she could order whatever meat she needed. To honor Jamie’s generous spirit, the farm is continuing the practice by offering $500 of store credit to families that can use a helping hand. They are looking for people to reach out through email to nominate families (anonymity respected) as well as taking donations to the fund at Heartland Heritage Farms. Chris’s daughters Jordan and Taylor help run the program.
As the website says, “We want to keep not only the tradition of giving alive, but we also want to continue to make this world a better place.”
Shop the Minnesota Grown consumer directory to find more local meat producers. Use the addition filter “Online/Mail Order Available” to find farms with online stores. Shipping and delivery options may vary.