Established in 1975 State-of-the-art Equipment and GPS Technology Excavating Operation • Farm Tile Drainage • Jetting Ditching • Gravel Operation 1800 2nd Street S, Sauk Centre, MN 56378
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“ We still use some synthetic fertilizers but it’ s drastically been cut,” Nolan said.“ We’ re hoping to get that to where we don’ t need to use any of them anymore and then go from there.”
In addition to regenerative agriculture, the Zachmans also practice humane animal care, being a“ Certified Humane” farm as determined by the Humane Farm Animal Care organization. In order to obtain and maintain this certification, Feathered Acres must practice and demonstrate that it cares for its animals in a way that minimizes harm and suffering to the animals. These practices include non-confinement, no gestation crates and minimal antibiotics and hormones.
There are environmental, economic and ethical motivations to both the regenerative agriculture and the Certified Humane status. The methods the Zachmans use are more environmentally sustainable, but they can also save money. For the animals, treating them humanely is an ethical choice, as they believe that even an animal that will ultimately become someone’ s meal still deserves a happy life and a painless death.
“ We partner with Niman Ranch,” Trisha said.“ That’ s who we sell most of our meat to but we are a Certified Humane farm and we are a non-confinement farm, so that just means animals have to be able to go in and out of the barn 24 / 7, all year round, always have to have access to fresh air. We do not use any type of gestation crate. Those are banned for us. We don’ t use any crate. So we just really make sure that they have all the space that they need to live each day.”
On Niman Ranch’ s website, it states that the ranch uses a controlled atmosphere for animal harvesting, exposing animals to increasing levels of carbon dioxide that first put them to sleep and then bring about a lack of consciousness, rendering them insensible to pain.
A large part of Feathered Acres is its agro-tourism, allowing guests to visit the farm and learn about how their food reaches their table. The tours are appropriate for guests of all ages, with children especially appreciating the opportunity to pet different types of animals, from sheep and chickens to cats and dogs. There are often entire litters of kittens, some of which are available for
Stories of the Heartland • Sunday, September 21, 2025 Page 31
Photo: Feathered Acre Farm
Guests can also rent out the entire barn at $ 875 per night, including both the O’ Halloran House, the Molitor Milk House, which houses four to five guests, as well as the upper hayloft for a small event.
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