Lakeside Prairie Farm

03/04/2026

One of the best parts of being a farmer this time of year is the opportunity to deepen our farming knowledge while rubbing shoulders with other producers at winter conferences. This week, however, takes the cake. It was truly remarkable to hear from the legendary Dr. Temple Grandin at the Sustainable Farming Association's Midwest Grazing and Soil Health Summit. Dr. Grandin's deep knowledge and tireless commitment to animal welfare is an inspiration, and we are humbled to have spent time learning from her in person. What a great couple of days! (Oh yeah, Bryan gave a session on Silvopasture at the Summit, and last week presented a session called 'Reclaiming the Back Forty: One Farmer's Story of Winning the Battle Against Buckthorn' at the Central MN Farm Show. If these topics are of interest to you as you manage your land, we'd be happy to help you further explore options for your own slice of paradise.) Happy farming!

05/07/2025

Spring on the farm is a whole lot of fun! Visitors welcome!

12/25/2024

Merry Christmas from Lakeside Prairie Farm!

09/21/2024

Bryan will be one of the presenters at the Sustainable Farming Association’s Salsa Fest today! Plus great food, music, dancing and kids activities all day! Hope to see you there!

07/27/2024

Thanks to all who were able to attend the Sustainable Farming Association’s pasture walk at our farm on Thursday! We greatly enjoyed connecting with other farmers and land lovers and showing what goats can do to help restore an ecosystem. Come on back any time!

07/25/2024

Hope to see you this Thursday evening at the farm!

Looking forward to seeing y'all tomorrow (Thursday) night in Barrett for Oak Savannas, Native Prairies and Goat Grazing (2024 Pasture Walk #4)!

Come prepared to spend a good bit of time hiking around, asking questions, and seeing the beautiful setting of Lakeside Prairie Farm.

If you haven't registered yet, you can do so at https://sfa-mn.org/events/pasture-walk-series-4-silvopasture/..or just show up!

06/23/2024

Thanks for the shout out, Sustainable Farming Association! Looking forward to hosting an SFA goat grazing field day here at the farm on July 25. Come on out!

06/22/2024

Thanks for featuring our farm, MPR!

Each month, MPR senior economics contributor Chris Farrell takes us inside a local business. This time he visited a farm in Grant County that is using their goats in a unique way.

06/21/2024

Thanks for the shout out, Land Stewardship Project!

LSP Farm Beginnings grads Bryan and Jessie Simon of Lakeside Prairie Farm were recently featured on MPR talking about their livestock operation in western Minnesota. Besides grazing their farm's own native prairie, the family has a thriving business that uses goats to restore habitat on other properties. They feel a system based on perennial plants has made their enterprise more resilient. "For climate change reasons, we're trying to be prepared," said Bryan. "By farming in a perennial system...our soils are better equipped to store water and to be prepared for what's coming. [We're] figuring out a way when it rains too much or not enough how to handle that." https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-grant-county-more-than-280-grazing-goats-provide/id1590563165?i=1000659669446