Fall Fest on the Prairie

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Please join us for kids activities, hayride tours, and a cookout dinner at our new farm - featuring local brats and hot dogs and s'mores! Explore this beautiful location and see agroforestry, Kernza fields, and a native prairie in the wild heart of Wisconsin’s Southern Kettle Moraine. Enjoy a presentation on the natural history of this unique region and protected watershed. Make friends, create memories, win a meat raffle, and help support regenerative agriculture.

-Vintage 1954 Oliver Row Crop 77 Tractor selfie station

-Kettle Moraine natural history with Dr. Jim Stute

-Hayrides to prairie and kettle

-Citizen Science Taste Test of Buckwheat cookies

-Roasted local brats and hot dogs with sides (vegetarian options available)

-Hot chocolate and cocktails

-Kernza Beer Samples

-Facepainting and Pumpkin decorating

-Gourmet S’more Bar

-Meat Raffle

-Local vendor Market Tents

and more!

For those interested in the special geology of the region, there will be a presentation by  Dr. Jim Stute and Brian Miner about the Mukwonago River Watershed. Nestled into a mosaic of forest, wetlands, savannas, rivers and lakes, the Mukwonago River Watershed is a natural treasure in the southern Kettle Moraine. The Mukwonago River is one of the cleanest streams in southeastern Wisconsin and provides important habitat for rare fish and mussels. The surrounding landscape is home to a wide array of native plants and wildlife, including sandhill cranes, tree frogs, mink, red fox, butterflies and dragonflies. MFAI’s organic fields help to steward this fragile environment in partnership with The Nature Conservancy. 

“The Mukwonago River is classified as an exceptional resource by the DNR because of its high water quality. It is home to several endangered and threatened species, and rare landforms such as calcareous fens,” says Jim Stute, MFAI’s former Research Director. “The new farm is divided across two subwatersheds, draining into Lulu Lake to the North and also Pickeral Lake then Lake Beulah. The waterway and buffers installed on the farm protect easterly flow, protecting Lake Beulah, which is a huge regional recreational draw and was declared phosphorus impaired in 2020.”

When a body of water is declared phosphorus impaired it means that enough phosphorus has polluted the water to the point of preventing some or all safe recreational use. It means fish and shellfish are contaminated, and wildlife habitat has been damaged. “The MFAI practices help to protect this major headwater, reducing phosphorus and sediment load which help reverse the impairment,” says Stute.

Jim Stute is a certified crop advisor and independent researcher. Stute owns and operates a research farm in Walworth County, and is active in his regional producer-led watershed group. His research focuses on developing best practice recommendations to maximize financial returns and conservation benefits like phosphorus reduction in waterways.

This is a fundraiser for the work of Michael Fields Agricultural Institute. The event is free but there will be opportunities to give. No need to bring anything but curiousity and some warm layers.