Jocelyn Schlichting

Rice, MN

Family farmer and conservationist

After working as an accountant in Minneapolis for nearly 10 years, I moved back to Rice, MN – becoming the 4th generation on my family’s crop farm. We farm about 6,600 acres, manage 600 acres of native forest and prairie land, and farrow to finish approximately 30,000 hogs each year. I operate a very small grass fed beef operation and raise bees as a hobby.

Our farm

Corn
Alfalfa
Edible Beans
Beef Cattle
Hog
Potatoes
Rye

Social

Yes. The farm is owned by my dad & his siblings (who are not active in the farm) and by my great-aunt and her children (one of whom is active on the farm). My dad manages production at the crop farm for my family and my great-aunt's family. My mom and my great-aunt handle accounting. My dad's cousin came back to the farm this year and is establishing her role. My role is also under development. I am shadowing my dad so I can properly be a production manager when he retires. I also work on data analytics and help with the accounting.

Cooking, Travel, Reading, Hiking, Raising Beef, Raising Bees

There are several misconceptions about how food is grown in the U.S. I would like to provide firsthand information to consumers so they can make buying decisions that are reasonable for mass consumers as well as the agriculture industry, and provide better access to information so others can make truly informed decisions. I'm passionate that most farmers are doing good- good by their land or animals, good by consumers and communities and good by the general environment. I want to spread the word!

I joined my family's farm after working 10 years as a CPA/tax accountant in Minneapolis. I'm so happy to be back and contributing to my family's excellent work! Our farm is Clean Water Certified, we won the Benton County Farm Family of the Year award in 2017, and we won the state wide Conservationist of the Year in 2016. We work very closely with our local Soil & Water district, the Department of Agriculture, University of Minnesota Extension staff and the Department of Natural Resources to ensure we are always using the most up-to-date farming techniques, pioneering innovative ideas, and minimizing our impact on nature.