Despite growing up on a dairy farm in southern Chisago County, Rick Cedergren didn’t intend to spend his life as a farmer. “I’ve got three degrees and I don’t use any of them,” he jokes when I call to ask him about his career and current role as a board supervisor for the Chisago Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD).
After graduating high school, Rick went off to college in Eau Claire, Wisconsin to study music. He went on to earn a master’s degree in New Testament studies from Luther Seminary, and a two-year degree from Dunwoody College in Food Science and Technology. He got a job at General Mills and a home in north Minneapolis, but quickly became disillusioned with working in the food industry. “Eventually,” he says, “my wife Sarah said, ‘Let’s find you a farm.”
In 2016, the Cedergrens bought 37 acres of land in North Branch, which they named Chain Lake Pastures, and began working to transform the land and nurture the soil. “We started by replanting 20 acres of row crops to pasture and pollinator habitat with a windbreak of trees to prevent runoff and erosion,” Rick explains. “Now, I’m grazing pigs through 3.5 acres of old growth oaks and have a mobile chicken enclosure that supports 70 to 100 laying hens.” The Cedergrens also have a small herd of Randall Lineback cattle, which is a colonial breed from the 1700-1800s that is now considered “critically endangered.”
At Chain Lake Pastures, Rick utilizes a holistic approach to farming known as regenerative agriculture, which aims to restore and improve the health of the land, water, and ecosystems. “We care for and revitalize our soil through a cyclical process of grazing, intensive nutrient deposition, and resting,” his website explains. “The restoration of balanced microbiota in the soil is essential for promoting healthy plant growth and increasing moisture retention.” His conservation ethic also led Rick to accept an appointment as a board supervisor for the Chisago SWCD in 2023. Last fall, he was elected to continue serving a full four-year term.
Chisago SWCD is a small, local unit of government that provides education and technical support to communities and landowners to implement conservation practices. “The SWCD has done a really great job on surface water programs and has de-listed a couple of lakes,” Rick says. “The organization has an amazing staff that people really seem to trust, and they’ve also been making a lot of inroads in the northern half of the county near Goose and Rush Lakes, where there has historically been less involvement in conservation programs.”
After joining the SWCD board, Rick was pleasantly surprised to learn that his family actually has a long-standing connection with the organization. When the Chisago SWCD was established in 1950, Rick’s great uncle John Cedergren was elected as one of the first three board supervisors and served as board secretary. John’s experience propelled him toward a career in conservation, and he went on to work for the Blue Earth SWCD in Mankato after it was established in 1959.
Rick says that he is impressed with the diversity of experience and expertise represented by members of the Chisago SWCD board and happy to see that more local farmers are utilizing conservation practices such as cover crops and no-till farming. “I’m out there on a limb [practicing regenerative ag] but there are a lot of new people coming in and homesteading and starting small farms,” he says. “Some people don’t want to be tied to a program but are willing to do something if it’s good for their land and for the soil and water. It’s wonderful too if people are willing to take action on their own, outside of a government program.”
This fall, the Chisago SWCD celebrates its 75th anniversary and Rick Cedergren is happy to carry on a family tradition – growing healthy food and healthy soil in northern Chisago County.
East Metro Water 