By Alayna Merchlewitz, Program Operations Coordinator

At the end of February, Wild Farm Alliance traveled to the heart of the Driftless Region in La Crosse, Wisconsin, for the 37th annual Marbleseed Organic Farming Conference. This year’s theme, “Abundance Grows in Solidarity,” set the tone for three days of relationship-building and knowledge sharing with Midwest growers. Many attendees stopped by the WFA table, drawn to the songbird nest boxes on display and were excited to learn they could build their own during our upcoming workshop.

On the final morning of the conference, while attendees poured their first cups of coffee, WFA staff poured screws into bowls and arranged hundreds of pieces of wood for our hands-on session, “Build a Home for Songbirds, Build Pest Control for Your Farm.” Participants arrived eager to build a nest box and curious about how such a simple structure could make an impact on insect pest populations.

The workshop began with a brief pre-build presentation led by WFA staff member Courtney Tchida, who reviewed the pest control services of beneficial birds on farms. Hannah Bernhardt, owner/operator of Medicine Creek Farm in northeast Minnesota, then shared her experience putting this approach into practice.

Hannah explained how sticky tape was no match for the flies that plagued her grass-fed cattle. After installing nest boxes across her 160 acres of pasture, she filmed a video of tree swallows circling above the herd. Audience members “oohed” and “aahed” as they watched countless birds dart through the air, swooping down to feast on the once-irksome flies. With Hannah’s story in mind, attendees grabbed tools and started to build. 

Participants left Marbleseed with their IPM nest box tools, and Wild Farm Alliance left with plenty of inspiration (and a lot less lumber) thanks to the solidarity of the Midwest farming community.