A few years ago, Chisago County, Minnesota, farmer Max Gustafson needed a way to stop his cattle from wandering into a nearby wetland and polluting it in the process.
What started then with a federal grant to install a 1,350-foot fence has evolved into a series of environmentally friendly practices on Gustafson's farm near Center City, which has been in his family since 1879.
The fence allowed a buffer of plants to spring up naturally between the pasture and the banks of the wetland sprawling from South Center Lake. Then Gustafson planted hay on erosion-prone ground in another section.
