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Frieler Family Farms (2025)
Dustin Frieler with Frieler Family Farms is Recognized as the Stearns Conservation District 2025 Outstanding Conservationist
The Stearns Conservation District (SCD) announces Dustin Frieler with Frieler Family Farms as the 2025 Outstanding Conservationist. Frieler Family Farms, formerly known as Spring Water Acres, was created with the assistance of David Schoenborn. Schoenborn was a huge inspiration for the Frieler’s because of his open-mindedness to new conservation practices. With Schoenborn’s recent passing, the Frielers aim to carry on his legacy of embracing new conservation practices on the farm.
Frieler Family Farms is located near Spring Hill, MN and is operated by Tom Frieler and his son Dustin along with Nick Frieler and their full-time employee, Chris Doll. Tom Frieler has been farming for over 47 years, and his son Dustin has been farming for 21 years. Together they grow corn, soybeans, and small grains on over 4,000 acres. They use a variety of conservation practices on their land and take pride in knowing their conservation work makes a difference.
Frieler Family Farms’ conservation journey started with nutrient management and quickly transformed into trying strip-till which eventually evolved into reduced tillage. Depending on the soil types and slopes, Frieler Family Farms utilizes no till, strip till, and mulch tillage systems to improve their soil health. Subsurface tile drainage is used extensively on the farm to improve crop yields on poorly drained soils. They also utilize precision agriculture for yield mapping, grid soil sampling, variable rate fertilizer applications, and variable rate planting.
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Frieler Family Farms
Frieler Family Farms incorporates hog, dairy, and poultry manure from neighboring operations as a nutrient source for their crops. They ensure they are doing their part to protect surface and groundwater quality by following the 4R’s of nutrient management: right rate, right source, right time, and right placement. Frieler Family Farms became Minnesota Agriculture Water Quality Certified in March of 2020 as part of their effort to ensure they are helping to protect and enhance natural resources.
Frieler Family Farms participates in other conservation programs like the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). They have 20 CRP contracts that total to 72.95 acres. They have a variety of different CRP contracts including 2 Pollinator CRP Plantings. These pollinator plantings have helped create and maintain pollinator habitats on their land. Additionally, they also have 30–50-foot buffers along every waterway that runs through their property; most of which are CRP buffers. These buffers help with erosion control and sedimentation. They have also been involved in the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) through the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS).
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Frieler Family Farms Strip Tills Nearly All their Acres
The Frielers say that implementing conservation practices on their farm has led to a lot of positive returns. Dustin Frieler says, “We have seen an increase in soil health and a lot of reduced erosion. Overall, I can tell we just have a lot healthier soil since implementing conservation practices on our farm.” Although there have been many positive returns on the Frieler Family Farm, conservation work doesn’t come without its challenges. Dustin says the biggest challenge they run into is one they cannot control, the weather. Their farm has heavy soils that take a long time to dry out which poses as a challenge when trying conservation practices; however, they continue to embrace the challenge when trying new practices. The next big practice they are wanting to try involves strip tilling into corn residue. Dustin says, “We are dabbling into a lot of conservation practices and have done a lot of experimenting. We haven’t quite fine-tuned it yet but remain hopeful.”
Dustin Frieler gives advice to farmers who may be on the fence about trying conservation practices on their land, “Attend as many field days as possible and learn from others. Learning from other farmers who have tried these practices can be extremely helpful.”
Stearns Conservation District Board Chair, Justine Meyer, says “The Frieler family has a long history of working with the SCD and NRCS.” The Frieler’s have assisted with SCD field days, SCD tours, water quality monitoring, and conservation practice adoption. Meyer says, “I was impressed with Dustin and his family strip tilling nearly all of their acres and offering custom strip tilling services to surrounding farms. We are so pleased to recognize them for their continued dedication to conserving Stearns County’s natural resources.”
Stearns Conservation District Administrator, John Maile, says, “I was impressed with Frieler Family Farms because the conservation practices that they implement on their farm are truly voluntary. They realize that not every acre should be farmed, and they voluntarily enroll those acres in buffers.” Maile also says, "I was impressed with Dustin and how he wants to represent a conservation minded producer, he truly portrays what the Outstanding Conservationist award is for.”
Frieler Family Farms’ goal is to continue adopting and improving conservation practices on their farm for generations to come. They take pride in knowing that their conservation work makes a difference. “The number one reason I think it is important to protect our land and resources is for the next generation and for when my kids take over the farm,” says Dustin Frieler.
“Being recognized as the 2025 Outstanding Conservationist is really neat because when we first started trying conservation practices on our farm, many people had their doubts. It is good to know that people notice what we are working towards,” says Dustin Frieler.
Frieler Family Farms was recognized at the Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts (MASWCD) Convention December 1-3. Nominees from other Conservation Districts across the state were also recognized at this convention.
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Frieler Family Farms
