Leaders of the Land®: Rochelle Schnadt

Evan and Rochelle Schnadt farm near Lodi, WI. They raise, harvest and process specialty grains for their processing business called Heartland Craft Grains. Their products are enjoyed at family tables, restaurants and bakeries across Southern Wisconsin.

They raise a variety of heirloom wheat and corn varieties among other unique grains for the food and beverage space.

They make their acreage work for them to be as sustainable as they can be. As young farmers, they hope to successfully manage the land they have now and continue to expand as they are able.

Networking has been a useful resource for Evan and Rochelle on their sustainability journey. Learning from other farmers that have “been there, done that” or “tried this, tried that” has helped them tailor practices to fit their own acreage.

“Failures and successes are all data points that help us make informed decisions for our own farm,” shared Rochelle.

Sitting down at a table together with other farmers at events to share stories and pick each other’s brains has been a valuable learning opportunity for the Schnadts. They recognize that no one has all of the answers, but working with other farmers brings together a lot of great tools to come up with solutions.

Working with ancient grains and unique varieties has been a learning curve for the Schnadts. As they began to incorporate unique varieties into their crop rotation, they experienced some successes and failures. It took some trial and error to figure out what order worked best for their land and the nutrient cycling in their soil. The first goal is to build healthy soil, and then express that soil health in the products they produce to go to consumers.

At Heartland Craft Grains, their sustainability goals focus on being good stewards of the environment.

“When soil health is of the utmost importance, everything falls into place after that.” said Rochelle.

Economic sustainability is important to Evan and Rochelle. As young farmers, they are blazing their own trail and creating new opportunities.

Rounding out the three pillars of sustainability, the pair is aware of their social impact and works closely with other local businesses to collaborate and share products and promotions. Ultimately, they are producing nutritious products for their community to enjoy.

“We value healthy soil for healthy food and healthy families,” shared Rochelle.