“It was a clean slate, I could do whatever I wanted with the land which was really nice,” Gregory Lewandowski recalled after he bought land from his grandparents in 2018. Just after that land purchase, he was deployed with the National Guard in Afghanistan. He spent much of his free time researching the best methods to farm his land and how he could accomplish his goals from the ground up.
While deployed, Gregory said he found GreenStone when he had to file farm taxes for the first time. “My Dad went into the office on my behalf to present my information and they did all the legwork on my taxes after we just showed up as a stranger on their doorstep. I appreciated that and stuck with them.”
Returning to his farm, Gregory’s research helped him land on direct-to-consumer grass-fed beef. He focuses on using rotational grazing and regenerative pasture management to see the best results in his cattle and soil integrity. He noted, “At its core, regenerative agriculture is simply farming in harmony with nature, not fighting it.” Since developing his operation, he now grazes his cattle over three different properties and 180 acres.
To continue his passion for learning, Gregory enrolled in a six-year rotational course through Northeast Wisconsin Technical College. With GreenStone's CultivateGrowth grant he was able to reimburse a portion of his course fee. The course topics vary from year to year and cover new ideas from soil management, agronomy, animal nutrition, and farm financials. “As we know with farming, like any industry, it’s consistently changing. So, there are new ideas they present, and you may have never considered them.”
While staying up to date on new methods is educationally great, he noted the best thing the course provided was communication and networking with other farmers. He said he had a great group of classmates and has since worked with multiple people on various projects around his farm. He laughed, “In fact, someone I met in class came and rescued me off the highway when I had a flat and a trailer full of cattle.” Whether on the road or in the classroom, Gregory has built a supportive community to help him reach his goals.
GreenStone is proud to be a part of Gregory’s community. We’ve got him covered from tax preparation to educational opportunities. GreenStone aims to provide opportunities for all young, beginning, and small farmers and support their educational and personal growth efforts with our CultivateGrowth grant. To learn more about GreenStone’s CultivateGrowth grant, click here.
