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Minnesota-based Sustane Natural Fertilizer is a worldwide powerhouse in the industry

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Minnesota-based Sustane Natural Fertilizer is a worldwide powerhouse in the industry


CANNON FALLS, Minn. — What began as a Minnesota farm family looking to turn poultry waste into a fertilizer good for plants and the environment has turned into a company that ships its products nationwide and to 60 different countries in the world. 

Cannon Falls-based

Sustane Natural Fertilizer

was one of 12 fertilizer plant projects that was

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announced last month by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which is investing $83 million to enhance domestic fertilizer supply.

The family-owned company plans to use a $2,397,792 grant to enhance and expand its current facility and purchase new equipment to increase production. 

USDA Undersecretary for Rural Development Basil Gooden and Colleen Landkamer, Minnesota’s director of USDA Rural Development, were in Cannon Falls on Thursday, May 30, to hear from Sustane’s founder, CEO and president Craig Holden and other company leaders. 

Gooden said fertilizer prices have almost doubled since the pandemic.

“The Biden-Harris administration is focused on this supply chain for fertilizer, and reducing the costs and making fertilizer more available,” he said. “(USDA) really wanted to make that significant investment in fertilizer companies.”

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USDA Under Secretary For Rural Development Basil Gooden and Colleen Landkamer, Minnesota’s director of USDA Rural Development, visit Sustane Natural Fertilizer’s plan in Cannon Falls, Minnesota on May 30, 2024.

Noah Fish / Agweek

The investment in Sustane, which specializes in products that can be used on certified-organic operations, also has an environmental impact, Gooden said. 

“It’s a win-win,” he said. “I’m really just delighted that we were able to come here to learn more and to see it, and to show our support for such initiatives as well.”

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A turkey farmer at the time, Craig Holden came up with the idea for the company in the 1980s when he was looking for a solution to having an excess of manure on the farm. 

“That’s me, 39 years and 39 pounds ago,” Holden told Gooden and Landkamer, pointing to his face on the cover of a farm magazine for regenerative agriculture in 1985. “A local agronomist suggested that we donate the manure and give the manure away to crop farmers that could benefit from the nutrients. But we literally could not give manure away. Crop farmers didn’t want it.”

Holden magazine cover.jpg

Craig Holden, founder, CEO and president of Sustane Natural Fertilizer on the cover of a farm magazine in 1985.

Contributed / Sustane Natural Fertilizer

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Holden said he’d “never forget the look on the face” of the crop farmer across the road from him, who refused to take manure from his farm. Instead, he found ways like anaerobic composting to store manure safely to prevent disease transmission to flocks, but Holden said the costs were adding up. 

“Even though we were able to get rid of it, at about 25 bucks a ton in those days, all of our income was consumed by transportation because we were handling this wet, humus, nutrient-rich product and transporting it only about 10 or 15 miles,” he said. 

Blaize Holden, vice president of operations for Sustane, said that was when the family began to research the agronomic benefits of composted turkey litter. 

“So we began dehydrating it and granulating it, and bagging it,” Holden said. “Now we ship it to over 60 countries around the world.”

Today, around 40 poultry farms in Minnesota and western Wisconsin contribute to the company’s products. 

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Sustane is currently the only manure-based fertilizer that’s permitted to ship to Europe, Blaize Holden said, and the only U.S.-based organic fertilizer that’s permitted to ship to China. The company has around 50% of its customer base inside the U.S., with the other half international. 

The company’s products are sold to a diverse range of customer populations from home gardeners to large-scale organic farms, and is used on areas to regrow grass and reclaim damaged or depleted soils.

Sustane brand.jpg

Packaging for Sustane Natural Fertilizer.

Noah Fish / Agweek

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“We service agriculture, but we also service professional lawn and landscape, nursery and greenhouse, erosion control,” Holden said. “It’s a very high-quality, organic, sustainable product with low odor, low dust, so easy to handle.”

Holden said that products from Sustane Natural Fertilizer are used at exclusive properties, including the National Mall in Washington, D.C., Disney facilities, PGA Tour golf courses, and Premier League, MLB and NFL fields. 

The USDA project funding will allow the company, which has been pushing against its capacity for several years, to expand 

“We’re looking to increase fertilizer production capacity here in Cannon Falls, and we’re also building a second facility on-site for our seed treatment production,” Blaize Holden said. “We have developed markets all over the world, so we’re looking to be able to supply those better.”

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Noah Fish

I am a general assignment agricultural reporter who covers everything from food to land, farm emergencies and co-op mergers to trade shows and 4-H fundraisers; using multiple elements of media. I prioritize stories that amplify the power of people. 

As an ag reporter, I’ve covered the opioid crisis, herding dogs, trade wars, collapsed barns, COVID-19 pandemic, immigrant farmers, regenerative poultry, farmland transition, milking robots, world record pumpkins, cannabis pasteurization, cranberry country and horseradish kings.

I report out of northeast Rochester, Minnesota, where I live with my wife, Kara, and our polite cat, Zena. Email me at nfish@Agweek.com





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Minnesota

1 arrested after shooting injures 32-year-old man in Oakdale

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1 arrested after shooting injures 32-year-old man in Oakdale



Police are investigating after a man was arrested and another was injured in a shooting in Oakdale, Minnesota, on Thursday, according to officials.

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Officers responded to a home on the 700 block of Gershwin Avenue around 10:24 p.m. for a report of an individual suffering from a gunshot wound. Police at the scene said they found a 32-year-old man who had been shot in the abdomen. He was taken to the hospital in stable condition.

Witnesses, according to police, said the injured man was standing near a bonfire in the backyard of the residence when he was hit by gunfire. 

The officers weren’t able to find any suspects after they set up a perimeter and searched the area with help from several other law enforcement agencies.

Officials said police on Friday night arrested a 64-year-old Oakdale man in connection with Thursday’s shooting. Oakdale Police Chief Nick Newton said he was booked and later released.

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Vandals smash car windows in St. Louis Park neighborhood

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Vandals smash car windows in St. Louis Park neighborhood


Neighbors along a three-block stretch in St Louis Park, Minnesota, say vandals smashed car windows early Sunday morning along Quentin Avenue.

A spokesperson for the City of St. Louis Park said officers took 18 reports of vehicle tampering and stolen property around 5 in the morning. The city wouldn’t confirm how many cars were hit, but said the investigation is ongoing.

“I was just pulling out and I had to swerve and avoid all the glass on the street because most cars on this block had their windows smashed,” said Nachshown Fertel. 

While Fertel’s car wasn’t damaged, a car parked across the street was smashed across the windshield. Two others were missing windows. 

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“Obviously, it’s expensive to repair and we don’t know who did it,” Fertel said. “We all have Ring cameras, but since most of them were on the street, only a few people caught glimpses of it.”

Two blocks away, WCCO talked to a man with four damaged cars sitting outside his home. He said all the windows on his family cars were smashed early in the morning, but no one got away with anything valuable. He called the whole ordeal upsetting.

Aharon Harkavy spent part of Sunday cleaning up shattered glass in his driveway. He said neighbors have had issues with stolen cars and some break-ins in the past, but this string of damage felt like an escalation. 

“This needs to stop, the police need to really do something about it,” he said. 

Back in May, Minneapolis police were investigating a string of break-ins on the southwest side of the city.  That followed 30 cars hit by vandals in April over an 8-hour span. Last summer in Minneapolis, there were roughly 475 vehicle break-ins in 30 days between July and August. 

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Fertel said many of his neighbors in St. Louis Park attend the same synagogue and the community came together to help with repairs. 

“I went over to the rabbi and I said, ‘Can we start a fund?’” Fertel explained. “I got a few people to donate. We pulled together some funds to help people pay for the damage.”



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Twins 6, Yankees 1: A new morning in Twins Territory

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Twins 6, Yankees 1: A new morning in Twins Territory


Yesterday, Americans attended barbecues, tore around on jet skis, and partied under fireworks for the country’s 250th birthday. Or, they took their sister’s Goldendoodle on 12 miles worth of walks, then got takeout supper and continued a Star Trek: The Original Series re-watch (& checked in on the Rocky & Twilight Zone marathons). Freedom, and all that.

But as was once said about President Ronald Reagan, it’s a new morning in America. What would the sunrise bring for MN? Well, how about 250 years of Minnesota Twins dominance over the New York Yankees!

After boat-racing the Yanks yesterday, the Twins got off to a fast start in this contest too when New York SP Ryan Weathers’ first offering was slapped into RF by Austin Martin for a double. This was quickly followed by a newly-minted-All-Star Byron Buxton single and it looked like MN would never make an out against NYY again—until Kody Clemens K’d and Buck was caught stealing for the first time since 5/1/24. Ugh. You also won’t hear Buxton’s name again in this recap until the Duds (double ugh).

Fortunately, Josh “Liberty” Bell saved the rally with a ringing (heh, heh) single that NY RF Max Schuemann couldn’t quite reel in. 1-0 MN.

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As also-newly-minted-All-Star SP Joe Ryan looked sharp foiling Yankee bats in the early goings, the Twins went back on the attack in T4: a Royce Lewis walk led to his advance to 2B on a wild pitch which led to his coming around to score on a Brooks Lee base knock. 2-0 MN.

Right back on the attack in T5: the Twins loaded the bases with two outs and Lewis didn’t fall into the trap—instead knocking a solid single up the middle to drive two visitors across home plate! 4-0 MN.

Then, some circus baseball in T6: an Anthony Volpe error at shortstop…a horrible Luke Keaschall bunt that someone resulted in a hit…a bases-loaded walk to Martin…a well-struck Clemens sac fly. Boo birds were echoing through Yankee Stadium 3.0. 6-0 MN.

Meanwhile, the reason no Yankee offense has been discussed heretofore is because Ryan continued his Bronx brilliance. New York put a couple runners on base with two outs in B7, but our oh-so-much-more-than-average Joe made Amed Rosario look foolish on a filthy slider for this final line: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K.

Andrew Morris hurled a crisp, clean 8th inning, followed by Yoendrys Gomez losing the battle (shutout effort) but winning the war (ballgame) in the 9th.

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Your Final: Minnesota Twins 6, New York Yankees 1

The Twins exorcised some demons by winning road series against the Astros & Yankees (the latter of those the first time since 2014). A new morning, indeed! Time for Goldendoodle walk number two on the day—with a smile on my face all the way.



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