Meet Paul Novotny, Continuous Living Cover farmer, steward & community leader

November 23, 2021
Person holding water glass in a field.

Paul Novotny, 51, farms nears Chatfield, Minnesota, pursuing a career he hadn’t even considered until about 15 years ago. While his grandfather came from a farm, Paul’s family was in the trucking business, and he also kept busy as a City Council member.

But in 2006, an opportunity arose that created a confluence of his business experience, his agricultural roots, and, eventually, his interest in preserving the water quality in his community.

Here Novotny shares some of the steps in his journey toward creating a more sustainable agricultural landscape for a 21st century world, including participating in a pilot study with innovative Continuous Living Cover crops that prevent soil erosion and nitrogen run-off into local water supplies.