Building Value in Regenerative, Grass-Based Dairy

October 7 - 9, 2025

Kinzers, PA

Springwood Organic Dairy, Rainbow Acres, & Dutch Meadows Organic

About the Academy

What You Will Learn

  • Gain hands-on training in regenerative dairy farming practices
  • Learn effective cropping and cover cropping strategies for nutrient-dense feed
  • Improve cow health and performance while reducing reliance on external inputs
  • Make dairying more profitable, sustainable, and enjoyable
  • Develop high-level observation and decision-making skills for farm management
  • Understand the practical, on-the-ground benefits of improving soil health
  • Build a value-added dairy enterprise that enhances product and brand value
  • Create and implement marketing strategies tailored to regenerative dairy
  • Expand access to and grow within regenerative dairy markets

Who Should Attend?

This course is ideal for dairy farmers who are eager to enhance the resilience, adaptability, and profitability of their operations through the practical implementation of regenerative agriculture. Whether you're looking to improve soil health, optimize cropping systems, or boost the sustainability of your dairy farm, this course provides actionable strategies that can be immediately applied. It's also perfect for farmers seeking to improve cow health and performance while reducing inputs, making dairy farming more enjoyable and less resource-intensive. Additionally, the course is well-suited for those interested in expanding their farm’s income through value-added marketing, helping you build a unique dairy experience and grow your market reach

Instructors

    • Kent Solberg
    • Doug Voss
    • Farmer Panelist: Erik Ziehm

Registration & Getting There

Cost of Tuition

Tuition of $600.00 includes
• In-person attendance at the SHA, along with course materials, water, and lunch each day
• Access to quarterly alumni Q&A conference calls with SHA instructors and the graduate portal on the SHA website

For an additional $200, bring your spouse or a member of your farm team.

Cancellation Policy

The down deposit of $500 is non-refundable, but can be transferable toward any academy held in 2025 or 2026.

Financial assistance through scholarships are available to help with the cost of tuition. To apply for a scholarship, please register for the academy, then submit a scholarship application.

Scholarships are made possible thanks to the generous support of  private organizations and individual donors.

Classroom & Farm Location

Classroom
The Cellar At Houston Run
836 Houston Run Dr,
Gap, PA 17527

Farms
Springwood Organic Dairy
Rainbow Acres
Dutch Meadows Organic Dairy

Hotel Information

Comfort Inn & Suites Amish Country
812 Route 41
Gap, PA 17527
(717) 407-0503

Room block: Soil Health Academy
Room rate: $115.00
Room block expires September 5, 2025

Lodging costs are separate from tuition. While it is not mandatory to stay at the accommodations listed here, we encourage attendees to book nearby lodging for the convenience of traveling to the classroom and farm locations.

Breakfasts and dinners are not included in the tuition. 

Closest Airport

Lancaster Airport (LNS)
500 Airport Rd., Suite G
Lititz, PA 17543

Local Shuttle Services
Shultz Transport: 717-464-5800
Sheehan Transport (Janet): 717-201-9267
Sterling Limousine & Transportation Services: 484-716-7433

About the Host Farms

Grazing
PA Bio Pic
Chickens on grass

Meet Springwood Organic Dairy

Springwood dairy is is a four-generation family farm in Lancaster County PA and is operated by Roman and Dwight Stoltzfoos. The farm was originally owned by William Penn and was part of his 800-acre personal estate. It has been farmed by Stoltzfoos’ since 1941 and operated as an Organic Farm Since 1987. In 2007 Dwight and Roman formed a partnership and have been 100% grass-fed since 2012. There are about 250 milking cows on 220 acres on the home farm where the dairy is. An additional 400 plus acres provide feed and pasture for the dairy herd and the approximately 130 head of young stock and breeding bulls.

Springwood Organic Farm is a 100% grass-based dairy farm, producing certified organic milk as well as cheese, beef, turkeys, broilers, and hay. Springwood is a pioneer in organic and regenerative livestock practices, and they strive towards ever-improving the health, well-being, and quality of our animals and products. As caretakers of God’s creation, they are driven by the desire to improve environmental stewardship, animal welfare, good business for the community, and their family values.

In 1983 Roman Stoltzfoos took over the family farm and eventually began applying organic methods. The farm rejuvenated and began to thrive with this organic approach. Amidst much skepticism, organic turkeys were added to the livestock in the late ’80s when organic agriculture was seldom practiced.

Dwight Stoltzfoos grew up on Springwood Farm in Kinzers, PA as the oldest of 11 children. He assisted his father during the 90’s in the gradual transition to becoming certified organic, and later implementing 100% grass-fed grazing practices. In 2007 Dwight took on the herd and crop management role and in 2022 purchased Springwood Farm, successfully transitioning the farm to its fourth generation of family ownership.

Dwight, Brenda, and their nine children are kept busy with the 100% grass-fed organic dairy and are members of Organic Valley/CROPP’s Grassmilk program. Springwood Farm is an amazing place to raise a family, and the Stoltzfoos family is motivated to regenerate the soils under their management via adaptive grazing, silvopasture installations, and adequate rest periods.

Organic, regenerative, grass-based farming is a passion of the Stoltzfoos family and they strive to keep at the cutting edge of these methods. As a result Springwood Organic Farm has become a model of stewarding opportunities of the present for future generations.

Meet Dutch Meadows Organic Creamery

Dutch Meadows Farm is located in Paradise, PA. The farm has been owned by the Stoltzfus family for three generations, and has been practicing organic farming for over twenty years.

They have developed partnerships with a close knit group of small, sustainable, family farms where they practice farming with nature without using harmful pesticides, chemicals and artificial growth hormones. They treat their livestock with respect and let them live their lives the way God intended. They try to keep them outdoors as much as possible and create a low stress, all natural and healthy environment for them to live in.

They have special talents and a vision for the future as they work together to grow their unique operation. They have been fortunate to be able to build a community of farmers that are skilled in raising pastured livestock and producing high quality, traditional, nutrient dense, raw and organic foods. Through their network of customers at Dutch Meadows Farm, they are able to offer a breadth of consciously made, local foods from a whole collective of farms, and carefully pack and deliver those goods to customers.

Meet Rainbow Acres

Rainbow Acres is a 100% grassfed organic dairy farm where healthy animals and vibrant soils are the foundation of everything. The farm's high-quality milk goes directly to Maple Hill Creamery, produced by a herd of around 40 cows — primarily Holsteins, with a few Jerseys and Fleckvieh crosses — all raised entirely on pasture.

Located on 70 acres of certified organic land, Rainbow Acres practices intensive rotational grazing with no mechanical harvesting. The animals harvest their own feed, supporting both herd health and long-term soil regeneration. Every acre is managed with a deep respect for the land, aiming to build fertility and resilience over time.

Originally a conventional dairy when it began in 2018, Rainbow Acres transitioned to certified organic in 2020 and became fully grassfed by 2022. The shift reflects the farm’s ongoing commitment to regenerative farming.

In addition to the dairy herd, Rainbow Acres is home to about 25 registered Morgan horses, which are also rotationally grazed. Their presence keeps life on the farm dynamic and exciting.

Rainbow Acres continues to grow as a working example of regenerative agriculture in action — rooted in learning, driven by passion, and dedicated to doing things better for the land, the animals, and the future.

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