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Who: Richard Cates What: an evening celebrating his new book, A Creek Runs Through This Driftless Land: A Farm Family's Journey Toward a Land Ethic
Where: Pulpit Rock Brewing events room
When: Tuesday, 2/4 at 7:00pm (6:30pm social hour)
Join Richard Cates, author of A Creek Runs Through This Driftless Land: A Farm Family's Journey Toward a Land Ethic, the Johnson Center for Land Stewardship Policy, and the Dragonfly Books Staff on Tuesday February 4th at 6:30pm in the Pulpit Rock Brewing events room for a social hour and then at 7:00pm for a reading, Q&A, and book signing.
Richard (Dick) and his wife, Kim, co-own the Cates Family Farm LLC in Wyoming Township of Iowa County, Wisconsin with their children and their spouses. A life-long farmer, Dick grew up working on various farms and pursued professional studies in soil science, earning an MS from Montana State University and a PhD from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He took over the family farm management in 1987 and he and Kim built their own farming business. Dick also contributed to sustainable agriculture programs and developed the Wisconsin School for Beginning Dairy and Livestock Farmers, where he taught until retiring in 2018. The Cates family participates in watershed conservation projects and has earned numerous awards for their efforts, including the 2013 Sand County Foundation Wisconsin Leopold Conservation Award. Dick has authored several books, including Voices from the Heart of the Land and A Creek Runs Through This Driftless Land. Dick and Kim enjoy walking on the farm and in wild country anywhere, canoeing, skiing, and dancing together. They have four grandchildren who are the love and joy of their lives.
A Creek Runs Through This Driftless Land is the story of the Cates Family Farm, told with extraordinary honesty, emotion, and inspiration. Spanning three generations (and a rising fourth), the family’s journey reflects a shift from seeing their land as a commodity to embracing it as a community of pastures, fields, forests, streams, and countless species. The book explores the farm’s prehistory, history, and current use, offering a paradigm for restorative and regenerative agriculture. It illustrates a move away from industrialized, chemically dependent farming to a sustainable, nature-inspired approach that honors the land’s past inhabitants while ensuring the health of future generations. This is a story of hard work, listening, and a deepening land ethic rooted in gratitude and hope.
This event is part of Dragonfly Books and the Oneota Valley Literary Foundation’s robust author event series, which brings top-notch writers of all genres to Northeast Iowa to lead in conversations about literature and writing, and is co-hosted by The Johnson Center for Land Stewardship Policy, which works to honor the conservation legacy of Paul W. Johnson by promoting sustainable land stewardship through initiatives such as publishing his writings, supporting communication on land ethics, hosting forums on working lands conservation, and advocating for federal policies that balance societal and landowner responsibilities. To learn more about this event and other events with Dragonfly Books, visit www.dragonflybooks.com, and to learn more about the Johnson Center for Land Stewardship Policy, visit https://www.landcommunity.org/.
If you find that you can't make it to the event but would still like to purchase any books from this author talk, give Dragonfly Books a call at 563-382-4275. Our staff will be glad to reserve a book, have it autographed for you, and shipped out as needed.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Pulpit Rock Brewing Company, 207 College Dr,Decorah, Iowa, United States
