The Catholic Spirit
http://www.thecatholicspirit.com/archives.php?article=4125

June 23, 2005

Grassroots program teaches, mentors beginning farmers

By Maria Wiering
The Catholic Spirit

When Roger Benrud, 33, was attending Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, weekend trips home would take him through farm country. He grew up on a farm, and the land stirred something within him. But farming just didn’t seem like a good career option.

“At the time I was in high school it was after the big crash in the early ‘80s, and [farming] didn’t seem like something that people who could do other things would do,” he said.

Still, he remained curious and read about rotational dairy farming. A few months after graduation Benrud took a job working at a dairy operation. He and his wife, Michelle, eventually rented land from his parents and began a small beef farm.

But his interest in rotational dairy farming was piqued again when he came across a Farm Beginnings advertisement offering help to those interested in starting a grass-based dairy.

He and his wife decided to give it a shot. Today, they are rotational dairy farmers in Goodhue with more than five years experience, 89 cows and 245 acres of pasture and hay.

A grassroots movement, Farm Beginnings is a program aimed at supporting small, family-run farms. It offers classes, farm tours and mentorships from established farmers.

It was conceived by a group of southeast Minnesota farmers called the “Wabasha
County Give-A-Damns.” With the average age of Minnesota farmers at 53, the group was concerned about the future of agriculture.

The farmers approached the Land Stewardship Project, a non-profit organization that promotes sustainable agriculture, and Farm Beginnings was born.

“They looked around and saw all these farmers retiring and moving off the land, and they asked the question of who will be the next generation of farmers,” said Farm
Beginnings director Catherine Twohig. “That’s really where it came from. They asked what we can do to get people, or keep people, on the land.”

“We’ve been really working with small farmers and working toward small family farms and making those economically viable,” Twohig added. “It’s also larger than that — it’s the quality of life issues that come up in the Farm Beginnings program. A lot of people just want to do things a bit differently and still be profitable.”

The first Farm Beginnings classes focus on whole-farm planning.

“We ask families to look at the whole spectrum of planning for their farm, not only just the agricultural side of it, but their vision for the farm, working with the family — the whole picture of their life as they plan their farm,” Twohig said.

Farm Beginnings graduate Adam Bedtke, 25, recalls looking at the holistic approach as a three-legged stool with personal, financial and environmental goals acting as the legs.

Bedtke also practices rotational dairy farming, in which cows are released into a different
pasture after every milking, and each pasture rests for a period of time between grazing.

He views farming as a lifestyle and not just a job.

“[Farm Beginnings] exposes you to a wider variety of options in ways of looking at things and ideals,” Bedtke said. “It ties everything together.”

At the same time, the program also has a practical focus. Though the classes are facilitated by someone with the Land Stewardship Project, the courses are taught by farmers, bankers and loan officers — people with real-life experience.

Through their personal stories, the farmers tell participants what to expect while encouraging them in their endeavors.

Dan French, 57, also a rotational dairy farmer with 32 years of farming experience, helps
teach the goal-setting class. He praises Farm Beginnings for its ability to develop networks between participants and farmers.

“People want to do this, but they have no idea how to get the information,” he said. “With Farm Beginnings, we give them ideas of where to find people. You know
there’s an answer someplace, but you have to go and find it.”

The support system is important not only for learning, but for encouragement.

“Nothing goes as you plan when you’ re working with nature,” French said. “Being able to see what comes as an opportunity and not an obstacle is huge. And when we get done [teaching] them, that’s how they are.”

French also has mentored beginning farmers, something important to Farm Beginnings’ success. By working with experienced farmers, beginning farmers can learn
the basics they need to get their own farm started, he said.

Farm diversity and using sustainable methods are important to Farm Beginnings. In addition to dairy, participants are raising meat and dairy goats, Community Supported Agriculture produce, beef cattle, hogs, poultry, organic grains and specialty items such as flowers.

The people are diverse, too, Twohig said. Ranging in age from 17 to 60, participants come from a variety of backgrounds and occupations. Some, such as Bedtke and Benrud, grew up on farms, while others have no farming experience.

The Catholic Church has a lot to say about the agrarian lifestyle, said Dale Hennen, archdiocesan Rural Life Office director and former Land Stewardship Project board member.

“The church has a long tradition . . . that those responsible for our food and agricultural system have a noble work, a noble profession,” he said. “It’s absolutely critical to who we are as a human race.”

Entering its ninth year, Farm Beginnings has 222 program graduates. More than 60 percent of those graduates are farming, and approximately 20 percent moved from urban to rural areas to start their farm.

“There is a real desire of the people coming through this to connect with the land, and not just in a romantic way, but to really know where their food is coming from, to produce their own food, to be connected again. That’s the real hopeful piece that I see,” Twohig said.

For more information on Farm Beginnings™, call 507-523-3366 or visit the Web: www.landstewardshipproject.org/programs_farmbeginnings.html.

Copyright 2005 The Catholic Spirit