Spots Available in MN-WI Beginning Farmer Course

Classes to be held in Marshall & La Crosse

CONTACT: Karen Stettler or Karen Benson, LSP, 507-523-3366

9/6/07
A few class slots are still available in the 2007-2008 session of the Land Stewardship Project’s Farm Beginnings course. Classes will be held in two locations: La Crosse, Wis., beginning Oct. 20; and Marshall, Minn., beginning Nov. 3. For more information and to register, contact Karen Stettler or Karen Benson at 507-523-3366. More information is also available at www.farmbeginnings.org. 

In 2007, Farm Beginnings is celebrating its 10th year of providing firsthand training in low-cost, sustainable methods of farming. The program has its roots in southeast Minnesota’s Wabasha County, where in 1997 a group of farmers approached the Land Stewardship Project about developing a community-based initiative that would train a new generation of farmers.

The course consists of a series of classes that take place twice a month between October and March. After March, course participants have the opportunity to attend on-farm educational field days. Farm Beginnings participants learn goal setting, financial planning, business plan creation, alternative marketing and innovative production techniques. Classes are led by farmers and other agricultural professionals from the area.

During the past decade, over 300 people have graduated from the Minnesota-region Farm Beginnings program, and 60 percent of them are actively farming, according to class data. In 2005, Farm Beginnings was extended to Illinois and Nebraska. Beginning this fall, Farm Beginnings classes will be held in North Dakota.

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RADIO BROADCASTERS: A 16-second mp3 audio file featuring Farm Beginnings graduate and dairy farmer Roger Benrud is available at www.landstewardshipproject.org/audio/roger_benrud.mp3.

PHOTO AVAILABLE: For a digital photo of a Farm Beginnings graduate from your area, e-mail bdevore@landstewardshipproject.org, or call 612-729-6294.