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Add Your Name to the Farmer & Producer Sign-On Letter

March 28, 2023

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This week, the House and Senate Agriculture Committees in the Minnesota Legislature are rolling out their budgets for the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.

Both the House and Senate have included important items, such as funding for the Emerging Farmers Office and establishing a Meat and Poultry Liaison position in the Department of Agriculture, as well as additional funding for the Farm-to-School Program.

At the same time, both the House and Senate proposals have room for improvement. For example, the House included just $250,000 per year for the Soil Health Financial Assistance Program. The program’s first application period just ended and there was 17 times more demand than funding available!

We need to call on House and Senate Ag Committee leadership to finalize an agriculture budget that delivers for emerging and beginning farmers, small and mid-sized farmers, local meat processors, our farm and food system, and our soil, water, air, and climate.

Will you take just two minutes to add your name to our Farmer & Processor Sign-On Letter to demonstrate the demand for this budget support from Minnesota farmers and processors?

 

Add Your Name to the Letter Here

 

Triple your impact by forwarding this action alert or the sign-on link (http://bit.ly/agbudgetletter) to at least three other Minnesota farmers and processors to help us get the word out!

The Land Stewardship Project will be delivering the letter at the 2023 Family Farm Breakfast and Lobby Day on Thursday, April 13, during a Town Hall with Senate Ag Committee Chair Aric Putnam, Senate Ag Committee Vice Chair Rob Kupec, and House Ag Committee Vice Chair Kristi Pursell. Please join us! 

Register for the Family Farm Breakfast Here

 

Category: Action Alerts
Tags: 100% Soil Healthy Campaign • agriculture budget • Family Farm Breakfast • local food systems • local meat processing • Minnesota Legislature

Contact

Amanda Koehler, LSP Policy Manager, 612-400-6355, e-mail

Upcoming Events

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December 2025

Friday December 5

5:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Multi-Generational Farm Transition Retreat: Marshall
Friday December 5
5:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Multi-Generational Farm Transition Retreat: Marshall
Merit Center, 1001 Erie Rd, Marshall, MN 56258, USA

Join U of M Extension for hands-on planning and discussion on farm transition for the whole farm family. All generations actively involved in the farm should attend the retreat together, including spouses, partners and other relevant parties.

The farm transition program helps farm families dive deeper into conversations about:

  • Family and business goals
  • Job responsibilities
  • Financial needs of farms and families
  • Inheritance considerations
  • Mechanisms of transfer

For details and to register, click here. 

Wednesday December 10

9:00 am – 11:30 am
Organic Fruit Growers Climate Resilience Workshop
Wednesday December 10
9:00 am – 11:30 am
Organic Fruit Growers Climate Resilience Workshop
Zoom online

In December and January, the Organic Fruit Growers Association is offering a series of climate resilience workshops. Workshop goals are to learn about the changing climate in our region and the expected impacts on fruit farmers and to select climate resilience practices which are suited to your farm’s goals and values. The outcome of the workshops will be a written climate resilience plan with actionable steps to make your farm more resilient to changing climate. 
 
Workshops will be led by University of Minnesota extension educators Katie Black and Madeline Wimmer and include times for farmer-to-farmer discussion. This series includes the following four meetings. Expect to spend an additional 4-10 hours outside the meetings developing your farm’s climate resilience plan:

  • Wednesday Dec. 3, 9 a.m.-11:30 a.m. (online via Zoom)
  • Wednesday, Dec. 10, 9 a.m.-11:30 a.m. (online via Zoom)
  • Monday, Dec. 22, discussion (online via Zoom — optional but encouraged)
  • Wednesday, Jan. 7, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. (in-person workshop in La Crosse, Wis. Lunch provided, and you can be reimbursed for mileage traveling to and from the meeting.)

For details and to register, click here. 

6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
How to Make Your Farm's Website Convert Visitors to Customers
Wednesday December 10
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
How to Make Your Farm's Website Convert Visitors to Customers
Zoom Online

Join Sarah Carroll of Greener Pastures and Michelle M Sharp of Meet the Minnesota Makers in this 90-minute virtual workshop to learn about what your business website needs to tell its story, engage customers, and turn visits into real sales.

This workshop lays out the essential components of a user-friendly website for direct-to-consumer farms or food producers. No prior website skills are required.

Topics covered:

• How to make your products searchable by customers.

• What makes a compelling About Me page.

• The right balance of images to text.

• How to engage customers right from your home page.

• Incorporating FAQs.

Who this training is for:

This workshop is ideal for the farm or ag business that has launched an initial website that’s ready to upgrade or for the farm that has not yet created its own website. This workshop is both for farmers/food producers and ag ecosystem professionals that support farmers/food producers in their marketing and website efforts.

For details and to register, click here. 

Thursday December 18

All Day
MDA Urban Farm Conservation Mini-grant Deadline
Thursday December 18
MDA Urban Farm Conservation Mini-grant Deadline
MDA

A grant opportunity for urban farmers in Minnesota to receive up to $5,000 to make conservation-focused improvements is now open for applications.

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is once again offering an Urban Farm Conservation Mini-grant with approximately $100,000 available, thanks to funding from the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. This year the program has expanded eligibility.

Who is eligible:

  • Entities commercially farming in Minnesota, meaning they sell or donate at least $1,000 of what they produce.
  • Farm applicants must be located in or selling into a city with a population over 5,000 people, or be located within the boundaries of federally recognized tribal land in Minnesota and serve tribal community members.

The grant offers up to $5,000 per approved recipient which can be used to cover a variety of tools, supplies, services, and other expenses related to improving their urban farm.

Eligible projects include irrigation infrastructure improvements, tools and amendments for improving soil health, composting infrastructure, specialty crop rotation equipment and many other farm improvements which generate conservation outcomes.

Up to 100% of the total project costs may be covered by the grant, and a cash match is not required. Grantees will need to pay for eligible expenses up front and then request reimbursement, using proof of purchase and proof of payment.

An informational session will take place online at 1 p.m. on November 20 and registration is required. Language interpretation services may be requested for the information session by contacting Emily Toner at emily.toner@state.mn.us.

This is a competitive grant program and applications must be submitted by December 18.

Visit the Urban Farm Conservation Grant web page for more information on its application. The Request for Proposals is available for download in English, Spanish, Hmong and Somali.

11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Managing Cover Crops Effectively
Thursday December 18
11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Managing Cover Crops Effectively
830 Whitewater Ave, St Charles, MN 55972, USA

Program Includes:

  • Introduction to cover crop management
  • Funding and cost-share opportunities
  • Farmer panel and Q & A with panelists Mike Unruh, Ken Bergler, and Myron Sylling

Presentations from: Bailey Tangen (UMN) and Brad Jordahl Redlin (MDA).
 
Holiday conservation mixer following program.
 
This event is free but registration is required. For more information and to register, click here or call 262-325-6637. Details are also available on this flyer.

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