The Farm Beginnings course creates a space for students to name their vision, acquire the tools and skills needed to make it happen and become part of a community of support to help them succeed. Class participants will walk away with a complete, professional farm business proposal and have an opportunity to connect directly with innovative, established Midwestern farmers and a supportive peer network. They will also have an opportunity to participate in active farm tours to observe regenerative practices firsthand.

Since it was launched in the late 1990s, over 1,000 participants have graduated from Farm Beginnings in the Minnesota-Wisconsin-Iowa region, and many of those graduates are involved in farming enterprises such as vegetables, grass-based livestock, organic grains, Community Supported Agriculture and specialty crops. Farm Beginnings has served as the model for similar beginning farmer training programs across the country. Profiles of past graduates can be read at landstewardshipproject.org/category/farm-beginnings-profiles. Podcast interviews with Farm Beginnings grads are at landstewardshipproject.org/fresh-voices.

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The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering an ethic of stewardship for farmland, promoting sustainable agriculture and developing healthy communities in the food and farming system. LSP has offices in the Minnesota communities of Montevideo, Lewiston and South Minneapolis.