ROCHESTER, Minn. — Farmers will discuss alternatives to growing corn and soybeans for export markets during a special Land Stewardship Project (LSP) winter workshop Tuesday, Jan. 27, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Rochester International Event Center (7333 Airport View Dr. SW, Rochester, MN 55902). The “Beyond Exports: Rebuilding Local Markets” event is free; breakfast and a catered lunch will be provided. To register, see landstewardshipproject.org/beyondexports or contact LSP’s Shea-Lynn Ramthun at slramthun@landstewardshipproject.org or 651-301-1897.
The workshop’s morning keynote speaker will be Martin Larsen, a farmer and founding member of the “Oat Mafia” in southeastern Minnesota. He will highlight the challenges and opportunities facing all farmers as they look beyond selling into the export market at the elevator and instead consider rebuilding the local markets that once served our farmers and consumers. Larsen will share his journey establishing food grade oat production on his farm and founding the Oat Mafia, and the agronomic and economic results.
The afternoon keynote speaker will be Landon Plagge, the 2025 Leopold Conservation Award winner for Iowa and founder of Green Acres Milling, a farmer-owned oat processing facility under construction in Albert Lea, Minn. Plagge will speak from his personal experience in organizing Green Acres Milling on how farmers can cooperate together to take back power from multi-national conglomerates and rebuild the local supply chains that once served each region.
Between the keynote addresses, there will be two breakout sessions with local experts and farmer-leaders. These sessions will focus on the practical, economic and marketing aspects of adopting alternative crops. These sessions will be led by area crop farmers Al Jostock, James Hepp, Matt Kruger, John Strohfus and Tom Finnegan.
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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. More information is available at landstewardshipproject.org.