Land Stewardship Project

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Farm Beginnings Class

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2023-2024 Farm Beginnings Class

Applications are now closed for LSP’s 2023-2024 Farm Beginnings Course. Beginning and prospective farmers are invited to apply to future Farm Beginnings classes. This is a year-long training program that focuses on the goal setting, marketing, and financial skills needed to establish a successful farm business. The Farm Beginnings Course creates a space for folks 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.  

You can check out the tentative 2023-2024 class schedule here.

 Applications Are Closed for 2023-2024

If you are interested in the 2024-2025 class, contact LSP’s Annelie Livingston-Anderson at annelie@landstewardshipproject.org.

 

Fresh Voices Podcast Series

Interested in hearing directly from the next generation of innovative farmers? Check out the Land Stewardship Project’s Ear to the Ground “Fresh Voices” podcast series.

Meet Some of Our Grads

To read more about what Farm Beginnings grads are up to and how their class experience is helping them grapple with the challenges of farming, see our profile series.

Is Farm Beginnings a Good Fit for You?

Consolidated agribusiness and out-of-control corporate power in our economic and political system has made it difficult to get started in agriculture. Because of these imbalances of power, beginning farmers face a wide range of individual and societal barriers. Right now, beginning farmers do not have a fair chance to develop a vibrant, profitable business. The generational wealth gap, discrimination against BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) farmers, and a system that privileges producers raising a handful of commodity crops has kept too many farmers out of agriculture and off the land. 

Farming should be a viable option for anyone who wishes to make a living on the land. Family farms can thrive and contribute a critical service to our society by protecting natural resources, creating thriving communities, and producing healthy food. A just agricultural system includes reparations for past harm and land loss so that we can support a more diverse community of farmers. 

Farm Beginnings Course: A Community of Support

The Land Stewardship Project’s Farm Beginnings initiative creates thriving small and mid-sized farms by providing a place for people to name their vision and acquire the tools and instruction they need to make it happen. It also provides a community of support to help them succeed over the long term.  

The Farm Beginnings class is a 12-month training session that helps beginning farmers clarify their goals and strengths, establish a strong enterprise plan, and start building their operation. The course uses a mix of farmer-led classroom sessions, on-farm tours, and an extensive farmer network. Farm Beginnings focuses on the business management skills of farming. We do not go in depth on specific how-to’s of growing and raising crops or livestock. 

Farm Beginnings is designed for new and prospective farmers who want to plan a profitable farm business. Students do not need to currently own or lease land, but some farming or production experience is helpful to get the most out of the class. 

In this class, participants will: 

  • Establish quality of life goals and clarify their values.
  • Learn about whole farm planning, marketing and financing.
  • Write a farm business proposal.
  • Learn from some of the most innovative and skilled farmers operating in the Midwest.
  • Learn alongside a classroom of your peers.
  • Access an extensive network of farmers through the Farmer Network.
  • See sustainable farming practices in action on active farms.

Farm Beginnings Collaborative  

The Land Stewardship Project is a founding member of the Farm Beginnings Collaborative, a national alliance of 15 organizations that offer Farm Beginnings training programs. For our LSP Farm Beginnings class, applicants from Minnesota, western Wisconsin, and northern Iowa will be given priority because LSP is best able to provide resources and connections in this area. If you are located elsewhere, check out the Farm Beginnings Collaborative website to see if there is an organization near you offering a Farm Beginnings course.   

Farm Beginnings Collaborative Guiding Principles 

• Farmer Led 

Farm Beginnings is a farmer-led training program for new and beginning farmers. It was started by experienced farmers, and farmers participate at all levels as steering committee members, classroom presenters, on-farm presenters, and on-farm mentors. We believe that the leadership of farmers of color is vital to the sustainable agriculture movement.  

• Community Based 

Farm Beginnings offers new and beginning farmers a means to establish strong relationships with local farmers, businesses, resources, and consumers within a community network that supports and strengthens the local food and farming system. This means that the Farm Beginnings Collaborative is looking for interested organizations that are committed to a specific region and building long- term relationships with farmers and other resource people in their region. 

• Racial Equity

We recognize the organizations that are part of the Farm Beginnings Collaborative are predominately white-led and are in different stages of centering racial equity in their work. We hold ourselves and each other accountable to collaboratively commit to this work. The Farm Beginnings Collaborative acknowledges the historical and ongoing racial inequities and oppression towards farmers and communities of color. We commit to furthering our own understanding and supporting the farmers we interact with to do the same. We commit to using the power and influence we have across our organizations to build more inclusive and equitable agricultural systems and implement changes that make it possible for more farmers of color to be successful.  

• Rooted in Sustainable Farming

Farm Beginnings programs support sustainable farming by promoting farming practices that are ecologically sound, economically viable, socially just, and achievable for new and beginning farmers.

Related Posts

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  • Thinking Like a Tree

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  • Talking Through Tough Choices

    July 12, 2023

    There’s a bit of a disagreement over how many enterprises were originally on a certain wish list when Hannah Frank and Justin Thomas were considering…

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Contact:

• Annelie Livingston-Anderson, LSP Farm Beginnings facilitator, 612-400-6350, e-mail

• Pilar Ingram, LSP Farm Beginnings facilitator, 612-400-6349, e-mail

  • For Farmers & Landowners
    • New Farmers
      • Farm Beginnings Class
      • Journeyperson Course
      • Farm Dreams
      • Farmland Clearinghouse
      • Accessing Farmland
      • Farmland Access Events: Sept. 2023
      • Beginning/Retiring Farmer Tax Credit
      • Beginning Farmer Profiles
    • Retiring Farmers & Landowners
      • Farmland Clearinghouse
      • Conservation Leases
      • Beginning/Retiring Farmer Tax Credit
      • Land Transition Tools
      • Transition Stories
    • Soil Health
      • Cover Crops
      • Grazing
      • No-till
      • Microbiology
      • Soil Builders’ Network
      • Soil Builders’ E-Letters
    • Cropping Systems Calculator
    • Conservation Leases
  • Join, Donate, or Renew
  • Building People Power

Upcoming Events

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September 2023

Friday September 29 – Sunday October 1

Upper Minnesota River Meander Art Crawl
Friday September 29 – Sunday October 1
Upper Minnesota River Meander Art Crawl

The award-winningMeander Art Crawlis a free self-guided tour of artist studios featuring 40 local artists from the Upper Minnesota River Valley. We encourage visitors to visit artists in their own environment who celebrate a lifestyle that represents the small, handmade, personal, and local culture of the area.This event has more than 30 individual studios in and near the western Minnesota communities of Ortonville, Appleton, Madison, Milan, Dawson, Montevideo, and Granite Falls.

Friday September 29

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Monte Meet-Up During the Meander Art Crawl
Friday September 29
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Monte Meet-Up During the Meander Art Crawl

The award-winningMeander Art Crawlis a free self-guided tour of artist studios featuring 40 local artists from the Upper Minnesota River Valley. We encourage visitors to visit artists in their own environment who celebrate a lifestyle that represents the small, handmade, personal and local culture of the area.This event has more than 30 individual studios in and near the Western Minnesota Communities of Ortonville, Appleton, Madison, Milan, Dawson, Montevideo, and Granite Falls.

While doing the Meander, plan on participating in the Monte Meet-Up Friday, Sept. 29, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., at the Montevideo Community Center and Millennium Theater Event Room. There will be music, short films, and a local foods meal that LSP is helping put on.

Saturday September 30

9:00 am – 1:00 pm
Elko New Market Free Well Water Testing Clinic & Environmental Health Fair
Saturday September 30
9:00 am – 1:00 pm
Elko New Market Free Well Water Testing Clinic & Environmental Health Fair

At this event, local well owners are invited to bring water samples from their home for nitrate, chloride, arsenic, and manganese testing. The testing will be held at the Elko New Market Library from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. While they wait for their testing results, LSP, along with other partner organizations, will be there to chat with well owners about our clean water work and our other work in the state. Details are available here.

October 2023

Tuesday October 3

2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Optimizing No-Till Methods for a Direct-to-Market Organic Vegetable Farm
Tuesday October 3
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Optimizing No-Till Methods for a Direct-to-Market Organic Vegetable Farm

No-till farming methods are increasingly part of the dialogue in conventional crop farming, but the techniques employed at large scales are not practical or accessible for small vegetable growers. Join Land Stewardship Project members Whitewater Gardens Farm as they explore three of the more common vegetable no-till methods to identify the most sustainable approach in terms of soil health, labor investment, and crop health and yield on our farm.

The field day will be at 17485 Calico Hill Road, Altura, MN. For more information, call 507-993-5504 or e-mail londietz@aol.com.

5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Organic Dairy Pasture Walk
Tuesday October 3
5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Organic Dairy Pasture Walk

The NW Wisconsin Graziers Network, River Country RC&D, and UW-Madison Extension invite you to an organic dairy pasture walk hosted by Turnip Rock Farm and Cosmic Wheel Creamery four miles south of Amery in Polk County on Tuesday, October 3, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. This educational event will emphasize seasonal calving organic dairying with on-farm cheese making and direct marketing with an on-farm store, and vegetable production.

The host farm is home to Land Stewardship Project members Josh Bryceson and Rama Hoffpauir and family. They raise grass fed mixed breed high component dairy cows, (10), pastured pork production (20), and extensive vegetable garden production. Their locally processed cheese is marketed directly to customers and the whey is fed to their pigs. The operation consists of about 80 acres (60 acres rotated pastures and 3 acres in vegetable production) on gently rolling loamy soils.

A soil health discussion lead by Extension staff will highlight the challenges of forage production in this year’s dry conditions. A farmstead creamery with seasonal spring calving and once a day milking, a home built milking parlor facility, grass fed beef, and pastured pork will be included on the farm tour. We will discuss stockpiling pasture, marketing techniques, and many othertopics along with answering any and all questions from pasture walk participants.

Josh and Rama have developed a diversified direct marketing program. Everything is direct-marketed through 150 member veggie CSA, online stores, restaurants, farmer’s markets, and a new on-farm store and other strategies to support direct sales to customers. Ask questions and learn all about this diversified approach.

The farm is located at 260 95th Street, Clear Lake, WI, and south of Amery in central Polk County. From Hwy 46 south of Amery 3 miles, take a left turn (east) onto 35thavenue , go east 1½ miles, then turn right onto 95thStreet and go south about a mile to farm. From the south, take Hwy 46 north to 20thAvenue, turn right (east) and go about 1½miles and then turn north onto 95thstreet then go north about half mile to farm on the right. Watch for the signs.

For more information, contact Josh at 715-239-5127,http://www.turniprock.com/, Chris Johnson, with River Country RC&D at 715-579-0793, Becky Brathal, UW-Madison Extension Regional Crops Educator, at 651-302-6520, or Lynn Johnson at 715-225-9882 with NW Graziers.

View Full Calendar

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Montevideo

117 South First Street
Montevideo, MN 56265
(320) 269-2105

Lewiston

180 E. Main Street
Lewiston, MN 55952
(507) 523-3366

Minneapolis

821 E. 35th Street #200
Minneapolis, MN 55407
(612) 722-6377

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