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Farm Beginnings Class

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2025-2026 Farm Beginnings Class

Applications are now closed for the 2025-2026 Farm Beginnings class.

You may contact LSP to be included on the email list for the next cohort by emailing Annelie Livingston-Anderson at Annelie@landstewardshipproject.org .

The class will run from December 2025 through March 2026. The 2025-2026 class will be hybrid with the majority of the class taking place virtually via Zoom and some in-person sessions in the Twin Cities, Minn., area. The cost of the class is $1,000, which covers up to two participants per farm. Partial scholarships are available and you can indicate your interest when you apply.

FB Class Schedule 2025-2026

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.

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Contact:

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

  • For Farmers & Landowners
    • Farmland Clearinghouse
    • New Farmers
      • Farm Beginnings Class
      • Journeyperson Course
      • Farm Dreams
      • Accessing Farmland
      • Farmland Clearinghouse
      • Beginning/Retiring Farmer Tax Credit
      • Beginning Farmer Profiles
      • Fresh Voices Podcast Series
    • Retiring Farmers & Landowners
      • Farmland Clearinghouse
      • Farm Transition Planning Course
      • Conservation Leases
      • Beginning/Retiring Farmer Tax Credit
      • Land Transition Tools
      • Transition Stories
    • Soil Health
      • Cover Crops
      • Grazing
      • No-till
      • Microbiology
      • Kernza
      • Soil Builders’ Network
      • Soil Builders’ E-Letters
      • Soil Health Steering Committee Members
      • Ear Dirt Soil Health Podcast Series
    • Cropping Systems Calculator
    • Conservation Leases
  • Join, Donate, or Renew
  • Building People Power

Upcoming Events

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September 2025

Friday September 5

9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Soil Health Field Day on the Cotter Farm: Austin
Friday September 5
9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Soil Health Field Day on the Cotter Farm: Austin
50203 205th St, Austin, MN 55912, USA

 Sign up today for a get-together down on Tom Cotter’s Farm. This field day brings together food companies, local farmers and other professionals in agriculture — a perfect opportunity for networking and discussion.
Hear from soil health experts, then board the Topless Bus to take a tour of Tom’s farm. A FREE TACO BAR LUNCH will featureTom’s own grass-fed beef, along with authentic, homemade tortillas and rice. Featured speakers include soil scientist Kris Nichols and agronomist Joe Ailts.
 
You can check out the field day flier here. For more details and to register, click here.

Saturday September 6

9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Soil & Food Health Field Day: Austin
Saturday September 6
9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Soil & Food Health Field Day: Austin
50203 205th St, Austin, MN 55912, USA

Details are here.

Monday September 8

7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Anne Biklé in conversation with Ross Evelsizer: What Your Food Ate
Monday September 8
7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Anne Biklé in conversation with Ross Evelsizer: What Your Food Ate
Pulpit Rock Brewing Company, 207 College Dr, Decorah, IA 52101, USA

Join Anne Biklé (co-author, What Your Food Ate: How to Restore Our Land and Reclaim Our Health) and NEIA RC & D Natural Resource Projects Director, Ross Evelsizer, for a conversation and Q & A session followed by a book signing. Everyone is invited to this free event sponsored by the Oneota Valley Literary Foundation, with support from Pulpit Rock Brewing and Dragonfly Books.
 
Details on the Sept. 8 event are here.

Tuesday September 9

9:00 am – 3:00 pm
'Growing Resilience' Field Day at Churchill Reserve Grass-Fed Beef
Tuesday September 9
9:00 am – 3:00 pm
'Growing Resilience' Field Day at Churchill Reserve Grass-Fed Beef
36001 63rd Avenue Way Cannon Falls, MN, 55009

Spend a day with Clean River Partners and farmers discussing their experiences with different conservation management practices as they navigate the challenges of making a livelihood, accessing land and markets, and dealing with unpredictable weather conditions.

Join farmers Bryan Lips (BT Farms), Wendy Johnson (Jóia Food & Fiber Farm), Todd Churchill (Churchill Reserve), Helen Forsythe (Feed the People Farm Cooperative), and more, to discuss topics like wide-row corn and cover crops, the Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program, agroforestry, growing small grains, and prescribed grazing. 

For more information and to register, click here. 

Join with Google Meet: https://meet.google.com/sft-zqyb-qkm

Learn more about Meet at: https://support.google.com/a/users/answer/9282720

6:30 pm – 9:30 pm
The Ground We Share: Conversations on Soil, Food, and Health
Tuesday September 9
6:30 pm – 9:30 pm
The Ground We Share: Conversations on Soil, Food, and Health
Center for Faith and Life, 555 Luther Dr, Decorah, IA 52101, USA

6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.: Pre-Event: Doors open for interactive exhibits to experience soil, food, and human health:

  • Engage with soil health & water quality demonstrations (Regenerating Soil and Community Student/Faculty team)
  • Learn about regenerative agriculture practices (Winneshiek County Soil and Water Conservation District)
  • Experience and taste healthy food produced from the Driftless (Oneota Food Co-op)
  • Peruse and check out gardening, cooking, and health books (Decorah Public Library)
  • Connect with expertise elevating that food is health (Erin Meyer, MSFS RD)

7:30 p.m.: Presentation by Anne Biklé: Linking Soil Health to Human Health

Prelude: Dance performance by Luther College Orchesis Dance Group & faculty guests

Is it true that you are what you eat? Not entirely. The full story lies in how we grow the crops and raise animals that make their way into our bodies. Biklé will draw on her most recent book, “What Your Food Ate: How to Heal Our Land and Reclaim Our Health“, co-authored with her husband David Montgomery. 

8:30 pm: Soil, Food, and Health Conversation and Q & A with an award-winning panel of local/regional soil and human health care providers

A panel of local regenerative farmers will present and take questions.

Details on the Sept. 9 event are here. 

View Full Calendar

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  • Land Line: Farm Finance Crisis, Mental Health, Inflated Inputs, Crop-Livestock Synergy, Bread Bloat, Pesticides in Water, Soil Health & MAHA August 9, 2025
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