Farm Dreams

The desire to farm is powerful — sparked by love of food, the land, community, entrepreneurship, and more. But it is a complicated undertaking, and the list of questions that need to be addressed before diving in is long. If you are dreaming of farming and puzzled about how to get started, the Land Stewardship Project’s Farm Dreams initiative may be for you.

Farm Dreams is designed to help people clarify what motivates them to farm, get their vision on paper, and inventory their strengths and training needs. To get started, check out the Farm Dreams Visioning Exercise below. For more information, contact LSP Farm Beginnings organizers Annelie Livingston-Anderson (annelie@landstewardshipproject.org, 612-400-6350).

Self-led Farm Dreams Visioning Exercise

During the Farm Dreams class, participants go through a special visioning exercise. To go through this
exercise at home, check out this PDF document.

Upcoming Events

September 2025

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.

Wednesday September 10

All Day

Deadline: Comment on MN Nutrient Reduction Strategy

Wednesday September 10

Deadline: Comment on MN Nutrient Reduction Strategy

Online

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is accepting comments on updating its Minnesota Nutrient Reduction Strategy 2025 (full draft document found here), which establishes a roadmap for reaching both phosphorus and nitrate reduction goals.

Please take a moment to review LSP’s comments and rationale for actionable items for this plan and submit your comments via the MPCA’s online form before Wednesday, Sept. 10, at 11:59 p.m.

LSP is asking MPCA to:

Strengthen data collection and reporting requirements for fertilizer retailers by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) and documentation of nitrogen fertilizer application rates by responsible parties (e.g. crop retailers).
Build a Small Grain Initiative and a safety net for farmers who want to reduce their nitrogen fertilizer applications by transitioning into more diverse cropping systems.
Grow farmer power, farmer networks, and locally led, flexible and outcome-based approaches like the Olmsted County Groundwater Protection and Soil Health Program.

For details on how to comment, check out LSP’s action alert.

10:00 am – 2:00 pm

LSP Lewiston Office Lunch & Discussion

Wednesday September 10

10:00 am – 2:00 pm

LSP Lewiston Office Lunch & Discussion

180 E Main St, Lewiston, MN 55952, USA

The Land Stewardship Project is hosting lunch for you before harvest time makes us all busy!

Our Lewiston September Potluck will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 10, from noon to 2 p.m., at our office in downtown Lewiston, Minn. (180 E. Main Street). This will be an opportunity to build community, hear from other farmers, socialize, and enjoy a great meal together. We also invite everyone to take a self-guided tour of the newly renovated spaces in our office that we have been working on over the winter. As a member-driven organization, this is your space too.

LSP will be providing the main dish (meat and vegetarian options) and we invite you to bring a dish to pass. This event is open to all, so please bring a friend or two as well. Let’s celebrate the joy of summer through good food and good company!

RSVP’s are encouraged, but not required. Hope to see you there — you can RSVP by e-mailing LSP’s Kate Rowe directly.

View Full Calendar

Land Stewardship Project

Self-led Farm Dreams Visioning Exercise

Related Posts

Farm Beginnings Profile: A Land-Based Launching Pad

Farm Beginnings Profile: Running it Through the Mill

The Grass Master’s Apprentice

Contact

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

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

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.

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LSP is asking MPCA to: