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Farmers Gather in Albert Lea to Talk About ‘Bringing Small Grains Back to Minnesota’

Attendees from 3 States Heard National, Local Ag Leaders Discuss the Economic, Agronomic & Environmental Opportunities Crops Like Oats Can Provide

January 30, 2025

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ALBERT LEA, Minn. — Corn and soybeans may dominate the agricultural landscape in southern Minnesota and northern Iowa, but reintroducing small grains such as oats into the rotation could help make farming more economically, agronomically and environmentally sustainable, while serving a growing consumer demand for healthy food, said a panel of national and local experts during a recent Land Stewardship Project (LSP) workshop in Albert Lea.

“It’s all driven by diversity,” Roy Pfaltzgraff, who farms 2,200 acres in northeastern Colorado, told the over 150 farmers and other ag professionals from three states gathered for the “Bringing Small Grains Back to Minnesota” workshop, held Jan. 28 at Edgewater Bay Pavilion in Albert Lea. Besides LSP, co-sponsors of the workshop included Albert Lea Seed and Practical Farmers of Iowa.

Since coming back to the family operation in 2016, Pfaltzgraff has increased the operation’s production base from a handful of crops to over 18 species, including several kinds of small grains. He said this diversity has increased his farm’s resiliency in an area that only gets 13 inches of precipitation annually, and that resiliency has repercussions all the way to people’s dinner table.

“The more things we raise, the better our soil is,” Pfaltzgraff said. “The better the soil is, the more nutritious things are. Farmers need to remember they are feeding people when they are farming.”

Small grains such as oats, once a staple across parts of the Corn Belt, have largely disappeared from large parts of the region, taking with them vital markets and infrastructure, said Shea-Lynn Ramthun, a Goodhue County farmer and LSP soil health organizer. However, recent USDA figures show oat acreage is making a comeback in areas like southern Minnesota and northern Iowa as farmers seek avenues for diversifying their corn-soybean rotation in a way that builds soil and reduces the need for expensive chemical inputs. They are also responding to a growing consumer demand for oats, which has a reputation as a heart-healthy food. The market for oats in the U.S. is expected to have a 7.8% mean annual growth rate between now and 2030, according to one analysis.

One of those farmers who has added oats back into their rotation is Landon Plagge, who farms 4,000 acres an hour south of Albert Lea near Latimer, Iowa. He told the workshop participants that since he began including oats in his rotation, his soil health has improved and erosion has plummeted. In addition, fertilizer and pesticide costs have dropped and it’s opened up new opportunities such as a cattle grazing enterprise. Plagge said that when considered over several growing seasons, having oats in the rotation is an economic winner because it boosts row crop yields while cutting costs.

The Iowa farmer sees even more economic opportunities in diversification. That’s why he has launched Green Acres Milling, an oat processing initiative that will break ground in Albert Lea this spring, and is proposed to go online in 2026. Around 70 farmers have bought shares in the mill, which would initially process oats raised on 30,000 acres of land in the region. One estimate is that each oat-producing acre would use 50 pounds less purchased nitrogen annually. That translates into not only fewer nitrates in the area’s water, but more money in the local economy, said Plagge.

“We want to be sustainable. We want to do great things for the environment,” he said. “But we also have to make money too.”

Local processing of small grains provides a way to connect eaters with the source of their food and to use their pocketbook as a way to support a different approach to farming, said Bob Quinn, a Montana farmer, scientist and author who founded a specialty wheat processing and marketing company. In his book, Grain By Grain, A Quest to Revive Ancient Wheat, Rural Jobs, and Healthy Food, Quinn described how the organic small grain-based food business he created helped diversify the rotation in his part of Montana while producing healthy food, creating jobs and keeping wealth local. Treating food as a healthy source of nutrition that benefits the land and communities can help reverse the trend of farmers being forced to sell into a commodified, industrial system and being relegated to “price taker” status, said Quinn.

“Under a regenerative system, everybody wins — our farms, our communities, our Earth and our people,” he said.

During an afternoon workshop session, a panel involving the keynote speakers as well as local experts fielded questions from the audience about everything from fertilization rates for small grains to ways farmers and eaters can connect around healthy, sustainably-produced food. One concern raised by the workshop attendees is that the vast majority of oats consumed in this country are imported from Canada, even though two of the country’s top oat users are based in Minnesota.

“What if our homegrown companies bought more homegrown product?” Ramthun asked at one point. “The potential for rural Minnesota is huge.”

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Additional Material:

• Video presentations by Bob Quinn, Roy Pfaltzgraff & Landon Plagge

• LSP Ear to the Ground podcast interviews with:
– Bob Quinn
– Roy Pfaltzgraff
– Landon Plagge

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.

 

 

Bob Quinn, a Montana farmer, scientist and author, speaking at the Land Stewardship Project’s “Bringing Small Grains Back to Minnesota” workshop on Jan. 28 in Albert Lea, Minn.

 

Category: News Releases
Tags: community based food systems • crop diversity • food nutrition • regenerative agriculture • rural economic development • small grains • soil health • water pollution

CONTACT:

Shea-Lynn Ramthun, LSP soil health organizer, 651-301-1897,
slramthun@landstewardshipproject.org

PHOTO AVAILABLE: 

For a photo of participants in the Land Stewardship Project’s “Bringing Small Grains Back to Minnesota” workshop on Jan. 28, 2025, in Albert Lea, Minn., contact LSP’s Brian DeVore at bdevore@landstewardshipproject.org

Upcoming Events

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October 2025

Thursday October 23

8:30 am – 4:00 pm
Farm to School & Early Care Grants Deadline
Thursday October 23
8:30 am – 4:00 pm
Farm to School & Early Care Grants Deadline
Online

School is back in session and this week’s cool temps definitely remind us all that fall is just around the corner. This time of the year also means that the application period is open for Minnesota’s Farm to School and Early Care grants.

Earlier this year, the Land Stewardship Project and our partners were successful in expanding funding for the AGRI Farm to School and Early Care program. The application window for the next round of funding is now open and will close at 4 p.m. Central Time (CT) on Thursday, October 23.

APPLY FOR FUNDING HERE

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is serving up two funding opportunities to help schools and early childhood education (ECE) centers buy Minnesota-grown and -raised foods. 

1.    First Bite Grants: Up to $5,000 (no match required) to kickstart local food purchasing through intentional, high-impact activities. 
2.    Full Tray Grants: Up to $35,000 (1:1 match required) to help experienced schools and ECE centers increase or expand their local food purchases. 

Equipment funding: First Bite and Full Tray applicants can also request up to $25,000 (1:1 match required) to support the purchase of kitchen equipment that will enhance their capacity to buy, prepare, and serve local foods.  

 These grants are open to: 
•    Public or private K-12 schools or school districts in Minnesota that participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP)
•    Early childhood education (ECE) centers that participate in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) in Minnesota

MDA encourages schools, districts, and ECE centers serving sovereign tribal nations to apply. 

 Local Tots Cost-Share Program
There are also funds available to reimburse family child care providers for buying Minnesota-grown and -raised foods used for meals and snacks as part of the the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP):

Interested providers must submit a Local Tots Cost-Share program Letter of Intent to participate. Award amounts will be up to $1,000 and there is a 1:1 cash match required for providers who received a Local Tots Cost-Share award in 2025. There is no cash match required if you are new to the program. 

Applications are due by 4 p.m. Central Time (CT) on Thursday, October 23, 2025. 

 Program details and online applications are available at http://www.mda.state.mn.us/farm-school-early-care-programs or by contacting the Grants Team at MDA.AGRIgrants@state.mn.us. 

 Want to learn more about eligibility, allowable expenses, and how to apply?

 Join the MDA for a virtual info session: 
First Bite and Full Tray Grant Info Session 
September 15, 2025, 2-3 p.m.
Register here

 Local Tots Cost-Share Info Session – for family child care providers
September 18, 2025, 1-2 p.m.
Register here

Farmers: Are you Interested in selling to a school near you? 
Send this opportunity along to the food service director at schools near you or connect with a Regional Local Food Coordinator to help you make connections with schools, childcare settings, and other opportunities to sell locally. These positions are supported by the Department of Education and Renewing the Countryside.

Saturday October 25

1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
Book Event: We Can Do Better: Collected Writings on Land, Conservation, and Public Policy
Saturday October 25
1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
Book Event: We Can Do Better: Collected Writings on Land, Conservation, and Public Policy
Madison Public Library - Central, 201 W Mifflin St, Madison, WI 53703, USA

The Johnson Center for Land Stewardship Policy is excited to share that one of our its primary pillars of work — a published collection of Paul Johnson’s writings —  is set for release on Oct. 2.  The book features a brief biography and a discussion of Paul’s ideas within the historical and future contexts of private lands conservation. 

During the Wisconsin Book Festival, Curt Meine will talk about the book in a discussion with author Sonja Trom Eayrs (Dodge County, Incorporated), in a session on “The Fight for Rural America.” 

For details on We Can Do Better: Collected Writings on Land, Conservation, and Public Policy click here.

Tuesday October 28

12:00 pm – 1:30 pm
MDA Grants Webinar
Tuesday October 28
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm
MDA Grants Webinar
Zoom online

Are you interested in applying for a grant from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA)? On Tuesday, Oct. 28, from noon to 1:30 p.m., the Land Stewardship Project will be holding an online webinar on four grants that will be available this fall. MDA staffers will go over the details of these grants and how to apply for them.

 To sign-up, click here.  

 This webinar will feature information on four grants:

– AGRI Livestock Investment Grant

– AGRI Sustainable Agriculture Demonstration Grant 

– Preparing for Extreme Weather (Prepare) Grant

– AGRI Protecting Livestock from Avian Influenza (Protect) Grant 

For more information, contact LSP’s Alex Kiminski at akiminski@landstewardshipproject.org.

Wednesday October 29

4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Book Event: We Can Do Better: Collected Writings on Land, Conservation, and Public Policy
Wednesday October 29
4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Book Event: We Can Do Better: Collected Writings on Land, Conservation, and Public Policy
The Harkin Institute for Public Policy & Citizen Engagement, 2800 University Ave, Des Moines, IA 50311, USA

The Johnson Center for Land Stewardship Policy is excited to share that one of our its primary pillars of work — a published collection of Paul Johnson’s writings —  is set for release on Oct. 2.  The book features a brief biography and a discussion of Paul’s ideas within the historical and future contexts of private lands conservation. 

For details on We Can Do Better: Collected Writings on Land, Conservation, and Public Policy click here.

Thursday October 30

5:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Book Event: We Can Do Better: Collected Writings on Land, Conservation, and Public Policy
Thursday October 30
5:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Book Event: We Can Do Better: Collected Writings on Land, Conservation, and Public Policy
Ames Public Library, 515 Douglas Ave, Ames, IA 50010, USA

The Johnson Center for Land Stewardship Policy is excited to share that one of our its primary pillars of work — a published collection of Paul Johnson’s writings —  is set for release on Oct. 2.  The book features a brief biography and a discussion of Paul’s ideas within the historical and future contexts of private lands conservation. 

For details on We Can Do Better: Collected Writings on Land, Conservation, and Public Policy click here.

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