ROCHESTER, Minn. — A “Finding Farmland” workshop will be held Saturday, Sept. 15, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Peace United Church of Christ in Rochester (1503 2nd Ave. NE). This event, which is sponsored by the Land Stewardship Project (LSP) and National Young Farmers Coalition (NYFC), is free, but participants are asked to reserve a spot before Sept. 12 by contacting Karen Stettler at 507-523-3366 or stettler@landstewardshipproject.org.

This workshop is designed to help aspiring and early career farmers with one of the most complex financial questions they will face: how to access affordable farmland. The workshop will engage farmers in participatory goal-setting and financial planning exercises, and will give them an opportunity to utilize the “Finding Farmland Calculator” financial planning tool developed by NYFC, as well as LSP’s “Farmland Access Financial Decision-Making Tool.” There will also be an opportunity to hear directly from farmers about creative methods they have used to secure land tenure.

This workshop is partially funded through grants from the Bremer Foundation and the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program, an initiative of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

As part of LSP’s work helping beginning farmers gain access to land, the organization will also be hosting a tour Sunday, Sept. 30, from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., at Oxheart Farm in Hager City, Wis. Farmers Cella Langer and Emmet Fisher will discuss how they accessed their land, and participants will get an opportunity to do their own hands-on land assessments. Realtor Marc Cutter will be on-hand to discuss what to expect when working with a realtor. There will also be an opportunity to hear about additional resources helpful to farmers looking for land. For more information on this event, contact Stettler.

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