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LSP Awarded $305,000 by USDA to Build Community-Led Local Food Systems in West Central Minnesota

Project focuses on 5 counties in West Central Minnesota: Chippewa, Big Stone, Swift, Lac qui Parle & Yellow Medicine.

November 13, 2024

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MONTEVIDEO, Minn. — The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) has been awarded a $305,000 Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP) grant by the USDA to support building a resilient and community-led local food system in west central Minnesota.

The new funding will be used to:

  • Increase local farmer income through sales to local wholesale buyers, including schools and food access programs.
  • Increase market access for producers by educating wholesale buyers and connecting them with local producers.
  • Increase local food access through local foods sales in schools, food access programs and food businesses.
  • Expand and strengthen private-public partnerships around local foods in west central Minnesota by adding new partners to the Minnesota Valley Local Foods Network.

“The core of our mission is soil health, more farmers on the land and building strong rural communities, and local foods are such a big part of that,” said Scott DeMuth, a regional foods organizer for LSP. “The impact of a grant like this isn’t just purchasing food from local farmers. The economic impact for every dollar spent is another $1.60 that becomes wealth that is retained locally, instead of going into the hands of large corporations.”

The project funded by the LFPP grant focuses on efforts in five counties in west central Minnesota: Chippewa, Big Stone, Swift, Lac qui Parle and Yellow Medicine. In addition to farms and food businesses that grow, process and sell food, LSP will build off the community foods work happening in the towns of Appleton, Granite Falls, Madison and Montevideo. The initiative aims not only to meet the immediate needs of the local community, but also to develop a model that could serve as a blueprint for similar rural areas, maximizing both local economic benefits and food accessibility.

On the supply side, LSP will help specialty crop producers access wholesale markets through training and support in marketing, food safety and financial planning. The grant will provide funds to connect farmers to a broader network of buyers, including through school and food access programs and via in-person matchmaking events. It will also help develop relationships with partners such as Countryside Public Health, University of Minnesota Regional Sustainable Development Partnership, Upper Minnesota Valley Regional Development Commission, the Real Food Hub and Madison Mercantile.

“Partnering with the Land Stewardship Project strengthens Toad Hill Farm’s efforts to expand availability of local foods through our farm business,” said Davis Bonk of Toad Hill Farm in rural Chippewa County. “We are excited about being a part of this project and increasing aggregation, distribution and sales of locally produced specialty crops.”

On the demand side, LSP will develop new markets for producers by engaging schools and food access programs (such as food shelves and elder meal programs), host producer-buyer matchmaking events, develop marketing tools for farmers and help bring aggregator partners and other buyers onto the Open Food Network sales platform.

“The LFPP grant made through the Land Stewardship Project is the bridge we need to make local food production and distribution a viable opportunity for our region,” said Kris Shelstad, executive director of Madison Mercantile, one of LSP’s partners in the project. “We are excited to be a part of creating a model in west central Minnesota that can be replicated across the state and country.”

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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. More information is at landstewardshipproject.org.

Funding for the Local Food Promotion Program was made possible by a grant/cooperative agreement from the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the USDA. The USDA Local Foods Promotion Program is implemented under the Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP), a program authorized by subtitle A of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946. LFPP funds projects that develop, coordinate, and expand local and regional food business enterprises that engage as intermediaries in indirect producer to consumer marketing to help increase access to and availability of locally and regionally produced agricultural products. More information is at ams.usda.gov/services/grants/lfpp.

Category: News Releases
Tags: direct maketing • farm-to-school • local food systems • rural economic development

Contact:

Olivia Blanchflower, LSP development director, e-mail

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May 2025

Thursday May 15

5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
MN Women in Conservation
Thursday May 15
5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
MN Women in Conservation
42652 County Rd 7, Belview, MN 56214, USA

NOTE: REGISTRATION IS CLOSED FOR THIS EVENT
 
Come out and play with MNWiC and Renville County Soil and Water Conservation District. Tour Iverson Tree Farm, learn from other women land stewards, and meet local Master Gardeners and conservation professionals who can help with your own land dreams.
 
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Saturday May 17

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Lift Bridge Brewing Co. and Sustainable Farming Association are partnering to host a free seed and plant swap and fundraiser at Lift Bridge’s taproom in Stillwater. Vendor opportunities available. 
 
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Tuesday May 20

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Tuesday May 20
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Webinar on Agrivoltaics: Sheep Solar Grazing Producer Panel
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Participants will hear from sheep producers about their experiences, along with the benefits and challenges of grazing sheep under solar panels. This webinar is part of a series about cattle and sheep solar grazing and growing forages or grain crops under solar panels.
 
For details and to register, click here.

Thursday May 29

9:00 am – 12:30 pm
Storytelling for Sales: Digital Marketing for Sustainable Farmers
Thursday May 29
9:00 am – 12:30 pm
Storytelling for Sales: Digital Marketing for Sustainable Farmers
Zoom Online

Storytelling for Sales: Digital Marketing Best Practices to Get Your Farm’s Next Customer is designed to help farmers grow their customer base by sharpening their storytelling and digital marketing skills—whether they’re selling through farmers’ markets, CSAs, or direct-to-retail. This Greener Pastures and Meet the Minnesota Makers workshop will cover how websites and social media can actually convert viewers into buyers to creating content that builds community loyalty.

This workshop is also designed for ag educators, professionals, and partner organizational staff who support farmers directly and want to be well-versed on the marketing best practices to support direct-to-consumer farms. 

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Saturday May 31

10:00 am – 12:30 pm
Multi-species Pasture Walk
Saturday May 31
10:00 am – 12:30 pm
Multi-species Pasture Walk
872 320th Ave, Frederic, WI 54837, USA

The NW Wisconsin Graziers Network, River Country RC&Dand UW-Madison Extension invite you to a multi-species pasture walk hosted by JohnsonFamily Pastures LLC. The farm is located five miles east of Frederic in PolkCounty. This educational event willemphasize direct marketing, multi-species grazing, part-time family agricultureand silvopasture development. Light snacks and refreshments will be provided.

TheJohnson Family Pastures farm is home to Chris and Tamara Johnson and their twochildren. They raise grass-fed beef, silvopastured goats, and recently raised anumber of other species. The farm consists of about 160 acres of gently rollingpastures, silvopasture, and forest. Use of both temporary polybraid fencing andhigh tensile permanent fences allow for rotational grazing of small ruminants andout-wintering of beef cattle. Use of long-term farm transition strategies, cost-shareprograms, silvopasture development with goats, regenerative grazing, cattlehandling facility and bale grazing will be discussed along with answering anyand all questions from pasture walk participants.

An extensive and diversified direct marketing programhas been developed by Tamara and Chris that has included farmer markets, e-maillists, newsletters, website ordering, on-farm freezer storage, and other strategiesand tools to support direct sales and services for their customers.  Come and learn all about their successfulapproach.

For more information,contact Chris Johnson at 920-960-4475 or Lynn Johnson 715-225-9882 at NW Graziers.

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