Land Stewardship Project

Land Stewardship Project
  • About Us
    • Our Mission
    • Long Range Plan
    • Staff Directory
    • Board of Directors
      • LSP Board Committees
    • LSP Steering Committees & Working Groups
    • Contact Us
    • Past LSP Projects
    • Employment & Volunteer Opportunities
    • LSP Publications
    • Financial Statements
  • The Latest
    • Community Care
    • Songs for the Soil
    • CSA Farm Directory
    • Upcoming Events
    • News
      • News Releases
      • Media Contacts
      • LSP in the News
    • Blog
    • Podcast
    • Land Stewardship Letter
    • LIVE-WIRE Sign-up
    • Myth Busters
    • Fact Sheets
    • Farm Crisis Resources
  • 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
    • 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
      • Soil Builders’ Network
      • Soil Builders’ E-Letters
      • Soil Health Steering Committee Members
    • Cropping Systems Calculator
    • Conservation Leases
  • Creating Change
    • Community-Based Food Systems
      • Ear Bites
    • Policy Campaigns
      • Soil Health & Climate Change
      • Healthcare
      • Factory Farms
        • Anti-Competitiveness & Price Gouging
        • LSP Powerline Story Center
      • Federal Policy
        • A Farm Bill For Us
      • State Policy
        • MN Farm, Food & Climate Funding
      • Developing Leadership
    • Justice & Stewardship
    • Organizational Stewardship
    • Building People Power
  • Get Involved
    • Take Action!
    • Upcoming Events
    • Land Stewardship Action Fund
    • Connect with LSP
      • Stay Connected
      • Join, Donate, or Renew Today!
      • Shop
      • Employment & Volunteer Opportunities
      • Legacy Giving
    • Network with LSP Members
      • Farmland Clearinghouse
      • Soil Health
    • Farmland Clearinghouse
  • Join, Donate, or Renew Today!
  • Stay Connected
  • Contact Us
  • Shop
Search
More...

LSP Members Testify on Farm to School Funding

Aimee Haag & Laura Cullip Spoke Today During an Informational MN Senate Hearing

By Erin Dorbin
February 12, 2025

Share

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • email

Land Stewardship Project members Aimee Haag and Laura Cullip testify Wednesday, Feb. 12, during an informational state Senate hearing on Free School Meals in Minnesota and how Farm to School is bolstered through this critical program. For more on LSP’s Farm to School and community-based food systems work, click here. You can listen to an LSP Ear to the Ground podcast on Farm to School here.

Some key takeaways from today’s testimony:

Laura Cullip: She has been farming for over 20 years, selling into the Hutchinson, Litchfield, and Dassel-Cokato school districts for five years.

“We are grateful for the opportunity to sell our product locally. The majority of our farming career we’ve been selling direct-market. We’ve been driving into the Twin Cities, selling through CSA, and farmers’ markets; the ability to have a wholesale market open up for us within five miles of our farm, where our kids go to school, and be able to scale up some crops and grow those crops for our local school districts has been a huge benefit and support for our farm.

“It is a win-win. In my work with emerging farmers I hear from a lot of them that they are very interested in Farm to School. It provides an opportunity for them to tackle one of their biggest challenges, which is finding markets for their products as beginning, emerging farmers.

“I am also a parent. I have two kids who are in the Hutchinson public schools. Personally, we have benefitted from this program. As a family farm we have to be very thrifty, so having free school lunch has made a real difference in our family and on our pocketbook.

“We can open up access to local organic food so that all kids at school have better access. We’re increasing quality and access to local fresh food for kids without cost being a barrier.”

Aimee Haag: She is the Farm to School coordinator for the Hutchinson, Litchfield, and Dassel-Cokato districts.

“We have been at it for five years now. We have prioritized sourcing foods from all parts of the tray. That’s what we call the five different groups — the dairy, the grains, the proteins, the fruits and the vegetables. We have arrived at that place where we feel we are covering all of the tray.

“We are serving local food 12-months-of-the-year in our summer feeding program, school lunch, and school breakfast program. It has increased our food service participation, it has allowed us to invest in local businesses, and it has allowed us to build trust with our students.

“This investment allows us to move toward what students really want to see — they want quality. We realize this may be an uphill battle to rebrand and shatter the concept of what school food is in some families, but as everybody gathers in the cafeteria…we’ve really seen a culture shift in our cafeterias and our kitchens.

“Our Farm to School program and the stability of our funding because of universal free meals has allowed us to invest in local businesses and build a resilient food system.

“We began our program in 2020, so the Farm to School program is rooted in a moment when the supply chain was completely disrupted. We began Farm to School with a will and a commitment to change school food, but it really became a necessity very quickly. We still find ourselves there in that disruption and are unsure when it will level out.

“We are on track this year to hit the $1 million mark in our three small districts. That encompasses over 30 different fruits and vegetables, single-source carton-free milk, five different animal proteins —including turkey, lamb, and fish — flours, cornmeals, oats, rice, honey, maple syrup, and mushrooms; all while eliminating waste tremendously.

“We support hydroponic producers, as well as conventional and organic producers, and really prioritize this commitment to small-to-mid-sized family farms. Our investment in and our leadership around creating this local food system has built a system that can adapt.

“What I love about it so much is that students don’t want the product that industry thinks we need to buy. Students don’t want burritos wrapped in plastic, steamed in their plastic container. We’ve seen such a shift in how the students eat so we are able to respond. That further decreases waste. By working directly with our producers, they can also adapt their [production] models to what we know students want.

“The trust in our program and what we’re offering…has created an ability for students to feel comfortable and know what they can expect moving into the cafeteria. I think that is stability both for our students’ health and wellbeing, as well as for our local partners.”

LSP policy organizer Erin Dorbin can be contacted via e-mail.

 

 

Category: Blog
Tags: child nutrition • community based food systems • direct-marketing • farm-to-school • local food systems • Minnesota Legislature • rural economic development

Upcoming Events

×

May 2025

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. 

For details and to register, click here.

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.

June 2025

Wednesday June 25

2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
LSP-PFI Grazing Field Day at Hoosier Ridge Ranch
Wednesday June 25
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
LSP-PFI Grazing Field Day at Hoosier Ridge Ranch
Hoosier Ridge Ranch, 15998 Wabasha County Rd 26, Altura, MN 55910, USA

Over the last 50 years, livestock have left many farms. Eric Heins is doing the reverse: bringing cattle – and their poop, pee and hooves – back to his land. Come see how Eric is using his Normande-shorthorn crosses in a variety of grazing situations. During this Land Stewardship Project-Practical Farmers of Iowa field day, you can view permanent pasture, where Eric (like everyone) is battling the cool-season grass takeover. You’ll also learn how Eric is using his cattle in cover crop mixes, prairie and woodlands.

Since purchasing the farm in 2020, Eric has converted the cropland to pasture. He also custom-farms a diverse rotation of crops, covers and small grains on neighboring farms, including an established prairie on Iowa Department of Natural Resources land. A possible bonus: Eric is hoping to have virtual fence collars by the time of the field day, but no guarantees!

A meal featuring Hoosier Ridge Ranch burgers will follow the field day.

See & Discuss

  • Cash-flowing the conversion to pasture on owned versus rented cropland
  • Stockpiling pasture for winter grazing
  • Mechanical buckthorn clearing for silvopasture
  • Grazing agreements on DNR prairie and neighboring cropland
  • A sudangrass mix after a canning pea crop
  • An extended rotation with oats, barley and Kernza

For details and to register, click here.

Saturday June 28

4:00 pm – 8:00 pm
LSP's Boots & Roots: A Celebration of Land & People
Saturday June 28
4:00 pm – 8:00 pm
LSP's Boots & Roots: A Celebration of Land & People
Dream Acres, Co Hwy 8, Spring Valley, MN 55975, USA

Join Land Stewardship Project members and supporters to kick-start the Driftless summer with an evening of good food, good music, and good times. We’ll have activities for all ages that will get you out in nature, exploring the connection between our region’s farms and your community’s food, land, and water. Bring a side or dessert to share for dinner, and the Dream Acres wood-fired oven will provide locally-sourced pizzas and flat breads. Dinner will be followed by live music and contra dancing by the Crater City String Band.  

To reserve a spot, click here.

Camping sites are available at nearby Masonic Park and Forestville Mystery Cave and Lake Louise State Parks. Camping at Masonic is rustic,first-come-first-serve, free, and does not require a reservation. Fillmore County, who manages the park, only asks that you call the dispatchers at507-765-3874 when you arrive with your vehicle information and phone number in case of emergency. State Park reservations cost $25 a night and can be made online.

July 2025

Tuesday July 15

5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Organic Fruit & Vegetable Field Day
Tuesday July 15
5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Organic Fruit & Vegetable Field Day
1805 Dudley Ave, Falcon Heights, MN 55113, USA

Join U of M researchers and Extension for updates on organic fruit and vegetable research and tour the Student Organic Farm and the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station in Saint Paul. Topics include: organic insect management, integrating livestock into vegetable farms, new crops for Minnesota, irrigation strategies, and more. Free to the public.
 
For details and to register, click here.

View Full Calendar

Recent Posts

  • Land Line: Modern Dust Bowl, Corporate Indifference, Farmers’ Market Stores, Soybean Giant, SNAP & Local Foods, Carbon Markets, Farm Economy’s Twin Tale May 28, 2025
  • MN Ag Bill Supports Market Access, Land Access & Soil Health  May 21, 2025
  • Legislative Wrap-Up: A Chaotic Session  Produces Concrete Results May 20, 2025
  • Alan Perish’s Passion for Local Democracy May 19, 2025
  • Land Line: Invisible Hand, Price-Fixing, Oat Mafia, Bird Flu, Profitable Conservation, SNAP, Compost, Farm Subsidizers May 12, 2025

Montevideo

111 North First Street
Montevideo, MN 56265

(320) 269-2105

Lewiston

180 E. Main Street
Lewiston, MN 55952

(507) 523-3366

Minneapolis

821 E. 35th Street #200
Minneapolis, MN 55407

(612) 722-6377

  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 Land Stewardship Project. All rights reserved.

https://landstewardshipproject.org/lsp-members-testify-on-farm-to-school-funding