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Midwestern Farmers Invited to Answer this Question: What Do YOU Want in the New Farm Bill? 

Farmers in Minnesota, Iowa & Wisconsin Asked to Participate in New Survey

February 24, 2022

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MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — As discussions around the 2023 Farm Bill get off the ground, a key group of people are being asked to share their views on the future of agricultural policy: farmers. During the next several weeks, the Land Stewardship Project (LSP) is circulating the National Young Farmer Survey in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin in partnership with Midwest Farmers of Color Collective and National Young Farmers Coalition. The results from these Midwestern states will be combined with survey data from across the country and serve as the basis for advocacy efforts that will develop a Farm Bill that benefits farmers, the land and rural communities. LSP is encouraging farmers to take the survey at surveymonkey.com/r/lspyoungfarmers.

The Farm Bill is a comprehensive piece of legislation reauthorized  every five years that dictates everything from which crops are produced to how they are grown and who makes money from them. It also has a big influence on what conservation practices are used on farmland and how corporate consolidation is regulated. Although agricultural policy is supposed to benefit all farmers, over the years the Farm Bill has had significant negative impacts on rural communities, according to LSP organizer Jessica Kochick. Farmland consolidation, eroded soil, shuttered Main Streets and lack of opportunities for beginning farmers are just some of the results of a policy that is tilted in favor of major agricultural corporations, she said. The goal of the National Young Farmer Survey is to get input from farmers who are often not represented in the development of agricultural policy and overlooked in USDA Census of Agriculture collection efforts.

“The Farm Bill has lasting  implications on  food accessibility, soil health, water quality, rural community growth, racial equity and climate resilience,” said Kochick. “To truly have a Farm Bill that represents more than the interests of big agribusiness, we need to hear from small and midsized farmers, as well as emerging and beginning farmers, farmers of color and immigrant farmers.”

The survey is also directed at people who are considering seeking farming as a career, as well as former farmers and landowners who may be renting out their acres. Questions center around what barriers may be getting in the way of helping small and midsized producers get established and be successful, such as lack of access to land and credit and a shortage of local meat processing facilities. Young farmers like Adam Griebie see the survey as a way to influence a piece of policy that is all too often drafted far away from the communities it most impacts.

“I  took  the  survey  to  bring  Washington,  D.C.,  closer  to  my  farm  and  community,” said Griebie, who raises corn and soybeans and utilizes award-winning conservation practices in central Minnesota’s McLeod County. He also serves on LSP’s Farm Bill Organizing Committee. “This is a way to promote forward movement in land stewardship and healthy farming practices for both the land and people.”

Zoe Hollomon, who serves on the coordinating team of the Midwest Farmers of Color Collective, said the Farm Bill has wide-ranging impacts on the food and farm system, making it imperative that people from various backgrounds send a message to policymakers that status quo agriculture policy is not acceptable.

“Every five years our country decides how to invest in food and agriculture in the Farm Bill,” said Hollomon. “With impacts on farm subsidies, market supports, insurance, school and emergency food, as well as community food planning grants, there’s none of us who won’t be affected. We’re taking a stand with under-resourced farmers across the country to demand the land, funding and technical support we deserve to farm. Let’s use our voice to make this Farm Bill invest in a different kind of food system, one that will leave our communities with more control over our food, labor and resources.”

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Farmers working on the SASA Organic Farms operation near Cambridge, Minn.
Category: News Releases
Tags: 2023 Farm Bill • agriculture policy • beginning farmers • Farm Beginnings • Farm Bill • farmers of color • land access • Midwest Farmers of Color Collective • National Young Farmers Coalition • USDA

Contact

Jessica Kochick, LSP,  e-mail, 612-400-6349

Upcoming Events

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October 2025

Tuesday October 7

6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Book Event: We Can Do Better: Collected Writings on Land, Conservation, and Public Policy
Tuesday October 7
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Book Event: We Can Do Better: Collected Writings on Land, Conservation, and Public Policy
The Landing Market, 211 College Dr, Decorah, IA 52101, 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. Details on the event are available here.

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

 

Thursday October 9

5:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Minnesota Women in Conservation Fall Learning Circle
Thursday October 9
5:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Minnesota Women in Conservation Fall Learning Circle
Dawson, MN 56232, USA

Participants will walk around a “homestead” farm site, exploring areas and goals the landowner hopes to improve in the future, including pollinator habitat, perennial plantings, windbreaks, privacy/noise screens, water quality improvements, well sealing, and compost placements. Participants will hear feedback and recommendations from a conservation professional on potential programs that could assist the landowner in achieving those goals. This will be an active event.

Please bring a camp chair and a potluck dish. The host will provide the main dish, so think about bringing sides and dessert. For details and to reserve a spot, click here. For questions, contact LSP’s Alex Kiminski at akiminski@landstewardshipproject.org.

Friday October 10

8:30 am – 3:00 pm
Weaving a Wider Community: Seeing & Countering Racism in Our Backyard
Friday October 10
8:30 am – 3:00 pm
Weaving a Wider Community: Seeing & Countering Racism in Our Backyard
111 N 1st St, Montevideo, MN 56265, USA

Join LSP and CURE for a community event at the Land Stewardship Project office in Montevideo (111 N. First St.), from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., on Friday, Oct. 10. This event includes lunch catered by El Mana; please register by Oct. 3 to be included in the food count.

You can RSVP here.

The Racial Equity Conference, organized by the Greater Minnesota Partnership of the Facilitating Racial Equity Collaborative, has been specifically designed to bring engaging content to local communities through a unique pairing of online speakers and in-person local sessions. The morning’s online content will include a conversation focused on seeing and countering racism in rural communities, moderated by Eryn Gee Killough, paired with two outstanding keynote speakers, Jenna Grey Eagle and Ron Ferguson, who have experience working in rural communities. 

This online content will be exclusively available to local community gatherings. Each gathering will gear their in-person activity to their specific community with the goal of extending the impact of the conference to others throughout the following year. Join LSP and CURE for this western Minnesota gathering, or if a different location works better for you, check out all the local gatherings on the FREC site,

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out. LSP’s Nick Olson can be reached via e-mail at nicko@landstewardshipproject.org.

9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Intensive Small-Scale Market Gardening Bus Tour
Friday October 10
9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Intensive Small-Scale Market Gardening Bus Tour
Leatherdale Equine Center, 1801 Dudley Ave, St Paul, MN 55108, USA

Explore profitable small-scale farming (1–5 acres) and soil care. Visit a cooperative incubator farm and a thriving suburban market garden. Learn about cover crops, reduced tillage, high tunnel soil health, and support for growers.

This is the second tour in a three-part soil health bus tour series. Participants can sign up for just one, two, or all three tours. Register at https://z.umn.edu/vegetablebustours. The cost is $15 (flat fee, covers 1, 2, or 3 tours). There are more details in the attached flyer.

Saturday October 11

11:00 am – 2:00 pm
LSP-COPAL Visita a la Granja | Farm Tour
Saturday October 11
11:00 am – 2:00 pm
LSP-COPAL Visita a la Granja | Farm Tour
36919 County 57 Blvd, Dennison, MN 55018, USA

Building off the success of last year’s farm event with COPAL in Austin, Minn., this year Land Stewardship Project and COPAL members and supporters will gather at the Young-Walser Family Farm in Dennison, Minn. for a festive and delicious farm tour on Saturday, Oct. 11, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. We invite you to come and meet new folks, learn new skills, and try new food! 
 
This year’s COPAL-LSP farm event offers a little something for everyone: 
 
🍯 Honey sampling and the opportunity to purchase from Homestead Honey Farm. 
 
🍎 Apple cider pressing and tasting. (BTW, we’re still looking for an apple press if you or a farmer friend have one nearby we could borrow for this event!) 
 
🌽 Nixtamalization workshop and fresh, homemade tortillas, made with corn grown by LSP and COPAL members at the Young-Walser Family Farm! 
 
🍅 Salsa making and cricket-eating competitions! Yes, you heard that right —we’ll have the opportunity to sample crickets, a delectable crispy and savory snack commonly enjoyed throughout Mexico and Central America. Stay tuned for details on how to enter either competition. 
 
🥾 A tour of the Young-Walser farm, nestled in the beautiful Sogn Valley not far from Cannon Falls, Minn. Enjoy a tromp through the corn and squash fields and hike in the nearby woods. 
 
🌮 A shared meal and opportunity to hear from LSP and COPAL organizers about our participation in the Immigrant Defense Network. 

Let us know you can make it to ensure we order enough food and supplies! Carpools from Minneapolis and Rochester will be available to all attendees. 

________________________________________________

¡Únete a LSP + COPAL para nuestro recorrido anual comunitario en la granja!
Un espacio divertido para tod@s donde exploraremos la agricultura, aprenderemos sobre el campo y participaremos en actividades prácticas. ¡Uno de los momentos más especiales será hacer tortillas frescas junt@s!

Compartiremos un delicioso almuerzo comunitario, preparando tacos en estilo potluck (tipo convivio). Te invitamos a traer un platillo o acompañamiento para compartir.

También estás invitado@ a llegar temprano (desde las 9 AM) para ayudar a cosechar calabazas que sembramos. Puedes llevarte algunas a casa, y el resto se donará a un banco de alimentos local.

El Land Stewardship Project (LSP) es una organización aliada de COPAL que trabaja por sistemas alimentarios y agrícolas más sostenibles y justos. LSP y COPAL están unidas en su lucha por instituciones democráticas sólidas, comunidades saludables y acogedoras, y una ética de cuidado hacia la tierra y las personas que nos alimentan.

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