Farm Beginnings Class

2025-2026 Farm Beginnings Class

Applications are now closed for the 2025-2026 Farm Beginnings class.

You may contact LSP to be included on the email list for the next cohort by emailing Annelie Livingston-Anderson at Annelie@landstewardshipproject.org .

The class will run from December 2025 through March 2026. The 2025-2026 class will be hybrid with the majority of the class taking place virtually via Zoom and some in-person sessions in the Twin Cities, Minn., area. The cost of the class is $1,000, which covers up to two participants per farm. Partial scholarships are available and you can indicate your interest when you apply.

FB Class Schedule 2025-2026

Fresh Voices Podcast Series

Interested in hearing directly from the next generation of innovative farmers? Check out the Land Stewardship Project’s Ear to the Ground “Fresh Voices” podcast series.

Meet Some of Our Grads

To read more about what Farm Beginnings grads are up to and how their class experience is helping them grapple with the challenges of farming, see our profile series.

Staring Down Doubts

June 30, 2025
2025-2026 Farm Beginnings Class
LSP is now accepting applications for its 2025-2026 Farm Beginnings class session. For details, click here.
♦ ♦ ♦
This is a story about…

Farm Beginnings Profiles
direct-marketing, Farm Beginnings. beginning farmers, grass-based livestock, integrating livestock, pastured beef, soil health, Stormy Creek Beef Farm, Valerie Hsu

Staring Down Doubts
A Beginning Farmer Legacy

June 30, 2025
2025-2026 Farm Beginnings Class
LSP is now accepting applications for its 2025-2026 Farm Beginnings class session. For details, click here.
♦ ♦ ♦
In a sense, when the…

Farm Beginnings Profiles
beginning farmers, community-based food, direct-marketing, Farm Beginnings, Hidden Stream Farm, regenerative livestock production, rotational graziing, soil health

A Beginning Farmer Legacy
The Other 80%

June 30, 2025
2025-2026 Farm Beginnings Class
LSP is now accepting applications for its 2025-2026 Farm Beginnings class session. For details, click here.
Before jumping into agriculture, Kevin Keene worked…

Farm Beginnings Profiles
begninning farmers, business planning, direct-marketing, Farm Beginnings, Keenes’ Greens, Kevin Keene, land access, vegetable farming

The Other 80%

Upcoming Events

October 2025

Saturday October 18

1:00 pm – 3:00 pm: Pasture Walk: Real World Tools to Extend the Grazing Season
Saturday October 18
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Pasture Walk: Real World Tools to Extend the Grazing Season
Nestingen Road, Nestingen Rd, Coon, WI 54667, USA
Valley Stewardship Network will host a pasture walk demonstrating various strategies for extending the grazing season. The event will be held on the Zinn Family Farm in rural Westby.

As input costs rise, livestock producers may want to consider extending the grazing season. Stockpile grazing and bale grazing are two proven methods to achieve this goal.

The Zinn Family has been utilizing these practices for years on their rural Westby farm. Join us to see stockpiling, bale grazing, and winter water systems in a real-world setting.

For more information, or to RSVP, contact Evan Dvorsak at 608-632-6166 (call/text) or evan@valleystewardshipnetwork.org. Snacks will be provided. Details are also available in this flier.

Funding for this event is provided by the USDA’s Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative (GLCI).

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.

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.

View Full Calendar

Applications are now closed for the 2025-2026 Farm Beginnings class.

You may contact LSP to be included on the email list for the next cohort by emailing Annelie Livingston-Anderson at Annelie@landstewardshipproject.org .

FB Class Schedule 2025-2026

Staring Down Doubts

A Beginning Farmer Legacy

The Other 80%