Land Stewardship Project

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Accessing Farmland

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In spite of the uneven playing field that often leaves beginning farmers few opportunities to access land to farm, there are some innovative ways that beginning farmers are accessing land.  Check out a few of these examples:

  • Farm Transition Profile: The Making of a Successful Farm Owner 
  • Farm Transition Profile: A High-Value Apprenticeship
  • Farm Transition Profile: From Crisis to Community
  • Farm Transition Profile: A Transition Power Team
  • Farm Transition Profile: Removing the Spectre of Speculation
  • Big River Farms
  • Midwest Farmers of Color Collective

Webinar Series

Check out this webinar series focused on building community to facilitate land access and transition, especially to farmers who are new to the U.S.

Farmland Access Toolkit

Are you just beginning your journey to land access? Here is a helpful toolkit to guide your journey: Farmland Access Financial Decision-Making Tool.

Beginning Farmer Tax Credit

If you are pursuing financial management education (LSP’s Farm Beginnings and Journeyperson Courses are approved!), consider getting a tax credit through the Minnesota Beginning Farmer Tax Credit. Additionally, if you are planning to rent or buy land from an unrelated landowner, consider whether the Minnesota Beginning Farmer Tax Credit would be applicable to your situation. Details are here.

Other Pathways

Recognizing the incredible barriers in the way of beginning farmers accessing land, here are some alternative pathways to accessing land:

  • Minnesota Commons — Agrarian Trust
  • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service easements
  • Land Return

Seeking Farmers-Seeking Land Clearinghouse

Are you ready to find the land for your farm? Post an advertisement in LSP’s Seeking Farmers-Seeking Land Clearinghouse.

Workshops & Networking Opportunities

LSP has a number of education, training and networking opportunities for beginning farmers — click here to find out more about these courses and workshops.

  • Spanish-Language Land Access Workshop for Beginning & Aspiring Farmers April 27 in Northfield

    April 9, 2024

    NORTHFIELD, Minn. —A culturally relevant “Land Access: Are You Ready?” workshop will be held for Spanish-speaking beginning and aspiring farmers Saturday, April 27, from 10…

    News Releases
    beginning farmers, emerging farmers, land access, Latino farmers, Spanish-language
    Spanish-Language Land Access Workshop for Beginning & Aspiring Farmers April 27 in Northfield
  • Who Benefits When Emerging Farmers Can’t Succeed?

    April 4, 2024

    Last year, the Land Stewardship Project celebrated the historic investments in emerging farmers that we won at the Minnesota Capitol. One of these wins included…

    Blog
    beginning farmers, emerging farmers, farmland access, Minnesota Legislature, racial discrimination, racial justice
    Who Benefits When Emerging Farmers Can’t Succeed?
  • Ear to the Ground 202: Regenerative Renting

    https://landstewardshipproject.org/repository/1/2429/ear_to_the_ground_202.mp3

    Download file | Play in new window | Duration: 23:30 | Recorded on February 12, 2018

    How landlords and farmers can work together to build and support long-term stewardship.

    Ear to the Ground 202: Regenerative Renting

Contact

• Karen Stettler, LSP farm transitions organizer, e-mail, 612-767-9885

• Whitney Terrill, LSP Farm Beginnings & Land Access organizer, 612-400-6346, e-mail

  • 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
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      • Soil Health Steering Committee Members
    • Cropping Systems Calculator
    • Conservation Leases
  • Join, Donate, or Renew
  • Building People Power

Upcoming Events

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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

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