It’s field day time on this western Minnesota farm, and it’s made clear from the outset that there will no main presenter, no expert from on-high telling it like it is or isn’t, no PowerPoints produced by consultants. This is a field day where farmers learn from other farmers. “You are all consultants,” Richard Ness… Read More →
Not long ago, Rich and Carol Radtke were on a bit of a roll. They had graduated from the Land Stewardship Project’s Farm Beginnings course and felt the program had provided them a solid basis for developing a profitable farming operation on land they and their three children moved to in 2008. Before taking the… Read More →
We have learned that quality produce on our eight-acre vegetable farm starts with the soil—soil that teems with life at both the macro- and micro-level. First, some background: I had grown up on a conventional hay, corn and soybean farm in western Iowa and moved to Rochester, Minn., for work after getting a mechanical engineering… Read More →
On the Internet, you’re only as old as you feel—at least until the person you’re corresponding with travels from two states away to meet you face-to-face. When Dave and Deb Welsch started communicating via e-mail with Steve and Shelley Lorenz in 2007, a lot of assumptions were made about the age of the parties on… Read More →
There are numerous ways of communicating the value society places on having more family farmers on the land, not fewer. This morning, the USDA announced it was awarding $18 million in grants to groups that are helping beginning farmers nationwide. That sends an important message that the federal government, thanks to initiatives put in the… Read More →
A few years ago, Brad and Shelley Schrandt faced a dilemma: should they keep their dairy herd at around 20 cows for a few more years while working off the farm, or should they expand enough to justify quitting those town jobs? They went for the expansion in an attempt to simplify their life. Shelley,… Read More →
MADISON, Minn. — Are you a farmland owner who values good stewardship practices or a farmer looking to invest in soil building on rented land? The Land Stewardship Project (LSP), in partnership with the Lac Qui Parle Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD), is offering an online workshop on Tuesday, Jan. 24, to help you… Read More →
ROCHESTER, Minn. — A “Finding Farmland” workshop will be held Saturday, Sept. 15, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Peace United Church of Christ in Rochester (1503 2nd Ave. NE). This event, which is sponsored by the Land Stewardship Project (LSP) and National Young Farmers Coalition (NYFC), is free, but participants are asked to… Read More →
During yesterday’s otherwise excellent field day at the USDA’s soil conservation lab in Morris, the “S” word reared its ugly head. “S” as in our best farmland needs to be “sacrificed” in the name of food and fuel production, leaving room for only an odd corner here and there to provide a smattering of natural… Read More →
Laura and Adam Cullip are seeking a farmer to buy 40 certified organic acres (15 tillable, 10 pasture, 5 forested and 10 other) in Hutchinson, MN. In addition to a house, there are 3 high tunnels (1/4 acre total), 2 greenhouses, barn with pack shed, heated shop, granary and tool sheds. Eleven acres is in… Read More →
