Ear to the Ground 306: Tough Choices - Land Stewardship Project

How Farm Beginnings helped Hannah Frank and Justin Thomas whittle their enterprise “wish list” down to a sustainable size.

More Information

• LSP’s Farm Beginnings Course
• Rue de Bungaloo Farm

You can find LSP Ear to the Ground podcast episodes on Spotify, Stitcher, iTunes, and other podcast platforms.

Justin Thomas and Hannah Frank on Rue de Bungaloo Farm in Athens, Wis.

Upcoming Events

June 2023

Tuesday June 6

11:00 am – 12:00 pm: Forever Green Winter Barley Webinar
Tuesday June 6
11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Forever Green Winter Barley Webinar
The Environmental & Economic Clusters of Opportunity (EECO) grant provides an ecosystem services payment as well as risk management payments to growers enrolled in the program for winter barley, hybrid winter rye, winter camelina, and Kernza. Join us for an introductory webinar series on these four crops where we pair University researchers and Extension professionals with farmers who have trialed these crops on-farm. The webinar on June 6 will be on winter barley and will feature Jochum Wiersma (UMN Extension small grains agronomist) and Kurt Kimber (farmer, Hampton, Minn.).

To sign-up for the June 6 webinar on winter barley, click here. These presentations will be recorded for future viewing if you’re not able to make it.

Wednesday June 7

11:00 am – 12:00 pm: Forever Green Webinar on Winter Camelina
Wednesday June 7
11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Forever Green Webinar on Winter Camelina
The Environmental & Economic Clusters of Opportunity (EECO) grant provides an ecosystem services payment as well as risk management payments to growers enrolled in the program for winter barley, hybrid winter rye, winter camelina, and Kernza. Join us for an introductory webinar series on these four crops where we pair University researchers and Extension professionals with farmers who have trialed these crops on-farm. On June 7, there will be a webinar on winter camelina. Presenters include Matthew Ott (UMN post doc researcher, camelina genetics) and Anne Schwagerl (farmer, Browns Valley, Minn.).

To sign-up for the June 7 webinar on winter camelina, click here. These presentations will be recorded for future viewing if you’re not able to make it.
6:00 pm – 7:30 pm: Local Foods Planning Session June 7 in Madison
Wednesday June 7
6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Local Foods Planning Session June 7 in Madison
The Madison Mercantile Local Food Planning Group will be meetingWednesday, June 7, from 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.,at the Madison Mercantile. We will be brainstorming plans for creating a local food infrastructure at the Mercantile, as well as sharing local food opportunities through theReal Food Hub in WillmarandBecker Market.

Madison Mercantile Local Food Planning Group

Wednesday, June 7th @ 6 PM

Madison Mercantile

601 1st St., Madison, MN

Tuesday June 13

11:00 am – 12:00 pm: Forever Green Webinar on Kernza
Tuesday June 13
11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Forever Green Webinar on Kernza
The Environmental & Economic Clusters of Opportunity (EECO) grant provides an ecosystem services payment as well as risk management payments to growers enrolled in the program for winter barley, hybrid winter rye, winter camelina, and Kernza. Join us for an introductory webinar series on these four crops where we pair University researchers and Extension professionals with farmers who have trialed these crops on-farm. The June 13 webinar on Kernza features Jake Jungers (UMN assistant professor), Prabin Bajgain (UMN assistant professor) and Jay Peterson (farmer, Blooming Prairie, Minn.)

To sign up for the June 13 webinar on Kernza, click here. These presentations will be recorded for future viewing if you’re not able to make it.
5:30 pm – 7:30 pm: Upper Sioux State Park Land Return Listening Sessions & Planning Forward
Tuesday June 13
5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Upper Sioux State Park Land Return Listening Sessions & Planning Forward
On April 5,there was a historic town hall meeting in Granite Falls where regional residents and Upper Sioux Community members came together to learn about the Upper Sioux Community’s history, relationship, and desires for the return of the Upper Sioux Agency State Park to the Upper Sioux Community. We also were able to ask questions of Minnesota Department of Natural Resources representatives and local elected officials, as well other community members. A proposal to return the state park land to the Upper Sioux Community was officially passed by the Minnesota Legislature during its recently concluded session.

We were encouraged by how we saw our neighbors respond to this proposal, being for the most part supportive of the return.We also heard how important and precious access to green spaces is to all of us who live here, and that many of us have deep connections and relationships with that park.

Please come and share your stories of connection and relationship to the Upper Sioux Agency State Park; we want to understand and honor our connection to this place and channelour passion for the area. We want to think as a community where we might be able to create new public access acres in the river valley with the funds allocated for replacement.Let’s beready and united to advocate locally for these green acres!

Join us on Tuesday, June 13, and/or Wednesday, June 28, at the Granite Falls Kilowatt Community Center (600 Kilowatt Drive, Granite Falls, MN 5624), from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., for a light meal, and to share our stories and link arms to create new parkland in western Minnesota.

This event is free and open to the public, but food can only be guaranteed for those who register in advance. Please clickhere to register for June 13and/orhere to register for June 28.

Please contact Robin Moore atrmoore@landstewardshipproject.orgor 320-321-5244 if you have any questions.

This event is organized and hosted in partnership with The YES! House with Department of Public Transformation.

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