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Retiring Farmers & Landowners

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“As a landowner, you have the power to determine the legacy of your
land — that decision is the most important decision you can make.”

                                   — Bill McMillin, who, with his wife Bonnie, transitioned the
family farm to a beginning farmer

Applications are now open for LSP’s 2026 Farm Transition Course. For details, click here.

 

You are in the right place to move down the path of transitioning your farm to the next generation. Fulfilling a land legacy is rewarding. There is a sense of peace knowing the land will continue to be cared for by a beginning farmer and that the land will provide a home and livelihood for the next generation. But there are a lot of questions to ask and there is a lot of planning that goes into the farm transition journey.

What is your vision for your farm?  How does this fit into the context of the larger rural landscape?  What is the land’s best use?

You do not have to do this alone, there are a number of resources (below), plus people who are willing and able to help.  Please reach out to LSP’s Karen Stettler via e-mail or at 612-767-9885 with questions or for more information.

Getting Started

Here are some important steps in the Farm Transition Planning process:

 

1) What is Your Legacy?

Getting clear on what you are aiming for on your land will give you the best chance to actualize your legacy. Clarify your goals and values, communicate them to your family and next generation farmers, and use these goals and values to guide your farm transition decisions.

  • LSP’s Farm Transition Planning self-guided worksheets help you map out your plan.
  • To get you started, check out this introduction from MISA’s Farm Transitions Toolkit.
  • Farmland Access Decision-Making Tool
  • Farm Legacy Letters (Practical Farmers of Iowa)
  • Am I Ready?/Are We Ready? Starter questions to help activate needed thought and discussion before and during planning for a farm transition.

2) Financial Considerations of Creating Your Legacy

What are the financial realities of your farm enterprise? Will your farm need to support two families during a transition? Is there room for companion enterprises?  What are your financial needs in retirement? Having a clear picture of your financial situation and answers to these questions will help you envision a farm transition that will fit your budget.

  • Conservation Financing
  • Minnesota Beginning Farmer Tax Credit
  • Iowa State University Farm Transition Decision Maker Tool

3)  Legal Considerations of Creating Your Legacy

Once  you have your legacy in mind and have figured out the financial options you have, it is important to make sure you have legal documents drawn up to finalize the plan. This is an important step and one that is best handled by attorneys with farm transition experience.

  • Conservation Leases (FLAG)
  • Contract for Deed (FLAG)
  • Tips for Finding an Attorney

4) Conservation Considerations to Create Your Legacy

You have cared for your land and want to ensure the land will continue to be cared for in a way that enhances the soil, air, and water.  There are things you can do right now.

  • Valuing Sustainable Practices
  • LSP Conservation Leases Toolkit
  • Soil Health

5) Alternatives for Land Legacy

Accessing secure and affordable land is a barrier for many and it’s clear a system-wide change is needed when it comes to farmland policy, markets, and infrastructure. Such changes take time. In the interim, there need to be alternative ways for beginning farmers to access land.

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

6) Networking with Other Beginning & Retiring Farmers

There really are new farmers who want to get started and, on the other side of the equation, established farmers who want to see another generation of farmers on their land. Sometimes the hardest part is connecting those beginning farmers and retiring landowners. Here are a few ideas for making such connections.

  • LSP’s Seeking Farmers-Seeking Land Clearinghouse
  • MOSES Land Link-Up
  • Practical Farmers of Iowa Farm Transfer
  • Land for Good
  • Land Return
  • Farmland Access Hub

Related Posts

  • Ear to the Ground 232: A Difficult Discussion

    Excessive erosion on her farm prompted Jeannie Hill to have a hard conversation with her renter. But first, she did some homework.

    Ear to the Ground 232: A Difficult Discussion
  • For its 10th Round of Farm Transition Workshops, LSP Expands Course to South Dakota 

    October 16, 2025

    LEWISTON, Minn. — The Land Stewardship Project’s long-running course for farmers and other landowners looking to transition their agricultural operations to the next generation is expanding…

    News Releases
    beginning farmers, Dakota Rural Action, farm transition, Farm Transition Planning Course, farmland access, retiring farmers, Rural Revival
    For its 10th Round of Farm Transition Workshops, LSP Expands Course to South Dakota 
  • Ear to the Ground 369: Emerging Agrarians

    Ka Zoua Berry says supporting a future generation of farmers who don’t fit the traditional Midwestern stereotype isn’t just about building a resilient farm and…

    Ear to the Ground 369: Emerging Agrarians

Contact

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

  • For Farmers & Landowners
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      • Fresh Voices Podcast Series
    • Retiring Farmers & Landowners
      • Farmland Clearinghouse
      • Farm Transition Course 2026
      • Conservation Leases
      • Beginning/Retiring Farmer Tax Credit
      • Land Transition Tools
      • Transition Stories
    • Soil Health
      • Cover Crops
      • Grazing
      • No-till
      • Microbiology
      • Kernza
      • Soil Builders’ Network
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      • Soil Health Steering Committee Members
      • Ear Dirt Soil Health Podcast Series
    • Cropping Systems Calculator
    • Conservation Leases
  • Join, Donate, or Renew
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Upcoming Events

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January 2026

Friday January 30

9:00 am – 10:00 am
'Fridays with a Forester' Webinars
Friday January 30
9:00 am – 10:00 am
'Fridays with a Forester' Webinars
Recurs weekly
Zoom online

Join Extension foresters to discuss some of the key issues and questions around forest and woodlands facing Minnesota land stewards. These online sessions will be very informal, open to the public, and free of charge. Each session will start with a brief presentation followed by a discussion framed around participant questions on the topic. 
 

  • January 30: Life, death, and dinner in the forest canopy: a review of the spruce budworm and its predators – Jessica RootesFebruary 13: Stewardship strategies for resilient forests – Anna Stockstad 
  •  February 20: ParSci summary from 2025 and what’s coming in 2026 – Angela Gupta & Hana Kim 
  • February 27: Climate Ready Trees for Windbreaks and Silvopasture – Gary Wyatt, Angie Gupta and Kira Pollack 
  • March 20: Disturbance and Woodland Stewardship – Eli Sagor 
  • March 27: Recognizing, Preventing, and Managing Oak Wilt – Grace Haynes 
  • April 10: Management Considerations to Enhance Forest Habitat for Birds – Peter DieserA
  • April 17: Get Ready for Tree Seed Collection in Spring (Scouting & ParSci) – Kira Pollack
  • April 24: Growing and selling wood: Production forestry on private lands. – Eli Sagor, Extension Educator or Lane Moser, SFEC. Informal panel discussing production forestry and selling wood on private lands with Dave Nolle (MLEP), a consulting forester, and an industry forester.

To sign-up for these Zoom sessions, register at this link.

Recordings from all webinars over the years are available on this YouTube page.

5:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Multi-Generational Farm Transition Retreat: Red Wing
Friday January 30
5:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Multi-Generational Farm Transition Retreat: Red Wing
Pier 55 Red Wing Area Seniors, 240 Harrison St #2, Red Wing, MN 55066, USA

Join U of M Extension for hands-on planning and discussion on farm transition for the whole farm family. All generations actively involved in the farm should attend the retreat together, including spouses, partners and other relevant parties.

The farm transition program helps farm families dive deeper into conversations about:

  • Family and business goals
  • Job responsibilities
  • Financial needs of farms and families
  • Inheritance considerations
  • Mechanisms of transfer

For details and to register, click here. 

Saturday January 31

10:00 am – 4:00 pm
South Dakota Farm Transition Planning Course
Saturday January 31
10:00 am – 4:00 pm
South Dakota Farm Transition Planning Course
South Dakota
  • Are you a farm family or landowner thinking about the future or next steps for your farm?
  • Are you interested in planning for the next generation of farmers on your land?
  • Do you have a spouse/partner helping to make these decisions? Are you both on the same page?
  • Are you ready to begin the planning process but don’t know where to start?

For the first time, Rural Revival is hosting a holistic Farm Transition Planning Course in collaboration with The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) and Dakota Rural Action (DRA). This opportunity is coordinated alongside the land transition course that LSP has provided for Minnesota farmers over the past 9 years. The course includes seven weekly sessions, with a full day Saturday to kick off, and again to close the training. Sessions 2-6 will take place on Tuesday evenings for 2 1/2 hours. Sessions will bring professionals, farmers and LSP/DRA staff together to dig into values and goals, communications, generational, financial, legal, and long-term care considerations. The sessions build on each other and it is important to plan on attending all of them. The sessions will include participatory activities and there will be work families are encouraged to complete outside of the gathered course time.

The topics, dates, and times for the course are:

  • Saturday, Jan 31st: Goal Setting for LIfe & Land, 10:00am-4:00pm
  • Tues. Feb 3: Values and Why Farm Transition Planning is Needed, 5:30pm-8:00pm
  • Tues. Feb 10: Financial Considerations, 5:30-8:00pm
  • Tues. Feb 17: Legal Considerations, 5:30-8:00pm
  • Tues. Feb 24: Working with the Next Generation Farmers, 5:30-8:00pm
  • Tues. March 3: Long Term Care Considerations, 5:30-8:00pm
  • Saturday, March 14: Resources and Planning Next Steps, 10:00am-4:00pm 

The course fee is $250 per family. The registration deadline is January 9. For more information and to register, click here.

For more farm transition resources, click here. For more course information, contact:

  • DRA’s Megan EisenVos at megan@dakotarural.org, 605-277-3790
  • LSP’s Karen Stettler at stettler@landstewardshipproject.org, 507-458-0349
  • Rural Revival Treasurer, Roy Kaufman at lorokauf@gwtc.net

February 2026

Tuesday February 3

8:45 am – 3:45 pm
2026 Extension Women in Ag Conf.
Tuesday February 3
8:45 am – 3:45 pm
2026 Extension Women in Ag Conf.
The Park Event Center, 500 Division St, Waite Park, MN 56387, USA

This one-day conference includes a farmer panel to kick off the morning, interactive break-out sessions, and multiple opportunities to re-connect with friends while making new ones. As always, interact with conference sponsors in the exhibitor hall and enjoy the wellness space to relax and recharge throughout the day. If your schedule allows, please attend the optional pre-conference session the day before on Monday, Feb. 2. 

To learn more about the conference, view the conference website: z.umn.edu/WAGN2026.

11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Beyond the Crop: Birds, Biodiversity, and the Power of Edge Habitat
Tuesday February 3
11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Beyond the Crop: Birds, Biodiversity, and the Power of Edge Habitat
Online

This 10-lesson Wild Farm Alliance virtual course teaches agricultural professionals and farmers how to support beneficial birds and manage pest birds on farms. By learning how to assess the farm’s avian needs and opportunities, farms can be designed to provide for a diversity of beneficial birds. 

If pest birds are a problem, they can be discouraged with specific practices during the shorter periods when they cause damage. The sessions cover the latest research, tools and resources, and are given by experts in avian pest control, entomology, ornithology and conservation. While many topics and species are specific to the Midwest, most of the principles discussed are applicable across regions. 

Continuing Education Credits have been requested and are expected to be approved from American Society of Agronomy.

For details and to register, click here. 

The Course Schedule:

LESSON 1

Why Birds Belong on the Farm: Biodiversity, Pest Control & A Thriving Landscape

Tuesday, September 23, 2 p.m. CT


LESSON 2

Birds as Pest Control Allies on the Farm

Tuesday, October 14, 11 a.m. CT


LESSON 3

Birds in the Balance: Pest Control Services Across Crop Types

Tuesday, November 4, 11 a.m. CT


LESSON 4

Integrating Habitat into Croplands: Prairie Strips and Bird Conservation

Tuesday, December 2, 11 a.m. CT


LESSON 5

Birds on the Farm: Balancing Biodiversity and Food Safety

Tuesday, January 13, 11 a.m. CT


LESSON 6

Beyond the Crop: Birds, Biodiversity, and the Power of Edge Habitat

Tuesday, February 3, 11 a.m. CT


LESSON 7

Bridging Forestry, Farming, and Habitat

Tuesday, February 24, 11 a.m. CT


LESSON 8

Perennial Pathways: Agroforestry for Birds and Biodiversity on Farms

Tuesday, March 17, 11 a.m. CT


LESSON 9

Birds on the Range: How Grazing Practices Shape Habitat for Grassland Species

Tuesday, April 7, 11 a.m. CT


LESSON 10

Birds at Risk: How Pesticides Shape Safety on Agricultural Lands

Tuesday, April 28, 11 a.m. CT

View Full Calendar

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  • Tell Congress Farmers Need Real Relief & Real Solutions January 18, 2026
  • LSP Stands With Immigrant Neighbors in Rural Minnesota  January 12, 2026
  • ‘Beyond Exports’ Focus of Jan. 27 Crop Diversification Meeting in Rochester January 11, 2026

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