bridge payments

Land Line: Bridge Payments, Food Pyramid, Farmland Prices, Riverview Dairy, CAFO Funding, Restoring Habitat, ICEing Ag, Nitrates in Winter

By Brian DeVore (editor)

January 22, 2026

Bridge Payment Rates Are Here — But Are They Enough to Help Your Bottom Line? (1/7/26) Writing for Farm Progress, Joshua Baethge describes concerns that the aid package being issued to farmers in February to help them deal with damage caused by the trade war will not make up for years of mounting losses in… Read More →

Category: Blog

Upcoming Events

January 2026

Thursday January 22 – Saturday January 24

GrassWorks Grazing Conference

Thursday January 22 – Saturday January 24

GrassWorks Grazing Conference

La Crosse Center, 300 Harborview Plaza, La Crosse, WI 54601, USA

The 34th Annual GrassWorks Grazing Conference will take place Jan. 22–24 at the La Crosse Center in La Crosse, Wis.

The 2026 conference will be centered on the theme: “Pastures to Prosperity: Building financially smart grazing systems for today’s land stewards.” This year’s focus highlights practical, innovative, and profitable approaches to grass-based livestock production, equipping farmers with tools to strengthen both environmental and economic sustainability.

GrassWorks is excited to welcome two nationally recognized keynote speakers:

Melinda Sims, Wyoming cattle rancher and Ranching for Profit instructor, known for her expertise in financial decision-making and resilient ranch business models.
Dwayne Estes, Executive Director of the Southeastern Grasslands Institute, a leading voice in grassland restoration, regenerative grazing, and agricultural landscape resilience.

Conference highlights include:

More than 60 expert speakers from across the grazing and agricultural sectors
Over 45 industry exhibitors featuring the latest in grazing tools, technology, and services.
Workshops for beginning, expanding, and experienced graziers
Panel discussions on farm profitability, land stewardship, and long-term business resilience.
Robust networking opportunities with farmers, technical service providers, and industry partners.

The GrassWorks Grazing Conference draws farmers, agricultural professionals, educators, and conservation partners from across the Midwest and beyond. Attendees can expect practical education, actionable strategies, and meaningful connections.

Registration information can be found at https://grassworks.org/events/grazing-conference.

Tuesday January 27

9:00 am – 3:00 pm: 'Beyond Exports: Rebuilding Local Markets' LSP Soil Health Workshop
Tuesday January 27
9:00 am – 3:00 pm
'Beyond Exports: Rebuilding Local Markets' LSP Soil Health Workshop
Rochester International Event Center, 7333 Airport View Dr SW, Rochester, MN 55902, USA
On Tuesday, January 27 join Land Stewardship Project for our signature winter workshop. This year’s theme is “Beyond Exports: Rebuilding Local Markets”.

The workshop will be held from 9am to 3pm at the Rochester International Event Center (73333 Airport View Dr SW, Rochester, MN 55902). Our featured keynote speaker is Martin Larsen, a farmer who is a founding member of the “Oat Mafia” in south-central Minnesota. In the morning session, Martin will highlight the challenges and opportunities facing all farmers as they look beyond export load-out at the elevator and instead look to recreate the local markets that once served our farmers and consumers. He will share his journey establishing food grade oats and founding the “oat mafia” and the agronomic, economic, and market impacts it has made for his farm.

After the keynote, attendees will have the option to choose two of three breakout sessions with local experts:

Session 1: Economics of Diversifying Your Rotations
Session 2: Marketing Your Alternative Crops
Session 3: Derisking Diversifying Your Rotations

Breakfast and a catered lunch will be provided.

For details and to register, click here.

You may also contact event organizer Shea-Lynn Ramthun at 651-301-1897 or slramthun@landstewardshipproject.org.
5:30 pm – 8:00 pm: LSP Farm Transition Planning Course
Tuesday January 27
5:30 pm – 8:00 pm
LSP Farm Transition Planning Course
Zoom Online
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 into South Dakota in 2026. The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) Winter Farm Transition Planning Course, which enters its 10^th session in 2026, provides a holistic opportunity to dig into important topics and learn from experienced farmers and professionals about the options that farmers and landowners have when looking to pass their farm on.

The standard Zoom online LSP course will be held on seven Tuesday evenings starting on January 27 and running through March 10. The sessions build on one another, so attendance at all sessions ensures the greatest understanding and planning opportunities. The course fee is $250 per family, and registration is open through Jan. 9 at https://landstewardshipproject.org/transition2026.

New this year is an expanded course offering for South Dakota attendees as part of a partnership LSP has formed with Dakota Rural Action and Rural Revival.

The South Dakota course, led by Dakota Rural Action and Rural Revival and using the LSP curriculum, includes seven weekly in-person sessions, with a full-day Saturday kick-off session, and another full-day session to close the training. Sessions two through six will take place on Tuesday evenings for two-and-a-half hours. The dates are: Jan. 31, Feb. 3, Feb. 10, Feb. 17, Feb. 24, March 3 and March 14. As with the fully online course, the course fee is $250 per family, and the registration deadline is Jan. 9. To register for the South Dakota course, visit https://qrco.de/farmtransitions2026.

Presenters at both workshops will include other area farmers who are implementing farm transition plans, as well as professionals representing the legal and financial fields as they relate to agricultural businesses. Workshop participants will have an opportunity to begin engaging in the planning process as well as to learn about resources for continuing the process after the workshop has ended.

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.

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