Farm Beginnings

Youth Movement

From Tilling an Old Soccer Field to Helping Teens Kick-off Better Communities

When it comes to youth programs centered around gardening and farming, a common mantra is, “We’re teaching kids about where their food comes from.” Sounds laudable, but to Marcos Giossi, such a feel-good goal is too limiting when it comes to exposing young people to the realities of the farm and food system that dominates.…  Read More

Ear to the Ground 348: Urban Agrarian

Elyssa Eull’s tiny farm is tucked between railroad tracks and an empty lot in the heart of a major metropolitan area, but its city soil is producing food on a commercial scale. More Information • LSP’s Farm Beginnings Course • California Street Farm • Twin Cities Metro Growers Network • USDA Urban Agriculture Programs at a Glance…  Read More

Beginning Farmer Program for MN, WI & IA Accepting Applications for 2024-2025 Course

Early Bird Discount Deadline for Farm Beginnings Class Aug. 1

LEWISTON, Minn. — One of the most successful beginning farmer training programs in the country is now accepting applications for its 2024-2025 course session serving the Minnesota, western Wisconsin and northern Iowa region. The Land Stewardship Project’s (LSP) Farm Beginnings initiative is a training program that focuses on the goal-setting, marketing and financial skills needed to establish…  Read More

The Fifth R

A 'Generational Urban Farmer' Looks to Build Community Resilience

On a warm, overcast day in early fall, a low line of shrubby trees blocks the view of a seemingly empty lot on Penn Avenue, a busy thoroughfare in the Willard-Hay Neighborhood of North Minneapolis. A television with a cracked screen lays in some weeds at the edge of the lot, a reminder that if…  Read More

Ear to the Ground 334: Youth Movement

Farm Beginnings grad Marcos Giossi started his food-raising career as a teenager tilling soil on an old soccer field. Now he’s helping young urban farmers utilize a values-based decision making strategy to kick-off better communities.  More Information • LSP’s Farm Beginnings Course • Urban Roots • Metro Food Justice Network You can find LSP Ear to the Ground podcast…  Read More

Ear to the Ground 329: Weather Whiplash

Climate change may impact a vegetable producer and a livestock farmer in different ways, but the result is the same: uncertainty, stress…and a deeper desire to connect with community. More Information • Ear to the Ground 299: Road to Resilience • LSP’s Soil Health page • Prairie Drifter Farm • Early Boots Farm You can find LSP Ear…  Read More

Ear to the Ground No. 328: Urban Ag Oasis

Farm Beginnings grad Queen Frye just wants to raise food — even if she doesn’t resemble a famous Scottish farmer. More Information • Land Stewardship Letter Profile: The Fifth ‘R’ • R. Roots Garden • LSP’s Farm Beginnings Course You can find LSP Ear to the Ground podcast episodes on Spotify, Pandora, iTunes, and other podcast…  Read More

Ear to the Ground 311: Mooching Means More

Humble Hands Harvest’s entry into agroforestry is being supported by its vegetable operation — setting the stage for a new approach to farming a rugged landscape long into the future. More Information • Humble Hands Harvest • Savanna Institute • Sustainable Iowa Land Trust (SILT) • LSP’s Farm Beginnings Course • Ear to the Ground podcast 227: From…  Read More

Beginning Farmer Program for MN, WI & IA Accepting Applications for 2023-2024 Course

Early Bird Discount Deadline for Farm Beginnings Class Aug. 1

LEWISTON, Minn. — One of the most successful beginning farmer training programs in the country is now accepting applications for its 2023-2024 course session serving the Minnesota, western Wisconsin and northern Iowa region. The Land Stewardship Project’s (LSP) Farm Beginnings initiative is a training program that focuses on the goal-setting, marketing and financial skills aneeded to establish…  Read More

Talking Through Tough Choices

Transforming a Wish List into a Viable Farming Operation

There’s a bit of a disagreement over how many enterprises were originally on a certain wish list when Hannah Frank and Justin Thomas were considering launching a farm. “Didn’t we have, like, 40 different enterprises on our goal sheet?” Thomas asks Frank on an overcast day in July while the couple stands next to a…  Read More