Holistic Management

Ear to the Ground 307: Listening to the Knees

Farm Beginnings and Journeyperson taught Melissa Driscoll that true sustainability starts not only with the soil, but with the person who’s stewarding it. More Information • LSP’s Farm Beginnings Course • LSP’s Journeyperson Course • Minnesota Farm Business Management Faculty • Seven Songs Organic Farm You can find LSP Ear to the Ground podcast episodes… Read More →

Ear to the Ground 306: Tough Choices

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.

Ear to the Ground 302: Thinking Like a Tree

Beginning farmers Abbie Baldwin and Mitch Hawes are playing the long game when it comes to launching their permaculture operation. More Information • LSP’s Farm Beginnings Course • Ear to the Ground 262: A Silvo Secondary Enterprise • Midwest Permaculture You can find LSP Ear to the Ground podcast episodes on Spotify, Stitcher, iTunes, and other podcast… Read More →

Ear to the Ground 277: 3 Regenerative Rules

Allen Williams asks, “What is a weed?” and lays out the three rules of adaptive stewardship. 2nd of 4 episodes in a series: Episode 1 Episode 3 Episode 4 More Information: Allen Williams will be presenting on two southeastern Minnesota farms Aug. 17-18, 2022. For details and to register, click here. LSP’s Soil Health Web Page Understanding Ag… Read More →

Small, Complex & Focused

Not Doing Everything Makes Minding the Little Things Even More Crucial

By Brian DeVore

May 23, 2022

Smaller doesn’t always mean simpler. Consider Cella Langer and Emmet Fisher’s foray into being a Grade A micro-dairy — one that produces, processes, packages, markets, and sells pasteurized milk and yogurt. In a state that has lost 40,000 dairy farms in the past four decades, they are a tiny push in the opposite direction. How… Read More →

Category: Farm Beginnings Profiles

Ear to the Ground 264: Center of the Universe

Pack-shed or people? LSP’s Journeyperson helped vegetable producers Les Macare and Els Dobrick make a big decision about a recent growing season. More information: • Land Stewardship Letter Racing Heart Farm profile • LSP’s Journeyperson Course • LSP’s Farm Beginnings Course • Racing Heart Farm You can find LSP Ear to the Ground podcast episodes… Read More →

Ear to the Ground 262: A Silvo Secondary Enterprise

Rachel Henderson and Anton Ptak’s secondary enterprise could be a boon for farm country pollinators. (In 2010, Henderson and Ptak were featured on Ear to the Ground soon after they launched their orchard enterprise. Check out episode 78 here.) More information: • LSP’s Farm Beginnings Course • LSP’s Journeyperson Course • LSP’s Grazing & Soil Health web… Read More →

Upcoming Events

June 2023

Saturday June 3

1:15 pm – 2:15 pm

Land Access & Leasing Options

Saturday June 3

1:15 pm – 2:15 pm

Land Access & Leasing Options

On Saturday, June 3, Wisconsin Farmers Unions will be holding a farm visit at Baldur Farm (N7659 950^th St., River Falls,WI 54022) for landowners and renters looking to lease to the next generation of farmers.

Joyce Monari, a native of Kenya, has been growing two types of chinsaga, a type of green familiar to her people, for several years on Baldur Farm. She will show participants her garden, talk about her crops, and discuss the difficulty of finding land.

Juliet Tomkins and Prescott Bergh have rented land to a variety of farmers over the years, from beginning CSA growers to livestock operators. They will talk about their experiences, which have led to the contract they now use to ensure understanding between themselves and their renters before problems arise.

Light snacks and refreshments provided after the talks. Maureen and Rich, the farmers at Baldur Farm, will be on-hand to answer questions about their draft horses. Attendees are welcome to walk the farm trails.

For more information, contact the Farmers Union’s Maureen Ash at maureen7ash@gmail.com.

3:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Screening of Stewards of the Land / Serán las dueñas de la tierra in Northfield

Saturday June 3

3:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Screening of Stewards of the Land / Serán las dueñas de la tierra in Northfield

Stewards of the Land/Serán las dueñas de la tierrais a feature documentary about Stephanie, Ian, and Alfredo, three young landless ecological farmers in Puerto Rico striving to produce healthy food for local consumption.

In this economically depressed U.S. territory, producing food locally is urgent. The archipelago sits on the path of powerful hurricanes, an increasing threat as the climate crisis worsens. Puerto Rico is highly dependent on food imports and a third of its population lives food insecurity.

The story begins when the protagonists arrive for the first time on the public lands they rent. The farms have been abandoned for decades and lack the most basic infrastructure to get started. The story follows the protagonists as they struggle to get the farms running before and after powerful hurricanes devastate the archipelago. The documentary shows the protagonists’ grit as they attempt to carve a living without land ownership or capital.

There are two opportunities to participate:

Clickhereto RSVP to the Northfield event on Saturday, June 3.
Clickhereto RSVP to the Minneapolis event on Sunday, June 4; co-hosted with partner organization, Copal.Haz clic aquí para español.

Sunday June 4

3:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Screening of Stewards of the Land / Serán las dueñas de la tierra in Minneapolis

Sunday June 4

3:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Screening of Stewards of the Land / Serán las dueñas de la tierra in Minneapolis

There are two opportunities to participate:

Clickhereto RSVP to the Northfield event on Saturday, June 3.
Clickhereto RSVP to the Minneapolis event on Sunday, June 4; co-hosted with partner organization, Copal.Haz clic aquí para español.

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.

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