retiring farmers

For its 10th Round of Farm Transition Workshops, LSP Expands Course to South Dakota

Farmers/Landowners in Region Offered 2 Options for 2026 Session

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 into South Dakota in 2026. The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) Winter Farm Transition Planning Course, which enters its 10th session in 2026, provides a holistic opportunity to dig into important topics… Read More →

Category: News Releases

Tags: beginning farmers • Dakota Rural Action • farm transition • Farm Transition Planning Course • farmland access • retiring farmers • Rural Revival

LSP Winter Farm Transition Planning Course Launches Online Jan. 26

Sessions to be Led by Farmers as well as Legal, Financial & Healthcare Professionals

December 2, 2022

LEWISTON, Minn. — Are you a farmer or landowner thinking about the next steps for your farm and land? The Land Stewardship Project’s Farm Transition Planning Course provides an opportunity to dig into important topics and learn from experienced farmers and professionals. The online course will be held on six Thursday evenings in 2023: Jan. 26,… Read More →

Category: News Releases

Tags: beginning farmer • Beginning Farmer Tax Break • farm transitions • landowners • retiring farmers • transition planning

Renting It Out Right: A Hilltop View of the Land’s Potential

Mark Erickson’s Relationship with Landowners is Rooted in Healthy Soil

By Brian DeVore

June 20, 2019

When considering significant changes to the way one farms, there’s nothing like a couple acres of convincer, a template for the potential offered up by tapping into the land’s ability to build soil health in an economically viable manner utilizing livestock and perennial plants. Mark Erickson points out just such a personal proving ground on… Read More →

Category: Blog

Tags: beef production • EQIP • farmland transition • grass • land access • landlords • NRCS • renting • retiring farmers • rotational grazing • soil health

Farm Beginnings Profile: A Land-Based Launching Pad

Four Winds Farm Serves as a Staging Ground for New Agrarians

By Brian DeVore

December 14, 2018

On a warm day in early October, the owner-operators of Clover Bee Farm are preparing a delivery for the 43 shareholders that make up their Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) vegetable operation. Standing in a hoop house, Andrew Hanson-Pierre cleans dozens of fat onions, while across the farmyard in a barn that’s been converted to a… Read More →

Category: Farm Beginnings Profiles

Tags: beginning farmers • Farm Beginnings • farm transitions • retiring farmers

Upcoming Events

December 2025

Wednesday December 10

9:00 am – 11:30 am

Organic Fruit Growers Climate Resilience Workshop

Wednesday December 10

9:00 am – 11:30 am

Organic Fruit Growers Climate Resilience Workshop

Zoom online

In December and January, the Organic Fruit Growers Association is offering a series of climate resilience workshops. Workshop goals are to learn about the changing climate in our region and the expected impacts on fruit farmers and to select climate resilience practices which are suited to your farm’s goals and values. The outcome of the workshops will be a written climate resilience plan with actionable steps to make your farm more resilient to changing climate.

Workshops will be led by University of Minnesota extension educators Katie Black and Madeline Wimmer and include times for farmer-to-farmer discussion. This series includes the following four meetings. Expect to spend an additional 4-10 hours outside the meetings developing your farm’s climate resilience plan:

Wednesday Dec. 3, 9 a.m.-11:30 a.m. (online via Zoom)
Wednesday, Dec. 10, 9 a.m.-11:30 a.m. (online via Zoom)
Monday, Dec. 22, discussion (online via Zoom — optional but encouraged)
Wednesday, Jan. 7, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. (in-person workshop in La Crosse, Wis. Lunch provided, and you can be reimbursed for mileage traveling to and from the meeting.)

For details and to register, click here.

6:30 pm – 8:00 pm

How to Make Your Farm's Website Convert Visitors to Customers

Wednesday December 10

6:30 pm – 8:00 pm

How to Make Your Farm's Website Convert Visitors to Customers

Zoom Online

Join Sarah Carroll of Greener Pastures and Michelle M Sharp of Meet the Minnesota Makers in this 90-minute virtual workshop to learn about what your business website needs to tell its story, engage customers, and turn visits into real sales.

This workshop lays out the essential components of a user-friendly website for direct-to-consumer farms or food producers. No prior website skills are required.

Topics covered:

• How to make your products searchable by customers.

• What makes a compelling About Me page.

• The right balance of images to text.

• How to engage customers right from your home page.

• Incorporating FAQs.

Who this training is for:

This workshop is ideal for the farm or ag business that has launched an initial website that’s ready to upgrade or for the farm that has not yet created its own website. This workshop is both for farmers/food producers and ag ecosystem professionals that support farmers/food producers in their marketing and website efforts.

For details and to register, click here.

Thursday December 18

All Day

MDA Urban Farm Conservation Mini-grant Deadline

Thursday December 18

MDA Urban Farm Conservation Mini-grant Deadline

MDA

A grant opportunity for urban farmers in Minnesota to receive up to $5,000 to make conservation-focused improvements is now open for applications.

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is once again offering an Urban Farm Conservation Mini-grant with approximately $100,000 available, thanks to funding from the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. This year the program has expanded eligibility.

Who is eligible:

Entities commercially farming in Minnesota, meaning they sell or donate at least $1,000 of what they produce.
Farm applicants must be located in or selling into a city with a population over 5,000 people, or be located within the boundaries of federally recognized tribal land in Minnesota and serve tribal community members.

The grant offers up to $5,000 per approved recipient which can be used to cover a variety of tools, supplies, services, and other expenses related to improving their urban farm.

Eligible projects include irrigation infrastructure improvements, tools and amendments for improving soil health, composting infrastructure, specialty crop rotation equipment and many other farm improvements which generate conservation outcomes.

Up to 100% of the total project costs may be covered by the grant, and a cash match is not required. Grantees will need to pay for eligible expenses up front and then request reimbursement, using proof of purchase and proof of payment.

An informational session will take place online at 1 p.m. on November 20 and registration is required. Language interpretation services may be requested for the information session by contacting Emily Toner at emily.toner@state.mn.us.

This is a competitive grant program and applications must be submitted by December 18.

Visit the Urban Farm Conservation Grant web page for more information on its application. The Request for Proposals is available for download in English, Spanish, Hmong and Somali.

11:00 am – 2:00 pm

Managing Cover Crops Effectively

Thursday December 18

11:00 am – 2:00 pm

Managing Cover Crops Effectively

830 Whitewater Ave, St Charles, MN 55972, USA

Program Includes:

Introduction to cover crop management
Funding and cost-share opportunities
Farmer panel and Q & A with panelists Mike Unruh, Ken Bergler, and Myron Sylling

Presentations from: Bailey Tangen (UMN) and Brad Jordahl Redlin (MDA).

Holiday conservation mixer following program.

This event is free but registration is required. For more information and to register, click here or call 262-325-6637. Details are also available on this flyer.

1:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Workshop: Sharing No-till Knowledge & Microbial Insights

Thursday December 18

1:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Workshop: Sharing No-till Knowledge & Microbial Insights

Olmsted County Public Works Service Center, 1188 50 St SE, Rochester, MN 55904, USA

Whitewater Gardens, The Olmsted SWCD, and The University of Minnesota Extension Olmsted County is offering a workshop called The Living Soil Roundtable: Sharing No-Till Knowledge and Microbial Insights. This workshop will offer practical information on how to read soil tests (both the Haney and the Soil Food Web), share findings from a recent NRCS SARE research project Optimizing No-Till Methods for a Direct-to-Market Organic Vegetable Farm on various mulching methods (deep composting, cut and carry, and living mulch), and provide plenty of time for questions and answers to discuss incorporating mulching in reduced till systems as a weed management practice and how to incorporate practices to increase soil microbiology.

Participants are encouraged to bring soil or compost samples for viewing under a microscope and for analysis to detect microbial life. Class cost is free and will be held at Olmsted County Public Works Service Center (1188 50 St SE, Rochester, MN 55904) on December 18th from 1- 4 PM.

Register at z.umn.edu/soilroundtable. Contact Shona Langseth at
shona.langseth@olmstedcounty.gov or 507-328-6905 with any questions.

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