Annual Conference

Annual-Conference-Logo

Saturday, February 11, 2023
Gorecki Conference Center
College of Saint Benedict, St. Joseph

Early bird registration is now open!

$50 for current SFA members, $75 for nonmembers.  Ends December 31, 2022. Prices go up by $25 on January 1, 2023!
Emerging Farmers:  Free

Children's program (ages 5-12): $10

Lunch ticket in St. Ben's excellent cafeteria: $15.  (You may also do lunch on your own.)

Register HERE.

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With topics including:

  • Fruit & Vegetable Soil Health and Profitability
  • Grazing Strategies
  • "Burn the Box" Changing Ag Paradigms
  • Beekeeping
  • Farm Profitability
  • Emerging Farmer Resources
  • Climate Adaptability
  • New Cooperative Marketing Models
  • and more!

Full schedule coming soon.

Sponsor and Exhibitor Opportunities

Please consider partnering with us on SFA's flagship event for farmer-to-farmer education and networking.

More information and an application form are HERE.

Our 2023 Sponsors

BLOOM SPONSORS

Afternoon Social Sponsor

Lakewinds Co-op

A community owned grocery store with 3 locations in the Twin Cities Metro area, Lakewinds' mission is to promote sustainable agriculture, support local makers. and nourish our community. No membership required to shop, and all are welcome!

Opening Plenary Session Sponsor

Compeer

SAPLING SPONSORS

MAWQCP

A voluntary opportunity for farmers and ag landowners to take the lead in conservation practices that protect our water while obtaining regulatory certainty for 10 years.

MN Department of Agriculture

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture mission is to enhance all Minnesotans' quality of life by equitably ensuring the integrity of our food supply, the health of our environment and the strength and resilience of our agricultural community.

SEED SPONSORS

Solar Farm LLC

Solar Electric (PV) design, sales and installation.

A look back at our 2022 conference:
Why attend our Annual Conference? Take it from these farmers:

Our Blog

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Ag Water Quality Field Days coming to Ogilvie; Parkers Prairie

By SFA of MN | Sep 12, 2023 |

View two diverse farms, discuss soil health and find out what motivated them to get Ag Water Quality Certified at two field days this September. At each event, the farmers will be on hand to discuss their soil health practices as well as the Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program certification process. Fri., Sept. 22 •…

Read More

Adaptive Grazing Management in Drought Discussion Sept. 13 near Spicer

By SFA of MN | Sep 1, 2023 |

Are you suffering from drought over the past growing season(s)? Has drought forced you to make financial decisions that set your farm and goals back? Join SFA’s Soil Health Lead Jonathan Kilpatrick and Grazing Lead Doug Voss for a free event to discuss livestock management in drought from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Wed., Sept. 13,…

Read More

DGA PaddockTrac Demo at Walter Farm is Sept. 7 in Villard

By SFA of MN | Aug 31, 2023 |

SFA’s Angie Walter is hosting a DGA Fall Pasture Walk and demonstration of the PaddockTrac system from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thurs., Sept. 7, at her Walter Organic Family Farm, 11034 110th St, Villard. The PaddockTrac device, which is in the prototype phase, mounts to the front of a UTV or 4-wheeler and uses…

Read More

TC Growers Farm Tour is Sept. 11 at Urban Roots Rivoli Bluffs Farm

By SFA of MN | Aug 30, 2023 |

Join us for an educational tour and reunite with the Twin Cities Metro Growers Network for our last event of 2023, set for 3:30-6 p.m. Mon., Sept. 11, at Urban Roots Rivoli Bluffs Farm, 749 Arkwright St, St. Paul. Take a guided walking tour and learn from Market Garden Farm Manager Skyler Hawkins and youth…

Read More

Dirt Rich: Grazing Management, Drought, & the NRCS

By SFA of MN | Aug 24, 2023 |

Jeff Duchene is a Grazing Specialist for the Minnesota NRCS, which offers both financial and technical assistance to producers to help them meet their land management goals and address their natural resource concerns. In conversation with host Jonathan Kilpatrick, Duchene shares how his formal education combined with years of learning directly from producers has been…

Read More

New Discrimination Financial Assistance Program (DFAP)

By SFA of MN | Aug 22, 2023 |

The Discrimination Financial Assistance Program (DFAP) is a new program from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that will provide financial assistance to farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners who experienced discrimination by the USDA in USDA’s farm lending prior to 2021. Section 22007 of the Inflation Reduction Act provides $2.2 billion in assistance for…

Read More

New Upper Midwest Garlic Directory

By SFA of MN | Aug 14, 2023 |

If you missed the Garlic Festival (and even if you didn’t), you can still get your garlic! The 2023 Upper Midwest Garlic Directory is now live. Inside this online directory you’ll find nearly two dozen growers selling both seed and culinary garlic, plus other garlic products. There are over twenty-five varieties to choose from. The…

Read More

Minnesota Garlic Festival Seeks Volunteers

By SFA of MN | Aug 4, 2023 |

By Olivia Olson • MN Garlic Fest Volunteer Coordinator As we’re gearing up for the Garlic Festival on August 12, we are looking for a few more volunteers to join us and help make the day run smoothly. We are especially looking for volunteers with the information tent, kids games and kite building, end of…

Read More

Foundations of Fencing Workshop

By SFA of MN | Aug 1, 2023 |

Are you intimidated by the thought of building your own fences? Do you simply need a hands-on refresher? There are limited seats remaining for our Foundations of Fencing workshop on August 11 in Pine River! Join Kent Solberg and Jonathan Kilpatrick, along with members of the Crow Wing River Basin Forage Council, for a day in the field learning…

Read More

Dirt Rich: Dealing with Drought

By SFA of MN | Jul 28, 2023 |

July has seen swaths of Minnesota move into increasingly intense drought conditions, per the U.S. Drought Monitor. With the 2021 drought in the rearview mirror, five SFA farm consultants from across Minnesota gathered for a roundtable drought discussion on our latest episode of Dirt Rich. Listen in to hear how Angie Walter, Derek Schmitz, Doug Voss,…

Read More

Our Blog

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.

Ag Water Quality Field Days coming to Ogilvie; Parkers Prairie

By SFA of MN | Sep 12, 2023

View two diverse farms, discuss soil health and find out what motivated them to get Ag Water Quality Certified at two field days this September. At each event, the farmers will be on hand to discuss their soil health practices as well as the Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program certification process. Fri., Sept. 22 •…

Read More

Adaptive Grazing Management in Drought Discussion Sept. 13 near Spicer

By SFA of MN | Sep 1, 2023

Are you suffering from drought over the past growing season(s)? Has drought forced you to make financial decisions that set your farm and goals back? Join SFA’s Soil Health Lead Jonathan Kilpatrick and Grazing Lead Doug Voss for a free event to discuss livestock management in drought from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Wed., Sept. 13,…

Read More

DGA PaddockTrac Demo at Walter Farm is Sept. 7 in Villard

By SFA of MN | Aug 31, 2023

SFA’s Angie Walter is hosting a DGA Fall Pasture Walk and demonstration of the PaddockTrac system from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thurs., Sept. 7, at her Walter Organic Family Farm, 11034 110th St, Villard. The PaddockTrac device, which is in the prototype phase, mounts to the front of a UTV or 4-wheeler and uses…

Read More

TC Growers Farm Tour is Sept. 11 at Urban Roots Rivoli Bluffs Farm

By SFA of MN | Aug 30, 2023

Join us for an educational tour and reunite with the Twin Cities Metro Growers Network for our last event of 2023, set for 3:30-6 p.m. Mon., Sept. 11, at Urban Roots Rivoli Bluffs Farm, 749 Arkwright St, St. Paul. Take a guided walking tour and learn from Market Garden Farm Manager Skyler Hawkins and youth…

Read More

Dirt Rich: Grazing Management, Drought, & the NRCS

By SFA of MN | Aug 24, 2023

Jeff Duchene is a Grazing Specialist for the Minnesota NRCS, which offers both financial and technical assistance to producers to help them meet their land management goals and address their natural resource concerns. In conversation with host Jonathan Kilpatrick, Duchene shares how his formal education combined with years of learning directly from producers has been…

Read More

New Discrimination Financial Assistance Program (DFAP)

By SFA of MN | Aug 22, 2023

The Discrimination Financial Assistance Program (DFAP) is a new program from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that will provide financial assistance to farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners who experienced discrimination by the USDA in USDA’s farm lending prior to 2021. Section 22007 of the Inflation Reduction Act provides $2.2 billion in assistance for…

Read More

New Upper Midwest Garlic Directory

By SFA of MN | Aug 14, 2023

If you missed the Garlic Festival (and even if you didn’t), you can still get your garlic! The 2023 Upper Midwest Garlic Directory is now live. Inside this online directory you’ll find nearly two dozen growers selling both seed and culinary garlic, plus other garlic products. There are over twenty-five varieties to choose from. The…

Read More

Minnesota Garlic Festival Seeks Volunteers

By SFA of MN | Aug 4, 2023

By Olivia Olson • MN Garlic Fest Volunteer Coordinator As we’re gearing up for the Garlic Festival on August 12, we are looking for a few more volunteers to join us and help make the day run smoothly. We are especially looking for volunteers with the information tent, kids games and kite building, end of…

Read More

Foundations of Fencing Workshop

By SFA of MN | Aug 1, 2023

Are you intimidated by the thought of building your own fences? Do you simply need a hands-on refresher? There are limited seats remaining for our Foundations of Fencing workshop on August 11 in Pine River! Join Kent Solberg and Jonathan Kilpatrick, along with members of the Crow Wing River Basin Forage Council, for a day in the field learning…

Read More