Annual Conference
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.
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
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
SAPLING SPONSORS
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.
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 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
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
By Angie Walter • Agricultural Water Quality Certification Project Outreach Coordinator For the fourth year in a row, data analysis shows that farmers who are Ag Water Quality Certified are more profitable than farmers who are not certified. This data comes from the farm financials of farmers enrolled in Farm Business Management. Details on the economic studies…
Read MoreAngie Walter and the Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship are hosting a free dairy roundtable in Albany, Minn. on Monday, May 1. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., aspiring and established dairy producers are invited to meet at Hillcrest Family Restaurant for lunch and discussion. The discussion will focus on how soil and plant health are related,…
Read MoreBy Jonathan Kilpatrick, Soil Health Specialist Recently, while doing some writing, I was using a voice-to-text application to speed up my work. As I was going back through what I had said, checking for errors and cleaning up the little things that these dictation tools tend to miss, I came across a sentence where I…
Read MoreBy Katie Feterl • Communications Director In 2022, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) opened the state’s first Emerging Farmers Office. On today’s episode of Dirt Rich, Lillian Otieno and Assistant Commissioner Patrice Bailey of the MDA Commissioner’s Office share how it came to be, the value it brings to our agricultural landscape, and the impacts…
Read MoreBy Dan Zimmerli, Community Organizer and Outreach Coordinator My social media feeds are taken up with farmers filling up their greenhouses and getting excited for the growing season. On my farm, we’re doing the same. During this time of year it’s easy to get excited for all the things to come over the growing season:…
Read MoreThe Lake of the Woods SWCD is hosting a free Livestock Producer Workshop on Wednesday, March 29th from 12:30 to 4:30 PM at the VFW in Baudette, Minn. Speakers include Dr. Mouser, a veterinarian who will be presenting on “Preparing for Calving Season.” Eric Mousel, a University of MN Extension educator from Grand Rapids will present on scours.…
Read MoreIt was a nearly full house for our 10th Annual Midwest Soil Health Summit, held last week in Alexandria. Although snow showers threatened us on-and-off over the two-day period, inside we were cozy, dialed in to rich presentations, and swapping stories. Under the theme “Pioneering the Future: The Soil Health Mavericks,” we brought in a…
Read MoreThis month we welcomed Andrea Lynn to the team as our new Grant Administrator Specialist. Andrea lives in New Ulm with her three children, fifty-two chickens, and Australian Shepard/Husky mix puppy, Maui. Since 2019 she has owned and operated a regenerative specialty crop, free-range egg, and agritourism farm – Clear Lake Farms. Andrea has crafted…
Read MoreBy Dan Zimmerli • Community Organizer and Outreach Coordinator In February, the Minnesota Department of Ag in partnership with the Statewide Cooperative Partnership hosted a “Data Party Workshop” to go over data gathered from a survey sent out to farmers, consumers, and supply chain folks about local foods. SFA was invited to the table and…
Read MoreEnjoy a brew and take a tour with your friends at the Twin Cities Metro Growers Network at Finnegans! Join the TC Growers on a brewery tour featuring Finnegans’ new Buckwheat Honey Brown Kernza Ale on Thursday, March 30, 4:30-7:30 PM. Minnesota farmers and researchers are at the forefront of developing Kernza, a perennial wheatgrass with…
Read MoreOur Blog
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
Dr. Temple Grandin to Keynote the 2026 Midwest Grazing & Soil Health Summit
…and we are simply over the moon about it. Dr. Grandin’s trailblazing work in the beef cattle industry is world-renowned and part and parcel of today’s agriculture. Throughout her career, Dr. Grandin has studied livestock behavior to develop facility designs, handling equipment, and standards that prioritize animal welfare which are utilized by meat processing plants…
Read MoreSFA at Farm Aid 40
SFA is thrilled to be part of Farm Aid’s 40th annual festival — the first one held in Minnesota! From noon to 5 PM, you’ll find us in “The Fertile Ground” neighborhood of HOMEGROWN Village. We’re demonstrating the differences between soil samples from fields managed conventionally and regeneratively using a slake test. We’re really looking forward to chatting…
Read MoreWelcoming Joel Barr
Meet Joel Barr, our new Market Garden & Farm Management Systems Consultant! Joel owns and operates Abraham’s Table Farm in Sandstone, Minn. which produces and direct markets organic vegetables, pasture raised chicken, eggs, and beef. With over a decade of experience and multiple opportunities to start and build farms, Joel has learned what works and…
Read MoreHarvest Festival celebrates with Food, Farmers, Community
By Julie Allen • Lake Superior Chapter Coordinator Celebrate the harvest season at the 31st Annual Lake Superior Harvest Festival on September 6, 2025, brought to you by the Sustainable Farming Association. From 10am-4pm at Bayfront Festival Park in Duluth, come and enjoy the largest farmers market in the region as well as artisan vendors,…
Read MoreWe’re hiring!
October 15, 2025: The application period for this position has closed. SFA is hiring! We’re looking for an experienced Grazier to join our team as Grazing Education Lead. This full-time position is funded by a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) to expand regenerative grazing in the Upper Mississippi Watershed. Our ideal candidate has a solid background…
Read MoreApply for $100 per acre/animal unit to implement conservation practices
By Katie Feterl • Communications Director Farmers, ranchers, and landowners operating in eligible counties are invited to apply to participate in the Alliance to Advance Climate-Smart Agriculture program through July 28, 2025! This program offers selected applicants $100/acre or animal unit to implement common conservation practices: You can apply to implement a practice on a maximum of…
Read MoreMid-year State of the Association Report
By Lucinda Winter • Executive Director Those of you who were present at SFA’s February Annual Conference may recall that during my opening remarks I expressed concerns about our 2025 financial stability. The Trump administration had just “frozen” a large number of Federal grant contracts while they were under review, withholding payment for work already…
Read MoreNew Funding to Support Our Farmer-to-Farmer Mission
By Jonathan Kilpatrick, Farmer Education Director SFA is excited to announce two new grant awards that will significantly strengthen our work of transforming agriculture, farmer-to-farmer consulting, and providing adaptive grazing support across the Upper Midwest. First, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) has awarded SFA a $260,000 grant: “Expanding Regenerative Grazing in the Upper…
Read MoreFacing Drought: Tough Decisions and Smart Solutions for Graziers
As we look at the weather forecast and study the drought monitor, it appears that we are in for another dry spring and summer in the upper Midwest. According to the drought monitor, about 75% of the state is experiencing abnormally dry to moderate drought conditions and it’s only the beginning of May. In a…
Read More