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
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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 MoreThe 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 MoreIf 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 MoreBy 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 MoreAre 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 MoreJuly 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 MoreBy Megan Benage The last week of June was the North American Prairie Conference in Altoona, Iowa. The conference kicked off with a trip to the Hayden Prairie Preserve. We learned that Hayden prairie is one of the largest Iowa remnants outside of the Loess Hills. It is a beautiful prairie filled with life and…
Read MoreSFA is pleased to welcome Lia Spaniolo from the University of Minnesota Extension as our collaborator in coordinating two of our networking groups! Lia will work with us to co-lead the Twin Cities Metro Growers Network and Ecological Service Livestock Network. Keep a look out for events this fall with both networks. And, a special…
Read MoreWill you be at FarmFest this year? Come say hello at the Soil Health Tent! We will be at the Redwood County event all three days, August 1-3, co-hosting the Soil Health Tent with Minnesota Soil Health Coalition and a whole crew of great partners. We’ll have rainfall demonstrations, cover crop and Kernza plots, live…
Read MoreWant to get some ideas for bringing your watering system to the next level? Come on out to Voss Farms in Paynesville on Friday, July 21, 1:00-5:00 PM! During this field day, Doug Voss and Jonathan Kilpatrick will be showcasing many options and opportunities for graziers to provide water to their livestock. You’ll see several elements…
Read MoreOur Blog
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Apply 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 MorePreparing for Drought in the Pasture
By Kent Solberg • Senior Technical Advisor Even with pastures greening up fast, 2025 is shaping up to be another drought year. Much of Minnesota (>74%) is still rated as Abnormally Dry or Moderate Drought according to the US Drought Monitor. Most of Minnesota was dry last fall and the snowpack for much of the…
Read MoreFive Summer Festivals
By Jerry Ford • Chapter & Events Coordinator Five SFA chapters host a local foods-centered festival each year, and they are all busily preparing for their 2025 events. Learn more about each one at www.sfa-mn.org/festivals. Here are a few ways you can get involved: ADMISSIONS: Tickets are on sale or will be soon. BE A…
Read MoreFarm Day Growers & Makers Markets
This summer, SFA and Lift Bridge Brewing Company are partnering to host a series of monthly local Growers & Makers markets! Every third Saturday from June through September, we will be showcasing the best in local produce, meat, cheese, pickled veggies, and hot sauce, as well as amazing talented artists, craftspeople, and vendors. Market Dates:…
Read MoreLearn how to raise your own meat chickens this summer!
You’ve probably heard that chickens are the gateway into Homesteading life. There’s a reason! Raising your own chicken meat and eggs requires fairly minimal inputs and infrastructure to begin on your own. With egg and meat prices on the rise, this summer sounds like a great time to begin raising your own! We’ll talk specifically about: This…
Read MoreExpanding our perspectives, addressing pressing issues at the Midwest Grazing & Soil Health Summit
By Jonathan Kilpatrick • Farmer Education Director It’s hard to believe that in just two weeks, we’ll be right in the middle of the inaugural Midwest Grazing & Soil Health Summit! Still on the fence (no pun intended) about attending? Let me give you a few reasons—beyond our all-star lineup of speakers—why you should reconsider. Beyond the session…
Read More