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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Who are SFA members? We call ourselves the “farmer-to-farmer network,” but our ecosystem is far wider. We attract and partner with people and organizations interested in shifting the agricultural paradigm from an extractive model to a regenerative one. Our 1,300 members include both seasoned and new farmers and ranchers, as well as agricultural educators, agency…
Read MoreWho are SFA members? We call ourselves the “farmer-to-farmer network,” but our ecosystem is far wider. We attract and partner with people and organizations interested in shifting the agricultural paradigm from an extractive model to a regenerative one. Our 1,300 members include both seasoned and new farmers and ranchers, as well as agricultural educators, agency…
Read MoreWho are SFA members? We call ourselves the “farmer-to-farmer network,” but our ecosystem is far wider. We attract and partner with people and organizations interested in shifting the agricultural paradigm from an extractive model to a regenerative one. Our 1,300 members include both seasoned and new farmers and ranchers, as well as agricultural educators, agency…
Read MoreFor more than 30 years the Sustainable Farming Association has brought together Minnesotans interested in improving soil health, growing healthy food, and revitalizing rural communities. Our “Farmer-to-Farmer” network continues to bring together farmers, ranchers, researchers, advocates, ag professionals, and eaters to transform agriculture, one farm at a time. Become a member during SFA’s fall new member drive…
Read MoreBy Lucinda Winter, Executive Director After many months of work by our staff, consultants, board directors and all of you who completed our first-ever survey, I’m delighted to share SFA’s new mission and strategic roadmap with you. This new mission and focus for our work felt necessary at this time. Our previous strategic plan was…
Read MoreOctober is National Co-op month, and while you’re visiting Lakewinds Food Co-op you can also support SFA! Throughout October, you have the opportunity to round up your bill at any of Lakewinds’ three locations (Richfield, Minnetonka, and Chanhassen). Proceeds will go towards our pilot On-Farm Consulting program. Led by fellow farmers, this program is one of the ways we’re…
Read MoreBy Jonathan Kilpatrick • Farmer Education Director For 11 years, the Sustainable Farming Association has proudly hosted the Midwest Soil Health Summit, an educational event developed during a time when soil health was still a budding concept. According to our resident historians, the Summit emerged as a platform for sharing agricultural innovations and assisting farmers…
Read MoreSFA and North Circle Seeds owner Zachary Paige are pleased to announce an intensive, multi-day Seed School, to be held at the North Circle Seeds Farm in Vergas, MN October 25-27th, 2024. This opportunity is made possible through a grant from West Central Initiative Foundation (WCIF). Zachary will lead a three-day immersive training where participants…
Read MoreBy Jonathan Kilpatrick • Farmer Education Director While persistent rainfall across the state is delaying the start of small grain harvest for many farmers, this downtime can be used to plan for post-harvest cover crops. Planting cover crops immediately after harvesting small grains like wheat, barley, or oats can be highly beneficial and is a…
Read MoreCould implementing practices like cover crops and no-till on your farm work for you and your bottom line? What if you could get paid to do it? Enjoy a meal and conversation with area farmers and your Soil Water Conservation District this Thursday, August 8 from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Duffy’s Riverside Saloon…
Read MoreOur Blog
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Podcast: Getting Ready for a Seed Saving Season
Zachary Paige returns to Dirt Rich in Episode 28 for a conversation on planning ahead for seed saving! You may remember him from Episode 21 at the top of the season. Zach farms and operates North Circle Seeds in Vergas, Minnesota. North Circle Seeds is a newly certified organic seed company and collective committed to…
Read MoreFirst Local Foods & Farmer Expo a Huge Success
The newest chapter of SFA has just held its first event: the Local Foods & Farmers Expo over Zoom in late March. It was a huge success despite the challenges of COVID. This event was conceived by the chapter organizing group as a way to raise awareness about local foods and expand markets for local…
Read MoreSolberg on Soil: Wide-Row Corn for More Income, Soil Health?
Some recent thoughts on wide-row corn were recently discussed in Successful Farming Magazine. For producers with beef cattle, sheep or dairy replacement heifers, wide-row corn may be a more profitable way to use corn acres. Wide-row corn could be a means of developing 2-3 income streams from what was single-income acreage while increasing plant diversity, integrating livestock and…
Read MoreLuhman: A Good time to Share Your Regenerative Story
2020 was an interesting year, presenting countless challenges from not being able to see family and friends to roller-coaster rides of commodity markets. We saw processing plants shut down, leaving store shelves empty and farmyards full of livestock. But one silver lining of all these challenges was that demand went through the roof for local,…
Read MorePodcast: “Home on the Tree-Range”
In the newest episode of SFA’s ‘Dirt Rich’ podcast, we chat with Tony Wells of Regeneration Farms. Tony and a few partners are years into developing a regenerative and resilient poultry production system that provides opportunities for small farm profitability, which they’ve implemented on a 40-acre farm. The model attempts to replicate a forest habitat for poultry,…
Read MoreDGA Update: Study Says Water Quality Certified Farms Show Higher Profits
A new study by the Minnesota State Agricultural Centers of Excellence shows that farmers enrolled in the Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program (MAWQCP) had higher profits than non-certified farms. The MAWQCP is a voluntary program for farmers and landowners that protects the state’s water resources by putting farmers in touch with local conservation district experts…
Read MoreBeyond Your Backyard: I’m Ready for Green Things
Photos above by Megan Benage, from left: Virginia bluebells growing in a woodland shade garden. Pasqueflower is one of the first prairie wildflowers to bloom, blooming around Easter; this Queen bumble bee ended up covered in pollen and ready to provision her nest. American plum is important for earth emerging pollinators like queen bumble bees.…
Read MorePodcast: AMPed for Grazing!
Over the years of establishing and fine-tuning their management systems, grazing has become absolutely key in both Jared Luhman’s and Doug Voss’ cattle and dairy operations. Beyond rotational grazing, Adaptive Multi-Paddock grazing (or AMP) has improved the ecology of their farms–not to mention saved the time, energy, and expense of hauling around feed and other…
Read MoreDGA Update: Thousands in apprentice stipends available
I want to let you know about some programs that DGA has to offer for their Master Graziers and apprentice candidates. Did you know that if you are an Organic Valley farmer, you can qualify for a stipend to get an apprentice on your dairy farm? Organic Valley has partnered with DGA to offer their…
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