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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dayna_burtness_barn

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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Who are SFA members? Meet Bianca Goncalves Da Costa.

By SFA of MN | Oct 24, 2024 |

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…

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Who are SFA members? Meet Dayna Burtness.

By SFA of MN | Oct 24, 2024 |

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 More

Who are SFA members? Meet Tom Barthel.

By SFA of MN | Oct 23, 2024 |

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 More

Join SFA during our Fall New Member Drive!

By SFA of MN | Oct 21, 2024 |

For 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…

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Announcing SFA’s new mission and strategic plan: Sharpening the focus of our work to serve you better.

By SFA of MN | Oct 18, 2024 |

By 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…

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“Round up” for Farmers at Lakewinds throughout October

By SFA of MN | Oct 15, 2024 |

October 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…

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SFA’s Midwest Soil Health Summit Evolves

By SFA of MN | Oct 4, 2024 |

By 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…

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Seed School Seeks Students for October Intensive

By SFA of MN | Sep 19, 2024 |

SFA 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…

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Cover Crop Options after Small Grain Harvest

By SFA of MN | Aug 7, 2024 |

By 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…

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August 8 Café Chat to explore no-till and cover crops

By SFA of MN | Aug 5, 2024 |

Could 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…

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Our Blog

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New Dirt Rich Episode: Herbalism for Everybody!

By kfeterl | Aug 20, 2020

Basil, parsley, cilantro–Sarah Lindblom started out growing these classic favorites for her CSA shares at Solar Fresh Produce. An SFA workshop with herbalist Connie Karstens soon sparked an interest in medicinal herbs. She began cultivating holy basil, marshmallow, calendula, and lemon balm–just to name a few. Now Sarah sells both fresh and dried herbs at…

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Luhman: The Benefits of an August Breeding Season

By jluhman | Aug 10, 2020

For us at Dry Creek Red Angus, it’s breeding season! To many of our neighbors, and maybe to many of you, it may seem like an odd time to turn out our bulls. Most people in our area have already finished breeding season and perhaps even begun to preg check. Why do we breed so…

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Immigrant Farmer to Share Her Journey at TC Growers Meeting

By jwalker | Aug 8, 2020

Hear the story of Somali-American organic farmer Naima Dhore and her journey toward owning her own farm as SFA’s Twin Cities Growers Network hosts its next virtual gathering from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Fri., Aug. 14. Her story provides inspiration to those seeking to farm and provides a real example of how one hardworking family…

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Beyond Your Backyard: Good or Bad?

By mbenage | Aug 5, 2020

Good or bad? I’ve been asked this question a lot in my career. Is haying good or bad? Is grazing good or bad? Is fire good or bad for the prairie? The answer is always the same: a question. What time of year? How short are you haying? How often? How many animals? What kind?…

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Luhman: The Inherent Value of Livestock Integration Into a Crop Farm

By jluhman | Jul 29, 2020

One of the most undervalued tools in a farmers toolbox is integrating livestock on the land. Cover crops and perennial grasses make it possible to harvest sunlight, cover our soil, feed biology, and sequester carbon for an additional 2-4 months before and after a cash crop. But it is livestock that allows us to harvest…

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Dirt Rich Heads to Pasture

By kfeterl | Jul 28, 2020

The latest two episodes of Dirt Rich are focused on grazing. Kent Solberg and Doug Voss return for some timely perspective on “Designing Cover Crops for Late Season Grazing.” They discuss the biological benefits of grazing complex cover crops (nicknamed “biological primers”), and walk us through the process of designing a seed mix that will…

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Beyond Your Backyard: A Place to Be Broken

By mbenage | Jul 22, 2020

When I was a little girl and I would get in trouble, I often ran to the forest. My brother and I had a grapevine that hung across the creek that ran by our house. We’d hook it around a tree stump on one side, stretching it out so that when you unhooked it and…

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Survey: Lack of Local Meat Processing Limits Farm Businesses; Sustained Investment Needed

By jwalker | Jul 22, 2020

A recent survey of livestock producers shows that Minnesota has a growing local livestock industry, but a persistent challenge for small and mid-sized livestock producers is limited small-scale meat and poultry processing. A group of organizations including Minnesota Farmers Union, Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota and Land Stewardship Project sent a survey to livestock producers…

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Dirt Rich Episode 6: “Harvesting Minnesota Garlic”

By kfeterl | Jul 11, 2020

‘Tis the season for harvesting garlic in our state, so before Jerry got into the thick of it on his farm, we recorded this week’s episode of Dirt Rich.  For years, garlic has been a growing premium product in Minnesota markets and pantries. In fact, over 50 varieties are grown here alone, and growers typically…

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