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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By: Lucinda Winter Executive Director Today is Give to the Max Day! Minnesota’s annual giving holiday is always a sure sign that the year is coming to a close. This has been a year of growth and evolution for SFA. Through our newly refined mission and strategic plan, we are focusing on what we do best: providing boot-on-the-ground…
Read MoreToday is the final day of early giving before Give to the Max Day! Give your gift to support our general fund today on our Give to the Max page or SFA’s website. Thanks to a generous match provided by board directors, staff, and members every donation up to $5,000 will be doubled! SFA has forged a reputation as a…
Read MoreOnly three more days until Give to the Max Day! This year, we’re focusing our Give to the Max contributions on our vital general fund. SFA’s mission of transforming agriculture one farm at a time is driven by our dedicated team. We maintain a lean operating structure with four core staff members supplemented by role-specific…
Read MoreIt’s nearly time for Minnesota’s state-wide giving holiday: Give to the Max! We are thrilled to share that a group of generous board directors, staff, and donors have put up $5,000 to match your donations, dollar for dollar. Click here to give. The official Give to the Max day is scheduled for November 21, but early giving…
Read MoreBy Katie Feterl • Communications Director Throughout our Fall New Member Drive, we’ve been sharing member experiences, in their own words. By now you may have seen posts spotlighting folks like Tom Barthel, Dayna Burtness, and Bianca Goncalves Da Costa, among others who shared their reflections in video interviews. With members top of mind and a fresh mission…
Read MoreAs our Fall New Member Drive continues, we wanted to highlight one of the lesser-known benefits of SFA membership: access to innovative research and shared learning! SFA is a leading regional partner in sustainable agriculture research, and our members receive priority in SFA research and education projects. Whether it’s soil health and silvopasture case studies, cultivation…
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 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 MoreOur Blog
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Adaptive Grazing Management in Drought Discussion Sept. 13 near Spicer
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,…
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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…
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TC Growers Farm Tour is Sept. 11 at Urban Roots Rivoli Bluffs Farm
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Read MoreDirt Rich: Grazing Management, Drought, & the NRCS
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 MoreNew Discrimination Financial Assistance Program (DFAP)
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 MoreNew Upper Midwest Garlic Directory
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 MoreMinnesota Garlic Festival Seeks Volunteers
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 MoreFoundations of Fencing Workshop
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 MoreDirt Rich: Dealing with Drought
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,…
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