Downpayment Assistance for New Farms

Are you looking to purchase your first farm? If so, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture has just announced a new Down Payment Assistance Grant. This grant will offer matching funds up to $15,000 for qualified farmers on the purchase of a farm. Funding is available on a first-come, first served application process. Applications open at…

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Dirt Rich: Enchanted Meadows – In Transition

Chad Crowley firmly believes that for those who want to get into dairy or farming in general, grazing is the way to go. That route has certainly gone well for him. He was told many times that he couldn’t find success in farming because he didn’t grow up on one. But today he and his…

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Three Conversations on Farm Succession

Today we released the final part of Dirt Rich’s Farm Succession Miniseries. Over the last three weeks, the podcast series has featured guests with varying experiences in farm transitions, succession, and estate planning: Megan Roberts, farmer and Executive Director of the Southern Agricultural Center of Excellence; Jerry Ford, SFA and Living Song Farm; and today’s…

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Minnesota Now Features Local Farm Incubator

Moses Momanyi was recently featured on MPR’s Minnesota Now. Listen to him talk with Cathy Wurzer about Kilimo Minnesota, his family’s farm incubator in Cambridge serving fellow farmers of African descent here. Momanyi is a Conservation Connector and a member of SFA’s East Central Chapter.

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Dirt Rich: Transferring a Land Ethic Legacy Farm

Jerry Ford and Mariénne Kreitlow are the fourth generation on a farm with a legacy in conservation. Living Song Farm sits on highly erodible land near Minnesota’s Crow River, but the practices introduced in the 1940’s by Mariénne’s father, Willard Kreitlow, have generated topsoil for decades. Jerry and Mariénne share Willard’s land ethic, and have…

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Next in the Queue: Part 2 of our Farm Succession Miniseries

This week on Dirt Rich: Part 2 of our Farm Succession Miniseries. On April 27, look for our episode with Jerry Ford on transferring a farm with a legacy in conservation. Ford will describe his and his wife’s goals for succession (including living on the farm even after retirement) and his experience with both family and…

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Dirt Rich: Farm Succession Miniseries Launches

Today we released the first of a three-part miniseries on farm succession. This first episode features a conversation with Megan Roberts, Executive Director of the Southern Agricultural Center of Excellence. Roberts has experienced many farm transitions: as a non-farm heir to her family dairy farm, as an in-law in a family farm transition, and as…

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Dirt Rich: Building Relationships and Telling Your Story

Connecting with others and meeting new people has always been important to John Beaton, and it’s this flair for relationship building that is at the heart of his farm story. John and Emily Beaton operate Fairhaven Farm just north of Duluth, Minnesota, and are members of SFA’s Lake Superior Chapter. John got his start on a…

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Podcast: Growing Grazing Dairy Farmers

Angie Walter and her husband Nate run an organic dairy in Central Minnesota, and are also masters in the Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship program. Today’s episode of Dirt Rich features them in conversation with their first apprentice, Ryan Heinen, who now manages a dairy in Waukesha, Wisconsin. His passion for ecology and restoration led him to…

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Podcast: Family Dairies & Apprenticeships

“My hope for dairy in the future…is trying to keep these small family farms alive.” Angie Walter runs an organic, grazing dairy farm with her family in central Minnesota. The family of four raise 100 Norwegian Red, Red Holstein, and Guernsey crosses on 370 acres. Angie is also the Central Minnesota Education Coordinator for the…

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