Members
Supporting Farmers and Giving to the Max
We’ve been the farmer-to-farmer network for over 30 years, and we know farmers learn best from other farmers. We also know that context is key. It can be challenging to return home from a workshop and figure out how to implement what you just learned! That’s why it’s important to us to be able to…
Read MoreSeeing the farm with fresh eyes
A wonderful aspect of our farmer-to-farmer network is the energy and idea generation that happens when we’re together. Sometimes getting a new set of eyes on a challenge that you’re experiencing can spur a sustainable solution. Beyond our group field days and workshops, SFA has a team of farmers that offer individualized, on-farm consulting to…
Read MoreSupport farmers like Kate, Amy, and Dayle
This Give to the Max season, our goal is to raise $15,000 for our on-farm consulting work. Community leaders have generously posted a $5,000 matching grant! Can you help us meet it? Give here! What’s an on-farm consult? Upon request, one or two of our farmer consultants spend several hours walking your farm to get the…
Read MoreWhere do you want to see our Fruit & Vegetable efforts go?
In the past, SFA’s work on fruit and vegetables has largely centered around garlic and asparagus (for good reason). Both garlic and asparagus have significant demand from local food shoppers and also help us, as farmers, follow the six principles of soil health. However, this is just a small piece of the collection of specialty…
Read MoreFarmer-to-Farmer: Rustic Roots Farm
Have you heard? Generous community leaders have stepped up to offer a $5,000 matching grant for our Give to the Max campaign! This is particularly exciting because this year, your gifts will support our farmer-to-farmer consulting program. All memberships and donations to SFA will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $5,000. Early giving is officially underway and gifts…
Read MoreDirt Rich: Old Farm, New Visions
A new episode of Dirt Rich features farmer and SFA board member Scott Haase of Blue Earth, Minnesota. Haase grows crops with his brother Brent and raises pasture and woodland pork on Blue Dirt Farm. Their German ancestors “walked here from Wisconsin back in the 1860’s,” and they still farm some of the land where…
Read MorePaddockTrac Draws a Crowd
We hosted a pasture walk with the Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship (DGA) and NRCS Cooperative Agreement at Walter Organic Family Farms on September 22. This event featured the PaddockTrac technology that was developed at the University of Missouri and is being tested on DGA farms around the country. The PaddockTrac is a unit that mounts onto…
Read MoreComing Soon to Vergas: a Seed House
Earlier this year, Zachary Paige of North Circle Seeds and the Lake Agassiz Chapter got a lead from a friend on a grant opportunity from Ceres Trust. The deadline was coming up quickly, but he took a crack at a proposal. $25,000 could get the seed collective pretty close to covering the construction of a much…
Read MoreOrganic Pioneer: Carmen Fernholz
Carmen Fernholz, a pillar of Minnesota’s farming community, was recently honored with the Rodale Institute’s 2022 Organic Pioneer Award. Recognized for his leadership in “changing the landscape of regenerative organic agriculture for the better,” he is one of four recipients this year. Fernholz has long been a member of SFA, and even laid groundwork for the organization…
Read MoreTour Plum Creek Garlic in New Video
Check out our new video that chronicles a garlic field day of one of our stalwart members! We visited Plum Creek Garlic near St. Cloud, Minnesota on June, 2022. Now in their 14th year of growing garlic, they are active members of the Sustainable Farming Association and follow best practices including rotation and building soil capacity…
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