Last week I attended the Farmland Summit for Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. It was put on by the Farmland Access Hub, a collective initiative of about two dozen organizations who want to help new farmers gain secure and affordable access to farmland. And that’s a challenge. The average farmer in the U.S. is 58 years old and 90% have no “exit plan” or transition plan for what will happen to their farm when they retire or die. Young folks who want to get into farming have a tough time accessing capital and often, they’re also carrying student loan debt.
The National Young Farmers Coalition calculates that two-thirds of all farmland (573 million acres or 63%) will need a new farmer over the next two and a half decades as older farmers retire. Their survey of young farmers in the U.S. revealed that two-thirds did not come from a farming background and therefore aren’t in a position to inherit farmland. And these young farmers are often looking at a different kind of farming than the last generation of farmers. More young farmers are women, more are interested in farming organically, and a whopping 72% are growing vegetables to sell through direct marketing. Their farms are smaller, 50 acres or less, and more of the farmers rely on off-farm income.
What if you’re a young person who wants to get into farming on the Iron Range? Well, you’re in luck for several reasons. First, according to the study “Local Food as an Economic Driver” published in 2018 by the Iron Range Partnership for Sustainability, the Range has 2.1 million acres of land suitable for agriculture and there is growing interest in local food. Second, you can access resources designed to help. You might work with a “farmland access navigator” from Renewing the Countryside (Brett Olson brett@rtcinfo.org) or the Main Street Project (Bob Kell bkell@mainstreetproject.org) who will help you clarify your goals, explore lease or purchase options, review land suitability, and assess financing options. You might use the MN Department of Agriculture’s “Farm Link” website, an online tool listing Minnesota farm properties that are for sale, rent and/or farmers who are interested in providing opportunities to a beginning farmer by transitioning an existing farm with no current heir.
What if you’re interested in farming but have little background? The Land Stewardship Project offers “Farm Beginnings” which provides wide range of trainings, including Farm Dreams, Farm Beginnings, and the Journeyperson Course. They facilitate land access for family farmers as well as a “vibrant network of farmers throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin, who lead field days, skill shares, and lots of support to each other.” They also offer a Farm Transition Toolkit and a clearinghouse that connects land owners and land seekers. (https://landstewardshipproject.org/morefarmers/seekingfarmersseekinglandclearinghouse)
Third, you can enroll in the new Eco-Entrepreneurship Associate in Science Degree Program at Lake Superior College in Duluth and pursue applied Track 1 focusing on sustainable food systems, regenerative agriculture methods and controlled environment agriculture. Your coursework will take place in traditional classrooms as well as in the two-acre “LSC Living Laboratory” that the college has built on its 100-acre campus. I toured the Living Lab several weeks ago and it is amazing! The program’s co-directors Dr. Randel Hanson and Dr. Michael Mageau welcomed twenty new majors into the program this fall. The Living Lab’s 6,000 square feet of greenhouses are producing abundant produce both hydroponically and organically. The day I visited, the outside gardens were full of huge ripe watermelons—grown right here in northern Minnesota! The permaculture design of the gardens uses Lake Superior Bluestone which absorbs heat during the day and keeps the gardens warmer at night. This newly-developed degree is the only program of its kind at a community college—and it’s just an hour down the road from us. (https://degrees.lsc.edu/eco-entrepreneurship/)
Or maybe you aren’t in a position to enroll in a degree program but still would like access to training? The Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture (MISA) keeps a calendar of all trainings available in the state. Examples from October’s calendar include “Growing Ginger in Minnesota,” “Biodynamic Composting,” “Paperpot Transplanter Field Day,” and “Local Foods Marketing.” See misa.umn.edu and click on “calendar.” Many are free. Our local University of Minnesota Extension representatives also offer technical assistance and training. Check out their small farm resources at https://extension.umn.edu/farming-systems/small-farms.
As a follow up to publishing “Local Food as an Economic Driver,” the Rutabaga Project for Access to Local Healthy Food and the Iron Range Partnership for Sustainability have published a Northeast Minnesota Farmer Financial Guide and a series of “Coffee Break” 5-10 minute videos on farm finance. Both are available at https://www.arrowheadgrown.org/farmer-finance-guide Also on this website is a comprehensive directory of farmers markets in the Arrowhead region. If you’d like to read the 2018 local food study referenced here, you can find the full study and a summary at https://www.irpsmn.org/localfood .
Last, you might want to connect with some folks.You could join up with the Duluth Chapter of the National Young Farmers Coalition at https://www.youngfarmers.org/chapter/duluth-young-farmers-coalition/“The Duluth Young Farmers Coalition is an assembly of young individuals taking ownership over our agricultural future. Duluth’s regional chapter was founded on the need to collectively illustrate and resolve the many issues young and starting farmers face. DYFC is active in the cultivation and development of budding growers, serving as a bridge of contact within the region as well as providing a platform for shared resources, educational support, and community incubation.” You might also want to connect with the Lake Superior Sustainable Farming Association https://www.sfa-mn.org/lake-superior/ .And, of course, there are long-standing organizations like the Minnesota Farmers Union https://www.mfu.org/ and the Arrowhead Regional Farm Bureau http://arrowheadfb.blogspot.com/ who will welcome you.This news just in: the Minnesota Department of Agriculture has a new website for beginning, emerging and transitioning farmers and is hosting a conference on this topic on January 24-25, 2020.Check it out at https://www.mda.state.mn.us/beginning-emerging-transitioning-farmers
