LSP in the News: Farm Beginnings turns dream into reality

Farm Beginnings turns dream into reality

Thursday, April 17, 2003

By Janet Kubat Willette

Agri News staff writer

MILAN, Minn. -Carol Ford wanted to determine if she could grow vegetables year-round in Minnesota. Ford, a secretary in the math and science department at the University of Minnesota-Morris and an Iowa native, found Farm Beginnings to be a perfect fit for her exploration.

She enrolled in October and soon shared the dream with classmates.

She talked about opening a year-round greenhouse; prepared a cash flow analysis and did "tons of reading."

"It's kind of a wake-up call after the dream," Ford said.

Land Stewardship Project started Farm Beginnings six years ago in southeastern Minnesota and three years ago in southwestern Minnesota, said LSP communications coordinator Brian DeVore.

It grew out an idea brought forth by Wabasha County dairy farmers who wanted to mentor the next generation, and was based on a system used in New Zealand, he said.

At first the program was dairy-oriented, but now it's grown to include people interested in all types of agriculture - from growing Christmas trees to raising hogs or vegetables.

Besides classroom time, where students hear from lenders, successful farmers and other experts, mentors and field days are key components of the program.

Through Farm Beginnings, Ford was able to correspond with a person in northern Minnesota who has a four-season greenhouse. She also learned of a solar-powered greenhouse in Cheyenne, Wyo., that she planned to visit.

Linking with someone already in the business is helpful, Ford said, because they can provide realistic financial data.

"The support and information from the class were invaluable," Ford said. "I think it's taught me the rewards of patience and doing your homework to get what you want."

What she learned in Farm Beginnings made her decide to scale back her dream and start small, paying more attention to details and minimizing risk.

She plans to build a passive solar greenhouse attached to her house, rather than purchase a property specifically for a larger greenhouse. It will be built at an angle to maximize the amount of sunlight coming in.

The sunlight will warm water kept in barrels along one wall and the water will release the heat slowly to minimize the amount of supplemental heat needed.

Ford, a master gardener, is excited about growing lettuce, broccoli, spinach and cabbage during the winter. Consumer demand will ultimately determine what she grows in the raised beds of soil in her soon-to-be-built greenhouse.

"I can't wait to try it out," she said.

Beginning farmers may need support

Thursday, April 17, 2003

By Janet Kubat Willette

Agri News staff writer

What do beginning farmers need?

Capital and moral support, said William Lazarus, a University of Minnesota economist specializing in farm management. A working spouse with health insurance doesn't hurt, he added.

"They really have to have deep down in their blood that this is what they want to do," said Lorin Westman, a U of M Extension educator who specializes in farm management. "It has to be for more than financial reasons. They have to have a deep desire to do this. They also have to have a desire to make a profit."

Farm Beginnings, a program started six years ago in southeastern Minnesota, aims to meet several of those needs, according to Land Stewardship Project communications coordinator Brian DeVore.

The course meets October through February for classroom time where aspiring farmers learn alternatives to huge upfront capital investments -primarily intensive management- and also how to get a loan and fill out paperwork, DeVore said. Participants are paired with mentors to provide moral support, hands-on learning opportunities or a learned voice of reason.

Participants are encouraged to examine their goals and their family's goals. They prepare financial worksheets to determine if their idea is viable financially. They find out what skills they need to polish, be it marketing or production related.

Carol Ford said she enrolled in Farm Beginnings because it was a small business class for entrepreneurs with an agricultural slant. She had already done "tons" of reading on the subject, but the class provided her with a network of other potential entrepreneurs to discuss start-up challenges.

A lack of networking opportunities is one of the barriers to entrepreneurship in rural Minnesota, said Dorothy Rosemeier, executive director of the West Central Sustainable Development Partnership. West central Minnesota is trying to nurture entrepreneurs. A recent study found several barriers exist, Rosemeier said. All entrepreneurs - farmers included - face similar obstacles. In many cases, a supportive culture doesn't exist for entrepreneurs, according to the study published by the partnership in January. Entrepreneurs starting a business in rural Minnesota have to travel a greater distance to larger markets and often have difficulty obtaining sufficient capital. There are few other entrepreneurs to network with, an absence of industry clusters and difficulty in obtaining skilled labor.

The partnership is working to address the barriers. One idea is attempting to start a fund where citizens could invest and area entrepreneurs could borrow money. The idea is to invest in the local economy, Rosemeier said. Also on the agenda is a plan to address the accessibility and affordability of health care insurance for small businesses. When it comes to retaining employees, benefits are as important as wages, Rosemeier said.

She said the study found most entrepreneurs didn't start out to be entrepreneurs. Instead, they started a business from need, rather than creativity.

"I think sometimes we're more creative when we're faced with what we would call desperate times," she said.

Westman says opportunities exist, but beginning farmers have to be willing to keep working and perhaps wait longer for luxuries and conveniences their friends may have.

"There's a tremendous amount of opportunity in farming. There really is," he said. "But it's difficult."