CONTACT: Karen Stettler, LSP, Lewiston, 507-523-3366
Amy Bacigalupo, Montevideo, 320-269-2105

8/10/06
The application deadline for the 2006-2007 edition of the Land Stewardship Project’s Farm Beginnings™ program is Friday, Sept. 1. Classes will begin in Winona Oct. 14 and in Hutchinson Oct. 28. For information on enrolling in Farm Beginnings or serving as a mentor, contact the Land Stewardship Project’s southeast Minnesota office at 507-523-3366. In western Minnesota, call 320-269-2105. Application forms and more information are available at www.farmbeginnings.org.

The nationally-recognized Farm Beginnings course provides participants an opportunity to learn firsthand about low-cost, sustainable methods of farming. The course consists of a series of classes that take place twice a month between October and March. After March, course participants have the opportunity to attend on-farm educational field days. Farm Beginnings participants learn goal setting, financial planning, business plan creation, alternative marketing and low-cost, sustainable farming techniques. The course consists of 34 hours of class time, on-farm education, skills sessions and one-on-one mentoring.

This is the tenth year the Land Stewardship Project has offered Farm Beginnings in Minnesota. To expand the course’s availability, this year separate classes will be held in the southeast and central part of the state. For the second year in a row, Farm Beginnings courses are also being offered in Illinois and Nebraska.

As in the past, class presenters during the 2006-2007 session will be established farmers, said Karen Stettler, who coordinates Farm Beginnings in southeast Minnesota.

“Thanks to the fact that Farm Beginnings is now entering its tenth year and has more than 260 graduates to its credit—60 percent of whom are farming—many of those presenters are alumni of the program,” she said. “That adds greatly to the course’s practical, hands-on value.”

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