‘Raising Farmers Barn Raising’ to Celebrate Beginning Farmers & LSP Oct. 6 Near Fountain

CONTACT: Karen Stettler, LSP, stettler@landstewardshipproject.org, 507-523-3366
PHOTO AVAILABLE: For a high-resolution digital photo of Brad & Leslea Hodgson, contact Stettler at the above e-mail address

8/22/07
FOUNTAIN, Minn. – Ten years ago, beef producers Brad and Leslea Hodgson lived in a city and the Land Stewardship Project’s Farm Beginnings® program barely existed.

But this fall, the Hodgsons will raise up a timber frame barn on their farm near Fountain, while the Land Stewardship Project’s Farm Beginnings celebrates a decade of helping beginning farmers get started on the land. In keeping with the tradition of community participation, the public is invited to the “Raising Farmers Barn Raising” on Saturday, Oct. 6, beginning at 1 p.m. with a potluck dinner and other activities to follow. Reservations must be received by Sept. 28. For more information, contact the Land Stewardship Project (LSP) office in Lewiston at 507-523-3366.

As a warm-up to the barn-raising, a hands-on timber-framing workshop will take place on Friday, Sept. 28, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., for up to 10 people. Workshop topics include barn design and an introduction to tools, as well as hands-on joint-making, pegging and drilling. The cost is $100 per person, and reservations must be made by Sept. 21.  All proceeds benefit the Land Stewardship Project on the occasion of its 25th Anniversary.

Since 1997, over 300 people have graduated from LSP’s Farm Beginnings program; 60 percent of those graduates, including the Hodgsons, are actively farming today. There are still a few spots available for the 2007-2008 session; classes will take place in La Crosse, Wis., and Marshall, Minn., beginning later this fall. For information on the La Crosse program, contact Karen Benson in LSP’s Lewiston office at 507-523-3366. For details on the Marshall program, contact Susan Hurst at 320-269-2105. More information is also available at www.farmbeginnings.org.

The Hodgsons participated in LSP’s Farm Beginnings training program soon after purchasing a worn-out former dairy operation near the Root River in 1998. Since then they have turned Root Prairie Galloways into an all-grass farm and begun direct-marketing a growing number of specialty beef cows. They also have repaid a no-interest livestock loan they obtained through Farm Beginnings, hosted field days, been recognized by the USDA for their conservation efforts, and served as mentors to another beginning farmer.

Through the “Raising Farmers Barn Raising” events on Sept. 28 and Oct. 6, everyone is welcome to lay their hands on the ropes, raise the walls of the Hodgsons’ new barn, and celebrate both the past and the future – of next-generation farmers and of the Land Stewardship Project.

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