"Just Starting Out" ran in the Sept. 26, 2002 edition of Agri News. It is a package of stories on the Land Stewardship Project's Farm Beginnings program.

Beginning program lends help

Thursday, September 26, 2002

By Janet Kubat Willette

Agri News staff writer

The Beginning Farmer Program traces its beginnings to the Wabasha County Give A Damns.

The grassroots farmers' group was concerned with people coming back to the community and saw a shortage of beginning farmers, said Karen Stettler, who coordinates the Beginning Farmer Program in southeastern Minnesota. They approached Land Stewardship Project for help and the program was born six years ago.

The first year it focused on dairy production, Stettler said, but it's grown as people interested in all types of agriculture have enrolled and completed the class.

It's also spread across the state. The program is gearing up for its third session in southwestern Minnesota, said Amy Bacigalupo, who coordinates the program there.

"This program is for anyone who wants to get started, or re-started with their farm business," Bacigalupo said.

Participants learn low-cost, sustainable, farming methods, Stettler said. Of the 76 families who have completed the program, more than 60 percent are involved in farming.

Mark and Wendy Lange of Milan enrolled in the program last fall. They both work off-the-farm, but their goal is to have one off-farm income and a successful meat goat operation.

They bought their first meat goats in December and now have 26 does and three herd bucks, plus five goats to sell. They plan to market their meat to the Somalian, Muslim and Hispanic communities in the metropolitan area.

"It's a very popular meat for their holiday seasons," Wendy said.

They are also involved with the Pride of the Prairie group that markets locally grown food in western Minnesota.

The idea of producing goats grew from the Beginning Farmer Program, she said. The program compelled them to explore different ways of farming and marketing.

"Everybody is so willing to help and offer advice," Wendy said.

They want to continue to be involved in the program and this fall and winter hope to sit in on some of the sessions.

"We want to stay really involved and try to give back a little bit," she said.

Farmer involvement is key to the success of the program, Bacigalupo said.

"It's a lot of farmer-to-farmer education," she said.

Farmers serve as presenters, mentors and field day hosts. Alumni, students and presenters also network, Stettler said.

Stettler and Bacigalupo said there is a need for the program.

"I field many, many, many calls from people who are interested," Bacigalupo said.

"We've had very strong interest," Stettler said. "We definitely see a number of people are looking at farming as a viable option."

LSP is exploring options to expand the program. They've toyed with offering a course in the Twin Cities or northern Minnesota, Bacigalupo said. They're also searching for partners to help raise program awareness.

They're also searching for funding. A SARE grant and MISA grant were used to start the program, Stettler said, and grants are increasingly harder to find because the program isn't new.

Program cultivates new farmers

The Beginning Farmer Program gave him the skills and confidence to make it work.

The fall and winter training sessions bring in an array of speakers, including successful farmers, to discuss goal setting, decision making, financial planning and managing money.

Beginning in March and throughout the summer, the learning becomes hands-on, said Amy Bacigalupo, who coordinates the program in western Minnesota. Students attend field days and are assigned a mentor - a farmer who they can turn to for advice.

Leonhardt chose Lake City hog and beef farmer Dennis Rabe as his mentor and the two have since become friends, speaking at least a couple times a month. He has also consulted Dwight Ault and Dave Serfling.

He sought out a lot of information on pork production, Leonhardt said, because "I didn't know anything about pigs when I started."

Leonhardt, 28, grew up on a dairy farm, but knew he didn't want to milk. He raised dairy steers and worked in town when his mother told him about the Beginning Farmer Program.

She went through the program to learn more about vegetable production and has since opened Nature's Little Farm, where she sells vegetables, chicken, turkeys and his beef and pork.

He settled on pork production as a way to provide steady income, with more flexibility than dairying. He's glad he chose hogs.

He keeps 60 to 70 sows and markets his hogs through Niman Ranch. He also has 15 beef cows and seven heifers. He quit his off-farm job this spring.

"This is what I wanted to do," Leonhardt said. "I gave up a fairly decent job to do this."

His girlfriend and business partner, Gayle Hanson, helps with evening chores. She is a nursing assistant at St. Elizabeth's Nursing Home in Wabasha.

She said the Beginning Farmer Program inspired ideas and proved helpful in exploring a variety of options for setting up their farming operation.

LSP's Beginning Farmer Program is unique to Minnesota and has been recognized on a national level, Bacigalupo said.

"I think this program is important because as a rural community we will continue to need farmers at the base of it," Bacigalupo said. "The basis of our community is dependent on how many people we keep on the land."

The program has a sustainable focus and relies on farmer support, said Karen Stettler, who coordinates the Beginning Farmer Program in southeastern Minnesota.