Equipping farmers to build resilient farms and communities.
Are you a beginning farmer struggling to find direction and support?  Caleb and Jacqueline Shinn of Osceola  applied to the Savings Incentive Program  in hopes of getting help with creating their farm business plan.

“Going through the business plan portion [of SIP] showed us many options to tweak and guide our plans," Jacqueline says.
“Hearing from other farmers and professionals helped us improve and increase efficiency on our farm,” Caleb says. Through SIP, the Shinns learned about marketing methods to help them sell halves and wholes of the livestock they raise.

Read more about the Shinns' farming journey in the summer issue of "the Practical Farmer." To be part of the 2021 Savings Incentive Program class, apply before Oct. 11.  
Did you miss our pop-up Farminar?
If you missed our pop-up farminar on Farm Lease Law , you are in luck. We have uploaded the recording in our farminar archive. Watch it today to answer your leasing questions!
Check out these resources for beginning farmers
We have recently updated our collection of business, financial, production, and technical assistance resources to help aspiring and beginning farmers further their business goals. You can access them by clicking on the icons below.
We will continue to build this list and add new resources as they are available. If you see any resources missing that you find helpful please share them with us. You can send them to Greg Padget at greg@practicalfarmers.org .
October 17-19
St. Paul, MN
Connect with people from across the country who work in sustainable ag to exchange ideas, find new resources, and network. Workshops cover leadership skills, personal growth, farm business success, and more. Food justice advocate Miah Ulysse presents the keynote, “Working in Harmony to Transform the Food System.”

FACT recently published a series of materials that spotlight the nutritional benefits of pasture raised food. FACT created seven handouts in all that look at the different food-producing animals: beef cattle, dairy cows, laying hens, meat birds, pigs, sheep and goats, and an overview that summarizes all of the animals.

Organic Farming Research Foundation has introduced a free online training program for beginning farmers, organic farmers, and farmers in transition. The first module is Organic Soil Health Management. The self-paced training program focuses on organic specialty crop production in California and combines descriptive essays, video lectures from university faculty, and virtual field trips to demonstrate organic principles and practices.

Owner is offering 26-acre farm and a greenhouse business. Farm includes fruit trees, newer barn, out-buildings, pasture, large garden, woods, sauna, and root cellar. Greenhouse business is located in Boone. Check out this Find A Farmer profile to learn more.
Looking for help seeking land?
Farmland Access Hub can help
The Farmland Access Hub was created to help new farmers navigate the increasingly difficult process of finding affordable land to farm in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa.
Farmland Access Navigators are available to help. They are trained to guide beginning farmers through the process of finding property and securing land tenure. Click here to learn more about connecting to a Farmland Access Navigator.
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UPCOMING PFI EVENTS
2-4 p.m. | Iowa City

Sept. 22: Field Day - Beekeeping in Iowa
4-7 p.m. | Glenwood

Sept. 28: Field Day - Goats for Ecological Restoration
1-5 p.m. | Chelsea

Oct. 6: Field Day - Extending the Vegetable Season
3-5 p.m. | Mt. Vernon
Labor4Learning 
Labor4Learning helps beginning farmers get paid on-the-job training with experienced farmers, and pays experienced farmers for their time and effort.

Savings Incentive Program
Savings Incentive Program is a 2 - year program that pairs beginning and aspiring farmers with experienced farmer mentors; provides targeted learning and peer networking opportunities; offers business planning support and guidance. All this while you save money that we match dollar for dollar, up to $2,400, to use toward the purchase of a farm asset.

Find A Farmer
Find A Farmer allows for a comfortable place to start anonymous conversations with land-seekers or landowners. Search for users in a particular area that fit your specifications and begin the discussion.

Find A Farmer is FREE and available for anyone with internet access! No membership is required.
 
Looking for more?
Greg Padget
Next Generation Director
(515) 232-5661