Equipping farmers to build resilient farms and communities.
When the Bouska sisters inherited their family farm in 2009, after their father Edward’s death, they became joint owners of the 450-acre farm they grew up on near Protivin, in northeastern Iowa. But they also inherited their parents’ legacy of proactive planning, community-mindedness and working together toward shared goals.

As farmland owners, the sisters – Sally McCoy, of Edgerton, Wisconsin; Ann Novak, of Burlington, Washington; Peg Bouska, of Iowa City; and Carol Bouska, of Minneapolis – are now modeling the same kind of thoughtful leadership as they work together to plan for the future of their family land.


Headline News
It is a familiar journey: driving home through the dark, icy chill as your headlights glare into the falling snow. You release held breath as your tires feel the last turn onto the gravel in the January night. Traveling to PFI’s annual conference each year is like visiting family, like being at a reunion where relationships grow and deepen; where we hear new ideas, make new friends and improve our farms.

You’ve driven through blizzards, ice and drifted roads not to miss this. But this year, with the risks of COVID-19, we won’t ask you to.
Resources for Landowners
For many landowners interested in the myriad of benefits that livestock can provide to the farm, finding producers with livestock can be a challenge. The Midwest Grazing Exchange is a new website designed to help landowners and livestock producers make connections. 
Making Land Affordable for the Next Generation
Sometimes, creative strategies are needed in order to transfer land affordably and sustainably so that the next generation can thrive. 

Read about how PFI Member and past Farmland Owner Legacy Award winner Dale Nimrod has worked over his lifetime to make farmland affordable for the next generation. 

Finding Value in Habitat
If a landowner or farmer gets creative, she or he might find that on-farm habitat offers lucrative opportunities for alternative enterprises, like guiding or outfitting hunts, that can coexist with and even complement more traditional agricultural production.
In July 2020, Practical Farmers hosted a virtual farm manager panel. We spoke with Mollie Aronowitz (Peoples Company), Brent Larson (Sunderman Farm Management) and Morgan Troendle (Hertz Farm Management) about a range of issues and got answers to some of the most common questions that landowners have about professional farm management. 

Poll
What’s your long-term vision for your farmland
Transfer to my heirs (sale or inheritance)
Transfer to my tenant
Transfer to a beginning farmer (not my heirs)
Sell when land values are favorable
Long-term income provider
Other
Please share this newsletter with your friends and let us know what type of content and programming we can provide to best help server you!
Looking for more? Contact us!
Jorgen Rose
Habitat & Farm Transfer Coordinator
jorgen@practicalfarmers.org