Sustainable Farming Association Of Minnesota

Farmer and rancher outreach/chapter and network development. These programs are core to sfa's farmer-to-farmer network, serving as the umbrella for sfa chapter activities including its annual conference, midwest soil health summit and chapter festivals that connect growers with eaters. Sfa partners with misa, the regional sustainable development partnership, the minnesota department of agriculture, and several other groups working to make farming and ranching more accessible to immigrant and traditionally underserved people in minnesota who are interested in making a living on the land. Activities at sfa's 10 chapers include a variety of workshops, field days, demonstration and gatherings of farmers, educators, food advocates and community leaders to advance sustainable farming and regenerative agrictultural practices and advancethe economic health of our rural communities. Sfa's four networking groups, organized around issues of common concern, include the midwest garlic growers; environmental services livestock, crow wing river basin forage council, and the twin cities growers network. Each group gathers throughout the year, hosting educational field days and networking events. Sfa also partners with renewing the countryside on its farmland access hub, to help emerging farmers navigate the challenging journey toward farm ownership.

To support minnesota's dairy farmers, sfa works with mdi, the minnesota dairy initiative, providing on-farm technical assistance to a number of dairy farmers around minnesota on a range of milk production, grazing and livestock management issues. Sfa also continued in 2022 as the minnesota administrative partner of the national dairy grazing apprenticeship (dga) program, recruiting new apprentices and matching them with "master graziers", with whom they work during a 2 year intensive educational and hands-on work program. Their apprentiecship results in a certificate and advancement as a journeyperson, recognized as such by the u.s. Department of labor.