Renewing the Countryside

Your tax-deductible donation to Renewing the Countryside helps us:

1. improve access to farmland & finances for beginning farmers,
2. support small food & farm businesses and local economies in rural communities, and
3. tell the stories of sustainable farmers, artists and others in rural America.

Farmland Access & Transitions:   Did you know the average age of a farmland owner is over 70 - and that the average age of the farmer on that land is nearly 60? In the next decade we will need 100,000 new farmers just to replace the ones we have now who intend to retire. At the same time, a growing number of beginning farmers want to farm, but access to land and capital are major barriers to success. We are seeing a huge farmland shift in ownership and we are working with family farmers to try and ensure that the farms get into the hands of beginning farmers in a way that balances future success and maximum profit.

We're in the midst of a multi-year project to connect all of those working on this issue in the Upper Midwest, and to help beginning farmers navigate the web of barriers and opportunities. We've reached over 200 beginning farmers with our farmland access trainings already, and assisted dozens of farmers with finding secure farmland.

Local Foods:   We continue to work with communities across Minnesota on innovative, farmers-market based aggregation methods to connect farmers with schools, early care centers, hospitals, and other institutions looking to purchase local products and to ensure farmers’ markets have the resources needed to provide food access programs would provide a vital public service, supporting both food security and nutrition for at-risk households and addressing issues of public health. 

And don't miss our eighth annual  FEAST! Tradeshow & Marketplace  on Saturday, December 11th highlighting food makers using local ingredients - with virtual and socially distanced ways to connect!

Events & Public Education:  We've had the pleasure of meeting you for over a decade now at the Healthy Local Food exhibit at the Minnesota State Fair. Our Farm to Early Care & Education programming supports local food access through Community-Supported Agriculture boxes and gardens for early care providers. Our team also supports a Farm to Early Care training for early care providers, "Pint Size Produce," and other resources. 

And our wealth of programs for women farmers connecting about conservation practices. 

And so much more! 

Learn more & stay in touch with our monthly newsletter! 

Your Help: Contributions from donors like you help us remain effective in our work. Foundations and government grants help us do important work, but individual donors are critical to our organizational sustainability.

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Thank you,

Jan Joannides, Executive Director

Staff and Board of Directors of Renewing the Countryside