Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota

MAKE A GIFT

BECOME A MEMBER

Sustainable Farming Association (SFA) has been bringing farmers together for over 30 years. Led by farmers, we bring a boots-on-the-ground approach to making change in Minnesota’s agricultural landscape. We are transforming agriculture, one farm at a time. We support farmer-to-farmer education across the state by hosting a wide range of field days and workshops, as well as by providing consulting to help farmers set and reach their goals.

In 2025, we:

• worked one-on-one with 19 farms enrolled in our Farmer-to-Farmer Consulting program, working to help them meet their individual goals in their farm's unique context.
• hosted 99 events across the state, gathering thousands of farmers and eaters together. Our staff and regional chapters led hands-on workshops, field days, local foods festivals, live webinars, and social opportunities for farmers and their allies to learn from each other and build community. Many of these were offered free of charge to attend.
  These included:
  • Sowing Seeds, Minnesota Salsa Fest, Lake Superior Harvest Festival, Deep Roots Festival, and the Minnesota Garlic Festival -- all farmer-led, local food-focused festivals hosted by our regional chapters
  • Workshops on processing chickens, building fences for adaptive grazing systems, collecting and processing pollinator plant seeds, grafting fruit trees, and building emergency first aid skills for on-farm accidents
  • A series of pasture walks that featured farms who are finding success while incorporating grazing practices that build the health of their soils and their bottom lines
  • Our Midwest Grazing & Soil Health Summit and Annual Conference
  • Our brand new Homesteading Series: several field days and webinars teaching practical skills that help build stability, including starting seeds for the garden, raising a family milk cow, and tapping maple trees
  • Urban farm tours that showcased how folks are beekeeping, using cover crops, building soil health, and growing vegetables across neighbors' yards in the Metro
  • Casual social gatherings for farmers to take a break and connect (or commiserate)

During difficult times (our staff is using the phrase "uncertainty fatigue" a lot these days), building personal and supportive relationships in our agricultural community can feel like being thrown a life preserver in a storm. We frequently hear from our members that our public programming and local membership are valuable because of our community of wisdom and support. Because they're part of SFA, they've met that person up the road that they can call with a quick question, co-conspirators for a hyperlocal project, shoulders to cry on, or a trusted service provider. This active network of farmers and allies coalesces through both sunny and stormy days. It's the reason SFA is what it is -- the organization spun out of the 1980's farm crisis, after all. 

This Give to the Max Day we invite you to make a donation to support vital, farmer-led education, or to join us as a member of SFA. Either way, your gift will count towards our $10,000 goal.

Learn more and join the Sustainable Farming Association as a member at www.sfa-mn.org/support.