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Are you a farmer or landowner thinking about the next steps for your farm and land? The Land Stewardship Project’s Farm Transition Planning Course provides an opportunity to dig into important topics and learn from experienced farmers and professionals. The online course will be held on six Thursday evenings in 2023: Jan. 26, Feb. 2, Feb. 9, Feb. 16, Feb. 23 and March 2. The sessions build on one another, so attendance at all six ensures the greatest understanding and planning opportunities. There is a course materials fee of $30 per family. The registration deadline is Jan. 18. For more information and to register, see bit.ly/LSPTransition or contact the Land Stewardship Project’s Karen Stettler at 612-767-9885, stettler@landstewardshipproject.org.

“It is never too early to start thinking about your farm transition,” said Stettler, who works on farm transition issues for the Land Stewardship Project. “This course will provide an opportunity to join with other farmers who are pondering their next transition steps and to develop goals while assessing future financial considerations.”

Presenters at the workshop will include other area farmers who are implementing a farm transition plan, as well as professionals representing the legal, financial and health care fields as they relate to agricultural businesses. Workshop participants will have an opportunity to begin engaging in the planning process as well as learn about resources for continuing the process after the workshop has ended.

“One of the most important decisions that a landowner will ever make is ‘who will I turn over care of this land to?’ The Farm Transition Course helped us to better define our values and set goals for the farm,” said Bill McMillin, a retired Minnesota farmer who participated in a previous Land Stewardship Project Farm Transition Planning Workshop.

“Whenever a difficult decision or unforeseen issue arose, we went back to our values and goals to help us make our decision. It was also great to hear how other farmers were dealing with the transition process.”

Conservation Leases Workshop Jan. 24
On Jan. 24, there is another opportunity for non-operating landowners who would like to learn about how to build soil health on their land in partnership with the farmer they rent to. There will be a short presentation on soil health, places to start accessing resources and ways to begin the conversation with your renters. This will be an online event on Tuesday, Jan. 24, from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. For details, contact the Land Stewardship Project’s Robin Moore at rmoore@landstewardshipproject.org.

For more information on transitioning the farm to the next generation, see  https://landstewardshipproject.org/land-transition-tools.