By Jerry Ford • Garlic Festival Director
SFA Crow River Chapter is sad to announce that, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and to ensure the health and well-being of festival participants and the community at large, the 2020 Minnesota Garlic Festival, set for Aug. 15 in Hutchinson, is cancelled.
However, we are exploring alternate ways to bring some of the benefits and features of the festival to our patrons, the garlic growers and our vendors. Please watch for news of these events through SFA Connect and on the Garlic Festival homepage.
SFA and Crow River Chapter are committed to supporting the farmers, craftspeople, food purveyors and others who are integral to the festival, and we will do our best to keep the connections flowing with them and our loyal fans.
The Crow River Chapter and Garlic Festival staff and volunteers are looking forward to bringing the festival back live in 2021.
By Theresa Keaveny
My column is brief today. I'd like to make farmers, especially local food producers, specialty crop farmers and livestock farmers who are not presently involved in Farm Service Agency Programs, aware of this webinar, set for noon Central on Thurs., May 14 (tomorrow).
This webinar is for producers interested in applying for direct payments through the USDA's Coronavirus Food Assistance Program. The instructions to sign up are below, and you should sign up right away if you are interested. We only received this notice yesterday afternoon, and 48 hours advanced advertising is skimpy at best.
If you have questions about this or other COVID-19 related programs, please contact me at the...@sfa-mn.org or Dan Zimmerli at d...@sfa-mn.org.
The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) and FSA will host a webinar at noon Central on Thurs., May 14, for farmers, ranchers and other producers interested in applying for direct payments through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP). This webinar is an opportunity for producers to learn about the general application process and required documentation prior to the official beginning of signup. Please register in advance here.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. We encourage participants to submit questions through the Q&A box or by emailing CFAP.w...@usda.gov. While questions will not be answered live during the webinar, answers will be posted at farmers.gov/CFAP.
USDA is hosting this webinar to share what information is needed to apply for direct payments through CFAP, once the application period begins. Producers who are new to participating in FSA programs are especially encouraged to join the webinar. More details about CFAP direct payments will be announced soon.
As part of President Trump and Secretary Perdue’s April 17 announcement of a $19 billion Coronavirus Farm Assistance Program, USDA will provide $16 billion in direct support based on losses for agricultural producers where prices and market supply chains have been impacted. Also, USDA will assist eligible producers facing additional adjustment and marketing costs resulting from lost demand and short-term oversupply for the 2020 marketing year caused by COVID-19.
By Angie Walter • SFA/DGA Education Coordinator
Recently, I was approached by Land Stewardship Project to help with some lobbying for farmers in crisis. Right now, Minnesota has 800 farm families that are in the mediation process and trying to avoid foreclosure. Years of low prices and now the COVID-19 crisis have put many farmers over the edge. Farmers need time for the market to recover so they can make their payments.
In 2019, for the second year in a row, Minnesota lost more than 300 dairy farms. If the farms in mediation do not get an extension, I am afraid to see what we may lose this year. We can’t afford to keep losing small family farms. We have seen with the meatpacking industry what consolidating to large companies does in a pandemic situation as this. Family farms are an important part of the history of this country and to the communities they live in. This pandemic has shown how important it is to have smaller, separated farms instead of large factory dairies.
The proposed Bill SF 4553 would extend the farm mediation process through the end of harvest. The hope is that the markets will recover by then and the farmers will be able to reach a deal through mediation. There are two other bills that are on the docket as well: SF 4177, which provides more funding for farm advocates during this critical time; and SF 3580, which creates an $880,000 grant program to cover origination fees of loan restructuring for farmers and lenders in mediation so farmers don’t incur extra fees on top of the debts they consolidate.
I urge you, as farmers, to get involved and talk to your Senators and legislators about supporting bills and your fellow farmers. This COVID-19 crisis has really hit hard on all the agricultural sectors. Farmers need to work together to help each other get through.
If you have any questions you can contact me by phone or email: Angie Walter at 320-815-9293 or an...@sfa-mn.org.
By Dan Zimmerli • SFA Community Organizer & Outreach Coordinator
A few weeks ago I asked for you to share what you’ve been doing on your farms with me and I wanted to share this short story of what Bil and Alise of Under The Sun Herbs have been up to on their farm. Below follows their account of their farm projects this spring.
It's really starting to feel like we're connecting the dots on our farm. In our second season on 10 acres near Madelia, we are taking a regenerative approach to our herb-growing operation. It's like putting puzzle pieces together to achieve our goals of a more sustainable livelihood.
I've been dreaming of incorporating our laying hens into our field rotations for a year now, and just last week I completed our mobile coop, the Chickshaw, and got electric netting to get them out of the run and on pasture. The goal is to put them to work scratching the ground, eating weeds, seeds, and bugs, and leaving their fertile manure without lifting a shovel or pushing a wheelbarrow. Bonus, we also get eggs!
We will then form our permanent raised beds. The lower walkways will be covered with cardboard and mulch. This allows the beds to drain easily and gives us a clean path, even after (or during) rain. Next we will use a giant thick plastic tarp to cover the area for up to a few months, which will kill any weeds the chickens didn't get.
After the tarp is removed, we will plant a cover crop mix to suppress any persistent weeds, build organic matter and fertility, and grow deep roots to break up and feed the soil and microorganisms. Sequestering carbon from the air to fight climate change is the cherry on top.
If we decide not to harvest cover crop seed, we will terminate by crimping or cutting at flowering stage, allowing it to become mulch, which protects from wind and rain erosion, holds moisture and cools soil during drought, and creates the perfect habitat for soil life to thrive.
If all goes as planned, we will have a clean, fertile bed to plant next year's herb crop into – without much labor for prep – and plenty of added benefits to keep the circle of life spinning in our little corner of paradise.
Have a story to share? Email me at d...@sfa-mn.org.
A special thank you to our #GiveAtHomeMN donors! $775 was donated to SFA last week in support of Minnesotan farmers. Wholesome, locally grown fruit, vegetables, meat, dairy and eggs are more in demand than ever. These gifts help us to build capacity to keep sustainable, organic and regenerative food growers in operation, and to build a stronger, viable local food system for the long haul. Especially now, thank you to all who took the time and resources to Give At Home!
Karl Hakanson of U. of M. Extension and the coordinator of SFA's Twin Cities Growers Network has created some new resources for those getting started in the garden this spring. He has made videos on seed starting and another on composting as well as a description of a low tunnel he made for around $40.
These resources and many more he's collected are available at the TC Growers homepage.
SFA has several new comprehensive resources as part of our Silvopasture and Agroforestry project. First, SFA's Tyler Carlson and Wayne Monsen recently hosted three successful webinars and taped a fourth that are now available to watch anytime. View these webinars anytime on our Silvopasture Webinar Archive or on our YouTube Channel.
Also, we have produced a Silvopasture Manual, a starting place to quickly and easily connect with information and people to improve understanding and implementation of Silvopasture. It was compiled by SFA as part of a North Central Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (NC-SARE) grant, with support from the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR), Minnesota Extension, NRCS and farmers that practice Silvopasture.
The Sustainable Farming Association's Lake Agassiz Chapter has put together a series of FREE educational programs that it will be broadcasting through its Facebook page. These events are taking place at 6 p.m. Thursdays from April 9-May 21. A live Q&A with our farmers will follow each event. No registration necessary. Simply RSVP to the event and "like" our page and you will get reminders prior to the event and a notification when we go live. The upcoming workshops:
May 14 – Cover Cropping for Gardeners: Amy Beckman will discuss using cover crops in vegetable production for weed suppression and soil building.
May 21 – Community Gardening: Jen Walla will talk about community safety practices for growing your Victory Garden in a collaborative community garden setting during social distancing.
Info: sfa-mn.org/lake-agassiz or kelse...@gmail.com.
Tour a century farm growing eleven garlic varieties as SFA's Minnesota Premium Garlic Project hosts a field day and farm tour from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sat., June 20, at 5 Sisters Organics, 28278 Hwy 2 West, Bemidji.
As the name suggests, this farm is owned and operated by five sisters with a passion for growing garlic. Come walk the garlic patch followed by a break for lunch at noon – please bring a dish to share – and discussion and networking to follow.
This event is open to all. Cost is $5 and registration is required. REGISTER. Info: je...@sfa-mn.org.
View garlic and honeycrisp apples growing side-by-side as SFA’s Minnesota Premium Garlic Project hosts a field day and farm tour from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sat., July 11, at Coffman Garlic & Apples, 56111 County Rd 1, West Concord.
Tom and Marie Coffman (right) are in their third year as a site for the Garlic Project field trials. At this field day, they will talk about the field trial results so far as well as how the project's next phase is progressing. The Coffmans grow nine varieties of award-winning garlic which they sell at Minnesota Garlic Festival and with their apples straight off the farm.
The field tour will kick off the event followed by a break for lunch at noon and then continued discussion and networking until 2 p.m. Lunch is potluck - bring something to share.
This event is open to all. Cost is $5 and registration is required. REGISTER. Info: je...@sfa-mn.org.
Photographer extraordinaire Crystal Liepa once again documented our 2020 Annual Conference, held Feb. 8 at the College of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph, Minn. To learn more about Crystal, visit her website.
SNAP for Farmers: Marcus Hambrick of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program reminds farmers that they can individually apply to participate in SNAP as an authorized retailer. FNS has awarded a grant that provides access to a SNAP Mobile Transaction Processing Application to SNAP-authorized Farmers free of cost, for one year. The grant is available to farmers in every state. Farmers receive a card reader free of cost and use their own mobile devices to accept SNAP benefits. The App also allows the processing of credit/debit transactions. More info on the grant is here. Info: amy....@marketlink.org.
Determining Remaining CSA Shares: Minnesota Grown and MDA want to understand how many farms offering CSA subscriptions have reached capacity and how many are still seeking customers. If you are willing, please take this survey – the results will help us promote you better and promote where shares are still available! If you indicate that you are willing, we will also share your farm information with other organizations working to match Minnesotans to CSA shares this spring. All CSA share types (produce, meat, flowers, etc.) are welcome to share.
RSDP Covid Response Series: The U. of M. Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships is hosting a rapid-response COVID-19 webinar series for farmers every Tuesday and Thursday at 3 p.m. central time. Access it here. This link contains the Zoom link for each webinar, as well as recordings of previous sessions.
Soil Valuation Survey: Implementing conservation practices costs money, while benefits are not immediately tangible. It would be helpful if we can articulate the benefits in dollar terms. To this end, we have developed an online experimental survey which is expected to take about 15-20 minutes of your time. By you completing the survey and "playing" our game, we can analyze the responses to estimate how much you and others value improvements in your soil health. Survey respondents will receive a $20 gift card electronically for project participation. If you want a survey link to participate in the project, you are encouraged to contact Dojin Park, park...@umn.edu.
Pasture Project Webinars: The Pasture Project is hosting an upcoming webinar, "How to Treat Your Cover Crop Like a Cash Crop," with Dr. Andrea Basche from 2 to 3 p.m. Wed., June 10. Strategies for boosting cover crop benefits such as maximizing biomass growth for grazing. Register here.
