Beginning Farmer News & Updates
What are your largest challenges?
Are you a beginning farmer who has been farming at least four years? Were you unable to attend a advanced beginning farmer listening session? Then here's your chance to have your feedback heard. 

Farmers like you are telling us they still have hurdles to overcome. New challenges of growing a business include securing more capital, land and even managing employees.

We want to help you overcome these barriers.  Please take a few minutes to complete this quick survey to share the issues you are facing when trying to met your farming goals. Your feedback will help us create programming, events and conversations to help you overcome these barriers. 
OPPORTUNITIES 
Webinar: Farm Law Focus Sessions:
Friday, April 20, 2018 - 1:00 pm
Learn about the latest developments regarding legal liability for injuries and the most recent FSMA and food safety regulations. Also exploring up-to-date issues with crop/property insurance.
Friday, April 27, 2018 - 1:00 pm
Get up to speed on land: leasing and purchasing it, making and selling products on it, hosting events on it. Full of legal updates and farmers' own experiences.

This Aug. 1-2 event is an all-expenses paid two-day workshop/cabin stay for anyone who has recently started farming, would like to farm or would like to have a voice in the management of their family's farm. The Emerging Farmers Forum will include tours of Pinhook Farm, owned and operated by innovative + entrepreneurial farmer Seth Watkins, hands-on activities, and thought-provoking discussions on conservation practices, business + financial planning, marketing, diversification, ways to facilitate crucial conversations on farm transition.
RESOURCES 
Farm Commons has six new tip sheets available free online to help farmers and their advocates get up to speed on common farm-law issues. Titles include Succession Planning,Why Form an LLC?, The Lease: Who Is Responsible for What?, Farm Insurance, Dealing with Regulators, and Value-Added Agritourism and Taxes. These titles join Farm Commons' collection of tip sheets on legal issues for farmers and farm advocates.

What You Need to Know to Serve Food on Your Farm is available free from Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture. The 34-page publication provides a starter toolkit and roadmap for farmers interested in starting an on-farm venture that involves food service. The publication addresses the regulatory requirements for part-time, on-farm food service ventures, such as pizza farms and farm-to-table dinners.

The calculator, a decision-making tool built specifically for farmers seeking land, enables farmers to understand farm financing options, determine what they can afford, and prepare to work with a lender. The tool was created by National Young Farmers Coalition.
Pop-up Farminar
Land Access: 127 Easy Steps to Finding Farmland
Tuesday, May 1 | 7 - 8:30 p.m.
Discover creative and community-oriented solutions to land access. Whether you’ve identified the land you want to farm on or are just starting your search, this session will share tools and best practices to help you in the process. Kate Edwards and Brett Olson will cover assessing the farmability of a piece of land; whether buying or leasing is the best option for you; resources for finding land; and what to know about financing. 
For more information and to participate:
Visit www.practicalfarmers.org/farminars , click "Join In" and then log in as a guest.
PFI EVENTS
May 1 | 7 - 8:30 p.m. | Practical Farmers of Iowa, Renewing the Countryside

May 31 | 11 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. | Johnston
Labor4Learning 
Labor4Learning helps beginning farmers get paid on-the-job training with experienced farmers, and pays experienced farmers for their time and effort. Position are currently open for 2018 season.

Saving Incentive Program
Savings Incentive Program is a 2 - year program that pairs beginning and aspiring farmers with experienced farmer mentors; provides targeted learning and peer networking opportunities; offers business planning support and guidance. All this while you save money and then we match is dollar for dollar up to $2,400, to use toward the purchase of a farm asset. 

Find A Farmer
Find A Farmer allows for a comfortable place to start anonymous conversations with land-seekers or landowners. Search for users in a particular area that fit your specifications and begin the discussion.

Find A Farmer is FREE and available for anyone with internet access? No membership is required.
 
Looking for more? Contact us today!
Greg Padget
Beginning Farmer Manager
(515) 232-5661
Steve Carlson 
Beginning Farmer and Program Associate
(515) 232-5661