On a lovely summer evening in June, 150 people came together for the kick-off of Slow Money Minnesota. The event came about because of the energy and interest bubbling up locally around how Minnesotans can do more to support a healthy local food system. The gathering provided an opportunity to learn about investing in food and farming, as well as sampling delicious local fare.

While Slow Money conversations have taken place in Minnesota, and some Slow Money-style investments have occurred, the timing was right to broaden the dialogue and leverage efforts. The event was designed to set the groundwork for expanding the flow of funds to promising and growing businesses, provide people at various levels of wealth to be able to invest locally, and, as a result have more successful farm and food businesses.

Farm Tours - Tips to Maximize the Day

Farm tours, like farmers’ markets, are booming in the US. Harvest festivals, community events, restaurants and even groups of growers themselves are offering farm tours to connect those who enjoy knowing who grows or raises the foods they eat. It’s this connection to the land and to the farmer that has transformed the rural landscape, turning productive working farms into agritourism operations as well. Suddenly farmers turn into hosts and guides when they’re a part of a tour.

Courtesy of La Fortuna Pizza* - Madison, WI

Here is a riddle: What kind of pizza takes 6 hours to prepare and 5 minutes to make? The best pizza. The secret is to let the doughrest and cook it HOT and fast. The following recipe from La Fortuna explains it all. And if you don't want to fire up the kenmore to 500° on a summer evening - try putting your pizza stone on the grill and use lump style char coal (just make sure it is approved for that use first.

Yield: Two 14-inch pizzas

Map it!

DreamAcres Farm • Wykoff, MN

The fields at DreamAcres farm are blooming with innovation! With their organic vegetable CSA, youth programs, performance art space and education center, Eva, Todd and Sons have made their off-the-grid homestead into a mecca for good food and culture. Situated in a beautiful basin about 35 miles from Rochester, the family relies solely on solar, animal and human power to run their home and livelihood. All summer long you can visit the farm for Pizza Night at DreamAcres. Each Friday evening you can buy organic, wood fired pizza with toppings fresh from the fields. Come for the food and stay for the entertainment! Most nights, after all the pizzas have all been served, you can take some theater or boogie at a dance in the Dream Theater barn! Make sure you check the DreamAcres calendar! 

 For over fifteen years, Sandhill Family Farms, along with partnering family farms, have been serving as many as 475 CSA members in the Chicagoland area, supplying them with organic vegetables, fruit, eggs, dairy and meats. 

While located on two farms, one in Brodhead, Wisconsin, and the other in Grayslake, Illinois, the award-winning Sandhill Family Farms creates member share boxes that are consistently full of certified organic, high quality produce.  At the helm, is co-owner Peg Sheaffer, who works alongside her farmer-husband Matt on their Brodhead farm, along with farmers Jen and Jeff Miller who steward the operations in Grayslake.  Together, they turn out a dizzying array of over 150 different cultivars of vegetables over the eight-month growing season. 

We took a walk with Peg Sheaffer as she checked on her flock of St. Croix sheep to learn more about her and her farming operations. Her farm will be featured on the  SOIL SISTERS: Tour of Farm on August 2, 2015.  She’ll also be teaching a SOIL SISTERS: Green Acres Workshop on raising chickens on August 1.

 Lori Stern, owner of Cow & Quince Market and Restaurant in New Glarus, Wisconsin, is out to do more than serve up great tasting seasonal dishes made with locally-sourced, sustainably raised or grown ingredients. 

In a manner of speaking, she’s looking to entice some members of her community to get into business with her by offering a Community Supported Restaurant, inspired by the popular Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model where farmers get paid up front by their “shareholders” for the products grown throughout the season.  Along with being a CSR-focused restaurant, Cow & Quince also serves as a hyper-local market for the fresh vegetables, fruits and meats available in the area.

At the upcoming SOIL SISTERS event July 31 through August 2, 2015, Stern’s Cow & Quince will be showcasing the amazing abundance the area has to offer, featuring numerous locavore specials while hosting the SOIL SISTERS: Taste of Place.  The Taste of Place is a culinary farm-to-table gathering where you can try out a variety of flavors while you meet some of the farmers and food artisans behind the ingredient list.  Delicious dishes prepared by Chef Jared Austin will include Summer Vegetable Tarts, featuring heirloom tomatoes from Grassroots Farm, greens from Scotch Hill Farm and cheese from Landmark Creamery.

Would you like to visit a pizza farm? Watch a newborn lamb take her first steps? Help a farmer with planting or harvesting?

You can help make these and other fun and educational opportunities more possible by contacting your representative TODAY! The Senate Jobs, Agriculture and Rural Development Committee will be deciding at a hearing at 2:00 on February 4th to pass through new agritourism legislation.