November 2024
As Give to the Max Day approaches on Thursday, Nov. 21, we're grateful for the chance to share with you about the many projects we’ve so enjoyed working on over the past year.
Please enjoy our stories below about the fruits of our farmland access work, the ever-growing, very fun FEAST! Local Foods Marketplace that connects Minnesota food entrepreneurs with individual and wholesale buyers, the outcome of our first round of Urban Ag microgrants, a recap of my recent trip to Japan to speak about mini-forests, and much more, including our Staff Moment with Burke Murphy, new staffer as lead for the Minnesota Women in Conservation project!
—Hannah Lewis, RTC Grants and Projects Manager
New Farmer U
Are you a farmer already started on your journey (from 2-6 years in operation) and are looking for learning opportunities to boost your farm business in a sustainable way? Does being in community alongside other emerging / beginning farmers for a weekend sound good to you?
If so, New Farmer U is for you! Join other awesome farmers, farmer advocates and service providers from the Upper Midwest for a shared learning experience at this year's New Farmer U on Saturday and Sunday, December 7th & 8th at Marine Mills Folk School in Marine on St Croix (just north of Stillwater)!
$50 total for both days! Scholarships available.
Dates: Dec. 7-8
Location: Marine on Saint Croix, MN
See a list of sessions and register at the link below.
For information on scholarships for registration/travel please contact Marbleseed at 888-906-6737 or email [email protected].
Register by Monday, Dec. 2!
Urban Ag
The application period for the second round of Micro-grants for Urban Farmers and Gardeners in the Twin Cities Metro Area is open!
Applications will be accepted until December 16—learn more and apply here.
Here’s the scoop on where our first round of urban ag microgrants went:
Urban Grower Business Skills and Planning Course
A hybrid program of in-person and virtual dates.
Dates: Nov. 6 - Dec. 14
Location: Zoom + Falcon Heights, MN
Sessions 1-4 are virtual, and cover a range of business visioning and planning topics, from production to markets.
Sessions 5-6 are in person Dec. 7, 14 at The Good Acre, and focus on financial essentials like budgets and Profit & Loss forms, and systems to manage your operation.
Learn More + Register here.
Mini-Forests
A special report from Hannah Lewis
50-yr-old “Miyawaki forest” growing at Yokohama National University in Japan. Photo by Angelina Lee.
Last month, I had the privilege to present at Yokohama National University—in Japan!— about the “green screen” we planted at Pilgrim Baptist Church in St. Paul. As you may recall, RTC partnered in May 2024 with the church, Urban Farm and Garden Alliance, the MN Department of Natural Resources, Great River Greening, and two fifth-grade classes at Maxfield Elementary School, among others, to plant a native forest buffer along the north edge of the churchyard community garden.
So why did I go all the way to Japan to share about that? I was part of an international delegation from some 25 countries spanning every continent except Antarctica, where people are restoring degraded land using the “Miyawaki Method” developed by the late Akira Miyawaki, a biology professor at Yokohama University. The delegation convened in Japan to exchange ideas and experiences from our respective projects, hone our Miyawaki Method knowledge and skills in the birthplace of the method, and visit the world’s oldest Miyawaki forests, now 50 years old, to verify that this approach does indeed result in healthy native forests that endure over time.
This Miyawaki symposium (and my travel there!) was sponsored by the UN’s G20 Global Land Initiative whose goal is to reduce the extent of degraded land by 50 percent by 2040. Globally, we are losing the capacity to support life at a rate of 100 million hectares/year of newly degraded land. The UN team sees the Miyawaki Method as a way to raise awareness about this land crisis and to reconnect people to land. Their vision is to help every school around the world to turn its schoolyard into a nature lab by planting small native forests with the students, just as we have done in St. Paul.
Give to the Max
As Marlene Petersen says, "Only for the love of Renewing the Countryside would I don a pea costume." (Click image to see the video)
But we're not asking that of you!
Your support of Renewing the Countryside this Give to the Max Day will double—thanks to generous contributions from former/current RTC board members, staff, and longtime supporters. Your donation will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $6,000!
Give to the Max Day is on Thursday, Nov. 21, but early giving is underway. Make a donation today, of any size, and double your impact; Let’s renew the countryside together!
For questions, contact Mikell Melius at 507-995-7221 or [email protected].
For more on Give to the Max, visit our page on givemn.org
Farmland Access
The Hub has received continued funding!
In October the USDA announced new Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP) awardees, and we are thrilled to report that our proposal, LAND ACCESS TRANSFORMATION: TIME + TRUST = CHANGE, was funded for three more years. That will allow for the continuation of the Farmland Access Hub and growth of the Farmland Access Navigator program.
“Starting or taking over a farm takes courage, and USDA wants to make sure our next generation of farmers have the resources and support they deserve to take that leap,” said USDA Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small.
Read more about this and other BFRDP-awarded projects here.
A Midwest Farmland Access Success Story
The latest Farmland Access Hub newsletter shared an inspiring story for a land-seeker:
Vincent Kimaiga immigrated to Minnesota from Kenya in 2008. He had been growing tomatoes, collards, and various herbs in community gardens with his wife and parents for years—mostly for their own consumption—but in 2021, when Kilimo Minnesota co-founder Moses Momanyi suggested they could rent land and grow a greater diversity of produce, Vincent acted on the encouragement and took up a lease with Kilimo, an organic incubator farm in Lino Lakes, Minnesota that supports African immigrants in land access and farmer education.
That first year Vincent sold produce to other farmers who had contracts for markets and in year two, his family secured three contracts with The Good Acre, the largest non-profit food hub in Minnesota.
“In 2023 we decided we wanted a bigger piece of land. Something more secure—more permanent—that had water access. We started looking and inquiring. At first, we were just looking to lease. I only needed an acre or two.”
Continue reading —>
For questions about the Farmland Access Hub, contact [email protected].
Go Farm Connect
Connectors connecting with participants at the Renewing the Countryside tables at the Emerging Farmers Conference.
We met so many people, and are looking forward to working with them all to get farmers the resources they need to succeed!
Learn more and register for Go Farm Connect events to connect emerging farmers with resources at gofarmconnect.org/events.
For questions about Go Farm Connect, contact [email protected]
Farmers Market Food Hubs
Renewing the Countryside got ALL SEVEN of the Farmers Market Hub Managers together for a gathering mid-November to plan for the 2025 season and reflect on the 2024 season.
Not sure what a hub is? That’s okay! Farmers’ Market Hubs are aggregators operating with temporary, portable structures. These hubs, often at local farmers markets across Minnesota, create opportunities for small-scale farmers to access local wholesale buyers, diversify sales channels, increase profits, and grow, while providing buyers with expanded local product choices. It’s a win-win for the farmers and buyers in the community and provides access to local foods that buyers often struggle with.
Want to learn more?
Check out our website: farmersmarkethub.org
Or contact [email protected] or [email protected]
FEAST! Local Foods
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The 11th annual FEAST! Local Foods Marketplace was our biggest yet! There was an increased number of food and beverage businesses, 35% of which were new to the festival, and the total attendee count was up by 25% over last year!
In addition to samples and sales from 85 businesses, attendees enjoyed five engaging cooking demos, kids activities that included seed crafts and veggie sampling with nutritionists, and over 300 people voting for their favorite booth. The People's Choice Award was presented by John Monson of Compeer Financial to Josey Chu of Madame Chu (pictured above, center), a Southeast Asian sauces company out of Madison, WI who has participated in every FEAST event since 2019 and was runner-up in last year's voting.
We were honored to have Mayor Kim Norton of Rochester attend and address our exhibitors before the doors opened, highlighting her proclamation of the first Saturday in November as Local Foods Day in Rochester. We were also thrilled to have Minnesota Commissioner of Agriculture Thom Peterson attend and speak during our pre-show "vendor huddle."
Agweek reporter Noah Fish attended and shared this lovely writeup: Feasting on local foods, connections
For questions about FEAST! Local Foods Network programs, contact Elena at 608.712.8340 or [email protected].
Elderberries Go to Las Vegas
With the support of Renewing the Countryside, Ariel Pressman and Chris Patton (pictured here) recently went to the Supply Side West trade show in Las Vegas to explore sales opportunities for Midwest Elderberry growers. They were specifically looking to learn and connect around elderberry powders, the most common ingredient “format” for elderberries used by large manufacturers. A little elderberry powder goes a long way since it takes FIVE pounds of elderberries to produce ONE pound of powder. Currently, virtually all elderberry powder used in the US comes from European elderberries and are manufactured abroad. However, Midwest Elderberry Cooperative is gearing up to create the first-ever US grown and manufactured elderberry powders this spring.
Ariel and Chris were able to talk to well over 100 companies and found strong interest in using US grown elderberries in everything from food ingredients to nutraceuticals to natural coloring. They even had several conversations with pet food companies interested in using the waste product (pumice) created from pressing elderberries for juice. The next step will be to follow up in the spring with elderberry powder samples so interested companies can assess the quality and nutritional density of the products Midwest Elderberry Cooperative manufactures.
WI Women in Conservation
What a terrific time we have had meeting all of you during our busy event season in Wisconsin this year! From soil-focused Spring Learning Circles, to Summer Farm Field Days, exciting Conservation Bus Tours, and our Fall Learning Circles that explored groundwater health, we've absorbed so much and made so many friends. Though we're looking forward to the quieter months of fall and winter, we certainly don't plan to stop learning!
Please join us for this exciting webinar we have coming up in November.
Many of us are feeling pretty exhausted as we finish out the harvest season and prepare our farms and gardens for winter, so West Central Regional Coordinator Alanna Koshollek thought it would be great to do something easy and fun for her upcoming potluck at Kinstone in Fountain City on Monday, Nov. 18.
Alanna has asked farmer and chef Jennifer Monsos of the Tansy's Traveling Kitchen food truck to curate a Stone Soup potluck. Everyone brings ONE ingredient instead of one dish, and Chef Jennifer will help us make something wonderful out of it. Don't miss this event—even if you have to drive a ways—because the views out at Kinstone are incredible! We loved having one of our first Learning Circles there in 2022, and we can't wait to go back.
MN Women in Conservation
Join MNWiC this Saturday, Nov. 16 in Madison, MN for coffee and conservation conversation with like-minded local women, and conservation professionals who are in your community and available to help. If you are a farmer already, an avid gardener, a beginning grower, a prairie steward, or someone with land dreams and plans to plant in the future, this event is for you! The goal of this event is to get to know more women with similar interests, and to learn about the many programs, organizations, federal and state agencies, and individuals who can connect you with technical and financial assistance.
We'll enjoy the incredible culinary artistry of baker Michele Huggins of Doughp Creations, who uses Kernza®, einkhorn, and other artisan grains in her creations. Sample macarons and einkhorn sourdough while we get to know each other.
MNWiC West Central Region Coordinator Alex Kiminski, a soil health and land access Organizer with The Land Stewardship Project will host the event. She'll be joined by colleague Robin Moore, a land access and legacy organizer who will lead a discussion on technical assistance and cost-share funding for land stewards. There is no minimum farm income or minimum land requirement to take advantage of these programs.
Whether you are an experienced conservationist or an absolute beginner, we invite you to join this Learning Circle conversation to network and learn alongside like-minded women-identifying land stewards.
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We're so pleased to introduce you to Burke Murphy, new to our staff but a long-time colleague who once served on our Board!
Rural communities and small-town life have been my anchor, ranging from New England to Northern California before landing in Minnesota in 2003 to attend the Humphrey School of Public Affairs for a master’s degree in Rural Sustainable Community and Economic Development. Those interests led me to an introduction to Renewing the Countryside; I fell in love with RTC’s Green Routes program and the books that brought Minnesota’s rural communities to life, getting to the heart of sustainability for rural areas.
Recent work in a nutshell? I love that there are over 700 farms in Goodhue County surrounding Red Wing, MN, where I moved in 2017. I landed work with Red Wing Ignite, an innovation and tech hub serving all of Southeast MN, and during my seven years there, I helped bring valuable grant funding to the region, with special affection for the Youth Skills Training Program and Youth Coding League programs that I helped to fund and direct. It is now my pleasure to be the State Lead for RTC's exciting new MNWiC initiative!
What's your favorite thing to get from the garden or farmers market? Farmers Markets are delicious meeting places for me—they are the link that reconnects us, not only with our food producers but also with the beauty and care of our land, water and air. There is so much heart and meaning for me in visiting with the couple that raise the beef I purchase; or the young man beaming to show me the colorful varieties of peppers, beets, radishes and tomatoes he’s harvested; or the always friendly Hmong family bringing so many beautiful flowers and vegetables.
What do you love to do in your free time? I love to walk in our beautiful parks every day with my dogs. Mishka, our sable-coated husky of 13 years with selective hearing is helping me groom our one-year-old puppy Luka, who has Beagle and Cattle Dog attributes that put me to the test on a daily basis! I love to fly fish but haven’t in a long while. I travel to Puebla, Mexico a few times a year, and I especially like to be there for Dia de Los Muertos, Navidad and Pascua (Day of the Dead, Christmas and Easter).
Read more on our staff page |
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