The Farmland Access Hub partners with many regional organizations that host both online and in-person events to train and support beginning farmers, as well as exiting farmers/landowners. These events are not only educational for participants but are often a means of networking and community strengthening. Please check back regularly for updates to our events schedule.
We welcome suggestions for events that serve the needs of farmers and landowners. Please contact bonnie@rtcinfo.org with ideas or questions about land access-related events.
Events
Upcoming Events
2026 New Farmer U - March 21-22, Lanesboro, MN
Hit the ground running this growing season with New Farmer U, an early spring mini-academy designed to build farmers’ business skills. This weekend-long retreat in March welcomes farmers who are just starting out—whether you are still dreaming, just beginning, or in your first ten years of farming—no matter where you live or what you grow.
You’ll receive a boost to your farm business skills with workshops from Paul Dietmann, Compeer Financial’s Senior Lending Officer, and experienced growers and ag professionals on a number of topics that impact you.
Come for the skill building and leave with a new network of peers—other farmers in the early parts of their careers. In addition to content and materials, your registration includes four meals, snacks, and one night of lodging.
Early bird pricing rates and scholarships available. Learn more and register here.
Coming up, February 24th!
Holding Ground, Letting Go: A Guided Approach to Farm Transition & Legacy
Listen to this February 16th interview by project coordinators Shelly Rothman and Bonnie Warndahl on WPR's "Wisconsin Today"!!!
Learn more and Register below!!!
​Your LEGACY is about MORE
than just your LAND
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Start planning for farm transition this winter with the support of trained professionals! Reflect on your connection to the land, clarify goals, and plan practical next steps to secure a future for the land that aligns with your timeline and values.
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Please join us for a series of two in-person workshops at American Legion, Green Lake, WI (lunch provided):
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Session 1 - Tues, February 24 (10am-2pm)
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Session 2 - Tues, March 31 (10am-2pm)
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All participants will have access to ongoing one-to-one transition planning support following the two workshops!​
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​Please register for the first session here*
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*Registering for the first workshop covers your
registration for the second workshop
Hosted by Foxhead Regenerative Agriculture Project (FoxRAP), in partnership with University of Wisconsin Division of Extension–Madison, and Renewing the Countryside. This service is free of charge to farmland owners, thanks to the support of the North Central Extension Risk Management Education Center, project award no. 2024-70027-42470, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
Land Stewardship Project's Farm Transition Course 2026
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PLANNING YOUR FARM TRANSITION:
Join This Winter 2026 Online Course to Begin Farm Transition Planning Today​
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​​Are you a farm family or landowner thinking about the future or next steps for your farm?
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Are you interested in planning for the next generation of farmers on your land?
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Do you have a spouse/partner helping to make these decisions? Are you both on the same page?
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Are you ready to begin the planning process but don’t know where to start?
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JOIN IN ONLINE:
Tuesdays January 27 to March 10, 5:30 p.m.- 8 p.m.​​​
​Course fee: $250 per family. Registration deadline: Jan. 9
COURSE TOPICS INCLUDE:
Goal-setting; financial, legal, long-term care considerations; considerations working with next generation farmers; farm transitions options and resources, communication tools, peer-to-peer networking, and more.
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Join Us!
The 2023 Farmland Summit will bring together thought leaders, change agents, policymakers, and practitioners from around the Upper Midwest to dig into critical challenges and opportunities related to farmland access and transfer.
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Farm Transition Planning 101: What’s next for you and your land?
America’s farms have hit a critical point. Most of our food and fiber producers are over 55, while young and beginning farmers—due to debt and insurmountable challenges around farming and farmland access—are only replacing these producers at a rate of 9%. Additionally, the devastating and rapid loss of farmland in the U.S. to poorly planned developmental sprawl and foreign investors is pointing toward an impending food system crisis.
The Farmland Access Hub and Renewing the Countryside, along with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA), Land Stewardship Project (LSP), Region Nine Development Commission (RNDC), American Farmland Trust (AFT), Michigan Farmlink, and others, are working to mitigate these issues by creating educational and networking opportunities for landowners and farmers around legacy planning and farmland transition.
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Whether you are interested in renting, selling, or transitioning your farm to a new owner this 1.5 hour program is designed to help landowners and retiring farmers:
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Identify and overcome fears and challenges as they think through the next steps for their land.
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Learn about available resources to get started on transition planning (and how to use them).
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Gain comfort discussing "sticky" topics when it comes to "retirement" including passing on land and/or business operations to heirs or unrelated land stewards.
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Decide who needs to be on their transition planning team
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Take the first steps toward implementing a transition plan
This session will be led by special guest Jim Molenaar, Farm Succession Coordinator at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. Landholders will have the opportunity to share and discuss their specific challenges and scenarios with peers with facilitated support from farm succession coordinators and land transfer specialists.
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Jim's Bio:
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Jim Molenaar has a wide variety of experience with farm families during his forty-three-year career in
agriculture education. His primary work was as a farm business management instructor (one-on-one
education with farmers), farm mediator, farm succession/transition education specialist, MDA
Minnesota Department of Agriculture Rural Finance Authority Board Member and MDA Farm Advocate.
Now retired, he does contract work for the Southern MN Center for Agriculture and Minnesota
Department of Agriculture as their Farm Succession Coordinator providing seminars and individual
counseling in farm succession. Over his career, he has been recognized as the Minnesota Young
Agriculture Instructor, and later the Minnesota Outstanding Agriculture Educator. Jim recently
published and illustrated a book available on Amazon, “True Tales of a One-Time Farm Boy!” Jim and his
wife Laura have been married for forty years and are parents of three grown children who loved
grandma’s farm but have found occupations in education and the medical field.
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Register for Farm Transition Planning 101
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwtdeGhqjsvHdMCY9JWYnolu-gok_XPTyp5
