Welcome to the application for Land Stewardship Project's Farm Beginnings Class. The 2025-2026 class will be hybrid, with the majority of the class taking place virtually via zoom and some in-person sessions in the Twin Cities (Minnesota). The cost of the class is $1000, which covers up to two participants per farm. Partial scholarships are available and you can indicate your interest within this application. To apply for the course, please answer the following questions (required) and submit a refundable $50 deposit (optional). The following questions should take roughly 15-30 minutes and will need to be completed in one go as you will not be able to save partway through.

Click here to make a copy of application questions in Google Docs (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ip3FGhFSOb6dGommXQlaUgSz_hGlahdqKkhs0hoybuw/copy) if you'd like to work on the application on your own time and then transfer your answers here later. You may also apply to this class by answering the following questions over the phone with an LSP staff member, through a video sent to an LSP staff member, or by printing out and mailing your responses to LSP's Minneapolis Office: 821 E. 35th Street #200, Minneapolis, MN 55407.

Applications received & accepted before August 1, 2025, will receive an early-bird discount of $100 off the cost of the class. The final application deadline is September 1, 2025.

Farm Beginnings guiding principles:  

• Farmer-led: Class participants will hear from regional farmers about their farms and how they've implemented goal setting, marketing, and financial management practices.  

• Community based: Applicants from Minnesota, western Wisconsin, and northern Iowa will be given priority because LSP is best able to provide resources and connections in this area. If you are located elsewhere, check out the Farm Beginnings® Collaborative website (http://farmbeginningscollaborative.org/) to see if there is an organization near you offering Farm Beginnings.  

• Focused on Sustainable Agriculture: All farmers are encouraged to create a farm plan that is economically, socially, and ecologically sustainable.  

• Racial Equity: We recognize the organizations that are part of the Farm Beginnings® Collaborative are predominately white led and are in different stages of centering racial equity in their work. We hold ourselves and each other accountable to collaboratively commit to this work. The Farm Beginnings® Collaborative acknowledges the historical and ongoing racial inequities and oppression in agriculture towards farmers and communities of color. We commit to furthering our own understanding and supporting the farmers we interact with to do the same. We commit to using the power and influence we have across our organizations to uplift curriculum and practices of POC-led organizations to build more inclusive and equitable agricultural systems and implement changes that make it possible for more farmers of color to be successful

To learn more about the class visit our website at https://landstewardshipproject.org/farm-beginnings-class/. If you have any questions, please contact LSP's Farm Beginnings Organizers - Whitney Terrill (wterrill@landstewardshipproject.org) or Annelie Livingston-Anderson (annelie@landstewardshipproject.org).