The Sustainable Farming Association of Southeast Minnesota will hold
its annual meeting and an afternoon marketing workshop on Saturday,
February 1, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Catholic Parish Hall on
Fremont St. in Lewiston, MN.
Advanced grazier and successful dairyman, Joe Molitor from St. Cloud,
MN will be the feature speaker in the morning. Molitor farms 700+
acres with his brother, they have 280 acres in rotational grzing with
a dairy herd of 320+ production cows and replacement heifers. Molitor
has 10 years of grazing experience and will describe his operation in
conjunction with a slide presentation, and answer specific questions
on fencing, grasses, and paddock rotation cycles. He will also present
facts and figures for successful dairying and why budgeting and
planning for profit are crucial to the success of today's farming and
dairy operation.
After the noon lunch the marketing workshop will feature three 45
minute break-out sessions. Mike Lorentz of Lorentz Meats, Cannon
Falls, will present his Market Makers Program on beef, lamb and pork.
Nearly 80% of Lorentz Meats processing business is with successful,
small farm, direct marketing entrepreneurs such as Dave Minar. Lorentz
will talk about identifying markets and personal attention to
servicing the needs of the customer. This presentation will help you
decide if you have what it takes to do direct marketing and what an
important role your processor plays in your marketing scheme.
A fundamental aspect of running a successful farm/marketing operation
is setting a goal. Audrey Arner, a widely acclaimed Holistic Resource
Management (HRM) presenter, will provide an introduction to holistic
goal setting. Living our lives based on our values and defining forms
of production that will support our quality of life will be the focus
of this session.
Experienced and successful direct market chicken producer, Todd Lein
of Northfield, MN, will share his secrets for success in production
(his chickens are pasture-raised in pens and hormone free), and direct
marketing. His presentation will include a slide show and how to make
money raising chickens.
The meeting and workshop are open to the public. The presentations are
free to SFA membrs with only a $7 charge for the catered lunch. The
morning dairy presentation is open to nonmebers for $5; and the
afternoon marketing workshop is open to nonmembers for a $5 admission.
Please RSVP for the $7 catered lunch by Jan. 20th or as soon as
possible.
The Sustainable Farming Association is a farmer to farmer education
network based on sharing and fellowship. For more information on SFA,
this meeting, or to reserve lunch, please contact Bev Sandlin, SE MN
SFA coordinator, at 1-507-689-2988 evenings or email:
storm@rconnect.com.