Collaboration with the Land Stewardship Project, Rural Revival & Dakota Rural Action
Are you a farmer or landowner thinking about the next steps for your farm? Or do you know someone who is? For the first time, the Land Stewardship Project’s holistic Farm Transition Planning Course is coming to South Dakota in collaboration with Rural Revival, Dakota Rural Action (DRA), and the Land Stewardship Project (LSP). Rural Revival, founded by a group of farmers in southeastern South Dakota to revitalize their community by nurturing a positive environment for making a living on the land, will host the course this upcoming winter in Freeman.
This opportunity is coordinated alongside the land
transition course that LSP has provided for Minnesota farmers over the past
nine years. The course includes seven weekly in-person sessions, with a
full-day Saturday session to kick-off, and another to close the training.
Sessions 2-6 will take place on Tuesday evenings for 2 1/2 hours. Dates are:
Jan. 31, Feb. 3, Feb. 10, Feb. 17, Feb. 24, March 3, and March 14. The
sessions build on one another, so attendance at all sessions ensures the greatest
understanding and planning opportunities. The course fee is $250 per family.
The registration deadline is Jan. 9. For more information and to
register, visit https://qrco.de/farmtransitions2026
or contact DRA’s Megan EisenVos at megan@dakotarural.org.
“It is never too early to start thinking about your farm
transition,” said Karen Stettler, who works on farm transition issues for LSP.
“This course will provide an opportunity to join with other farmers who are
pondering their next transition steps and to develop goals while assessing
land, legacy and financial considerations.”
Presenters at the workshop will include other area farmers
who are implementing farm transition plans, as well as professionals
representing the legal and financial fields as they relate to agricultural
businesses. Workshop participants will have an opportunity to begin their
planning as well as learn about resources for continuing the process after the
workshop’s conclusion.
“One of the most important decisions that a landowner will
ever make is ‘who will I turn over care of this land to?’ The Farm Transition
Course helped us to better define our values and set goals for the farm,” said
Bill McMillin, a retired Minnesota farmer who participated in a previous LSP
Farm Transition Planning Workshop. “Whenever a difficult decision or unforeseen
issue arose, we went back to our values and goals to help us make our decision.
It was also great to hear how other farmers were dealing with the transition
process.”