Enhancing Business Skills of MN's Next Generation of Farmers

If Minnesota wants a strong network of up-and-coming farmers, including those who want to farm on healthier land, the state can help them become business savvy, according to backers of a bill to boost ag education funding.

A Minnesota House measure would increase the budget for an initiative to fund instructors who guide beginning farmers on the financial side of running a farm.

Those who testified in support said unlike previous generations, young adults who grow up in a farming family aren't learning all aspects of the job before deciding to follow in their parents' footsteps.

Hannah Bernhardt, owner of Medicine Creek Farm in Pine County, said it was the case for her.

"When I started my farm, I knew how to rotationally graze and to care for livestock and I also felt confident at marketing," Bernhardt recounted. "But I'd never even looked at QuickBooks, let alone applied for a business loan."

A scholarship allowed her to train under the Farm Business Management program, easing concerns about her money decisions. Medicine Creek emphasizes sustainable farming practices and conservation groups said more operations like hers are needed to counter the emergence of industrial agriculture. Program funding would increase by $1.5 million but it is unclear how far the bill will go.

Federal data show the number of Minnesota farms has decreased by 20% since 2002 and the average farm size is growing.

Hunter Pederson, public policy specialist for the Minnesota Farm Bureau, suggested program faculty have a lot on their plate in working with smaller producers trying to compete in a tough market.

"Increased funding for this program will help ensure that these instructors have a reasonable workload," Pederson contended. "And keep the FBM program strong and preserve more family farms in Minnesota."