Field Day: Organic Vegetables and Livestock Grazing at Whetstone Farm

Go Farm Connect will be hosting on on-farm field day at Whetstone Farm in Amery to give participants a tour of an organic vegetable farm with grazing livestock, and to introduce growers to financial and technical resources that can help their businesses grow.  Emily Hanson and Klaus Zimmerman, farmers at Whetstone, grow certified organic vegetables and grass-fed beef and lamb for direct market. This is a dynamic collaborative farm with a focus on community building and resiliency in sustainable farming. 

Snacks will be provided, and Hmong and other language interpretation services will be available upon request. Growers, farm advocates, and conservation staff in Eau Claire, Chippewa, Dunn, and Barron counties are also encouraged to attend. This event will be of special interest to beginning farmers who could benefit from the Farm Ownership Loan, established farmers who could benefit from an operating loan, farmers interested in the federal Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) for grazing plans, fencing and water systems and high tunnels, as well as vegetable and small ruminant producers. 

The facilitator for this event is Bonnie Warndahl of Winnowburrow Farm and Florals in Dunn County.  She is  Go Farm Connect peer Connector, and a Land Access Specialist with Renewing the Countryside. She will share from her own farm experience about what federal farm programs have helped  in her operation. She will be joined by United States Departnment of Agriculture (USDA) staff from the Farm Service Agency and Natural Resources Conservation Service in Polk County,  who will explain disaster assistance, insurance, loans, cost share grants and other federal support available for farmers, including an explanation of the deadlines to apply for various programs. No prior experience with farm programs is necessary, and growers do not need to won land to participate. 

Please request language interpretation on the registration form. For further information, contact Bonnie: bonnie@rtcinfo.org or 

612.462.9311

Who Should Attend

All interested parties are invited to attend and learn, including beginning and prospective growers, family, friends,  and cultural and agricultural support professionals. 

About Go Farm Connect

Are you lost in an alphabet soup of federal acronyms? Need help finding the right resources?

Navigating USDA programs can be overwhelming, confusing and intimidating. We get that! We've pulled together an experienced team of farmers to help you connect to the right programs. We offer FREE services that focus on different aspects of building a successful farm business. We can provide a Connector to be a personal guide, coach, and ally who shares your goal of running a successful farm operation.

Go Farm Connect is a farmer-led initiative to build relationships between historically underserved specialty crop farmers (beginning, women, veterans, BIPOC and new Americans) and federal farm agencies.  Our Connectors are trained to help farms of all sizes and specialties in Minnesota and Wisconsin access agricultural assistance programs. The three-year project is led by Renewing The Countryside in partnership with the US Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency, and Natural Resources Conservation Service. Registration through this link is helpful so that USDA staff can be aware of what questions you might want answered. Go Farm Connect staff may take photos and videos at this event to promote programs and future events. Your RSVP gives your permission to be photographed. Please let a Connector know at the event if you want to be kept out of photos.