Welcome to
South Central Chapter's page.
Farmers and other people interested in alternatives to conventional farming formed the South Central Chapter in the late 80s. Some of the founding members were originally members of the first SFA chapter that meet in Lewiston, Minnesota. Also, many of the founding members belonged the Southern Minnesota and Northern Iowa Ridge Till Club that held its meetings in Albert Lea, Minnesota. The SMNI Ridge Till Club emphasized sharing of information between farmers and helped many farmers convert from conventional tillage to ridge tillage. The chapter also received help in the beginning from a non-profit group, the Land Stewardship Project, which started the first SFA chapter and several other SFA chapters.
SCSFA sponsors educational programs that are common to all SFA chapters including an annual meeting with guest speakers, farm tours and field days, and some other farmer lead projects. Our chapter has also organized many small informal meetings in homes or other locations covering many different topics related to sustainable farming. Some of our members are organic farmers and have helped other members convert to organic farming while other members use sustainable farming methods but are not organic farmers.
Our board meets monthly during most of the year to plan activities and conduct business. Recently we have made plans to hold a field day on oats in cooperation with the oat breeder from the University of Minnesota and we have scheduled a soil and water conservation field day that will include a picnic. Most of our members reside in Mower, Freeborn, Faribault, Blue Earth, Waseca, or Steel Counties. Over the years our educational work has expanded into new areas including marketing, small-scale food production for local markets, and other areas related to sustainable farming.
Contact information for the
South Central chapter
| Coordinator |
Jim Tjepkema |
| Address |
Clarks Grove, MN 56016 |
| Phone Number |
(507) 256-4876 |
Send an
email to
Jim Tjepkema.
