Bruce Anderson, RENew Northfield & Sustainable Community Solutions
501 Saint Olaf Ave, Northfield, MN 55057
bruce@sustainablecommunitysolutions.com; renewnorthfield.org
Bruce Anderson works for the Dakota County Community Development Agency, managing the weatherization of several hundred low-income housing units per year. He previously worked as a consultant specializing in identifying and prioritizing cost-effective green building, energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions for homes, businesses, institutions and communities. Anderson is also the founder of RENew Northfield, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to lead the Northfield area community to energy self-sufficiency. Anderson has been an energy and environmental activist for over 25 years.
Lauren Anderson, Community Design Center of Minnesota
Program Manager, Food and Ecology Education and Training
731 E 7th St, St. Paul, MN • (651) 228-7073
landerson@comdesignctrmn.org; www.comdesignctrmn.org
Lauren Anderson is a recent graduate of St. Olaf and is currently the Food and Ecology Program Manager at the Community Design Center of Minnesota in St. Paul. She works with connecting kids to farming in the Twin Cities.
JoAnne Berkenkamp , Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), Program Director, Local Foods
(612) 870-3410
jberkenkamp@iatp.org; www.iatp.org/localFoods
JoAnne Berkenkamp is the Program Director for Local Foods at the Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy (IATP) in Minneapolis. IATP partners closely with the Minnesota School Nutrition Association to build Farm to School activities across the state, and partners with the St. Paul Public Schools in the national School Food FOCUS Network. IATP also works closely with the Minnesota Dept of Health on state-wide Farm to School efforts through the Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP).
Rep. David Bly, Minnesota State Representative
Northfield, MN • (507) 645-8328
david@davidbly.com; www.davidbly.com
Representative David Bly is serving his second term in the Minnesota State Legislature, representing Dist. 25B (Northfield, Belle Plaine, Nerstrand, Lonsdale, Dundas etc.) He has been an English teacher in Minnesota schools for the last 30 years, living most of that time in Northfield, self-described as “a community of cows, colleges and contentment.” He received a BA from St. Olaf College, and a MA from St. Mary’s University. He is the author of a booklet called the Middle Class Amendment and regularly contributes to his blog on all kinds of issues.
Angel Dobrow, Transition Northfield
Northfield, MN
adobrow@hotmail.com, info@transitionnorthfield.org; www.transitionnorthfield.org
My first local phone call made after moving to Northfield was looking for folks organizing a natural foods co-op. While homeschooling our two youngest children I helped build the organization that became Just Food Co-op; from there I developed a passion for strengthening our area’s local food infrastructure. After the SFA 2009 meeting I convinced a friend-CSA farmer to let me work in exchange for my food share, forever changing my perceptions of farming. As a member of the Transition Northfield initiating team I talk to people about the need for community responses to our changing realities in light of declining oil resources, increased climate change, and growing economic vulnerability.
Ben Doherty, Open Hands Farm
Northfield, MN • (507) 645-2871
openhandsfarm@gmail.com
We are a diverse 5-acre vegetable farm, committed to feeding our community the freshest, most nutritious produce possible. We aim to grow food in the most ecologically and economically sustainable ways possible. The farm is located 2 miles north of downtown Northfield, MN, off of Hwy 3. We grow over 270 varieties of vegetables, fruits, flowers and herbs. Many of the varieties we grow are heirloom or open-pollinated, and are always harvested and handled to maximize freshness, flavor, and nutritional value.
Jerry Ford, Living Song Farm & SFA of MN
Howard Lake, MN • 320-543-3394
jerry@sfa-mn.org
As a fourth generation farmer on his wife’s family farm near Howard Lake, Jerry also brings his years of experience in theatrical production and teaching to his role as Events & Youth Outreach Coordinator for SFA. On their very diversified farm, he and his wife, Mariénne, are continuing the extensive soil and water conservation practices that have been in place there since the 1940’s, and are expanding into rotational grazing and vegetable growing. In his work with SFA, Jerry manages interns and youth programs, and helps to produce such events as MN Garlic Festival, GrazeFest, Youth Sustainability Confabs, Festival of Farms and this conference.
Rachel Henderson & Anton Ptak, Mary Dirty Face Farm
Minneapolis, MN
antonptak@gmail.com
Anton Ptak and Rachel Henderson started Mary Dirty Face Farm in August of 2008 near Menomonie, WI. In spring of 2009 they planted the first trees of their small, diversified orchard, including apples, pears, plums, cherries, currants and more. They are interested in exploring the many varieties of fruit suitable for the upper Midwest and plan to direct-market most of their harvest. Additionally, they want to incorporate complementary enterprises in their whole farm management practices. Rachel and Anton are graduates of the Land Stewardship Project’s 2008-2009 Driftless Region Farm Beginnings Program.
Brad & Leslea Hodgson, Root Prairie Galloway
Fountain, MN • (507) 867-4004
hodgsonranch@aol.com; www.hodgsonranch.com
Brad & Leslea Hodgson own and operate Root Prairie Galloways where they raise and market grass fed Galloway Beef. The Galloway is an ancient heritage breed. Their farm is located in Filllmore County near Fountain, MN. They also operate a custom cabinet/woodworking shop. Farm Beginnings graduates class of 2000/2001.
Jeff Jensen, Rural Advantage, Marketing/Program Assistant
1243 Lake Ave, Ste 222, Fairmont, MN • 507-238-5449
Jeff@ruraladvantage.org; www.ruraladvantage.org
Jeff’s work revolves around 3rd crops, marketing, and new uses for perennial crops. He is particularly interested in the value of perennials for their ecological function and capturing that value for farmers and landowners. Jeff is currently working on ECoPayPack [Ecological Commodity Payment Package] a program developed to package multiple ecological services for payment to producers. To learn more about his work, ECoPayPack, or 3rd crop issues in general please visit www.ruraladvantage.org.
Erika Koffel, PRI Cold Climate
PO Box 22508 , Robbinsdale, MN • (651) 451-1716
erika.koffel@fulbrightmail.org; www.pricoldclimate.org
Erika Koffel, PRI Cold Climate Board Member, is a certified permaculture designer who has been involved with permaculture in the Twin Cities since 2004. She holds an MBA with a concentration in nonprofit management from the University of St. Thomas and a B.A. in International Relations and Asian Studies focused on sustainable economic development from St. Catherine University. Her education and various experiences abroad led her to receive a Fulbright grant to study the effects of rapid industrialization in a developing country while also teaching at a local school. After serving as Director of Development for Opportunity Partners for six years, Erika now works as Fundraising and Development Manager for Three Rivers Park District, which includes Gale Woods Farm.
Marienne Kreitlow, Living Song
Howard Lake, MN • (320) 543-3394
marienne@marienne.com; www.marienne.com
Returning home to Minnesota in 2002, Marienne Kreitlow is the fourth generation on her family farm, where she and her husband Jerry Ford continue conservation practices that her father, Willard, started in the 1940’s. With nine albums of original music released to positive acclaim, her compositions often reflect a strong sense of place and commitment to honoring the land. She is a co-founder and the entertainment director of Minnesota Garlic Festival.
Martin Lang, Gustavus Adolphus College
St. Peter, MN • (507) 933-6899
mlang3@gac.edu; www.gustavus.edu
Martin Lang is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, MN. His teaching and scholarship include media studies and civic engagement.
Erik Larson, St. Peter Food Co-op, Produce Manager
119 West Broadway, St. Peter, MN • (507) 934-4880
erik@stpeterfood.coop; www.stpeterfood.coop
Erik Larson has been the produce manager at the St. Peter Food Co-op for 4 years. He began at the St. Peter Food Co-op as a dishwasher when he was 15 years old, worked at two other co-ops during his college years, and was the Assistant Deli Manager at the store for two years prior to taking the helm in the produce department. Erik has two children age 7 and 8 and in his spare time hosts a weekly radio show on Mankato’s public radio station KMSU.
Sarah Lesnar. Land Stewardship Project
821 E 35th St Ste 200, Minneapolis, MN • (612) 722-6377
slesnar@landstewardshipproject.org; www.landstewardshipproject.org
Sarah Lesnar grew up in the southeast Minnesota community of Spring Grove. She received an environmental science, policy & management degree from University of Minnesota in December 2008. Last winter she volunteered and interned with Land Stewardship Project, and helped organize the 2009 LSP Family Farm Breakfast at the Capitol, among other things. Sarah joined LSP’s Policy & Organizing staff in November 2009. Her current work is focusing on organizing large numbers of farmers, rural residents and urban support-ers to stop the expansion of fac-tory farms in the Upper Midwest and to develop policies that rein in these operations.
Ethan Marxhausen, Gustavus Adolphus College
St. Peter, MN
emarxhau@gac.edu; www.gustavus.edu
Ethan Marxhausen is a sophomore English and Political Science major at Gustavus Adolphus College. Working with Dr. Lang on “Farming Forward” was his first experience shooting a documentary, and it has been a great opportunity for him to enjoy his interests in the field of filmmaking. He hopes to use his degree in Creative Writing to land a job as a columnist or an editor of a periodical. It is his dream to one day write and direct feature films.
John Mesko, Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota & Lighthouse Farm
Box 192, Princeton, MN • (763) 389-2316
john@sfa-mn.org; www.sfa-mn.org; www.lighthousefarm.com
As the owners and operators of Lighthouse Farm, John and his family direct market grass-fed, organic beef and lamb as well as pastured pork, chicken, and turkey to families throughout the state. John was a Purdue University extension educator and county director in Indiana prior to his return to his home state of Minnesota in 2006. In addition to his farming experience, John comes to the SFA of Minnesota with over seven years of experience in local food system development including work with farmers’ markets, Community Supported Agriculture, and direct marketing. He also brings a background in small farm and beginning farmer education and support.
Duane Ninneman, Clean Up our River Environment
The Clean Energy Desk
117 S 1st St , Montevideo, MN • (320)269-2984
duane@cureriver.org; www.cureriver.org
Duane Ninneman is the owner of Sage Research and Consulting (SRC); a collaborative specializing in clean energy policy and development, rural development and organizing, and the facilitation of unique and often unlikely community partnerships. In his work Ninneman advocates for a progressive energy agenda as a way to create and support thriving rural communities, often advising state legislators and national leaders about the importance of serving rural community needs when making sweeping energy policy decisions. One notable partner of SRC is the nonprofit Clean Up the River Environment where Ninneman staffs the Clean Energy Desk. Ninneman lives in wind swept Big Stone County, Minnesota on a small farm with his wife Maureen Laughlin.
Greg Nolan, Snowy Pines Reforestation
Browerville, MN • (320) 333-4056
gregnolan56@gmail.com; www.rea-alp.com/~snowpine/
Greg Nolan currently co-owns, with his wife Marcia, a small family forestry and wood products business. Since 1984 Snowy Pines has planted over 4 million trees. They work to integrate the forestry services they provide (tree planting, thinning, small scale logging, deer browse protection and consulting) to private well managed forests, along with the processing of valuable wood products that are sold as installed flooring, paneling, siding and trim. In their home, farm and business they make use of solar power.
Margo O’Brien, St. Peter Food Co-op, General Manager
119 W Broadway, St. Peter, MN 56082 • (507) 934-4880
margo@stpeterfood.coop; www.stpeterfood.coop
Margo O’Brien has been the general manager of the St. Peter Food Co-op since its inception in 1979. She is a highly respected member of the national food cooperative community and has contributed to the growth of the entire movement throughout the years. In addition to starting and running a successful food co-op, Margo raised four boys. Her youngest son, Shyama, is the deli manager at the St. Peter Food Co-op. Margo’s four grandchildren and her garden keep her busy and entertained outside the co-op.
Megan O’Hara, Homegrown Minneapolis & Megan O’Hara Communications
Minneapolis, MN • (612) 599-7625
megan.ohara1@gmail.com; www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/dhfs/homegrown-home.asp
Megan O’Hara has served in a variety of community leadership roles, most recently as co-chair of Homegrown Minneapolis, a project of the City of Minneapolis to improve consumption, sales and distribution of fresh, locally grown foods to positively impact the health, food security, economy and environment of our city and the surrounding region. Prior to that she chaired the Minnesota Children and Nature Connection, helping to deepen and broaden the efforts to reconnect our children and families with nature. Professionally, Megan has worked in communications and marketing. Wife of Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, Megan has served in a volunteer capacity on the boards of Tubman Family Alliance, Peace Foundation and the Mill City Farmers’ Market on the downtown Minneapolis riverfront.
John Ostgarden & Lowell Gordon, Clinton Falls Farm
Medford, MN • (507) 446-8045
farmerjohn@clintonfallsfarm.com; www.clintonfallsfarm.com
Clinton Falls Farm is home to 18 acres of organically grown fruits, vegetables, flowers, and hay, 6 acres of pristine pasture, and a diversity of wildlife on the remaining woodland. Our farmland is purposefully managed to reflect our dedication to Sustainable Farming, and is deeply rooted in our commitment to ensuring a healthy natural environment, a healthy and vibrant community, and a successful small family farm.
Katharine Plowman
Montevideo MN
kr.plowman@gmail.com
A recent graduate of the University of Minnesota, Katharine has spent two seasons interning on organic vegetable farms. She is an active promoter of local, organic foods and has worked on various issues ranging from Farm to School to on-farm sustainability assessments.
Greg Reynolds, Riverbend Farm
Delano, MN • (763) 972-3295
greg.reynolds@frontier.com
Greg Reynolds owns and operates Riverbend Farm near Delano, MN. He grows certified organic vegetables for CSA, restaurant, and Twin Cities food co-ops. This fall he started selling vegetables to the Hopkins Schools. Greg is involved in the Crow River Chapter and helps organize the Minnesota Garlic Festival. He also has interests in sustainable organic production, cover cropping systems, local food issues, and Norton motorcycles.
Mark Ritchie, Minnesota Secretary of State
St. Paul, MN
www.sos.state.mn.us/
Mark Ritchie serves as Minnesota’s 21st Secretary of State.As Secretary of State, Mark Ritchie partners with township, city, and county officials to organize elections on behalf of Minnesota’s nearly 4 million eligible voters
Ritchie also oversees a wide range of services provided by the Office of Secretary of State including business filings, the archiving of official documents, administering the appointments process for state-level commissions, and operating Minnesota’s address confidentiality program. As an elected Constitutional Officer he sits on the state Executive Council, the State Board of Investment, and on the board of the Minnesota Historical Society.
In the 1980s, Ritchie worked for Governor Rudy Perpich in the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, addressing the economic crisis threatening family farmers and rural communities. From 1988 to 2006, he served as president of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.
In 2008 Secretary Ritchie was named the Most Valuable State Official in the United States by The Nation magazine and Politician of the Year by Politics in Minnesota, the state’s leading non-partisan public affairs news service. In 2009, he received the Election Verification Network’s national recognition award for his non-partisan leadership throughout the 2008 US Senate race recount.
Dorothy Rosemeier, University of Minnesota West Central Partnership, Executive Director
680 80th Ave. SE, De Graff, MN 56271 • (320) 760-3735
rosemeie@umn.edu; www.prideoftheprairie.org; www.regionalpartnerships.umn.edu/westcentral
Dorothy Rosemeier lives near De Graff, MN and has served as the Executive Director to the West Central Regional Sustainable Development Partnership (WCRSDP) board since 2000. Dorothy has a masters degree in education from the University of Minnesota, and a Bachelor of Science degree from the U of WI-Stout. She moved to west central MN in 1978 for an Extension Educator position in Swift County. Throughout her extension career, her work expanded from family and consumer education to community development and active citizenship/leadership on a county and regional levels. Dorothy’s interest in the sustainable development stems from her interest in “grassroots” and “social justice” issues, which were influenced by her upbringing with eight siblings on a small family farm in southeast Minnesota.
Troy Salzer, Sandy Hills Ranch
Barnum, MN • (218) 631-1435
salze003@umn.edu
Troy and Chris Salzer run Sandy Hills Ranch is a beef and vegetable operation started in 2001 in Barnum, MN. We graze about 175 Black Angus X Gelbvieh beef animals with 105 cows to calve starting in March and with 30-50 yearlings that we graze as stockers and finishing animals. We market both grass and traditional finished beef. We have been grazing since the beginning and trying to make changes to capitalize on the grass production which is the strength that we have in this part of the state. We also raise vegetables which are marketed primarily through the Farmers’ Market in Scanlon. Our specialty crops include sweet corn, many varieties of potatoes, carrots and beets.Last year both before and much more extensively after Grazefest 2009 we started to utilize the Mob grazing technique as suggested by Mr. Greg Judy. We have had many new insights and how we can utilize these methods to extend our grazing season, improve late season growth, create more drought tolerance and reduce our costs.
Danny Schwartzman, Common Roots Café
2558 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN • (612) 871-2360
danny@commonrootscafe.com; www.commonrootscafe.com
Danny Schwartzman is the owner of Common Roots Cafe, a Minneapolis restaurant that serves good food made from scratch — using high quality, local, organic, and fair-trade ingredients (making up 87% of all cafe purchases since opening in 2007). Prior to opening Common Roots, Danny worked as a community organizer in the Twin Cities area for 7 years. Danny graduated from Macalester College with a BA in Political Science, and originally hails from Chevy Chase, Maryland.
Heather Secrist Smith, Smith Gardens Farm
Cochrane, WI • (608) 626-2122
mail@smithgardensfarm.com; www.smithgardensfarm.com
Heather Secrist Smith is the owner/manager of Smith Gardens Farm, a 16-acre farm in rural Cochrane, WI. The farm is home to her and her two young sons, Ashlan and Ethan. Heather’s interest in working with the land was cultivated on her parent’s dairy farm. Her degrees in biology and psychology from Cornell College led Heather to pursue field research and later come back to the world of agriculture. The farm flourishes in diversity but focuses on two main direct marketing enterprises: CSA vegetable subscriptions and wood-fired pizzas
Dr. Ryan Stockwell, The Minnesota Project
Director of Energy and Agriculture
1885 University Ave Ste 315, St. Paul, MN • (651) 645-6159
rstockwell@mnproject.org; www.mnproject.org
Dr. Ryan Stockwell joined the Minnesota Project in October of 2008 and is currently the Director of Energy and Agriculture. Within those programs, The Minnesota Project develops research, educational outreach and demonstration projects to eliminate barriers to more widespread development of clean energy and energy efficiency and increased implementation of sustainable agricultural practices and policies. Prior to joining the Minnesota Project Ryan worked as a regional organizer for the Western Organization of Resource Councils in Billings, MT. Ryan has an M.A. in History from Miami University and a B.A. in Social Change and Development from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.
John Zinn, USDA/NRCS
Natural Resources Conservation Service Grazing Specialist
330 Elton Hills Dr. NW, Rochester, MN • (507) 289-7454
John.Zinn@mn.usda.gov
John Zinn has been the State Grazing Specialist for the Minnesota Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) for two years. Other grazing related experience includes: 3 years as NE MN Regional Grazing Specialist for NRCS, 7 years experience grazing dairy steers, and 6 years experience grazing dairy cows.
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