Midwest Grazing & Soil Health Summit
March 3 & 4, 2026
Willmar Conference Center
Willmar, Minnesota
Registration
Early Bird Members (through Dec. 8, 2025): $150
Regular Members (begins Dec. 9, 2025): $170
Nonmembers: $190
Members must log in first to see member pricing.
Refunds: The last day to request a refund for registrations is February 3, 2026.
Lodging
Discounted lodging is available at the Best Western Plus Willmar when you book with our room block. This hotel is attached to the Conference Center. Click below to book your room online, or call the front desk at 320-235-6060 and mention the "Grazing Summit" to get the block discount.
See the In-Progress Schedule of Sessions & Features HERE.
Sponsor Opportunities
Exhibitor space for this event is no longer available.
Consider partnering with SFA by sponsoring the Summit.
Application Instructions: Mail the completed form (page three) and a check to SFA at 1400 Van Buren St. NE #200 Minneapolis, MN 55413 OR Complete your entire application online.
Exhibitor space for this event is no longer available.
2026 Presenters
Dr. Temple Grandin
We are thrilled to have Dr. Temple Grandin join us as a keynote speaker. Dr. Grandin's trailblazing work in the beef cattle industry is world-renowned and part and parcel of today's agriculture. Throughout her career, Dr. Grandin has studied livestock behavior to develop facility designs, handling equipment, and standards that prioritize animal welfare which are utilized by meat processing plants and food companies across the industry.
Dr. Grandin is a Distinguished Professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University, where she has taught and conducted research for over thirty years. Having dedicated her life as a scientist and author to improving livestock handling practices and advancing animal welfare, her myriad of achievements and awards are too numerous to list in full here. They include:
- Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Cattlemen's Beef Association
- Named a "hero" in the TIME 100 2010 issue of 100 most influential people
- Meritorious Achievement Award from the Livestock Conservation Institute
- Induction into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, National Women's Hall of Fame, and Cowgirl Hall of Fame
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In addition to her industry accolades, Dr. Grandin is a prominent figure in the autism community. She is the author of several books on visual thinking and her lived experience with autism -- experiences which guided her research and informed her designs. Her life story was the subject of the 2010 HBO biopic Temple Grandin, which starred Claire Danes and won several Emmy awards, including a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Television Movie, a Golden Globe, and Peabody Award.
Keith Berns
Keith Berns has over 25 years of no-till farming and 10 years of teaching Agriculture and Computers. In addition to no-tilling 2,000 acres of irrigated and dryland corn, soybeans, rye, triticale, peas, sunflowers, and buckwheat in South Central Nebraska, he also co-owns and operates Green Cover Seed, one of the major cover crop seed providers and educators in the United States. Through Green Cover Seed, Keith has experimented with over 100 different cover crop types and hundreds of mixes planted into various situations and has learned a great deal about cover crop growth, nitrogen fixation, moisture usage, and grazing utilization of cover crops.
Keith was honored by the White House as a 2016 Champion of Change for Sustainable and Climate-Smart Agriculture. Keith also developed the SmartMix Calculator™, one of the most widely used cover crop selection tools on the internet.
Keith has a Masters Degree in Agricultural Education from the University of Nebraska and teaches on cover crops and soil health more than 40 times per year to various groups and audiences. Keith also was appointed by Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts to be part of the Nebraska Healthy Soils Task Force and had the privilege of serving as the chairman.
Jared Luhman
Jared Luhman farms on his family's farm in Goodhue, MN along with his wife Valerie and dad Jon. They raise a herd of 230 registered Red Angus and 50 black angus cattle that are bred to thrive in their environment without the use of expensive inputs. On the crop side they practice no-till, cover cropping and livestock integration.
Their goals are to manage their farm in a way that improves the land under their stewardship, the profitability of their business and the lifestyle that they enjoy. You can learn more about what they do on Jared's Ranching Returns Podcast where he talks to farmers and ranchers across the US who have learned to improve their financial returns, returns to their land resource and returns to their lifestyle through Ranching.
Jason Cavadini
Jason Cavadini is the Grazing Outreach Specialist with the UW-Madison Division of Extension. He conducts research, outreach, and educational programming focused on perennial forages, livestock-integrated cropping systems, and managed-grazing for farms of all scales.
Jason grew up in the Driftless Area of Wisconsin where he developed an appreciation for soil and water conservation farming practices. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in Crop & Soil Science from University of Wisconsin-River Falls, and a master’s in Agronomy from Purdue University. Jason is a Certified Professional Agronomist, serves as an advisor to GrassWorks Inc., and operates a cow-calf to finish grazing operation with his wife and five children near Stratford, WI.
More to be announced!
The Evolution of SFA's Midwest Soil Health Summit
For 11 years, the Sustainable Farming Association has proudly hosted the Midwest Soil Health Summit, an educational event developed during a time when soil health was still a budding concept.
As the importance of soil health has become more widely recognized and soil health education more readily available, we are shifting the educational focus of the Summit and rebranding the event as the Midwest Grazing & Soil Health Summit.
More than just a name change, this evolution acknowledges and celebrates the deep connection between soil and livestock in building thriving ecosystems and communities.
This new emphasis allows us to explore the dynamic harmony between grazing and soil health—together, they create a regenerative path forward for farmers and ranchers.
Our 2026 Sponsors
BLOOM SPONSORS
The Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program (MAWQCP) is a first-ofits- kind, voluntary opportunity that helps landowners protect and improve water quality across Minnesota.
Green Lands Blue Waters is an initiative focused on shifting the agricultural landscape in the Upper Mississippi River Basin to more acres in continuous living cover (CLC) to improve water quality, soil health, agricultural and community resilience.
Inspired by the oak savannas native to the region, the Savanna Institute conducts research, education and outreach to support the groth of diverse perennial agroecosystems in The Great Lakes and Upper Mississippi watershed.
SAPLING SPONSORS
Enhancing all Minnesotans’ quality of life by equitably ensuring the integrity of our food supply, the health of our environment, and the strength and resilience of our agricultural economy
Noble Research Institute is the nation’s largest nonprofit dedicated to farm and ranch management education to build soil health and increase profitability on U.S. farms and ranches.
SPROUT SPONSORS
Solar Electric (PV) System Design, Sales & Installation
Compeer Financial offers specialized financial services and expertise for non-traditional agriculture operations, supporting urban farms, value-added products, and local food systems.
The Minnesota Grazing Lands Conservation Association (MNGLCA) is a grassroots Non-Profit organized to promote the health and sustainability of Minnesota's 4.63 million acres of grazing lands.
Ecological restoration company with a mission to Heal the Earth.
SEED SPONSORS
