We recently connected with Cannon River Chapter Of Sustainable Farming Association (SFA) and have shared our conversation below.
Cannon River chapter of Sustainable Farming Association , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?
At the beginning of 2025 our chapter board got together to brainstorm objectives for the year. Our State Delegate offered a question posed by the state SFA that month: “If your chapter had $10,000 to use, what projects would you implement to better serve your members?” We had just wrapped up the 2024 growing season with extensive hail damage in the region. For years it was apparent that small farmers had little to no ability to purchase crop and livestock insurance and were increasingly at-risk for damages due to weather extremes and instability. A member of our board suffered season-ending damage to her vegetable fields due to spring flooding so the topic was fresh in our minds. The truth about funding from either state or federal sources to help reimburse losses due to extreme weather is that it can be painfully slow and difficult. So what if we could set up a quick-to-access fund to help our members recover following such losses? A fund that didn’t require hours of paperwork and months of waiting for a check. The chapter had co-hosted annual local food promotional events with “Come and Get It”, via funding from Renewing the Countryside, and still had some funds remaining. What if we used those existing funds to hold a fundraiser dinner to promote our local foodshed as well as raise money for the new quick-to-access fund which we would call the “Farmer to Farmer” fund? The question would then be, where to host the event. Luckily, the board Treasurer’s food production business is based in Cannon Falls and she was confident that the area would be a great place to host a local foods event. We kicked things off in March of 2025 by contacting Ferndale Market, a turkey producer and rural retail market for all kinds of wonderful local food products, to see whether we could hold a dinner on their grounds in September 2025. They eagerly jumped on board, and we were off! There was so much to learn but thanks to frequent meetings and the help of many many friends, we pulled off a wonderful Homegrown Harvest Dinner on September 13th, 2025. And the best part? We raised $6,000 for the Farmer to Farmer fund (with generous donations and help from our sponsors). PLEASE check our chapter home page at https://sfa-mn.org/cannon-river/ for information and ticketing details for this year’s Homegrown Harvest Dinner coming up on Saturday September 19th at Ferndale Market!!!
Cannon River chapter of Sustainable Farming Association , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
The Cannon River chapter is part of the state-wide Sustainable Farming Association. The vision driving the Sustainable Farming Association is “a vibrant Midwest where regenerative farms, rural communities, and the land thrive.” The mission is “transforming agriculture one farm at a time.” The Cannon River chapter originated at the very beginnings of the Sustainable Farming Association, which coalesced in 1989 as a non-profit dedicated to promoting and fostering regenerative and sustainable farming practices. Now, there are nine chapters, each representing a separate geographic area in the state.
Here are a few words from Mary Ellen Frame, a founding member of the Cannon River chapter who presented a history of the group at our annual meeting in 2022:
Finally, a word about our future: Each of you, individually, are capable of accomplishing a great deal on your own, but your gifts are magnified by working together and learning from each other. Both as individuals and collectively through this organization and others that you may belong to, you can, you will advance the potential to create a basis for feeding, healthfully, human and non-human life, stewarding this soil, this land, this earth, which feeds all of us in body and spirit.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
The Cannon River chapter was instrumental in the origins of the state Sustainable Farming Association, and has maintained a healthy and active membership in the 36+ years since. With the “Cannon Valley Grown” initiative, started in 2018, we worked to promote the confluence of local veggie, fruit, meat, dairy, fiber, and value-added farm producers in the region and deepen our ties to producers in the area. Another example is the Homegrown Harvest Dinner from 2025. This chapter-based enterprise served as a catalyst for the state SFA in securing a meaningful grant from the Margaret A. Cargill philanthropic organization to support the efforts of chapters around the state.
How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?
The best way to stay in contact with our chapter is via our membership program. Digital communications go out quarterly and list news, opportunities, and events in the area. Social media and listserv groups also provide outlets for direct connection with audience members. What brings us the most fulfillment though, is engaging with community members in person. Whether via potlucks, farmer socials, large gatherings like the Homegrown Harvest Dinner, or the Annual Chapter Meeting, face-to-face is where we really connect.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sfa-mn.org/cannon-river
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cannonriversfa/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CannonRiverSFA