LANESBORO, Minn. — A smooth and informed transition of farmland from one generation to another is the focus of a workshop for women farmers and landowners Thursday, May 14, in Lanesboro. The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) and Renewing the Countryside (RTC) are co-organizing the event, which will take place upstairs at Pedal Pushers Café, 121 Parkway Ave. N. Doors open at 9 a.m.; the program will run from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and includes a light lunch. Please reserve a spot by calling LSP’s Caroline van Schaik at 507-523-3366 or caroline@landstewardshipproject.org. There is no charge, but free will donations will help defray the cost of the meal and materials.

The need to plan for the future of their family farm might be uppermost in the minds of aging landowners, but worrisome questions often keep them from tackling the matter. With the help of guest lawyer Greg Schieber, landowner Lynn Susag, and LSP’s new transitions curriculum, participants will find answers to such queries as, “Will I be on the farm in five years? What is the difference between a land trust and an S Corporation? What’s my style of communicating about this sensitive topic?”

Whether years from needing a plan or needing one yesterday, women farmers and landowners will find support in this informal, woman-to-woman introduction to some of the key issues behind a seamless transition of land from one generation to another.

This gathering is another in a series of workshops in the Driftless Region designed by LSP (www.landstewardshipproject.org) and RTC (http://www.renewingthecountryside.org) to empower women farmers and landowners to match their values with their farming and conservation practices. Funding is provided in part by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the McKnight Foundation.