The Farmer’s Chaplain Candidate for Governor A Vision for Minnesota State Farms and Generational Stewardship

Bearing Witness — A Chaplain’s View from the Fields

For more than twenty-five years, I have served as a chaplain in the state of Minnesota. My ministry began at Presbyterian Homes in Eden Prairie—at a time when Eden Prairie itself was still surrounded by working farmland. I remember moving into a brand-new townhouse as fields stretched across the horizon. Within a few short years, that land disappeared, replaced by rapid development, commercial corridors, and corporate investment. What was once agricultural community became what many would call a boom town.

Fast forward twenty-five years. During 2024 and 2025, I served as a chaplain across southern Minnesota in assisted living facilities, independent senior housing, and nursing homes. What struck me deeply—and repeatedly—was how many of the elders I served were former farmers. Men and women who had worked the land for decades. Families whose farms had been passed down for generations—some for more than a century, and some approaching two hundred years.

As a chaplain, I ask hard questions gently. I listened. I spoke with family members. I asked whether the farm would remain in the family. In my experience—by my best estimate—more than 80 percent of the time, the answer was no. When a farmer dies between the ages of 85 and 90, their children are often between 60 and 70 and no longer farming themselves. Their grandchildren, now in their 40s and 50s, are educated, urbanized, and disconnected from agriculture as a livelihood.

This is not a moral failure. It is a structural reality. Life has changed. The pace of the economy has changed. And the pressure from corporate buyers—armed with capital, scale, and global contracts—makes it easy, and often financially rational, for families to sell generational wealth rather than try to preserve it.

As a chaplain, I bear witness. As a candidate for Governor of Minnesota in 2026, I refuse to look away.

The Slow Transfer of Minnesota’s Land — From Families to Corporations

Minnesota’s agricultural history spans more than 200 years, from Indigenous stewardship through homesteading, family farming, and now corporate consolidation. While exact birth-and-death statistics tied to individual farms over two centuries are not available, the trend is undeniable and well-documented.

According to the USDA Census of Agriculture, the number of farms in Minnesota peaked in the early 20th century and has steadily declined ever since. At the same time:

• The average age of farmers has risen to nearly 58 years old
• Over 30% of farmers are now over age 65
• Farm acreage is increasingly controlled by large corporate or investor-owned operations
• Family-owned farms are fewer, larger, and more financially stressed

When family farms are sold today, they are increasingly purchased by corporations or investment entities whose priority is yield maximization and global export, not community sustainability. Crops are sold to national and foreign markets. Minnesota receives property taxes and limited income tax, but does not share in the long-term profitability of the land itself.

This is a fundamental economic problem.

When land leaves family hands permanently:
• Generational wealth disappears
• Local economies hollow out
• Rural populations decline
• The state forfeits long-term revenue potential

Minnesota becomes a pass-through economy—producing value that leaves the state while we shoulder the infrastructure, environmental, and social costs.

This is not anti-market thinking. It is strategic stewardship thinking.

A Governor’s Plan — Minnesota State Farms & Minnesota State Farm Assistance

As Governor, I propose a bold but practical solution:

Minnesota State Farms (MSF)

and

Minnesota State Farm Assistance Programs (MSFAP)

The core idea is simple:
When a family farm is at risk of being sold to a corporation, the State of Minnesota should have the option to step in—not to erase family legacy, but to preserve it.

Key Components of the Plan

1. State Purchase or Long-Term Lease Options

• Families may sell land to the state at fair market value
• Or lease land to the state, retaining ownership and generational wealth
• Families remain connected to their land without carrying impossible financial risk

2. Farming as a State-Supported Career

• Minnesota hires farmers as skilled professionals
• Competitive wages, benefits, and retirement
• Young Minnesotans gain a viable path into agriculture without needing to own hundreds of acres

3. Revenue Retention for Minnesota

• Crops grown on State Farms generate direct operating revenue
• Profits are reinvested into:
• Education
• Infrastructure
• Rural healthcare
• New economic development initiatives outlined in my gubernatorial platform

4. Long-Term Financial Projections (Conservative Estimates)
Using average Midwest farm revenue per acre:

• Large-scale row crop farms can generate $500–$1,000+ per acre annually
• If Minnesota controlled even 200,000 acres statewide:
• Gross annual revenue could reach $100–$200 million
• Over 20 years, this becomes billions in retained public value

This is revenue without raising taxes.

Scenario	Acres Operated	Yield per Acre	Price per Unit	Gross Revenue	Cost per Acre	Net Revenue
Small-Scale	1,000 ac	150 bu/acre	$5/bu	$750,000	$300,000	$450,000
Mid-Size	10,000 ac	150 bu/acre	$5/bu	$7,500,000	$3,000,000	$4,500,000
Large	50,000 ac	150 bu/acre	$5/bu	$37,500,000	$15,000,000	$22,500,000

5. Protection Against Total Corporate Consolidation

• Families who do not want to sell to corporations gain a third option
• Minnesota protects food security, land stewardship, and rural identity
• Generational wealth is preserved rather than liquidated

Educational Overview: Farm Consolidation in Minnesota

Key Trends from USDA & the Census of Agriculture

1. Fewer Farms, Bigger Farms
• Between the 2017 and 2022 Census of Agriculture, the number of farms in Minnesota declined from about 68,800 to 65,531. (Minnesota Reformer)
• Over the same period, the average farm size increased from 371 acres to 388 acres. (Minnesota Reformer)
• This reflects a long-term trend of consolidation — fewer farms overall, but each covering more land. (Rural Minnesota)
2. Land & Production Values
• As of 2023, Minnesota had over 25.4 million acres of farmland with an average farm size near 388 acres. (NASS)
• Minnesota’s agriculture sector contributes significantly to the state economy, supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs and generating billions in production value. (Minnesota Secretary of State)
3. National Farm Consolidation Patterns
• Nationwide, similar trends show decreasing number of farms and increasing average acreage, highlighting how agriculture is concentrating in larger operations. (AgAmerica)

📊 Downloadable Charts

Here are three educational charts based on historical trends. These use real USDA Census data where available and reasonable illustrative estimates for context (not campaign projections).

Chart 1 — Number of Farms in Minnesota (1997–2023)

A line graph showing decline in total farms.

Chart 2 — Average Farm Size in Minnesota (1997–2023)

The average acres per farm increasing over time.

Chart 3 — Land in Farms vs. Number of Farms (1997–2023)

A combined chart illustrating the correlation between farm count and land area.

Charts use USDA data points and USDA-aligned trend lines derived from public Census results. (Rural Minnesota)

Farm Consolidation in Minnesota — What It Means

What Is Farm Consolidation?
Farm consolidation refers to the long-term trend where fewer individual farms operate more land. While the total acreage under cultivation may remain similar or slightly decline, the ownership becomes concentrated in fewer, larger operations.

Why It Matters

• Economic Efficiency: Larger farms can leverage economies of scale (e.g., machinery, bulk inputs).
• Demographic Shifts: Farmers are aging — in Minnesota, the average producer was over 57 years old as of the latest Census. (Farm Service Agency)
• Smaller Operations: Smaller farms are decreasing in number faster than land is leaving production, indicating they’re being absorbed or retired. (Rural Minnesota)

Impacts on Communities

• Reduced number of family-run operations.
• Larger farms may dominate markets and set price expectations.
• Rural communities may see reduced population as fewer farm families live on the land.
• Land value increases can price out smaller or beginning farmers.

Broader Implications

• Consolidation affects labor, rural economies, local services, and land stewardship.
• Policy decisions (like tax incentives, land use planning, and support for beginning farmers) can influence future patterns.

Data Sources
All information is based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture Census of Agriculture, the most comprehensive agricultural dataset collected every five years. (Minnesota Reformer)

📊 Revenue Forecast Table Template (Educational)

Example Revenue Forecast (Hypothetical Farm Production)

Scenario	Acres Operated	Yield per Acre	Price per Unit	Gross Revenue	Cost per Acre	Net Revenue
Small-Scale	1,000 ac	150 bu/acre	$5/bu	$750,000	$300,000	$450,000
Mid-Size	10,000 ac	150 bu/acre	$5/bu	$7,500,000	$3,000,000	$4,500,000
Large	50,000 ac	150 bu/acre	$5/bu	$37,500,000	$15,000,000	$22,500,000

Note:
This table uses illustrative agricultural yield and price figures only (e.g., corn production yield and price) to provide a simple forecast model. Real revenues depend on crop choice, market conditions, input costs, and operational efficiencies.

Stewardship Is Not Nostalgia — It Is Strategy

I am the Farmer’s Chaplain Candidate for Governor because I have stood at the bedsides of those who built this state with their hands. I have listened to their children wrestle with impossible decisions. And I have watched Minnesota quietly lose something irreplaceable—not all at once, but one farm at a time.

This proposal is not about going backward.
It is about using the power of the state to compete where families no longer can—and to do so ethically, profitably, and sustainably.

Minnesota does not need to surrender its land to survive.
Minnesota needs the courage to steward it. 

Christopher Seymore For Minnesota Governor 

www.SeymoreForGovernor.Com