Deep roots, bold vision at the 2025 Forever Green Forum

In late May, the University of Minnesota’s Saint Paul campus hosted the Forever Green Forum, a two-day event focused on reshaping the future of agriculture through long-term, systemic change. Organized by the Forever Green Initiative at the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS), the Forum brought together a wide range of voices — from researchers and farmers to policymakers and entrepreneurs — to explore how Continuous Living Cover (CLC) cropping systems can create lasting value across society.

The Forum opened with a Field Day on May 28, where participants toured research plots and engaged directly with scientists and growers working on crops like Kernza®, winter camelina, and pennycress. These crops are designed to stay rooted in the soil year-round, helping to reduce erosion, improve water quality, and support biodiversity. The Field Day offered a chance to see these systems in action and to hear firsthand how they’re being integrated into working farms and supply chains.

The following day, a full-day conference in Borlaug Hall brought together a diverse group of speakers and panelists from across the country. Experts in agronomy, economics, ecology, food systems, and rural development shared insights on the science, policy, and market strategies needed to scale CLC systems. The conversations reflected the complexity of the challenge — and the collaborative effort required to address it.

A central theme throughout the Forum was the need to shift how we think about agriculture. Rather than focusing solely on short-term yields or commodity markets, the Forever Green Initiative encourages a broader view — one that considers agriculture’s role in environmental stewardship, community resilience, and long-term economic sustainability.

Carmen Fernholz, a longtime organic farmer and recipient of the 2025 Siehl Prize for Excellence in Agriculture, emphasized that this transformation will take time. “It's a long-term project,” he said. “It's not going to happen overnight.” Fernholz also highlighted the importance of collaboration. “In order for the vision [of continuous living cover] to be successful, it has to build relationships among everybody," he said. 

Fernholz added that the ultimate goal is to ensure this work benefits all: “We have to think about how we make this vision create value across society.”

The Forever Green Forum underscored that meaningful change in agriculture won’t come from any single innovation or policy. It requires a systems-level approach — one that connects research, practice, and policy, and that values the contributions of people across the food system. The event served as both a reflection on progress and a call to keep pushing forward.

As the Forum concluded, one message stood out: to transform agriculture, we must first transform the way we think about it.