Action Alerts

Welcome to the Land Stewardship Project Action Alerts page. The Land Stewardship Project periodically sends out Action Alerts that describe how citizens can make their voices heard on critical issues related to family farming, the environment and our rural communities.

Take Action & Show Up for Emerging & BIPOC Farmers on Thursday, March 21

The Land Stewardship Project needs you to take action to stand with emerging farmers — particularly Black farmers, Indigenous farmers, and farmers of color (BIPOC farmers). Your state representative serves on the House Agriculture Finance and Policy Committee. On Thursday, March 21, this committee is considering legislation that would remove emerging farmers, including BIPOC farmers,…  Read More

Make Your Voice Heard on Nitrates, Soil & Clean Water

2 Legislative Hearings in Saint Paul: Feb. 26 & 29

The 2024 Minnesota legislative session has begun in Saint Paul and nitrate contamination is top of mind for our legislators. Next week, committees in both the State House and Senate will host hearings about nitrates in our soil and water. This is an opportunity to make it known that Minnesotans expect our state’s decisionmakers to…  Read More

Take Action Today to Improve Accessibility to EQIP

EQIP Improvement Act Introduced

The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is an essential initiative that gives thousands of farmers the tools they need to implement sustainable practices such as cover cropping and managed rotational grazing. Yet, a majority of farmers are unable to access EQIP funding. In 2022, only 26% of EQIP applicants in Minnesota were awarded contracts, which…  Read More

Farmer Sign-On Letter: Diversified & Small Farms Deserve a Strong Safety Net

Diversified, small, and mid-sized farmers deserve to have a strong safety net. Yet, most don’t. Why? Crop insurance isn’t accessible or worthwhile for most small, mid-sized, and diversified farms. Take it from Andy Petran, a Land Stewardship Project member and Farmington, Minn.-area farmer, who wrote the following in a recent Star Tribune op-ed: “Farming has always…  Read More

Stop Big Ag From Raiding Working Lands Conservation Funding

Big Ag and its friends in Congress hope to send more money into the pockets of a few mega-sized commodity farms through one of the most popular commodity programs in the Farm Bill — crop insurance. This windfall will be at the expense of working lands conservation programs and small and mid-sized farms. Their proposal…  Read More

Don’t Let Congress Gut Local Control

Oppose the Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression (EATS) Act

At the Land Stewardship Project, we value local control — the ability for smaller units of government to build upon laws set by larger units of government. While states like Iowa and Wisconsin have gutted or significantly weakened local control, Minnesota has stayed strong on this issue (because of organizing by LSP members and others)…  Read More

Protect & Expand Funding for Working Lands Conservation Programs in the 2023 Farm Bill

Don't Let Congress Raid IRA Conservation Funds

Farmers are uniquely positioned to both mitigate and build resiliency when it comes to climate change. Farmers are on the front lines of managing extreme weather events, emerging pests and disease, degraded topsoil, altered planting and harvesting timing, dwindling pollinator populations, and more. At the same time, small and mid-sized farmers are facing consolidation, financial…  Read More

Call on Senator Amy Klobuchar to Co-Sponsor Critical Land Access Legislation

LASO Act Would Create Equitable Transition of Farmland to the Next Generation

Land access is the top challenge emerging and beginning farmers face. At the same time, ownership of millions of acres of agricultural land is changing hands as farmers and ranchers across the country retire — presenting an important opportunity to shape the future of our farm and food system. This is the moment for Congress…  Read More

Tell Congress We Need A Farm Bill that Supports Land Access

The LASO Act Prioritizes Land Access for Young, Beginning & BIPOC Farmers

Last week, the “Increasing Land Access, Security, and Opportunities (LASO) Act” was introduced in the U.S. Senate, championed by Minnesota Senator Tina Smith. If enacted, this innovative bill, via the 2023 Farm Bill, would fund powerful, community-led solutions to the land access crisis faced by the new generation of young and Black farmers, Indigenous farmers, and…  Read More

Tell Lawmakers that Farmworkers Deserve Paid Family & Medical Leave

All Minnesotans Should Have the Ability to Care for Loved Ones

After years of organizing, we are on the verge of creating a Paid Family & Medical Leave Program where all Minnesotans contribute and benefit. All Minnesotans should have the tools they need to have the freedom to care for their loved ones without putting their finances at risk. For an average of just $3 per-week…  Read More