Blog

Getting a Bio-Reaction from Soil

How Farmers Involved in an LSP Project Hope to Use the Johnson-Su Composter to Boost Biology

By Bairet Eiter

January 13, 2022

Calling all microbe enthusiasts! Looking to learn about better composting methods that encourage the soil biome to thrive, all with minimal effort? Then you may be interested in research the Land Stewardship Project and some of our farmer-members are doing on the “Johnson-Su Composting Bioreactor.” Developed by molecular biologist and research scientist David Johnson, along… Read More →

Category: Blog

Legislators Need to Bolster Local Processing in 2022

By Sarah Goldman

January 6, 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the fragility of global, concentrated supply chains. In addition, farmers adopting regenerative practices and growing food that nourishes people in Minnesota need markets to sell their production to. That’s why the Land Stewardship Project will be working during the 2022 session of the Minnesota Legislature to pass policies that help… Read More →

Category: Blog

Tags: COVID • food safety • HACCP • local meat processing • meat processing • Minnesota Legislature • regional food systems

The Non-Tragedy of the Commons

Cooperative Ownership of Farmland Offers Alternative Access to Acres

By Robin Moore

January 6, 2022

Meet Sasa Organic Farms, a collective of Kenyan farmers. Sasa is five family farms: Dawn2Dusk Organic Farms, Lisaviole Farms, Lisaviole Organic Farms, Green Joy Farm, Gedef Organic Farm, and Laurens Organic Farm. They provide Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) shares, produce, and seedlings to customers in and around Minnesota’s Twin Cities. Like many beginning farmers, their goal… Read More →

Category: Blog

Tags: Agrarian Commons • Agrarian Trust • beginning farmers • Dawn2Dusk • Elinor Ostrom • land access • land commons • Minnesota Agrarian Commons • Sara Organic Farms

LSP’s 2022 MN Legislative Priorities

Soil Health, Drought Assistance, Processing Infrastructure are Priorities

By Amanda Koehler

December 23, 2021

Over the past few months, teams of Land Stewardship Project members who are farmers, farm-workers, processors, marketers, and rural Minnesotans have been coming together to put together a legislative agenda focused on ensuring all people and the land thrive, no exceptions. With the largest surplus in our state’s history and the legislative session starting on… Read More →

Category: Blog

Tags: drought • healthcare • infrastructure • meat processing • Minnesota Legislature • Soil and Water Conservation Districts • soil health legislation • soil-healthy

Volunteer Opportunity

Land Access/Land Legacy Steering Committee

December 10, 2021

We are forming an 8-12 person steering committee focused on directing, focusing and supporting LSP’s Land Access/Land Legacy program. This group will set priorities- within LSP’s mission- for the work of advancing access to land and secure land tenure for small and mid-sized farmers and people who want to start farming in the Upper Midwest, as… Read More →

Category: Blog

Winona County BOA Denial of CAFO Variance a Win for Farms, People & the Land

It's Time to Start Investing in a Sustainable Ag Economy

By Tim Ahrens, Sam Streukens & Matthew Sheets

December 2, 2021

Today, the voice of the people in Winona county prevailed against an attempt by a factory dairy farm to blow by local, sensible limitations on the number of animals (and thus the amount of manure) that can be housed in one location. After thoroughly considering the evidence, the Winona County Board of Adjustment once again… Read More →

Category: Blog

Tags: CAFO • Daley Farm • local control • local democracy • Winona County

Court’s Decision a Win for Land, Communities & Farms

By Matthew Sheets

November 3, 2021

In a win for the people and the land of southeastern Minnesota’s Winona County, the Minnesota Court of Appeals has declined to take up an appeal case that was brought forward by a large dairy attempting to expand well beyond an existing animal unit cap. This comes after years of neighbor-to-neighbor action and public engagement… Read More →

Category: Blog

Tags: Daley Farm • factory farm • karst • local control • local democracy • Winona County

The Importance of Investing in Soil Health & Resilient Rural Communities

By Sam Streukens

October 26, 2021

Around a decade ago, while driving past a farm field in southeastern Minnesota, Bob Christie turned to DJ Mueller with a nervous question: “So you’re saying my fields are going to look like that?” With farmers adapting to a changing climate and volatile markets, DJ knew that he and Bob must prioritize soil health over… Read More →

Category: Blog

Tags: beginning farmers • cover crops • intergenerational transfer • no-till • small farms • soil health

The Wonder of Farming with Nature

John Snyder’s Soil Health Journey Started with a Question: Where are the Worms?

By Barb Sogn-Frank

October 22, 2021

Some five decades ago, a young aspiring farmer named John Snyder brought his bride Bernadette back to Minnesota from Tennessee to begin their farm and family dream together. The newlyweds settled in on a piece of rolling farmland near Preston in southeastern Minnesota where oak savanna forests, limestone ridges, and prairie meet. That first farmhouse… Read More →

Category: Blog

Tags: cover crops • crop rotations • non-GMO • Soil Builders' Network • soil health

Upcoming Events

September 2024

Saturday September 21

All Day: 2024 Farm Aid Festival Concert
Saturday September 21
2024 Farm Aid Festival Concert
Saratoga Springs, NY, USA
For details, see https://www.farmaid.org/festival/about-the-festival.
10:00 am – 4:00 pm: Morris Wetland Prairie Seed Harvesting
Saturday September 21
10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Morris Wetland Prairie Seed Harvesting
Morris Wetland Management District, 43875 230th St, Morris, MN 56267, USA
The Morris Wetland Management District invites people to help with prairie seed harvest days. Registration is required. For more information and to register, e-mail Sara at sara_vacek@fws.gov or 320-288-3773.

Monday September 23 – Tuesday September 24

1st Annual Soul of the Soil Conference

Monday September 23 – Tuesday September 24

1st Annual Soul of the Soil Conference

Sinsinawa, WI 53811, USA

Launched in 2024, Fields of Sinsinawa is creating a farmer-led learning center where soil care is at the heart of everything they do.

Join them for their first annual Soul of the Soil Conference, to learn how better soil health practices grow resilient crops, healthy people, and vibrant communities. The day-and-a-half event will feature inspiring speakers, hands-on soil health demos, an informative farmer panel discussion, and a tour of the farmland, pastures, oak savannas, and prairies at Sinsinawa Mound.

Plus, we’ll enjoy networking, meals and snacks, and a performance by Minneapolis-based musician Bret Helsa, who will entertain with original songs he crafted for the Land Stewardship Project such as “Got Cover Crops,” “Back to Soil,” and “Boundless Earth.”

You can download the flyer and share with your community to invite them. For details and to register, check out this web page.

Wednesday September 25 – Thursday September 26

Industrial Farm Animal Production, the Envronment & Public Health Conference

Wednesday September 25 – Thursday September 26

Industrial Farm Animal Production, the Envronment & Public Health Conference

Olmsted Center, 2875 University Ave, Des Moines, IA 50311, USA

The rapid concentration of farm animal production into factory farms makes meat, dairy, and eggs plentiful and cheap, but this type of agriculture comes at a great cost to human health, communities, and the environment. A new book by Johns Hopkins University Press, Industrial Farm Animal Production, the Environment, and Public Health, brings together public health and other experts to examine some of the most critical topics related to industrial farm animal production.

This conference will highlight critically important information from the book and provide a forum for expert perspectives on growing threats to public health that are too often overlooked.

With an introduction by Senator Tom Harkin (retired), the hope of the conference is to highlight the serious risks posed to environmental and human health by current farming systems and to examine local and national strategies for moving towards a system that prioritizes health and well-being.

This conference is open to the public and it will be live-streamed. For details and to register, click here.

Thursday September 26

10:00 am – 2:00 pm

Non-Operating Landowner Conservation, Soil Health & Financial Session

Thursday September 26

10:00 am – 2:00 pm

Non-Operating Landowner Conservation, Soil Health & Financial Session

Western Technical College, 220 S Main St, Viroqua, WI 54665, USA

The majority of farmland that is rented or leased is owned by non-operating landowners (NOLs). A variety of challenges and opportunities are presented to these landowners each growing season. Our upcoming NOLs Learning Circle will provide a place where you can learn from landowning peers about how to meet these challenges and take advantage of the opportunities.

Discussion topics will include:

Soil health and farmland conservation
Breakout sessions for women landowners
Talking with your farmer about soil health
Financial opportunities for landowners

Lunch will be provided on-site and the event is free. This event is a partnership between the Land Stewardship Project and American Farmland Trust.

Please register here.

Questions:
– Casey Kula, American Farmland Trust, 414-285-3623
– Robin Moore, Land Stewardship Project, 612-767-9480
– Alex Kiminski, Land Stewardship Project, 925-207-3721

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