Land Stewardship Project

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Community-Based Food Systems

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The U.S. agricultural system is good at churning out record harvests of commodities that are sent all over the world or turned into industrial products like fuel, but this extractive system often does not benefit farmers or the communities they live in, and has produced environmental and human health costs that we all pay for. When we build robust community-based food systems, we are creating strong, resilient, and interconnected communities. Community-based food systems, or “community food webs,” as food systems analyst Ken Meter calls them, are collective hubs of food production, processing, distribution, and consumption that strengthen regional environmental, economic, and social health.

Building community-based food systems extends beyond food procurement and processing; this work strives to build connection and community among all food system stakeholders — from food chain workers and consumers to farmers and our public officials who make decisions that dictate the contours of our region’s economy and landscape. The Land Stewardship Project is committed to helping rural communities build food systems that are by people and for people.

Want to Get Involved?

Want to stay connected with the latest community-based food systems work? Sign up for specialized updates!

Building Community Food Webs Learning Circles: March 2023

Building strong community food networks where we live can move us powerfully toward our vision for functioning local and regional systems that support regenerative farming and provide all people with the nourishing foods they want and need. To explore how communities around the country are making this happen, in March 2023 LSP is hosting three learning circles focused on the book Building Community Food Webs, by Ken Meter.

Join us for just one session, or all three! Each session we’ll gather on Zoom for two hours — beginning at 7 p.m. — to discuss major themes from the book and generate ideas for our own communities.

For details and to register, click here.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Directory

Want to participate in a community-based food model that connects you directly with farmers? For the past three
decades, LSP has published a directory of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms that serve eaters in Minnesota and western Wisconsin. Check out the latest edition here.

Community-Based Food Systems Resources

• Grant Opportunity: The Minnesota Agricultural Growth, Research, and Innovation (AGRI) Program

• LSP Myth Buster #62: Commodity Ag is Rural America’s Cash Cow

• LSP Myth Buster #32: Using crops to produce biofuels does not raise food prices

• LSP Myth Buster #24: Country of Origin Labeling will make it impossible for farmers to market their products through local stores and restaurants.

• LSP Myth Buster #22: Buying locally produced food will automatically reduce your ecological footprint.

• LSP Myth Buster #18: Federal law makes it illegal to favor local farmers when purchasing food for public schools.

• LSP Myth Buster #10: It will be prohibitively expensive to tell consumers what country their food comes from.

• LSP Fact Sheet: How U.S. Cities are Using Zoning to Support Urban Ag

• LSP Fact Sheet: Buying Directly From a Farmer: Consumers can bypass the corporate bottleneck.

• LSP Fact Sheet: Rural Development & Local Foods: Rural communities are finding that production and consumption of local foods can feed main street economies.

Check Out LSP's Direct Marketing Videos

• Direct Marketing: How to Market to Your Ideal Customer & Manage Your Limited Time

• Grass Based Meat Marketing: Fostering Connection in a Digital World, with Leslie Svacina of Cylon Rolling Acres

• Grass Based Meat Marketing: Building Relationships and Running a Business, with Rachelle Meyer of Wholesome Family Farms

• Grass Based Meat Marketing: Raising and Selling an Exceptionally Good Product, with Mike Rupprecht of Earth-Be-Glad Farm

Community Food Asset Mapping

In 2022, the Land Stewardship Project held a series of meetings in western Minnesota where farmers, business owners, local government officials, and consumers shared their insights on what’s needed to create a community-based food system that’s good for the land, our communities, and local economies. During these meetings, “asset mapping” exercises were undertaken to determine where we are currently at in terms of accessibility to community-based foods. Check out the input that emerged from these listening sessions here.

LSP Community-Based Food Podcasts

• Ear to the Ground 362: Regenerative Return

• Ear to the Ground 361: Additive Vs. Extractive

• Ear to the Ground 360: Food Bank Booster

• Ear to the Ground 347: Bite-by-Bite

• Ear to the Ground 335: Bumping Elbows

• Ear to the Ground 332: Real Food, Real Impact

• Ear to Ground 331: Reality Check

• Ear to the Ground 282: Kitchen Table Economics

• Ear to the Ground 283: Ending the Extractive Economy

• Ear to the Ground 284: Hive of Healthy Activity

• Ear to the Ground 322: Lunchroom Stewardship

Related Posts

  • LSP Awarded $305,000 by USDA to Build Community-Led Local Food Systems in West Central Minnesota

    November 13, 2024

    MONTEVIDEO, Minn. — The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) has been awarded a $305,000 Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP) grant by the USDA to support building…

    News Releases
    direct maketing, farm-to-school, local food systems, rural economic development
    LSP Awarded $305,000 by USDA to Build Community-Led Local Food Systems in West Central Minnesota
  • MN Ag Bill Supports Market Access, Land Access & Soil Health 

    May 21, 2025

    SAINT PAUL, Minn. — Although the Minnesota Legislature wrapped up its 2025 session on May 19 with some unfinished business, the Agriculture Bill passed before…

    News Releases
    AGRI Farm to School and Early Care Programs, community based food systems, emerging farmers, farmland access, Local Food Purchase Assistance Program, Minnesota Legislature, nitrate pollution, Olmsted County Groundwater Protection and Soil Health Program, soil health, state policy
    MN Ag Bill Supports Market Access, Land Access & Soil Health 
  • Ear to the Ground 335: Bumping Elbows

    From raising produce and working in a restaurant to teaching food safety and managing a farmers’ market, Sara George has experienced “farm-to-fork” from just about…

    Ear to the Ground 335: Bumping Elbows

Contact

• Amy Bacigalupo, e-mail, 320-269-2105
• Scott DeMuth, e-mail, 612-767-9487

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      • Factory Farms
        • Anti-Competitiveness & Price Gouging
        • LSP Powerline Story Center
      • Federal Policy
        • A Farm Bill For Us
      • State Policy
        • MN Farm, Food & Climate Funding
      • Developing Leadership
    • Justice & Stewardship
    • Organizational Stewardship
    • Building People Power
  • Join, Donate, or Renew
  • Building People Power

Upcoming Events

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May 2025

Thursday May 29

9:00 am – 12:30 pm
Storytelling for Sales: Digital Marketing for Sustainable Farmers
Thursday May 29
9:00 am – 12:30 pm
Storytelling for Sales: Digital Marketing for Sustainable Farmers
Zoom Online

Storytelling for Sales: Digital Marketing Best Practices to Get Your Farm’s Next Customer is designed to help farmers grow their customer base by sharpening their storytelling and digital marketing skills—whether they’re selling through farmers’ markets, CSAs, or direct-to-retail. This Greener Pastures and Meet the Minnesota Makers workshop will cover how websites and social media can actually convert viewers into buyers to creating content that builds community loyalty.

This workshop is also designed for ag educators, professionals, and partner organizational staff who support farmers directly and want to be well-versed on the marketing best practices to support direct-to-consumer farms. 

For details and to register, click here.

Saturday May 31

10:00 am – 12:30 pm
Multi-species Pasture Walk
Saturday May 31
10:00 am – 12:30 pm
Multi-species Pasture Walk
872 320th Ave, Frederic, WI 54837, USA

The NW Wisconsin Graziers Network, River Country RC&Dand UW-Madison Extension invite you to a multi-species pasture walk hosted by JohnsonFamily Pastures LLC. The farm is located five miles east of Frederic in PolkCounty. This educational event willemphasize direct marketing, multi-species grazing, part-time family agricultureand silvopasture development. Light snacks and refreshments will be provided.

TheJohnson Family Pastures farm is home to Chris and Tamara Johnson and their twochildren. They raise grass-fed beef, silvopastured goats, and recently raised anumber of other species. The farm consists of about 160 acres of gently rollingpastures, silvopasture, and forest. Use of both temporary polybraid fencing andhigh tensile permanent fences allow for rotational grazing of small ruminants andout-wintering of beef cattle. Use of long-term farm transition strategies, cost-shareprograms, silvopasture development with goats, regenerative grazing, cattlehandling facility and bale grazing will be discussed along with answering anyand all questions from pasture walk participants.

An extensive and diversified direct marketing programhas been developed by Tamara and Chris that has included farmer markets, e-maillists, newsletters, website ordering, on-farm freezer storage, and other strategiesand tools to support direct sales and services for their customers.  Come and learn all about their successfulapproach.

For more information,contact Chris Johnson at 920-960-4475 or Lynn Johnson 715-225-9882 at NW Graziers.

June 2025

Wednesday June 25

2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
LSP-PFI Grazing Field Day at Hoosier Ridge Ranch
Wednesday June 25
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
LSP-PFI Grazing Field Day at Hoosier Ridge Ranch
Hoosier Ridge Ranch, 15998 Wabasha County Rd 26, Altura, MN 55910, USA

Over the last 50 years, livestock have left many farms. Eric Heins is doing the reverse: bringing cattle – and their poop, pee and hooves – back to his land. Come see how Eric is using his Normande-shorthorn crosses in a variety of grazing situations. During this Land Stewardship Project-Practical Farmers of Iowa field day, you can view permanent pasture, where Eric (like everyone) is battling the cool-season grass takeover. You’ll also learn how Eric is using his cattle in cover crop mixes, prairie and woodlands.

Since purchasing the farm in 2020, Eric has converted the cropland to pasture. He also custom-farms a diverse rotation of crops, covers and small grains on neighboring farms, including an established prairie on Iowa Department of Natural Resources land. A possible bonus: Eric is hoping to have virtual fence collars by the time of the field day, but no guarantees!

A meal featuring Hoosier Ridge Ranch burgers will follow the field day.

See & Discuss

  • Cash-flowing the conversion to pasture on owned versus rented cropland
  • Stockpiling pasture for winter grazing
  • Mechanical buckthorn clearing for silvopasture
  • Grazing agreements on DNR prairie and neighboring cropland
  • A sudangrass mix after a canning pea crop
  • An extended rotation with oats, barley and Kernza

For details and to register, click here.

Saturday June 28

4:00 pm – 8:00 pm
LSP's Boots & Roots: A Celebration of Land & People
Saturday June 28
4:00 pm – 8:00 pm
LSP's Boots & Roots: A Celebration of Land & People
Dream Acres, Co Hwy 8, Spring Valley, MN 55975, USA

Join Land Stewardship Project members and supporters to kick-start the Driftless summer with an evening of good food, good music, and good times. We’ll have activities for all ages that will get you out in nature, exploring the connection between our region’s farms and your community’s food, land, and water. Bring a side or dessert to share for dinner, and the Dream Acres wood-fired oven will provide locally-sourced pizzas and flat breads. Dinner will be followed by live music and contra dancing by the Crater City String Band.  

To reserve a spot, click here.

Camping sites are available at nearby Masonic Park and Forestville Mystery Cave and Lake Louise State Parks. Camping at Masonic is rustic,first-come-first-serve, free, and does not require a reservation. Fillmore County, who manages the park, only asks that you call the dispatchers at507-765-3874 when you arrive with your vehicle information and phone number in case of emergency. State Park reservations cost $25 a night and can be made online.

July 2025

Tuesday July 15

5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Organic Fruit & Vegetable Field Day
Tuesday July 15
5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Organic Fruit & Vegetable Field Day
1805 Dudley Ave, Falcon Heights, MN 55113, USA

Join U of M researchers and Extension for updates on organic fruit and vegetable research and tour the Student Organic Farm and the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station in Saint Paul. Topics include: organic insect management, integrating livestock into vegetable farms, new crops for Minnesota, irrigation strategies, and more. Free to the public.
 
For details and to register, click here.

View Full Calendar

Recent Posts

  • MN Ag Bill Supports Market Access, Land Access & Soil Health  May 21, 2025
  • Legislative Wrap-Up: A Chaotic Session  Produces Concrete Results May 20, 2025
  • Alan Perish’s Passion for Local Democracy May 19, 2025
  • Land Line: Invisible Hand, Price-Fixing, Oat Mafia, Bird Flu, Profitable Conservation, SNAP, Compost, Farm Subsidizers May 12, 2025
  • LSP Legislative Update: Heading into the Final Days May 7, 2025

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