Land Stewardship Project

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 282: Kitchen Table Economics

• Ear to the Ground 283: Ending the Extractive Economy

• Ear to the Ground 284: Hive of Healthy Activity

Related Posts

  • 2023 Farm to School and Early Care Bill Continues Positive Momentum in Minnesota

    March 1, 2023

    SAINT PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota House Agriculture Committee will have a hearing today for Representative Kristi Pursell’s Farm to School and Early Care bill…

    News Releases
    community based foods, farm-to-school, local food, Minnesota Legislature, nutrition
    2023 Farm to School and Early Care Bill Continues Positive Momentum in Minnesota
  • Ear to the Ground 283: Ending the Extractive Economy

    Ken Meter draws on decades of community analyses to explain why agriculture will never be truly regenerative until we fix our dysfunctional food system.
    More Information:
    •…

    Ear to the Ground 283: Ending the Extractive Economy
  • Ear to the Ground 300: Diversity Trumps Adversity

    Illinois farmer Dave Bishop says rural communities can’t “monoculture” their way out of the economic, ecological, and social challenges that plague them. But diversifying successfully…

    Ear to the Ground 300: Diversity Trumps Adversity

Contact

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

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        • Anti-Competitiveness & Price Gouging
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        • A Farm Bill For Us
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      • Caucus for Land Stewardship
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  • Building People Power

Upcoming Events

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October 2023

Friday September 29 – Sunday October 1

Upper Minnesota River Meander Art Crawl
Friday September 29 – Sunday October 1
Upper Minnesota River Meander Art Crawl

The award-winningMeander Art Crawlis a free self-guided tour of artist studios featuring 40 local artists from the Upper Minnesota River Valley. We encourage visitors to visit artists in their own environment who celebrate a lifestyle that represents the small, handmade, personal, and local culture of the area.This event has more than 30 individual studios in and near the western Minnesota communities of Ortonville, Appleton, Madison, Milan, Dawson, Montevideo, and Granite Falls.

Tuesday October 3

2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Optimizing No-Till Methods for a Direct-to-Market Organic Vegetable Farm
Tuesday October 3
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Optimizing No-Till Methods for a Direct-to-Market Organic Vegetable Farm

No-till farming methods are increasingly part of the dialogue in conventional crop farming, but the techniques employed at large scales are not practical or accessible for small vegetable growers. Join Land Stewardship Project members Whitewater Gardens Farm as they explore three of the more common vegetable no-till methods to identify the most sustainable approach in terms of soil health, labor investment, and crop health and yield on our farm.

The field day will be at 17485 Calico Hill Road, Altura, MN. For more information, call 507-993-5504 or e-mail londietz@aol.com.

5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Organic Dairy Pasture Walk
Tuesday October 3
5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Organic Dairy Pasture Walk

The NW Wisconsin Graziers Network, River Country RC&D, and UW-Madison Extension invite you to an organic dairy pasture walk hosted by Turnip Rock Farm and Cosmic Wheel Creamery four miles south of Amery in Polk County on Tuesday, October 3, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. This educational event will emphasize seasonal calving organic dairying with on-farm cheese making and direct marketing with an on-farm store, and vegetable production.

The host farm is home to Land Stewardship Project members Josh Bryceson and Rama Hoffpauir and family. They raise grass fed mixed breed high component dairy cows, (10), pastured pork production (20), and extensive vegetable garden production. Their locally processed cheese is marketed directly to customers and the whey is fed to their pigs. The operation consists of about 80 acres (60 acres rotated pastures and 3 acres in vegetable production) on gently rolling loamy soils.

A soil health discussion lead by Extension staff will highlight the challenges of forage production in this year’s dry conditions. A farmstead creamery with seasonal spring calving and once a day milking, a home built milking parlor facility, grass fed beef, and pastured pork will be included on the farm tour. We will discuss stockpiling pasture, marketing techniques, and many othertopics along with answering any and all questions from pasture walk participants.

Josh and Rama have developed a diversified direct marketing program. Everything is direct-marketed through 150 member veggie CSA, online stores, restaurants, farmer’s markets, and a new on-farm store and other strategies to support direct sales to customers. Ask questions and learn all about this diversified approach.

The farm is located at 260 95th Street, Clear Lake, WI, and south of Amery in central Polk County. From Hwy 46 south of Amery 3 miles, take a left turn (east) onto 35thavenue , go east 1½ miles, then turn right onto 95thStreet and go south about a mile to farm. From the south, take Hwy 46 north to 20thAvenue, turn right (east) and go about 1½miles and then turn north onto 95thstreet then go north about half mile to farm on the right. Watch for the signs.

For more information, contact Josh at 715-239-5127,http://www.turniprock.com/, Chris Johnson, with River Country RC&D at 715-579-0793, Becky Brathal, UW-Madison Extension Regional Crops Educator, at 651-302-6520, or Lynn Johnson at 715-225-9882 with NW Graziers.

Saturday October 7 – Monday October 9

Women Food & Ag Network Conference
Saturday October 7 – Monday October 9
Women Food & Ag Network Conference

The Women, Food, and Agriculture Network will convene with members this fall for its first in-person conference since the pandemic began. This will be a time of reunion, celebration, community learning, and retreat, as WFAN nourishes its rootsandgathers its communityonce again. For more information, see the conference web page.

Wednesday October 11

12:00 pm – 3:30 pm
Carbon Intensity, Kernza, & Water Quality Field Day
Wednesday October 11
12:00 pm – 3:30 pm
Carbon Intensity, Kernza, & Water Quality Field Day

Join the Land Stewardship Project and Clean River Partners at White Barn Acres in Kellogg, Minn., Oct. 11 for a Carbon Intensity, Kernza, and Water Quality field day to learn about emerging profit opportunities in farming. You’ll hear about: Continuum Ag, a regenerative ag company providing farmers with carbon intensity scoring and agronomy services; the new perennial dual use forage/grain crop, Kernza, its emerging markets, and how it benefits both soil health and water quality; and how local farmers have worked with the Minnesota Ag Water Quality Certification Program (MAWQCP).

Registration is required and available here. Please reach out to Alan Kraus, Conservation Program Manager for Clean River Partners, with any questions at alan@cleanriverpartners.org.

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Recent Posts

  • Don’t Let Congress Gut Local Control September 22, 2023
  • Protect & Expand Funding for Working Lands Conservation Programs in the 2023 Farm Bill August 31, 2023
  • Call on Senator Amy Klobuchar to Co-Sponsor Critical Land Access Legislation August 24, 2023
  • One Year after Major Winona County Fish Kill, Citizen Action Has Made an Impact July 26, 2023
  • Tell Congress We Need A Farm Bill that Supports Land Access July 25, 2023

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Montevideo, MN 56265

(320) 269-2105

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Lewiston, MN 55952

(507) 523-3366

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Minneapolis, MN 55407

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