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Contact the MPCA by July 22 About Revising its Feedlot Rules

This is a Once-in-a-Generation Opportunity to Improve How Minnesota's Manure is Managed

July 2, 2025

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The Land Stewardship Project and our members have worked for 43 years to push back against the expansion of a factory farming model that forces out farmers, harms the land and water, and puts our communities at risk.

This work is built upon that experience, and the stories of our farmer and rural members who want to see action on protecting their communities from the effects of this destructive form of agriculture. While this is an issue that impacts all Minnesotans in one way or another, our work is being led by a steering committee of Land Stewardship Project farmer and rural members who are on the front lines of this issue. This committee recently decided to take a more proactive approach and identified manure management and feedlot rules reform, along with confronting extreme consolidation, as our top priorities when it comes to addressing the impacts of factory farming.

Today, we have a new opportunity to try and advance our goals on this issue as the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) initiates a formal review of how feedlots are operated and regulated in Minnesota.

This is the first full review of Minnesota’s feedlot rules in nearly 30 years. When these rules were last reviewed, about 800 operations in Minnesota had herd sizes over 1,000 animal units, which translates to 715 cows for dairy, 1,000 beef cows, and about 3,300 hogs. Today, 1,398 operations are above that size — a 75% increase. Additionally, 569 operations are over 1,500 animal units, and the new “model” for the largest dairies is 20,000 animal units, or roughly 15,000 dairy cows in one place.

These changes in Minnesota’s livestock industry, along with increased public concern around issues such as nitrate pollution and fish kills, were reasons given by the MPCA for reviewing and updating its feedlot rules.

What We Want to See

The work of LSP members and staff to respond to the impacts of factory farming — publicizing large fish kills, questioning the siting of factory farms and factory farm-connected infrastructure, citizen monitoring of factory farm sites, and listening to the stories of people — give us a clear picture of the things that need to change with Minnesota’s feedlot rules.

Some of the changes that LSP proposes are:

  • More rigorous groundwater monitoring requirements for NPDES and SDS permit-holding feedlots.
  • More rigorous reporting when it comes to the transferring of manure.
  • Lowering the animal unit size threshold for feedlots to obtain NPDES and SDS permits to 600 animal units.
  • Changes to how a collection of small feedlots all under the same ownership structure is permitted.
  • Updating the new manure management plan mapping tool to include more information about spreading plans and manure infrastructure like digesters. This data should be made available to the public, not just to potential permitees while they are creating their manure management plan.

What You Can Do

The MPCA has opened the first comment period in what will be a multi-year process of updating Minnesota’s feedlot rules. This comment period is open to all, and will influence what part of the rules the MPCA should look at changing.

This is a tremendous opportunity to influence what the future of Minnesota’s feedlot landscape looks like, and to have an impact on the process from the very beginning. And while comments from organizations like LSP and experts are important and will happen, the most impactful comments are from individual farmers and other  Minnesotans who have personal stories to share about why the rules need to be changed.

How to Comment

This comment period is open until 4:30 p.m. on July 22. Writing a personalized comment to the MPCA that includes what you want to see changed, why you want to see that change, and any relevant stories is the best way to make your voice heard on this issue. Comments are being taken both online and by mail. Click here to learn how to make a comment online.

You can also mail your comments to: “OAH Attn: William Moore” at 600 N Robert St. PO Box 64620 St. Paul, MN 55164-0620.

Click Here for Details on Making Your Feedlot Rules Comments to the MPCA

Questions?

Contact LSP policy organizer Matthew Sheets via e-mail

 

Category: Action Alerts
Tags: CAFO • factory farm • manure • MPCA • water quality

Contact:

Matthew Sheets, LSP policy organizer, e-mail

Upcoming Events

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September 2025

Monday September 22

9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Twin Cities Urban Farm Bus Tour
Monday September 22
9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Twin Cities Urban Farm Bus Tour
Leatherdale Equine Center, 1801 Dudley Ave, St Paul, MN 55108, USA

Join University of Minnesota Extension, Hennepin County, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service on Monday, Sept. 22, for a bus tour of urban farms. We’ll discuss the challenges of city growing, including compaction, contamination, soil health, water management, and more. And we’ll learn about how growers are using soil health practices to mitigate these challenges. Stops will include: 

  • The St. Thomas research gardens, where researchers have been studying different methods for maintaining fertility in urban garden beds for 8+ years, and learning about how these different approaches impact soil health and water quality
  • Our Roots Community Garden, where gardeners have implemented a variety of soil health practices to remediate a brownfield contaminated site into a lush garden with healthy soil and plants. Gardeners here are also working to establish a micro forest at the site
  • Urban Roots farm at Rivoli Bluff. The team at Urban Roots has worked for years to establish a thriving farm at a former street sweeping site. They’ve tried many different practices to address compaction, replace invasive species with native plants to mitigate erosion, and to grow vegetables for their community. 

This is the first tour in a three part soil health bus tour series. Participants can sign up for just one, two, or all three tours. Register at https://z.umn.edu/vegetablebustours. The cost is $15 (flat fee, covers 1, 2, or 3 tours). There are more details in the attached flyer.

Tuesday September 23

2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Why Birds Belong on the Farm: Biodiversity, Pest Control & A Thriving Landscape
Tuesday September 23
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Why Birds Belong on the Farm: Biodiversity, Pest Control & A Thriving Landscape
Online

This 10-lesson Wild Farm Alliance virtual course teaches agricultural professionals and farmers how to support beneficial birds and manage pest birds on farms. By learning how to assess the farm’s avian needs and opportunities, farms can be designed to provide for a diversity of beneficial birds. 

If pest birds are a problem, they can be discouraged with specific practices during the shorter periods when they cause damage. The sessions cover the latest research, tools and resources, and are given by experts in avian pest control, entomology, ornithology and conservation. While many topics and species are specific to the Midwest, most of the principles discussed are applicable across regions. 

Continuing Education Credits have been requested and are expected to be approved from American Society of Agronomy.

For details and to register, click here. 

The Course Schedule:

LESSON 1

Why Birds Belong on the Farm: Biodiversity, Pest Control & A Thriving Landscape

Tuesday, September 23, 2 p.m. CT


LESSON 2

Birds as Pest Control Allies on the Farm

Tuesday, October 14, 11 a.m. CT


LESSON 3

Birds in the Balance: Pest Control Services Across Crop Types

Tuesday, November 4, 11 a.m. CT


LESSON 4

Integrating Habitat into Croplands: Prairie Strips and Bird Conservation

Tuesday, December 2, 11 a.m. CT


LESSON 5

Birds on the Farm: Balancing Biodiversity and Food Safety

Tuesday, January 13, 11 a.m. CT


LESSON 6

Beyond the Crop: Birds, Biodiversity, and the Power of Edge Habitat

Tuesday, February 3, 11 a.m. CT


LESSON 7

Bridging Forestry, Farming, and Habitat

Tuesday, February 24, 11 a.m. CT


LESSON 8

Perennial Pathways: Agroforestry for Birds and Biodiversity on Farms

Tuesday, March 17, 11 a.m. CT


LESSON 9

Birds on the Range: How Grazing Practices Shape Habitat for Grassland Species

Tuesday, April 7, 11 a.m. CT


LESSON 10

Birds at Risk: How Pesticides Shape Safety on Agricultural Lands

Tuesday, April 28, 11 a.m. CT

6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Kitchen Table Conversation About Immigration & Our Farm & Food System
Tuesday September 23
6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Kitchen Table Conversation About Immigration & Our Farm & Food System
Mankato, MN, USA

Since January, the Land Stewardship Project has been an active member of the Immigrant Defense Network because we know our goal of having a sustainable, regenerative farm and food system will not be reached without racial, gender, and economic equity. This means equity for farmers, farmworkers, and all who are engaged in the food and agriculture system. We all have a stake in protecting our immigrant neighbors.  

Learn more about LSP’s involvement in this work through a recent Ear the Ground podcast episode: Ear to the Ground 373: Know Your Neighbors.

To learn more about how our base is experiencing this issue, we are hosting small-group kitchen table conversations and one of these conversations will be in Mankato, Minn.
 
What: A time to come together with neighbors to deepen our understanding of what’s at stake for people and the land.
Where: At the home of an LSP member in Mankato (address will be sent to confirmed attendees).
When: Tuesday, Sept. 23, from 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Please e-mail Emily Minge at eminge@landstewardshipproject.org if you’d like to be a part of this conversation or if you have any questions. Are there others in the Mankato community who you think should be there? E-mail Emily their name and we can extend the invite.

October 2025

Friday October 10

8:30 am – 3:00 pm
Weaving a Wider Community: Seeing & Countering Racism in Our Backyard
Friday October 10
8:30 am – 3:00 pm
Weaving a Wider Community: Seeing & Countering Racism in Our Backyard
111 N 1st St, Montevideo, MN 56265, USA

Join LSP and CURE for a community event at the Land Stewardship Project office in Montevideo (111 N. First St.), from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., on Friday, Oct. 10. This event includes lunch catered by El Mana; please register by Oct. 3 to be included in the food count.

You can RSVP here.

The Racial Equity Conference, organized by the Greater Minnesota Partnership of the Facilitating Racial Equity Collaborative, has been specifically designed to bring engaging content to local communities through a unique pairing of online speakers and in-person local sessions. The morning’s online content will include a conversation focused on seeing and countering racism in rural communities, moderated by Eryn Gee Killough, paired with two outstanding keynote speakers, Jenna Grey Eagle and Ron Ferguson, who have experience working in rural communities. 

This online content will be exclusively available to local community gatherings. Each gathering will gear their in-person activity to their specific community with the goal of extending the impact of the conference to others throughout the following year. Join LSP and CURE for this western Minnesota gathering, or if a different location works better for you, check out all the local gatherings on the FREC site,

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out. LSP’s Nick Olson can be reached via e-mail at nicko@landstewardshipproject.org.

9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Intensive Small-Scale Market Gardening Bus Tour
Friday October 10
9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Intensive Small-Scale Market Gardening Bus Tour
Leatherdale Equine Center, 1801 Dudley Ave, St Paul, MN 55108, USA

Explore profitable small-scale farming (1–5 acres) and soil care. Visit a cooperative incubator farm and a thriving suburban market garden. Learn about cover crops, reduced tillage, high tunnel soil health, and support for growers.

This is the second tour in a three-part soil health bus tour series. Participants can sign up for just one, two, or all three tours. Register at https://z.umn.edu/vegetablebustours. The cost is $15 (flat fee, covers 1, 2, or 3 tours). There are more details in the attached flyer.

View Full Calendar

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