Land Stewardship Project

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Federal Policy

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Organizing from the grassroots level to the halls of Congress, the Land Stewardship Project has played a national role in winning important policy changes like the Conservation Stewardship Program and the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program. Congressional Farm Bills have a dramatic impact on the land and our communities.

U.S. farm policy still heavily favors land-damaging agricultural systems based on factory farming and monocultural cropping. Farm policy also subsidizes with public funds the concentration of land ownership and control in increasingly fewer hands. Major change is needed.

Click Here to Get Involved with Federal Policy Reform

Check Out Our Latest Action Alerts

A New Farm Bill*

In August 2022, LSP launched its Farm Bill Platform at Legvold Farms in Northfield, Minn. The platform is based on the following values:

  • Use public resources for public good.
  • Invest in people to build local communities vital for economic resilience.
  • Uphold the interdependence of urban and rural communities.
  • Acknowledge and address the history and legacy of inequities in the food system.
  • Value land stewardship and regional food systems.
  • Reward crop diversity and soil health as essential for our future.
  • Recognize the contributions of and institute protections for food system workers, including farm and meat processing workers.
  • Acknowledge that farmers are on the front lines of the climate crisis, and this challenge demands bold solutions.

Click here to read the platform, stay up-to-date on the latest action alerts, and hear from member leaders.

* The current Farm Bill was due to expire in fall 2023. However, Congress has extended the current law until September 30, 2024.

Land Stewardship Letter: A View From the Farm Bill Field

This Land Stewardship Letter article describes various ways LSP members are making their voices heard when it comes to crafting a new Farm Bill.

Land Stewardship Letter: the 2023 Farm Bill

Debate over the content of the next Farm Bill has already begun, and LSP members are in the thick of it. Check out this Land Stewardship Letter article on the Farm Bill process and why you should care about what this legislation eventually looks like.

Land Stewardship Letter: Conservation's Contradictions

Traditionally, the Farm Bill has promoted monocultural, industrialized systems of farming that aren’t good for the land, let alone farmers, as well as the rural communities they live in. However, there are elements of current federal ag policy that have a sound foundation when it comes to promoting the kind of farming that’s good for the landscape. The Land Stewardship Letter examines how some of these programs are implemented on one farm and where there’s room for improvement.

LSP on "Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home & Abroad"

This is a key moment to win federal investment in climate-smart agriculture. President Joe Biden has issued the “Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad.” It directs Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to collect input from stakeholders on how best to use USDA programs to promote climate-smart agricultural practices.

Here are the comments LSP submitted to the administration:

• In order to address the scale of the climate crisis, USDA must improve and greatly expand existing conservation programs to increase access to farmers and ranchers. It should prioritize practices that provide the most climate benefit, like incorporating cover crops, perennial crops, and managed grazing of perennial pasture. Farmers will be essential to responding to climate change, particularly through a greater emphasis on building soil health. The stacking benefits of soil health practices create climate resilience by increasing organic matter, improving soil fertility, reducing erosion, and improving water quality and infiltration.

• Factory farms are a cause of climate change, and they should not be considered part of the solution. The way that animals are raised plays a major role in their impact on climate. Factory farms require huge quantities of industrial feed, water, chemical inputs, and energy, and they manage manure in a way that increases greenhouse gas emissions. We need a dramatic transition in how we raise animals for food that is centered on getting more small to mid-scale farmers on the land using sustainable systems such as managed rotational grazing, which can build healthy soils and sequester carbon.

• USDA should spend public money on public programs that have a track record of success, not on propping up the fossil fuel industry. Private carbon markets benefit big agribusiness and let polluters off the hook for their emissions. Agriculture offset markets already don’t work for most farmers — they don’t pay farmers fairly and they are tightly controlled by a handful of big companies that dominate the market. Smaller scale farmers, including Black and Indigenous farmers who have faced systemic discrimination at the hands of USDA, are not well served by this model. Neither is the climate. Farmers and ranchers should be invested in as stewards of the land, not as a carbon sink for big business. The fossil fuel industry needs to reduce its own emissions, and smaller scale farmers and farmers of color must be prioritized in USDA climate policy.

• Climate policy for agriculture must ensure a fair price for farmers and a fair wage for workers. USDA needs to manage over-production, invest in climate-friendly systems of production that protect water and air quality in rural communities, and create new rural-based and owned economic opportunities that keep wealth local and out of the hands of big corporations. It must support the next generation of farmers and food system workers and their right to make a fair living.

• Local control and ownership must be an essential part of climate policy for agriculture, so the rural landscape is protected and historic patterns of exploitation and wealth extraction are not repeated. Small to mid-scale farmers and ranchers must be at the center of climate policy for agriculture. A farming system that sustains our family farms and gets more emerging farmers on the land is best suited to revitalize rural communities, produce a healthy and sustainable food supply, and respond to climate change.

For more information, contact federal policy organizer Jessica Kochick via e-mail or at 612-400-6349.

Federal Policy Resources

• Find Your U.S. Senators & U.S. Representatives

• Building Sustainable Farms, Ranches and Communities: 86-page resource full of one- to two-page informative overviews of the many federal programs available for farmers, entrepreneurs, conservationists, nonprofits and other stakeholders in the sustainable agriculture community. (October 2014)

• Farm Crisis Resources

Related Posts

  • Tell Your Representatives: We Want a Farm Bill for All, Not a Tax Break for the Wealthiest

    July 2, 2025

    The Land Stewardship Project and our allies have been loud and clear for years: we need strong agricultural legislation that invests in programs that nourish people, protect…

    Action Alerts
    Congress, federal farm policy
    Tell Your Representatives: We Want a Farm Bill for All, Not a Tax Break for the Wealthiest
  • Tell Congress to Support the Agriculture Resilience Act

    April 23, 2025
    Action Alerts
    Agriculture Resilience Act, climate change, federal farm policy, regenerative agriculture, soil health
    Tell Congress to Support the Agriculture Resilience Act
  • Tell Congress Farmers are being Harmed by Federal Funding Freeze

    February 19, 2025

    As you know, farmers across the country are facing critical challenges as the federal funding freeze continues to impact essential agricultural programs. Although farmers were…

    Action Alerts
    conservation funding, CSP, EQIP, Farm Bill, federal policy, funding freeze, USDA
    Tell Congress Farmers are being Harmed by Federal Funding Freeze

Contact

Laura Schreiber, LSP government relations director, e-mail, 612-207-4693

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  • Join, Donate, or Renew
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Upcoming Events

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October 2025

Thursday October 9

5:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Minnesota Women in Conservation Fall Learning Circle
Thursday October 9
5:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Minnesota Women in Conservation Fall Learning Circle
Dawson, MN 56232, USA

Participants will walk around a “homestead” farm site, exploring areas and goals the landowner hopes to improve in the future, including pollinator habitat, perennial plantings, windbreaks, privacy/noise screens, water quality improvements, well sealing, and compost placements. Participants will hear feedback and recommendations from a conservation professional on potential programs that could assist the landowner in achieving those goals. This will be an active event.

Please bring a camp chair and a potluck dish. The host will provide the main dish, so think about bringing sides and dessert. For details and to reserve a spot, click here. For questions, contact LSP’s Alex Kiminski at akiminski@landstewardshipproject.org.

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.

Saturday October 11

11:00 am – 2:00 pm
LSP-COPAL Visita a la Granja | Farm Tour
Saturday October 11
11:00 am – 2:00 pm
LSP-COPAL Visita a la Granja | Farm Tour
36919 County 57 Blvd, Dennison, MN 55018, USA

Building off the success of last year’s farm event with COPAL in Austin, Minn., this year Land Stewardship Project and COPAL members and supporters will gather at the Young-Walser Family Farm in Dennison, Minn. for a festive and delicious farm tour on Saturday, Oct. 11, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. We invite you to come and meet new folks, learn new skills, and try new food! 
 
This year’s COPAL-LSP farm event offers a little something for everyone: 
 
🍯 Honey sampling and the opportunity to purchase from Homestead Honey Farm. 
 
🍎 Apple cider pressing and tasting. (BTW, we’re still looking for an apple press if you or a farmer friend have one nearby we could borrow for this event!) 
 
🌽 Nixtamalization workshop and fresh, homemade tortillas, made with corn grown by LSP and COPAL members at the Young-Walser Family Farm! 
 
🍅 Salsa making and cricket-eating competitions! Yes, you heard that right —we’ll have the opportunity to sample crickets, a delectable crispy and savory snack commonly enjoyed throughout Mexico and Central America. Stay tuned for details on how to enter either competition. 
 
🥾 A tour of the Young-Walser farm, nestled in the beautiful Sogn Valley not far from Cannon Falls, Minn. Enjoy a tromp through the corn and squash fields and hike in the nearby woods. 
 
🌮 A shared meal and opportunity to hear from LSP and COPAL organizers about our participation in the Immigrant Defense Network. 

Let us know you can make it to ensure we order enough food and supplies! Carpools from Minneapolis and Rochester will be available to all attendees. 

________________________________________________

¡Únete a LSP + COPAL para nuestro recorrido anual comunitario en la granja!
Un espacio divertido para tod@s donde exploraremos la agricultura, aprenderemos sobre el campo y participaremos en actividades prácticas. ¡Uno de los momentos más especiales será hacer tortillas frescas junt@s!

Compartiremos un delicioso almuerzo comunitario, preparando tacos en estilo potluck (tipo convivio). Te invitamos a traer un platillo o acompañamiento para compartir.

También estás invitado@ a llegar temprano (desde las 9 AM) para ayudar a cosechar calabazas que sembramos. Puedes llevarte algunas a casa, y el resto se donará a un banco de alimentos local.

El Land Stewardship Project (LSP) es una organización aliada de COPAL que trabaja por sistemas alimentarios y agrícolas más sostenibles y justos. LSP y COPAL están unidas en su lucha por instituciones democráticas sólidas, comunidades saludables y acogedoras, y una ética de cuidado hacia la tierra y las personas que nos alimentan.

Tuesday October 14

11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Birds as Pest Control Allies on the Farm
Tuesday October 14
11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Birds as Pest Control Allies on the Farm
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

View Full Calendar

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