Land Stewardship Project

Land Stewardship Project
  • About Us
    • Our Mission
    • Long Range Plan
    • Staff Directory
    • Board of Directors
      • LSP Board Committees
    • LSP Steering Committees & Working Groups
    • Contact Us
    • Past LSP Projects
    • Employment & Volunteer Opportunities
    • LSP Publications
    • Financial Statements
  • The Latest
    • Community Care
    • Songs for the Soil
    • CSA Farm Directory
    • Upcoming Events
    • News
      • News Releases
      • Media Contacts
      • LSP in the News
    • Blog
    • Podcast
    • Land Stewardship Letter
    • LIVE-WIRE Sign-up
    • Myth Busters
    • Fact Sheets
    • Farm Crisis Resources
  • For Farmers & Landowners
    • Farmland Clearinghouse
    • New Farmers
      • Farm Beginnings Class
      • Journeyperson Course
      • Farm Dreams
      • Accessing Farmland
      • Farmland Clearinghouse
      • Beginning/Retiring Farmer Tax Credit
      • Beginning Farmer Profiles
      • Fresh Voices Podcast Series
    • Retiring Farmers & Landowners
      • Farmland Clearinghouse
      • Farm Transition Planning Course
      • Conservation Leases
      • Beginning/Retiring Farmer Tax Credit
      • Land Transition Tools
      • Transition Stories
    • Soil Health
      • Cover Crops
      • Grazing
      • No-till
      • Microbiology
      • Soil Builders’ Network
      • Soil Builders’ E-Letters
      • Soil Health Steering Committee Members
      • Ear Dirt Soil Health Podcast Series
    • Cropping Systems Calculator
    • Conservation Leases
  • Creating Change
    • Community-Based Food Systems
      • Ear Bites Community-Based Food Podcast Series
    • Policy Campaigns
      • Soil Health & Climate Change
      • Healthcare
      • 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
  • Get Involved
    • Your Membership Matters
    • Take Action!
    • Upcoming Events
    • Land Stewardship Action Fund
    • Connect with LSP
      • Stay Connected
      • Join, Donate, or Renew Today!
      • Shop
      • Employment & Volunteer Opportunities
      • Legacy Giving
    • Network with LSP Members
      • Farmland Clearinghouse
      • Soil Health
    • Farmland Clearinghouse
  • Join, Donate, or Renew Today!
  • Stay Connected
  • Contact Us
  • Shop
Search
More...

Land Line: Bird Flu, Egg Prices, Immigration, Funding Freeze, Conservation $$

Feb. 17: An LSP Round-up of News Covering Land, People & Communities

By Brian DeVore
February 17, 2025

Share

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • email

The Unnatural History of Bird Flu

(2/12/25) Science journalist Brandon Keim, writing in Nautilus, provides an in-depth overview of the causes of the current H5N1 avian influenza outbreak, which has resulted in the death of 150 million chickens and turkeys, either by the virus itself or due to euthanasia as officials attempt to curb its spread. Despite claims by the poultry industry that small open-air flocks and wild bird populations are spreading the virus, the science indicates that the main culprit is the industry itself: concentrating thousands of birds in large-scale, industrialized operations has provided the perfect petri dish for the flu to fester, increase in virulency, and spread. Highlights:

  • A century ago, the average American chicken flock contained 70 birds. Today, the nine billion chickens slaughtered for meat each year in the U.S. are raised in buildings containing, on average, 20,000 or more birds, with roughly one square foot of space apiece. Eighty-five percent of all eggs come from operations containing between 50,000 and six million hens.
  • One scientist says that this type of production system makes poultry not only food for humans, but “food for flu.” Promoters of industrial agriculture, operating on a “myth” that CAFOs are self-contained and their pathogens controllable, have claimed that migrating birds and small-scale, pasture-based poultry producers are the source of the spread of H5N1. However several studies have shown how the flu, even when introduced by wild swans for example, doesn’t become deadly until it has an opportunity to incubate and spread in large scale  commercial operations.
  • Evolutionary ecologist Rob Wallace calls for industrial livestock to be replaced by agroecological systems in which meat comes from networks of small, locally owned farms whose practices are less likely to intensify disease.

Check out LSP’s Soil Health web page for resources on raising livestock utilizing regenerative methods. For details on our work to create a food system based on supporting regenerative production methods, see the Community-Based Food Systems page. For more in LSP’s work related to fighting factory farms, click here.

With Egg Prices Soaring, How to Find Affordable Cartons of Alternatives

(2/10/25) One major impact of the avian flu outbreak is that eggs are hard to come by, resulting in near record prices. The Star Tribune offers up some guidelines for procuring eggs. Highlights:

  • The article recommends buying from local farmers who don’t produce eggs utilizing large-scale confinement systems.
  • Such connections can be made via Community Supported Agriculture, at food co-ops, and through direct marketing.

LSP is working to create community food webs that better connect farmers and eaters. Check out this Ear to the Ground podcast for details. The Minnesota Grown Directory lists farmers who have eggs and other locally raised food available for direct purchase.

‘We Are Each Other’s Business’: Minnesota Advocates Rally Statewide to Show Support for Immigrants

(2/14/25) On Valentine’s Day, members of the Immigrant Defense Network turned out across Minnesota to spread a “Love Your Immigrant Neighbor” message and to inform people of their rights when confronted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents who are enforcing mass deportation orders from the White House, according to the Sahan Journal. Highlights:

  • In November, more than 90 Minnesota groups formed the Immigrant Defense Network to protect the rights of immigrants and to make sure accurate information was being circulated to those communities. The Land Stewardship Project is a member of that coalition.
  • Organizers planned a day of action across Minnesota on Friday, including events in the Twin Cities, Rochester, Mankato, and Monticello.
  • The groups distributed thousands of Valentine’s Day cards that provided information about the rights that immigrants have.
  • Beth Slocum, the chair of LSP’s board, spoke at a Capitol press conference about the important role immigrants play in creating a regenerative, economically vibrant farm and food system.

You can view the Feb. 14 press conference and Beth Slocum’s comments here. On our website, LSP has created a Community Care resource page for immigrants and allies. LSP’s new long range plan describes how, among other things, the organization is committed to working with groups led by people of color to provide fair opportunities for all people to participate in a sustainable farm and food system.

♦ ♦ ♦

Farmers Are Out Millions After Trump Freezes USDA Funds

(2/11/25) The Washington Post writes that farmers are reporting missing millions of dollars of funding they were promised by the USDA, despite promises from the Trump administration that a federal funding freeze would not apply to projects directly benefiting individuals. Highlights:

  • The White House’s order to freeze funding impacts the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Rural Energy for America Program, both of which help farmers adopt practices that improve and protect the environment. EQIP, in particular, has proved invaluable for farmers adopting managed rotational grazing systems and cover cropping, for example.
  • Farmers who signed contracts with the USDA under those programs paid up front to build fencing, plant new crops, and install renewable energy systems with guarantees that the federal government would cover at least part of their costs. Funding for certain types of agricultural research was also frozen.
  • The administration rescinded the funding pause after a federal judge temporarily halted its implementation. But farmers were reporting that their funding remained frozen, even as USDA field offices were being forced to lay off staffers.

LSP’s government relations director, Laura Schreiber, was in Washington, D. C., last week, where she met with several members of Congress and shared stories of farmer-members who are being impacted by the funding uncertainty. For details on sharing your story and how to get a message to lawmakers about the importance of these programs, see LSP’s action alert.

The Financial Implications of Conservation Agriculture

(2024) A report created with the support of the North Central Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education initiative gathers information from numerous studies to show the profitability that can result from adopting various farm conservation practices in the Upper Midwest. Highlights:

  • Cover crops add direct costs in the short term but can be profitable over time.
  • Midwestern farms achieve higher returns and lower costs when using methods that reduce tillage.
  • Studies have shown that using managed grazing systems can help producers achieve their income goals,
    lower income variability, and produce returns on investment. Pasture-based livestock production can also open up new marketing opportunities.

Information on building soil health profitably is available on LSP’s Soil Health web page. A recent LSP blog series describes how 11 farms are utilizing various regenerative production methods to become economically and environmentally sustainable.

♦ ♦ ♦

Category: Blog
Tags: bird flu • funding freeze

LSP Land Line

LSP Land Line is a regular round-up of local, regional, and national news that touches on the work of the Land Stewardship Project. We can’t include everything, but if you have a news item to submit, e-mail LSP’s Brian DeVore.

Quotes of the Day

 “If we were to get our drafting table up here, and we wanted to design how to make great virulence, this would be how.”

— evolutionary ecologist Rob Wallace

♦ ♦ ♦

“It scares me for the future of farming. Not just that funding won’t be available for new farmers that need it, but that farmers won’t trust the government going forward.”

— Maryland farmer Laura Beth Resnick

♦ ♦ ♦

“We believe that if Minnesota is to have a truly sustainable food and farming system it must be sustainable for everyone involved in that system, no matter their economic background, race, ethnicity, or country of origin.”

— LSP board chair & farmer, Beth Slocum

♦ ♦ ♦

LSP in the News

Check out recent media stories featuring LSP’s work here.

Upcoming Events

×

August 2025

Tuesday August 5 – Thursday August 7

Farmfest 2025
Tuesday August 5 – Thursday August 7
Farmfest 2025
28366 County Hwy 13, Morgan, MN 56266, USA

Details are here.

Thursday August 7

12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Unlocking Conservation Resources for Communities & Farms
Thursday August 7
12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Unlocking Conservation Resources for Communities & Farms
Red Rock Center for the Arts, 222 E Blue Earth Ave, Fairmont, MN 56031, USA

Join Renewing the Countryside and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) this summer at one of their eight conservation events in a town near you, where you will:

  • Learn how conservation benefits Minnesota’s rural communities.
  • Hear from a panel of local speakers.
  • Discover available NRCS Farm Bill programs and the economics of on-farm practices.
  • Enjoy a complimentary lunch, plus a chance to win door prizes.
  • Network with local farmers, neighbors, and conservation professionals.
  • Receive helpful materials and personalized support on next steps after the event.  

For more information, click here. 

Locations & Dates:
Each event is free, open to all, and runs from noon to 2 p.m. at the venues listed. Space is limited, please register in advance.

  • Hallock (Kittson County) – Tues, July 22 @ Far North Spirits
  • Elbow Lake (Grant County) – Wed, July 23 @ Elbow Lake Community Building
  • Sleepy Eye (Brown County) – Thur, July 24 @ Sleepy Eye Brewing Company
  • Milaca (Mille Lacs County) – Tues, July 29 @ Gorecki Community Center
  • Mora (Kanabec County) – Thur, July 31 @ Sapsucker Farms Yellow Belly Cidery
  • Owatonna (Steele County) – Tues, August 5 @ Owatonna Public Utilities Building
  • Jordan (Scott County) – Wed, August 6 @ Ridges at Sand Creek
  • Fairmont (Martin County) – Thur, August 7 @ Red Rock Center for the Arts

2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
CFFE Tariffs & Ag Webinar
Thursday August 7
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
CFFE Tariffs & Ag Webinar
Online Webinar

Join the Campaign for Family Farms and the Environment online on Thursday, August 7, for an update on where things stand with tariffs and what that means for food and farm policy and the factory farm system. We’ll cover the basics of how trade policy impacts agriculture, what recent changes mean for the U.S. food system, and ways to get involved in the fight for fair trade and fair markets. 

The Land Stewardship Project is a longtime coalition member of the Campaign for Family Farms and the Environment. I hope you can join this informative session!

Speakers for this webinar include Patty Lovera from the Campaign for Family Farms and the Environnment and Ben Lilliston from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.

When: Thursday, Aug 7, 2 p.m. Central/3 p.m. Eastern
Register in advance at this link

After registering, you will receive a confirmation e-mail containing information about joining the webinar. For more information, contact LSP policy director Sean Carroll at scarroll@landstewardshipproject.org.
 
 

Friday August 8

4:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Roots & Rotation Grazing Field Day
Friday August 8
4:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Roots & Rotation Grazing Field Day
10470 190th St, Park Rapids, MN 56470, USA

Roots and Rotation is a summer field day series happening across Minnesota. These field days will discuss the use of livestock for soil health goals in different agricultural systems. 
 
Learn about the benefits of integrating livestock onto cropland and how to make it work on your operation. Hear from experienced farmers and Extension educators specializing in crops, livestock, and soil health. These events are for producers looking to elevate their cropland soil health and increase their forage resources. 

For more information and to register, see the Minnesota Grazing Lands Conservation Association website.

4:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Sunflower Social Farmer Gathering
Friday August 8
4:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Sunflower Social Farmer Gathering
22955 570th Ave, Austin, MN 55912, USA

Members of the Land Stewardship Project’s Austin Area Soil Health Hub are hosting a sunflower social on Tom and Kim Finnegan’s farm Friday, Aug. 8, from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. This event will be open to all area farmers. Meet members of this peer-to-peer farmer group, see the beautiful sunflower fields, and learn about diversification.  

Farming should include a trusted network that ensures we are all successful. How could having a network of farmers that provide support, resources, and comradery impact your farm? 

On Aug. 8, gather with area farmers who are invested in soil health and sustainable practices, and are committed to learning from each other. Join us for an evening on the Finnegan farm for a hay ride around the sunflower fields and to learn more about their diversified farm. There will be a supper and lots of time to connect with farmers in the area.

RSVP here. 

View Full Calendar

Recent Posts

  • Farmers Gather in Madison to Discuss ‘Bringing Small Grains Back to Minnesota’ August 6, 2025
  • Land Line: USDA Changes, Climate-Smart Ag, Dead Zone, Nitrate Pollution, Feedlot Regs, Soil Bacteria, the Power of Diverse Farming July 28, 2025
  • Social Sustainability: Fostering Farmer-Focused Communities  July 24, 2025
  • A Healthy Hub of Activity July 21, 2025
  •  Beginning Farmer Program for MN, WI & IA Accepting Applications for 2025-2026 Course July 16, 2025

Montevideo

111 North First Street
Montevideo, MN 56265

(320) 269-2105

Lewiston

180 E. Main Street
Lewiston, MN 55952

(507) 523-3366

Minneapolis

821 E. 35th Street #200
Minneapolis, MN 55407

(612) 722-6377

  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 Land Stewardship Project. All rights reserved.

https://landstewardshipproject.org/land-line-bird-flu-egg-prices-immigration-funding-freeze-conservation