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Opinion: Huge Dairy Operations Change the Fabric of Farm Country

(5/28/26) Dairy farmer Duane Holker writes in the Minnesota Star Tribune that plans to build the largest dairy operation in Minnesota are a threat to producers like himself, as well as rural communities in general. Highlights:

• Holker writes that if Riverview LLP is successful in placing almost 19,000 milk cows in one location, that will in effect replace over 200 farms like his.
• He’s had to switch processors in recent years because the local one is now getting most of its milk from Riverview, one of the country’s biggest dairy producers.
• “This proposal is too much of a precedent-setter to not receive a thorough examination of not just the potential environmental impacts, but the economic ones,” writes Holker. “That’s why an environmental-impact statement (EIS), which the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency can order this spring, should be a no-brainer.”

The Land Stewardship Project is collecting signatures for a petition calling on the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to order an environmental impact statement for Riverview’s proposed expansion. Sign it here.

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Farm Bankruptcies Hit Six-Year High in April

(5/28/26) Farm Policy News reports that monthly farm-related Chapter 12 filings soared in April to a more than six-year high. Highlights:

• During the month of April, 62 bankruptcies were launched under Chapter 12, a 130% jump from April 2025 and the highest monthly total since February 2020, according to data from Epiq AACER. That figure is also 82% higher than the 34 Chapter 12 filings in March 2026.
• The Minnesota Reformer’s Betsy Froiland reported that Minnesota led the country in farm bankruptcies during the first quarter of 2026, continuing last year’s steady nationwide climb that was particularly steep for Midwestern farmers. Eight Minnesota farmers have already filed for bankruptcy this year, double the amount for the entire year of 2024.
• More bankruptcies are likely on the horizon as fuel prices and other costs continue to rise, according to Epiq AACER.

LSP’s Farm Crisis Resources web page has information for farmers facing financial, weather-related, or emotional distress.

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Bayer Promises to Suspend ‘Unfair Provisions’ in Seed Contracts for Several years, Trump Administration Announces

(5/22/26) Bayer has agreed to suspend for seven years pillars of its loyalty programs, which Trump administration officials called “unfair provisions” that “pose a danger to competition,” reports Investigate Midwest. Highlights:

• The agreement relates to how Bayer sells the seeds it produces through years of research and development. Bayer sells corn and soybean seeds to middlemen who then sell to farmers. To maintain the middlemen’s loyalty, Bayer implemented incentives that prevented resellers from seeking out potentially cheaper alternatives, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

• Loyalty programs have been part of the seed and chemical industry — typically, the seeds and pesticides required to grow commodity crops are sold together — for decades. Some have termed them “velvet handcuffs” that are designed to fend off generic competitors, which sell cheaper options to resellers.

• With few specifics of the agreement between Bayer and the government being made public, it’s hard to judge how effective the deal will be at lowering prices for farmers, said Bill Freese, the science director at the Center for Food Safety, which has studied the effect of seed industry concentration on farmers. “While vigorous antitrust actions are needed in the seed-pesticide sphere, these modest agreements with Bayer do not go nearly far enough to help American farmers suffering from Trump’s anti-farmers policies.” he said.

In episode 389 of LSP’s Ear to the Ground podcast, Minnesota Assistant Attorney General Elizabeth Odette talks about why it’s important for farmers and other rural residents to document and report possible examples of unfair marketing practices and antitrust violations.

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As Nitrates Rise, Central Iowa Water Works Asks for Watering Reduction

(5/27/26) The Des Moines Register reports that the Central Iowa Water Works is once again asking Des Moines metro residents to voluntarily cut their outdoor water use by 50% as nitrates in the region’s drinking water sources spike. Highlights:

• Water Works officials warned earlier in May that a mandatory lawn watering ban, like one imposed last June and July, could be possible as the nitrate levels in the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers climb and summer demand, driven mainly by lawn watering, rises.
• The nitrate level in the Raccoon River on May 27 was 17.17 milligrams per liter, and 10.4 in the Des Moines River. The federal government limits nitrate levels in drinking water — mainly resulting from farm runoff — to 10 milligrams per liter.
• Nitrate levels usually rise in warmer months, but they’ve been high almost all of 2026 so far. Des Moines Water Works has had to run its nitrate removal plant, one of the largest anywhere, since March 6.

LSP’s Ear to the Ground podcast features an interview with The Lobe Rangers, three Iowa farmers who are calling for direct action to reduce nitrogen fertilizer contamination of drinking water. You can check out the two-part podcast here.

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How Much Is a Bat Worth? Tiny Insect-Eaters Good for Farms

(5/14/26) The Conversation reports on how bats play a critical role in controlling crop pests, even as these mammals are being decimated by white-nose syndrome. Highlights:

• The cucumber beetle, which matures from rootworm, is a major problem for U.S. corn growers. Rootworm destroys more than 340 million bushels of corn across the U.S. Midwest and South each year, even as farmers spend $1 billion annually on pesticides to control outbreaks. A colony of 150 big brown bats can consume 600,000 cucumber beetles in a single year. If each female cucumber beetle – assuming half are female — had 110 rootworm larvae, the typical brown bat colony would prevent the production of 33 million rootworms.
• In the winter of 2006, the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome in bats was first detected in the U.S.; it has since spread to 47 states. A 2010 study found white-nose syndrome had killed between 30% and 99% of the bats in infected colonies. The estimated agricultural losses from white-nose syndrome exceeded $420 million per year as of 2017.
• Counties in all U.S. states tax agricultural land based on its “use value” – in other words, based on how profitable the land is in agriculture. Without healthy bat populations, lower profits shrink the tax base, leaving county governments with less revenue.
• No silver bullet exists for protecting or restoring bat populations affected by white-nose syndrome, but promising efforts are underway. A fungal vaccine is being tested by the U.S. Geological Survey and partners. Designing artificial roosts and adding cave protections can also help preserve healthy bat populations. Researchers are also working to better understand bat resistance to the disease to explore whether improving resistance alone can stabilize bat populations.

LSP has long worked with farmers who are utilizing wildlife to naturally control pest outbreaks. A recent series of Ear to the Ground podcasts discusses the role birds can play in ecologically-based pest control. The 2018 book, Wildly Successful Farming: Sustainability and the New Agricultural Land Ethic, features several LSP farmer-members who are balancing ecological health with productive farming.

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Shutting Down Federal Bee Labs Threatens Bees, Beekeepers and the US Food System

(5/26/26) The USDA plans to close the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, a 6,500-acre agricultural research station in Maryland that is home to the nation’s premier bee research and disease diagnosis hub. This closure comes at a critical time for bees, which are facing significant threats, reports The Conversation. Highlights:

• In winter 2025, many beekeepers lost over half their operations as pesticide-resistant varroa mites spread, bringing deadly viruses. The losses have led to low honey production, and soaring fuel costs have made shipping bees cross-country for agricultural pollination increasingly expensive, further stressing the industry.
• Because honey bees contribute roughly $15 billion to U.S. crop production — native and managed bees pollinate more than 130 crops — USDA labs help stabilize the nation’s food system. One of the Beltsville Bee Lab’s most critical services is its bee disease diagnostic service, where beekeepers can send samples for analysis free of charge.
• The Beltsville Bee Lab closure is not an isolated case. The Trump administration has proposed eliminating the U.S. Geological Survey’s Ecosystems Mission Area, a move that could defund the USGS Bee Lab, an essential resource for research on native bees.

The Land Stewardship Letter has long reported on the role pollinators play in developing profitable, regenerative farming systems. A version of one of those articles is here.

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In Illinois, Cancer and Pesticide Rates Typically Rise Together

(5/26/26) The Data Harvest report produced by Investigate Midwest documents that three-fourths of Illinois counties have cancer rates higher than the national average. Those counties also have an average pesticide use rate nearly 25% higher than the state’s other counties. Highlights:

• This finding, based on an analysis of data from both the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Cancer Institute, is in line with national figures. Of the 500 counties nationwide with the highest pesticide use per square mile, 60% of those counties also had cancer rates higher than the national average of 460 cases per 100,000 people.

• There also appears to be a correlation between high pesticide use and higher rates of cancer in many other states, including Missouri, Iowa, and North Dakota.
• Cancer is a complex disease and linked to multiple factors. But scientific research linking pesticides with certain types of cancers has been growing. A 2024 study in Frontiers in Cancer Control and Society claimed pesticides rivaled smoking in their potential to cause cancer.

One of the most commonly-detected pesticides in U.S. ground and surface waters is atrazine. In 2010, LSP teamed up with Pesticide Action Network North America to publish The Syngenta Corporation & Atrazine: The Cost to the Land, People & Democracy. For information on soil-building practices that can help farmers reduce their reliance on pesticides, see LSP’s Soil Builders’ web page.

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Ranchers Turn to Compost to Improve Soils and Boost Forage Production

(2026) In a recent summary report, the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program describes how Western ranchers are utilizing composting to improve soil health and forage quality. Highlights:

• Zachary Withers, who co-owns Polk’s Folly Farm with his brother in New Mexico, used a SARE Farmer/Rancher grant to see what effect compost would have on their soils and forage resources. Withers makes compost on his own farm, primarily from food scraps and wood mulch, with additional feedstocks including horse, pig, and chicken manure.
• The livestock producers participating in the research project saw a noticeable improvement in water filtration as well as density and diversity of plants in the test plots after compost applications. The more compost that was added, the more the soil improved.

For information related to on-farm composting research LSP has facilitated in Minnesota and Wisconsin, click here.

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