Minnesota Farmers Seek State Aid as Foreclosure Crisis Looms

(8/8/25) Financially strapped Minnesota farmers are asking the state to intervene with their lenders at a midsummer rate not seen in almost a decade, reports the Star Tribune. Highlights:

• In June, 197 farmers filed notice for help from the University of Minnesota Extension’s Farmer-Lender Mediation program. July was even worse with 306 notices, a four-fold increase over the same month last year.
• The upending of global trade has ignited farmer anxiety and resurfaced haunting memories of the 1980s farm crisis that devastated rural Minnesota and other parts of the Midwest.
• Inflation and falling land prices drove the economic woes of the 1980s; the current downturn in agriculture is linked to low commodity prices — particularly for corn and soybeans.
• The state’s Farmer-Lender Mediation program, which was born out of the 1980s turbulence, allows a “cooling-off period” that puts farmers on a payment plan to at least temporarily avoid foreclosure.

For support related to financial, weather-related, or emotional stress, see LSP’s Farm Crisis web page.

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2 Agricultural Mental Health Providers Added to Serve Minnesota Farmers

(8/4/25) Two new part-time agricultural mental health providers will serve Minnesota farmers following the retirement of longtime provider Ted Matthews, reports Agweek. Highlights:

• Agricultural mental health professionals provide confidential care at no cost, sometimes for one or two sessions, and other times on an extended basis. They provide flexible options for meeting and focus on helping individuals manage stress and build healthy coping strategies.
• Research shows that farmers experience common mental health conditions more often than the general population.

If you need help, you can call the 24/7 Minnesota Farm & Rural Helpline at 833-600-2670. You can also call 988. More resources are available at www.mnfarmstress.com.

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Corn Grower Leaders Raise Alarm Over High Input Costs

(8/3/25) The National Corn Growers Association, along with 25 state-based corn grower groups, have sent a letter to Trump administration officials detailing the worsening economic situation caused by elevated prices for fertilizers and other inputs, reports Morning AgClips. Highlights:

• The current forecast for 2025 shows fertilizer alone accounting for 36% of a corn farmer’s operating cost.
• Phosphate fertilizers, for example, have seen a dramatic price increase of more than 60% over the past decade. At the same time, corn prices have cropped by 14% from the beginning of 2025 and 50% since 2022.

Inflated prices farmers are forced to pay for inputs is one result of consolidation in the ag industry. On Sunday, Oct. 24, the Land Stewardship Project is holding an “ag consolidation” town hall meeting in central Minnesota with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison. Details are here. 

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Research Shows Why Crops and Livestock are Better Together

(7/21/25) Agweek describes research at North Dakota State University showing that incorporating livestock into a cropping operation can raise a farmer’s net income. Highlights:

• Establishing the cover crops used in the study cost an average of $43 per acre. In 2023, plentiful grazing in fall and spring meant that incorporating livestock on the land increased the net income by $36.06 per acre and by $1.59 on the portion that was just spring grazed. In 2024, neither spring nor dual grazing led to a positive net economic effect; however, both reduced the cost of incorporating cover crops from $42.93 to $22.54.
• The research also showed that pollinators that are drawn to farms with cover crops can help increase yields in crops like soybeans.
• With low margins in crop production, livestock cropping interactions are an important tool that producers should consider, say NDSU researchers.

The Land Stewardship Letter recently profiled a farm in northeastern Iowa that’s successfully integrated crops and livestock.

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Is the Bread in Europe Better for You?

(7/24/25) The New York Times describes a phenomenon where Americans who have problems eating bread and other wheat-based products in this country say they feel better when eating similar food in Western Europe. Gastroenterologists, food scientists, and other experts say it may not be their imagination. Highlights:

• One gastroenterologist says when they eat wheat products in the United States, his patients report bloating, nausea, diarrhea, constipation, joint pain, fatigue, or brain fog. When they eat wheat products — particularly bread — in Western Europe, they have fewer or milder symptoms.
• One theory is that the “soft” wheat that’s mostly grown in Europe contains less gluten.
• Other theories include the fact that bread dough in Europe is fermented longer and contains fewer additives.

During a recent Land Stewardship Project “Bringing Small Grains Back to Minnesota” meeting, farmers who are processing their own wheat into flour discussed the economic, agronomic, and nutritional benefits of a more localized farm-to-table system. Details, including links to podcasts featuring the presenters, are here.

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Pesticide Monitoring in MN: 2024 River & Stream Results

(7/30/25) University of Minnesota Extension reports on the results of sampling in the state related to pesticide levels in streams and rivers. Highlights:

• In 2024, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture collected more than 1,000 samples from 56 rivers and streams across Minnesota.
• Eighty-one of the 185 pesticide chemicals analyzed were detected in at least one sample. The most frequently detected chemicals were hydroxyatrazine (a degradate of the herbicide atrazine [Aatrex, Acuron, Callisto Xtra]1), the herbicide metolachlor (Matador, Dual II Magnum) and its degradates (metolachlor OXA and metolachlor ESA), and the herbicide 2,4-D (Enlist One, Enlist Duo, Unison). While multiple pesticides were detected in rivers and streams in Minnesota, the majority of detections were below levels of concern for aquatic life, according to MDA officials.
• To evaluate concentration data and identify potential risks, the MDA compares detected concentrations to “reference values.” Reference values can be water quality standards, benchmarks, or other guidance values established by state and/or federal agencies. For surface water, the MDA typically uses reference values that are based on toxicity to aquatic life.
• In 2024, eight pesticides were detected above their applicable reference values in rivers and streams. Two neonicotinoid insecticides, clothianidin and imidacloprid, were responsible for 90% of the detections over a reference value (232 out of 258 detections).

For information on implementing diverse farming systems that build soil health while reducing a reliance on pesticides and other agrochemicals, see LSP’s Soil Builders’ web page. One diversification strategy is to grow “continuous living cover” crops like Kernza. Check out this new series of videos related to planting, harvesting, and grazing Kernza.

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RFK Jr., Rollins Stress Improving Soil Health at First Capitol Hill MAHA Roundtable

(7/16/25) Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dubbed modern soil health practices “unsustainable” during a Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) roundtable on Capitol Hill, reports an Agri-Pulse article re-published by Successful Farming. Highlights:

• Kennedy focused on the loss of top soil, noting that it is currently being depleted quicker than it can replace itself. “We have farming practices now that are unsustainable,” he said. “They’ve been dictated by, in many ways, by federal policies and we need to transition. …We need to give off ramps to farmers, so that they can transition to biodynamic agriculture, to regenerative agriculture, and do it in a way that is going to maintain the vibrancy of their farms and robust economies in rural communities across our country.”

• “It’s my belief that soil health is the bridge where agriculture meets MAHA,” Senator Roger Marshall (R-Kansas) said in his opening remarks at the roundtable. “It’s where healthy soil meets healthy food meets healthy people.”
• More than 15,000 employees left USDA this year after taking buyouts from the department, including 2,400 who worked at the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the main agency in charge of helping farmers implement soil health practices.

You can subscribe to our Soil Builders’ Network newsletter here. Information on LSP’s work to develop public policies that help farmers implement regenerative practices is available on our Federal Policy web page. 

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