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Land Line: Food Systems, Funding Freeze, John Deere, Immigration, Regenerative Farm Family

March 3: An LSP Round-up of News Covering Land, People & Communities

By Brian DeVore
March 3, 2025

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Surrounded by Crops in Minnesota
Farm Country, but with Little to Eat

(2/26/25) Star Tribune columnist Karen Tolkkinen writes about the paradox plaguing rural communities in western Minnesota: despite massive amounts of land being devoted to agricultural production, little fresh, affordable food is available for local residents. Highlights:

  • A recent study of the food system in five Minnesota counties — Douglas, Grant, Pope, Stevens, and Traverse — found that residents drive 40 miles or more to Alexandria to buy groceries from Walmart, which opened in 1991, or Aldi, which opened in 2014. About half the grocery stores in those five counties have closed since 1990.
  • A recent food forum organized by the Land Stewardship Project at the University of Minnesota-Morris brought together farmers, retailers, students, and food system experts to talk about the role community-based food systems could play in supporting rural economies while feeding rural residents.

For more on LSP’s Community-Based Food Systems work, click here.

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Iowa Farmers are Relying on Now-Frozen Regional Food Infrastructure Grants

(2/26/25) Writing in the Iowa Capital Dispatch, farmers Wendy Johnson, Carmen and Maja Black, Jason and Hannah Grimm, and Emma and Marcus Johnson describe the community benefits that result from Regional Food Systems Infrastructure (RFSI) grants. These farmers are all recipients of RFSI grants, which have been frozen by the federal government. Highlights:

  • These grants are for one-time purchases to acquire equipment and improve facilities for local food aggregation and distribution. Some of these purchases have already been made with the contractual understanding that farmers would be reimbursed.
  • In late 2024, Iowa funded 24 RFSI grants, a $3,018,154 investment in Iowa agriculture. These projects are projected to support over 300 local farmers growing their farm businesses, increasing market access through connections to the food hub network that exists in Iowa.
  • These dollars help kickstart new Main Street businesses and support and provide markets for more Iowa food producers.

On Feb. 17, the Minnesota Senate Agriculture Committee heard LSP farmer-member Hannah Bernhardt and others discuss the impacts of the federal funding freeze and how this relates to state agriculture programs. Highlights of the hearing are available here. 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.

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Amid Trump’s Threats to Deport Workers, Wisconsin & Minnesota Dairy Farmers Travel to Mexico

(2/25/25) The Wisconsin Examiner‘s Ruth Conniff reports on a trip to Mexico organized by Puentes/Bridges to connect Wisconsin dairy farmers with the families of their workers.  Highlights:

  • John Rosenow, who dairy farms near Waumandee, Wis., says 13 of his 18 employees are from Mexico.
  • Latin American workers, most of them from Mexico, perform an estimated 70% of the labor on Wisconsin dairy farms. Almost all of the immigrant workers who milk cows in the U.S. lack legal status. While the U.S. government provides visas for migrant workers who pick seasonal crops and for immigrants with specialized technical skills, there is no U.S. visa program for low-skilled labor in year-round industries like dairy.
  • Undocumented workers pay about $97 billion in total taxes, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. About $26 billion of that goes to fund Social Security and $6 billion for Medicare — programs from which those workers are excluded.

LSP recently participated in a press conference organized by the Immigrant Defense Network; details are here. A Land Stewardship Letter review of Ruth Conniff’s book, Milked: How an American Crisis Brought Together Midwestern Dairy Farmers & Mexican Workers is available here.

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FTC Should Not Let John Deere Off the Hook

(2/19/25) Dave Dickey, a columnist for Investigate Midwest, writes about a recent lawsuit filed against John Deere by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the state attorneys general in Minnesota and Illinois. The lawsuit asks for a permanent injunction of Deere’s current practices that restrict farmers and independent repair shops from working on Deere equipment. Highlights:

  • The lawsuit charges that: “…Deere has acquired and maintained monopoly power in a relevant market for the provision of repair services that require the use of a fully functional repair tool…As a consequence, Deere’s dealers are able to maintain a 100% market share and charge supracompetitive prices for restricted repairs, and Deere itself reaps additional profits through parts sales.”
  • Dickey writes that, “The FTC complaint was a long time coming…Ask any farmer if they believe John Deere has been dealing off the top of the deck when it comes to software repair tools and you’ll get an earful.”
  • However, the new chair of the FTC, Andrew Ferguson, voted against the lawsuit moving forward, and says he is currently in discussions with John Deere about the issue.

Consolidation in agriculture and restrictions on farmers’ rights when it comes to repairing their own equipment will be the focus of a LSP town hall meeting featuring Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison on Tuesday, March 4. Details are here.

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Growing Healthy Soil & Grass Regenerates
Minnesota Farm & Its Future

(2/25/25) The Bergler family is using managed rotational grazing and cover cropping to build soil health, which has resulted in healthier animals and a better quality of life for the family, reports Morning Ag Clips. Highlights:

  • Never applying more than 100 pounds of nitrogen fertilizer per acre, the Berglers harvest 230 bushel-per-acre corn behind a seven-way grain mix with peas and flax.
  • The Berglers no longer uses dewormer or other prophylactic vaccinations prescribed in conventional confined animal operations. The pregnancy rate of his herd is 99%.
  • “I used to feed 200 plus days a year,” said Luke Bergler. “Each day it would take about two hours of time. Now we feed less than 130-140 days a year and it only takes me 20-30 minutes. I used to haul 80-100 loads of manure each year and now I’m down to seven. All of those little things add up to an improved quality of life.”

The Berglers hosted an LSP soil health field day in 2022. Check out an LSP Ear to the Ground podcast interview with Luke Bergler here. 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.

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Category: Blog
Tags: community based food systems • funding freeze • immigration • regenerative farming • right to repair

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 Brian DeVore.

Quotes of the Day

 “It’s good that other people know that we’re not all bad people — that people know and can value the work and sacrifices we are making.”

        — Celeste Tzanahua Hernández, who lives in the Mexican state of Veracruz &
whose family has worked on dairy farms in Wisconsin 

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“It doesn’t mean we don’t have setbacks, challenges or financial issues. After all, we are American farmers. But when you abide by the principles, believe in the system and pay attention, it’s remarkable what can happen. There are so many things working now that it just blows my mind.”

        — Southeastern Minnesota farmer Luke Bergler

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“When we signed these contracts, we committed to what they contained and expected the government to honor its word.”

— Farmers Wendy Johnson, Carmen & Maja Black, Jason & Hannah Grimm, & Emma & Marcus Johnson

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LSP in the News

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

Upcoming Events

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May 2025

Thursday May 29

9:00 am – 12:30 pm
Storytelling for Sales: Digital Marketing for Sustainable Farmers
Thursday May 29
9:00 am – 12:30 pm
Storytelling for Sales: Digital Marketing for Sustainable Farmers
Zoom Online

Storytelling for Sales: Digital Marketing Best Practices to Get Your Farm’s Next Customer is designed to help farmers grow their customer base by sharpening their storytelling and digital marketing skills—whether they’re selling through farmers’ markets, CSAs, or direct-to-retail. This Greener Pastures and Meet the Minnesota Makers workshop will cover how websites and social media can actually convert viewers into buyers to creating content that builds community loyalty.

This workshop is also designed for ag educators, professionals, and partner organizational staff who support farmers directly and want to be well-versed on the marketing best practices to support direct-to-consumer farms. 

For details and to register, click here.

Saturday May 31

10:00 am – 12:30 pm
Multi-species Pasture Walk
Saturday May 31
10:00 am – 12:30 pm
Multi-species Pasture Walk
872 320th Ave, Frederic, WI 54837, USA

The NW Wisconsin Graziers Network, River Country RC&Dand UW-Madison Extension invite you to a multi-species pasture walk hosted by JohnsonFamily Pastures LLC. The farm is located five miles east of Frederic in PolkCounty. This educational event willemphasize direct marketing, multi-species grazing, part-time family agricultureand silvopasture development. Light snacks and refreshments will be provided.

TheJohnson Family Pastures farm is home to Chris and Tamara Johnson and their twochildren. They raise grass-fed beef, silvopastured goats, and recently raised anumber of other species. The farm consists of about 160 acres of gently rollingpastures, silvopasture, and forest. Use of both temporary polybraid fencing andhigh tensile permanent fences allow for rotational grazing of small ruminants andout-wintering of beef cattle. Use of long-term farm transition strategies, cost-shareprograms, silvopasture development with goats, regenerative grazing, cattlehandling facility and bale grazing will be discussed along with answering anyand all questions from pasture walk participants.

An extensive and diversified direct marketing programhas been developed by Tamara and Chris that has included farmer markets, e-maillists, newsletters, website ordering, on-farm freezer storage, and other strategiesand tools to support direct sales and services for their customers.  Come and learn all about their successfulapproach.

For more information,contact Chris Johnson at 920-960-4475 or Lynn Johnson 715-225-9882 at NW Graziers.

June 2025

Wednesday June 25

2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
LSP-PFI Grazing Field Day at Hoosier Ridge Ranch
Wednesday June 25
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
LSP-PFI Grazing Field Day at Hoosier Ridge Ranch
Hoosier Ridge Ranch, 15998 Wabasha County Rd 26, Altura, MN 55910, USA

Over the last 50 years, livestock have left many farms. Eric Heins is doing the reverse: bringing cattle – and their poop, pee and hooves – back to his land. Come see how Eric is using his Normande-shorthorn crosses in a variety of grazing situations. During this Land Stewardship Project-Practical Farmers of Iowa field day, you can view permanent pasture, where Eric (like everyone) is battling the cool-season grass takeover. You’ll also learn how Eric is using his cattle in cover crop mixes, prairie and woodlands.

Since purchasing the farm in 2020, Eric has converted the cropland to pasture. He also custom-farms a diverse rotation of crops, covers and small grains on neighboring farms, including an established prairie on Iowa Department of Natural Resources land. A possible bonus: Eric is hoping to have virtual fence collars by the time of the field day, but no guarantees!

A meal featuring Hoosier Ridge Ranch burgers will follow the field day.

See & Discuss

  • Cash-flowing the conversion to pasture on owned versus rented cropland
  • Stockpiling pasture for winter grazing
  • Mechanical buckthorn clearing for silvopasture
  • Grazing agreements on DNR prairie and neighboring cropland
  • A sudangrass mix after a canning pea crop
  • An extended rotation with oats, barley and Kernza

For details and to register, click here.

Saturday June 28

4:00 pm – 8:00 pm
LSP's Boots & Roots: A Celebration of Land & People
Saturday June 28
4:00 pm – 8:00 pm
LSP's Boots & Roots: A Celebration of Land & People
Dream Acres, Co Hwy 8, Spring Valley, MN 55975, USA

Join Land Stewardship Project members and supporters to kick-start the Driftless summer with an evening of good food, good music, and good times. We’ll have activities for all ages that will get you out in nature, exploring the connection between our region’s farms and your community’s food, land, and water. Bring a side or dessert to share for dinner, and the Dream Acres wood-fired oven will provide locally-sourced pizzas and flat breads. Dinner will be followed by live music and contra dancing by the Crater City String Band.  

To reserve a spot, click here.

Camping sites are available at nearby Masonic Park and Forestville Mystery Cave and Lake Louise State Parks. Camping at Masonic is rustic,first-come-first-serve, free, and does not require a reservation. Fillmore County, who manages the park, only asks that you call the dispatchers at507-765-3874 when you arrive with your vehicle information and phone number in case of emergency. State Park reservations cost $25 a night and can be made online.

July 2025

Tuesday July 15

5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Organic Fruit & Vegetable Field Day
Tuesday July 15
5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Organic Fruit & Vegetable Field Day
1805 Dudley Ave, Falcon Heights, MN 55113, USA

Join U of M researchers and Extension for updates on organic fruit and vegetable research and tour the Student Organic Farm and the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station in Saint Paul. Topics include: organic insect management, integrating livestock into vegetable farms, new crops for Minnesota, irrigation strategies, and more. Free to the public.
 
For details and to register, click here.

View Full Calendar

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