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
    • 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
    • Cropping Systems Calculator
    • Conservation Leases
  • Creating Change
    • Community-Based Food Systems
      • Ear Bites
    • 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
    • Building People Power
  • Get Involved
    • 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 Stewardship Project Picks Veteran Grassroots Organizer as New ED

Group Marks 40th Anniversary with New Leadership

January 10, 2022

Share

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • email

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — As the Land Stewardship Project (LSP) launches its 40th year of “keeping the land and people together,” a veteran grassroots organizer has been selected as its new executive director, the organization’s board of directors announced today. When Mike McMahon takes over the helm at LSP on Jan. 18, he will also lead the organization’s 501(c)4 advocacy action arm, the Land Stewardship Action Fund (LSAF).

LSP executive director Mike McMahon

McMahon brings to this position over a quarter-century of experience working with nonprofit, grassroots, rurally-focused organizations — the majority of that time has been spent with LSP. After working with Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement as a rural organizer in the mid-1990s, he joined LSP’s policy and organizing team in 1998, where, among other things, he organized hog farmers around the national pork checkoff campaign, which eventually went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. McMahon went on to work extensively with building LSP’s membership program, eventually becoming director of membership and individual giving. He served in that position until July 2020, when he left to work as the advancement director for Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement.

Members of the LSP and LSAF boards said they were impressed with McMahon’s wealth of organizing, fundraising and management experience, as well as his dedication to and knowledge of the group’s mission and goals. Before leaving LSP in 2020, McMahon played an integral part in the development of the group’s current five-year plan, which plays a key role in guiding the organization’s work for creating a resilient and just farm and food system.

“As we move forward with the work of LSAF in relation to the mission of LSP, I am excited for Mike’s leadership and vision,” said Anna Racer, a member of the LSAF board who operates a Community Supported Agriculture farm in Minnesota’s Rice County. “His experience with member-led organizations is integral to strengthening our rural communities through the mission of this organization we all connect with so deeply. It won’t be easy, but we know we’re stronger when we work together.”

This year marks the 40th anniversary of LSP, which was originally launched as a Midwestern-based soil stewardship advocacy organization. LSP still works extensively in the area of soil health and farmer-to-farmer education, but over the years has broadened its work into areas such as beginning farmer training, generational transfer of farmland, policy reform, local democracy and regional food systems development. LSP has offices in the Minnesota communities of Lewiston, Montevideo and south Minneapolis, and works throughout the Upper Midwest. McMahon is the sixth executive director to lead the group since organizers Ron Kroese and the late Victor Ray founded LSP in 1982. Since May 2021, Julie Emery has served as LSP’s interim executive director. During the next several weeks, she will be assisting in passing on leadership responsibilities to McMahon.

“We want to express our deepest appreciation to Julie Emery,” the LSP and LSAF boards said in a joint statement. “Her presence, professionalism and dedication to LSP’s mission has made it possible for us to reach this point as we move boldly forward in 2022 and beyond.”

Darrel Mosel, an LSP board member who raises crops and livestock in Minnesota’s Sibley County, said having someone with McMahon’s background leading the organization comes at an exciting time as he and other members dig deep into areas of work such as how to develop local, state and federal policy that supports small and medium-sized regenerative farmers.

“Of all the farm organizations in the state, LSP is probably in the best position now to have a positive impact on policy,” said Mosel, who has worked extensively on state and federal policy issues. “I am so glad Mike is heading our organization. His experience and dedication to LSP’s values and goals will assure that our voice will be heard on policy issues at all levels.”

McMahon said it is an honor to lead an organization that has a rich history of fighting for farmers, rural communities, and the land, and that he was looking forward to working with the group’s talented and passionate staff.

“I’m very grateful for this opportunity,” he said. “The Land Stewardship Project means a lot to me, and its work to keep the land and people together is as needed today as it was 40 years ago. LSP’s innovative programs and organizing are essential to meeting the challenges and opportunities farmers and rural communities face today. I’m excited to be a part of LSP’s future.”

-30-

The Land Stewardship Project (landstewardshipproject.org) is a private, nonprofit, membership-based organization founded in 1982 to foster an ethic of stewardship for farmland, to promote sustainable agriculture and to develop healthy communities. It has offices in the Minnesota communities of Lewiston, Montevideo and south Minneapolis. 

Category: News Releases
Tags: 5-year plan • Land Stewardship Action Fund • Land Stewardship Project. nonprofit leadership • LSP • LSP board of directors • LSP executive director • Mike McMahon

Contact

Brian DeVore, LSP, e-mail, 612-816-9342

Photo Available

For a digital photo of Mike McMahon, contact DeVore.

 

  • Join, Donate, or Renew
  • Building People Power

Upcoming Events

×

June 2025

Saturday June 21

1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Farm-Scale Deep Winter Greenhouse Tour
Saturday June 21
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Farm-Scale Deep Winter Greenhouse Tour
Owl Bluff Farm, 12314 County Road 4 Houston, MN 55943

The University of Minnesota Extension Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships (RSDP) and Owl Bluff Farm will co-host an open house to celebrate the completion of the state’s first farm-scale deep winter greenhouse. The event, held on the farm about 45 minutes east of Rochester, is free and open to the public. RSVPs are required at z.umn.edu/OwlBluffOpenHouse.

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

Saturday July 12

All Day
Fishing, Farming & Food: Rush Creek’s Fish Kill Anniversary & Why it Matters
Saturday July 12
Fishing, Farming & Food: Rush Creek’s Fish Kill Anniversary & Why it Matters
Rush Creek area in southeastern Minnesota

The Land Stewardship Project will mark the anniversary of a major fish kill in southeastern Minnesota that spawned citizen action and led to new public policy around how such events are reported. We will have fly fishing classes, birding opportunities, discussions about how regenerative farming systems can support healthy soil and clean water, good food, and fun music.  

More details are forthcoming. For more information, contact LSP’s Kate Rowe at krowe@landstewardshipproject.org.

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

Recent Posts

  • ‘Returning Cattle to the Land’ Field Day June 25 in Altura June 3, 2025
  • Make Your Voice Heard at Upcoming NRCS-SWCD Meetings June 3, 2025
  • Rolling Out the Welcome Mat for New Neighbors May 30, 2025
  • Land Line: Modern Dust Bowl, Corporate Indifference, Farmers’ Market Stores, Soybean Giant, SNAP & Local Foods, Carbon Markets, Farm Economy’s Twin Tale May 28, 2025
  • MN Ag Bill Supports Market Access, Land Access & Soil Health  May 21, 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-stewardship-project-picks-veteran-grassroots-organizer-as-new-ed