Being aware that the fourth meeting of the Minnesota Health Care Financing Task Force is taking place today reminded me of the troubling story of Debra Barnhardt, who testified at the August meeting of the Task Force. She spoke about the difficulty of dealing with chronic health issues with and without insurance. The reality is… Read More →
Governor Mark Dayton announced on Aug. 4 that he would use his Executive Authority to create a Governors’ Citizens Committee to fill in for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) Citizens’ Board. Earlier this year, despite a huge outpouring of opposition from rural people, the Minnesota Legislature abolished the 48-year-old Citizens’ Board. “As regulators make… Read More →
To Matthew Ott, three words could make all the difference as to whether farming systems that protect the soil year-round in Minnesota become a consistent agricultural presence in the state. “For me, the most exciting thing is to be able to use the term, ‘cash cover crops,’ ” says the University of Minnesota graduate student.… Read More →
Walking down a sloping lane on a spring afternoon, Luke and Liana Tessum surprise an Angus beef cow wandering up from a bottomland paddock. The lone bovine, and 18 cow-calf pairs grazing on the pasture below, represent the reaching of what the 30-something couple calls yet one more “micro-goal.” In December, the Tessums paid off… Read More →
The deadline for farmers to enroll in the 2015 Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) has been extended to March 13. Farmers now have an additional two weeks to submit applications for new contracts. The deadline for farmers to renew existing contracts is still March 31. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has also released full information… Read More →
Not long ago, Rich and Carol Radtke were on a bit of a roll. They had graduated from the Land Stewardship Project’s Farm Beginnings course and felt the program had provided them a solid basis for developing a profitable farming operation on land they and their three children moved to in 2008. Before taking the… Read More →
1st of 3 Land Stewardship Project Crop Insurance White Papers Released Today WABASSO, Minn. — The nation’s main federal agricultural program is passing billions of dollars of public money onto a handful of major corporations via a system that lacks accountability and transparency, according to a new white paper released today by the Land Stewardship… Read More →
Even a brief conversation with Tom Cogger makes it clear what he enjoys doing: producing food. And that’s what he’s done on his Maple Hill Farm near Washburn in northwestern Wisconsin for almost two decades. In the early years, Cogger concentrated mostly on produce, but since his son Matthew joined the operation in 2009, pork… Read More →
Events surrounding the Erickson silica sand mine in Houston County are moving very fast, and citizen action is making a difference at every turn. The Houston County Board of Commissioners was scheduled to vote at their Tuesday, June 3, meeting on approving the conditional use permit for the Erickson silica sand mine near Rushford, Minn.… Read More →
Gary Van Ryswyk’s concern for how his farming methods impact the landscape is obvious. A practitioner of a no-till system that avoids disturbing a field’s surface as much as possible, he is particularly focused on keeping soil in place. “None of us who farm want the soil to move—we care,” Van Ryswyk told me one… Read More →
