The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) announced yesterday that it will award up to $250,000 in 2014 for on-farm sustainable agriculture research or demonstration projects. That funding amount is good news: it marks a $150,000 increase from previous years. The Sustainable Agriculture Demonstration Grant Program has supported farming innovations in the state for almost a… Read More →
Despite the unrelenting rain, more than 100 people congregated on the corner of Franklin and Portland Avenue in Minneapolis last Tuesday to celebrate the launch of the South Quarter IV development project, which included a heartfelt speech from Mayor RT Rybak. The ceremony was hosted by Aeon, affordable housing developers and long-time partners in Hope… Read More →
Land Stewardship Project members and staff joined allies from across Minnesota on Oct. 5 for the National Day of Dignity and Respect march and rally. During the day thousands of people from around the country joined together in calling on Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform. In Minnesota, LSP joined with members of the state’s… Read More →
One recent August day, I stood in a field in North Dakota watching soil being spaded up and listening to farmers talk about the optimal cover crop seeding mixes, how long to mob graze a paddock and which no-till equipment does the best job of cutting through last year’s plant residue. It was 90 degrees… Read More →
Can Minneapolis feed itself? Is it possible to create a local food system that is accountable to our communities and empowers all to participate? The answers to these questions are a critical part of developing an independent, just and equitable food system that will help our city weather the changes in our food and energy… Read More →
Saturday, Oct. 5, has been billed the National Day of Dignity and Respect as thousands around the country will join together in calling on Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform. In Minnesota, members of our state’s faith, business, labor, law enforcement and immigrant communities share the goal of comprehensive immigration reform. As a result, a… Read More →
This summer, I was one of 100 people from southeast Minnesota who participated in a meeting hosted by the Land Stewardship Project in Rushford. As someone who’s been paying close attention to the issue of frac sand mining for two years or more, I knew this would be a meeting I couldn’t miss. It was… Read More →
Following the inability of the U.S. Senate and U.S House to agree on Fiscal Year 2014 spending yesterday, the public must now endure a federal government shutdown. The failure to pass a Continuing Resolution (spending at past fiscal year levels) forces a shutdown which cripples the delivery of programs and services that millions of Americans… Read More →
Two Minnesota farmers experiment with multi-species cover cropping to improve soil health.
On a recent August evening in south-central North Dakota, soil scientist Kristine Nichols laid out what I like to call the “purebred vs. the plugger” approach to farming. “With healthy soil, you may not out-yield your neighbor in the best years, but you will out perform them in the not-so-good years,” said Nichols, a soil… Read More →
