My name is Curt Tvedt and I am a farmer near Byron, Minn. I am currently farming 200 acres, 120 of which are part of the original homestead that my great-grandfather settled in 1854. I retired from dairy farming 10 years ago, and I currently raise hay and soybeans, as well as do bale wrapping…  Read More →

My husband and I are self-employed. We raise and finish grass-fed beef, produce broilers on pasture and non-GMO feed, and are licensed to sell these meats frozen to consumers through stores and farmers’ markets in southeastern Minnesota. My husband and I also build cabinets out of our on-farm shop and do all kinds of custom…  Read More →

On Friday, June 12, the nationwide populist movement to stop fast-track authority for secretive, pro-corporate trade deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) scored a major victory: a necessary component of fast-track was overwhelmingly defeated in the U.S. House of Representatives. Although derailing fast-track is a victory, it is not the final nail in the coffin…  Read More →

As spring gathers momentum, so does planning for the 2015 Simon Lake BioBlitz, which is being held July 10-11 at Sheepberry Fen in west-central Minnesota. And along with the planning come the questions: What is it? Why have it? Why should I come? The answers to those questions crash down in a tidal wave of…  Read More →

It’s no secret that federally subsidized crop insurance makes it more attractive to till land that normally would be too wet, steep, lacking in fertility or otherwise “marginal” to raise a profitable crop on. But a recent study out of the University of Wisconsin attaches some solid numbers to just how much marginal land we’re…  Read More →

I’ve been watching with great concern the outbreak of H5N2 highly pathogenic avian influenza in Minnesota turkey confinements. As of today, nine facilities in the state have been affected, including in Lac Qui Parle County, which borders Big Stone, where we live. I raise what the Minnesota Department of Agriculture refers to as a “backyard…  Read More →

It’s been clear for some time that the biofuels industry needs to wean itself off of the corn ethanol spigot. Numerous studies show that utilizing the kernels of corn to distill fuel are playing havoc with food and feed prices, while contributing to a devastating plow-up of grassland, hayland, wetlands and just about any perennial…  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 →

During a recent Land Stewardship Letter roundtable discussion about Forever Green (see “Forever Green: Relaying Resiliency” blog), eight University of Minnesota graduate students working on the initiative responded to the question, “What excites you most about this research?” New Tools Have Compressed Time • Kevin Dorn has been mapping the genome for pennycress, which holds…  Read More →

This massive, multi-county frac sand proposal, backed by investors hiding their identities, threatens to give the industry a major foothold throughout southeastern Minnesota. Minnesota Sands LLC is renewing its push to develop a large-scale frac sand operation in southeastern Minnesota. The proposers now say they want to establish a mining, processing and transportation network spanning…  Read More →