Nettle Valley Farm’s “informed sink or swim” model of incubating the next generation of farmers. LSP’s Ear to the Ground episode 261 describes Nettle Valley Farm’s silvopasturing system and the work it’s doing to improve pollinator habitat. More information: • LSP’s “Accessing Farmland” Web Page • LSP Farmland Clearinghouse • LSP Farm Beginnings Course •… Read More →
HAGER CITY, Wis. — Looking for affordable, quality land to get started farming and don’t know where to start? The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) will be holding a hands-on Farmland Access Workshop Sunday, Sept. 30, from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., at Oxheart Farm in Wisconsin’s Pierce County. For more information, contact LSP’s Karen Stettler… Read More →
In early May, I represented the Land Stewardship Project at “Sequestering Carbon in the Soil: Addressing the Climate Threat,” an international conference held in Paris and organized by Breakthrough Strategies and Solutions. The conference convened 200 scientists, governmental leaders and representatives of nongovernmental organizations from around the world. Attendees included farmers from the Global South… Read More →
In Boone County, Iowa, fertile farmland stretches as far as the eye can see. But as our van of Land Stewardship Project members rounded the corner on a rural road, we saw a disturbing sight: miles of black, vacant land where the landscape has been shaved to make way for the Dakota Access Pipeline. On… Read More →
A three-hour drive separates the rolling hills of Minnesota’s Douglas County from the front steps of the Bell Museum of Natural History. But a year after the controversy over Troubled Waters—the Bell’s Emmy award-winning film on farmland pollution in the Mississippi River basin—brought words like “dead zone,” hypoxia” and “nitrogen fertilizer” to the attention of… Read More →
What do you do when a resource becomes increasingly scarce? One option is to use it more efficiently. That’s a key point livestock producer Greg Judy is going to make Sept. 9-10 in Alexandria during what promises to be a fascinating set of workshops. In this case, the resource that’s becoming harder to come by… Read More →
2025-2026 Farm Beginnings Class LSP is now accepting applications for its 2025-2026 Farm Beginnings class session. For details, click here. Before jumping into agriculture, Kevin Keene worked as a data science consultant for 11 years. So it makes sense that he describes farming success in terms of a mathematical calculation. “The way I think about… Read More →
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… Read More →
As you know, farmers across the country are facing critical challenges as the federal funding freeze continues to impact essential agricultural programs. Although farmers were not supposed to be affected by the federal funding freeze, we know that is not the reality on the ground. Last week, Land Stewardship Project staff traveled to Washington, D.C.,… Read More →
Land Stewardship Project members Aimee Haag and Laura Cullip testify Wednesday, Feb. 12, during an informational state Senate hearing on Free School Meals in Minnesota and how Farm to School is bolstered through this critical program. For more on LSP’s Farm to School and community-based food systems work, click here. You can listen to an… Read More →
