UPDATE: Great news! On Monday, May 15, Gov. Mark Dayton stood up for strong local control and vetoed House File 330, a bill that would have weakened local control. Like us, he knows that strong rural communities need strong local control. Governor Dayton is doing right by using his veto power to protect Minnesota from… Read More →
The Land Stewardship Project has been fighting a proposal making its way through the Minnesota Legislature this year that would double the size factory farms can be before environmental review is required. Proponents of the bill are pushing hard, and have been justifying this outrageous proposal by providing inaccurate information about the history of the… Read More →
Campaign Features Rural Opposition to State Legislation that Would Pave the Way for More & Larger Factory Farms in Minnesota The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) today launched a media campaign focused on rural opposition to proposed state legislation that would dramatically weaken environmental review of Minnesota’s largest proposed factory farms. The campaign features an advertisement… Read More →
“The reinsurance bill passed today by the Minnesota House and Senate gives $542 million of public money to insurance companies, but it does not give certainty or stability to rural Minnesotans who need affordable health care,” said Mark Schultz, Executive Director of the Land Stewardship Project. “The farmers and other rural members of the Land… Read More →
Perhaps despite my better judgement, I made the decision several years ago to alter my career trajectory and become a farmer. As a former farm kid from the plains of southwestern Minnesota, it shouldn’t have been that crazy a notion, and I thought I’d have a leg-up getting my farm started. Despite rural connections and… Read More →
WINONA, Minn. — An attorney with a Minneapolis-based business law firm filed a lawsuit this week against Winona County, challenging the county’s ordinance that bans any new frac sand operations. The firm, Larkin Hoffman, is among the largest in Minnesota and has often been associated with frac sand interests, including the Minnesota Industrial Sand Council.… Read More →
Sometimes the rules of simple cause and effect don’t directly apply. Take, for instance, the fact that cattle are ruminants, and like all ruminants they utilize a wonderfully complex digestive system to turn forages and grain into meat and milk. A major side effect of all that fermentation on four legs is the production of… Read More →
The 2016 Minnesota legislative session ended at midnight on May 22 with the Land Stewardship Project engaged right until the end. Here is a summary of how the issues LSP was most engaged in fared during the session: ðŸ‘Legislation weakening local control is defeated (HF 2585/ SF 2694). For decades, LSP has fended off efforts… Read More →
The Star Tribune reported last week on the problems MNsure is having with the re-enrollment process for thousands of people on Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare. More specifically, a number of the Land Stewardship Project’s farmer-members received health plan disenrollment notices and healthcare closing notices despite turning in enrollment paperwork on time. These notices were received… Read More →
Over Thanksgiving, I was perusing the Dairy Star at my brother-in-law’s house in Stillwater, Minn. Having grown up on a dairy farm, I still like to see how the industry is doing. A column by Sadie Frerichs called, “The Negative Impacts of Health Insurance,” caught my eye. Because of the recent health insurance rate increases… Read More →
