Letter Signed by over 2,100 U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Highlights the Impacts of the Climate Crisis & the Opportunities for Ag to Lead on Solutions WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a letter delivered to the U.S. House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis this week, Congress is being urged by farmers from Minnesota and across the… Read More →
Minnesota Part of 10-State Rural & Small Town Organizing Strategy WASHINGTON, D.C.—Racial justice is an essential element in developing a food and farming system that supports healthy and prosperous rural communities, said central Minnesota farmer Laura Frerichs today during a national rural progressive strategy summit at the National Press Club in Washington. Frerichs, a member… Read More →
Austin Crop & Livestock Farmer Testifies at Special Congressional Hearing on the Need to Support Healthy Soil in the Next Farm Bill WASHINGTON, D.C.—Building healthy soil on agricultural acres doesn’t just benefit rural communities, said a southern Minnesota farmer during a special Congressional hearing on soil health that was held in Washington today. And that’s… Read More →
Support for Beginning Farmers, Conservation & Crop Insurance Reform Called for REDWOOD FALLS, Minn. — More than 85 members and supporters of the Land Stewardship Project (LSP) delivered a clear message April 11 to a key member of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee: the next Farm Bill must help small and mid-sized farmers while protecting… Read More →
Early this morning, the Minnesota Legislature took a major step toward supporting the kind of agriculture that can green up our landscape in a way that’s economically viable for farmers. Conference committee negotiations produced $1 million for Forever Green, an innovative University of Minnesota research initiative involving cover crops and perennial plant systems. Funding for… Read More →
Dan Specht, who was taken from us all too soon last week by a haying accident, was the embodiment of the stewardship farmer. His kind, curious nature—housed in a powerfully-built, bear-like body—was complemented nicely by a passion for the land. And he represented what may be our best bet for balancing food production with a… Read More →
The U.S. Senate passed its version of a Farm Bill yesterday by a vote of 66-27. Both Minnesota Senators Al Franken (D-MN) and Amy Klobuchar( D-MN) voted for passage of the bill. The upshot is that for the first time ever the Senate bill limits the degree of crop insurance subsidies wealthy farm investors and… Read More →
Corporation Yet Again Ignores Local Democracy & the Will of the People Today, Minnesota Sands, LLC filed a petition asking the United States Supreme Court to hear an appeal in its lawsuit seeking to overturn the Winona County frac sand mining ban. Such requests are not automatically accepted by the Court, and given the utter… Read More →
Sept. 25: An LSP Round-up of News Covering Land, People & Communities Very large farms collect one-fifth of USDA’s coronavirus payments (9/23/20) Chuck Abbott reports on Agriculture.com that the government’s COVID-19 payments to agriculture have been a gravy train for mega-operations. According to an analysis done by the Environmental Working Group, the largest 1% of… Read More →
The Land Stewardship Project’s mission is to foster an ethic of stewardship of farmland, to promote sustainable agriculture and to develop healthy communities. LSP believes that private, for-profit immigration detention centers have no place in Minnesota. When we became aware that there was a proposal being considered in Pine Island, Minn., a group of concerned… Read More →
