LEWISTON, Minn. — The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) announced today that it was rejecting the public’s call for an in-depth Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the proposed massive expansion of a Winona County dairy farm. The Land Stewardship Project feels strongly that in making this decision, the MPCA failed in its obligation to protect… 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 →
How citizens in one Minnesota county put values into action to attain a win for the land and their community. On November 22, 2016, history was made in southeastern Minnesota’s Winona County when the Board of Commissioners there passed a ban on any new frac sand operations. It is the first known countywide ban on… Read More →
NOTE: The Land Stewardship Project is leading a campaign in Minnesota’s Winona County to pass a ban on any new frac sand mining, processing or transportation operations. Wiscoy Township resident Cherie Hales, Homer Township resident Lynnea Pfohl, and Saratoga Township resident Vince Ready are all members of LSP’s Winona County Organizing Committee. They compiled this… Read More →
Gov. Dayton, my name is Bob Christie and I have lived and farmed in Winona County for my entire life. My wife Marilyn and I have three daughters and seven grandchildren. We farm 320 acres, of which 215 acres are tillable, with the balance being rolling pastureland and woodland. We raise corn, beans, alfalfa and… 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 →
LEWISTON, Minn. — Corporate agriculture interests have failed in their attempt to limit the time the public has to submit comments to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) about a massive dairy project’s potential environmental risks. A lawsuit was filed in Ramsey County District Court seeking to prevent the comment period for an Environmental Assessment… Read More →
Every budding farm enterprise goes through that certain stage at least once—the one where setbacks outnumber successes, careful planning gets bushwhacked by forces beyond one’s control and the learning curve can resemble a roller coaster headed in one direction: up. It’s at that period in an enterprise’s life that minimal risk is a farm’s best… Read More →
If ever there was a shining example of a smart public investment in our food and farming future, Minnesota’s Sustainable Agriculture Demonstration Grant Program is it. This program has been an important driver of sustainable (and conventional) farming innovations in the state for almost a quarter-century. Farmers who qualify for these competitive grants are able… Read More →
Farmers Battle Saturated Soils with More Roots in the Ground To Tom Cotter, the various natural resources his farming operation relies on don’t operate in a vacuum. Rather, they have a relational quality — the role one resource plays in keeping his business viable depends on how it interacts with other resources. For example, rain… Read More →
