BENSON, Minn. — Thinking about a long-term plan for your farm or land? The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) is holding a farm transition workshop Saturday, April 1, from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., in the basement of the Benson County Law Enforcement Center (301 14th Street North) This event is free and open to the… 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 →
Even if you are not in the crosshairs of the healthcare crisis yourself, you have surely heard the stories. Premiums have doubled for some Minnesotans, and high deductibles have many of us deciding not to go to the doctor — if our doctors are even covered by narrow-network insurance plans. Governor Mark Dayton has proposed… Read More →
NOTE: At the Land Stewardship Project’s event celebrating the passage of the Winona County frac sand ban in southeastern Minnesota, LSP Winona County Organizing Committee members reflected on their involvement and the work that went into organizing the successful campaign for a ban. Committee member Cathy Groebner of St. Charles, Minn., gave these remarks at… Read More →
New Measure is First Known Countywide Frac Sand Ban WINONA, Minn. — The Winona County Board of Commissioners voted tonight to pass a ban on any new frac sand mining, processing, storage or transport operations in the southeastern Minnesota county’s jurisdiction. This step comes after a 17-month grassroots organizing campaign by county residents calling for… Read More →
*This blog contains new information as of Nov. 1* The individual health insurance market, the place where many self-employed individuals purchase medical insurance is — candidly — a mess. Many Land Stewardship Project members are adversely affected by the current state of this market: premiums exploding, coverage choices dwindling, provider networks shrinking. What are the… Read More →
The telephone rang late one afternoon in early October. It was a call from a jubilant, if exhausted, dairy farmer who said he’d planted 20 acres of rye the previous night. He said he’d been attending Land Stewardship Project cover crop/soil health events and that despite the pitfalls of harvest, machinery and too much rain,… Read More →
“Be joyful though you have considered all the facts.” — Wendell Berry The line above from Wendell Berry’s poem, “Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front,” has stuck with me since I heard it many years ago. For me, its staying power comes from Berry’s ability to both reassure and challenge us in a single simple… Read More →
STARBUCK, Minn. — What do you want your community to look like in the next 10 years? Issues related to beginning farmers, farm success, farm transition and vibrant local communities will be on the agenda during a Land Stewardship Project (LSP) community meeting Tuesday, June 30, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., at the gallery… Read More →
The Land Stewardship Project recently published a three-part expose of the federal crop insurance program. The white papers are titled: “Crop Insurance-the Corporate Connection,” “Crop Insurance Ensures the Big Get Bigger” and “How Crop Insurance Hurts the Next Generation of Farmers.” The final paper title provides the key to LSP’s concern. The introductory article says… Read More →
