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It Takes Livestock, Land & People to Keep Nitrogen Out of Our Water

In October, I told the Minnesota House Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Finance Committee that we had begun to listen to our farm, an assertion lawmakers heard with some surprise. The occasion was testimony around the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s presentation of its “Nitrogen in Minnesota Surface Waters” report, which showed among other things that…  Read More

America’s Newest Disease

Last month, the American Medical Association (AMA), the largest association of physicians in the United States, officially recognized obesity as a disease. Previously, obesity was only recognized as a “condition,” defined as a range of weight that may have an adverse effect on health, reduce life expectancy and increase the likelihood of certain chronic diseases,…  Read More

An Investment in Sustainable Ag is an Investment in a Positive Future for Rural Minnesota

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

Stanford Organic Study: Flawed & Simplistic

A recent press release from the Stanford School of Medicine read, “Little evidence of health benefits from organic foods.” The headline could just have easily read, “Despite billions spent on research and subsidies, conventional foods found more dangerous than organic.” The Stanford study was striking in several regards: 1) no new research was conducted —…  Read More

The 3 Ps of Farmland Conservation: Passion, Policy & Price

While leading a group of natural resource professionals through one of his dairy pastures one early fall day, Martin Jaus made it crystal clear he farms the land for more than a milk check. “Every day we see something that just amazes us,” he said with a smile. “One day I was making hay and…  Read More