Near the beautiful southern Minnesota town of Austin, three farmers are going against the grain with an unlikely crop: sunflowers. While most Midwestern farmers stick to corn and soybeans, backed by reliable federal subsidies and a marketing and transportation infrastructure centered around such commodities, these pioneers saw an opportunity where others saw risk. Their story… Read More →
Over the past few decades, the dominant push in agriculture has been for farms to grow larger and for the industry to consolidate into a few hands to maximize profits. One of the many ways the biggest have been able to get bigger at the expense of small and mid-sized farmers, rural communities, and our… Read More →
The 2024 Minnesota legislative session has begun in Saint Paul and nitrate contamination is top of mind for our legislators. Next week, committees in both the State House and Senate will host hearings about nitrates in our soil and water. This is an opportunity to make it known that Minnesotans expect our state’s decisionmakers to… Read More →
It’s time to restore farmers’ right to fix the equipment they own as they choose — but legislation to do just that is at risk in the Minnesota Legislature. Right now, major farm equipment manufacturers refuse to make the software tools necessary to repair agricultural equipment fully available to farmers and independent mechanics, leaving farmers… Read More →
The 2022 Minnesota legislative session held incredible promise in the form of a historic budget surplus that had the opportunity to deliver tangible progress on the biggest challenges we face. For example, the Minnesota House Climate Action Caucus, chaired by Rep. Patty Acomb (DFL-Minnetonka), began the session with a bang, proposing a $1 billion investment… Read More →
SAINT PAUL, Minn. — As the agriculture budget emerged from a House-Senate conference committee Friday evening, it appeared legislative leaders had squandered a major opportunity to invest in an economically and ecologically sustainable rural Minnesota, according to the Land Stewardship Project (LSP). “This was the state’s chance to help farmers build the kind of agricultural… Read More →
A $1 billion proposal released by the Minnesota House Climate Action Caucus in January represents a meaningful investment in the health of our farms, soil, water, climate, and rural communities. The $1 billion proposal includes key priorities of LSP’s Soil Health and Climate Steering Committee, such as: $20 million for the Soil Health Cost-Share Program that… Read More →
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the fragility of global, concentrated supply chains. In addition, farmers adopting regenerative practices and growing food that nourishes people in Minnesota need markets to sell their production to. That’s why the Land Stewardship Project will be working during the 2022 session of the Minnesota Legislature to pass policies that help… Read More →
During the Biden Administration’s first 100 days in office, the Land Stewardship Project was busy on the federal policy front. The role of agriculture in mitigating the climate crisis has been one focus of both the Administration and the new Congress. Over 500 LSP members and supporters signed on to our public comment on climate… Read More →
Oct. 15: An LSP Round-up of News Covering Land, People & Communities World Food Prize Laureate Advocates for Re-Carbonizing Soil to Protect Food Production (10/13/20) Soil scientist Rattan Lal, the 2020 Word Food Prize laureate, makes the case that agriculture globally must take better care of its most valuable resource to not only produce more,… Read More →
