A drive through Farm Country this winter is a revelatory experience. Revelatory in that the impacts of planting the landscape to monocultures of corn and soybeans and plowing the ground black as soon after harvest as possible are there for all to see. The revealer? All that “snirt” one sees in road ditches across the… 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 →
Having just come from working several seasons as an outdoor educator, I have had ample time to appreciate our wild places. In my previous position as an instructor leading canoe and dogsled trips in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, I was able to explore the interactions between humans and nature and marvel in the… 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 →
On Monday, HF 5, the bill to establish a strong, people-first health insurance exchange in Minnesota, passed the final vote on its way to Governor Mark Dayton’s desk. Thank you for all your calls, e-mails and letters to support a people-centered exchange—your actions made a difference! For the past year, LSP and our allies have… Read More →
I recently phoned members of my geographically far-flung family to give them Thanksgiving greetings and was struck by a common element of our ensuing conversations. From Iowa and Nebraska to Kentucky and Texas, the report was the same: drought, drought and more drought. I thought about that recently while watching the new documentary, The Dust… Read More →
The sustainable agriculture community lost a true friend this week when Bud Markhart passed away after a courageous battle with cancer. I had the opportunity to interview Markhart last fall for an LSP podcast. He was a professor of horticultural science at the U of M, and so it’s no surprise that he made his… Read More →
While spending time in western Minnesota’s Big Stone County recently, I came across a lot of talk about food deserts—those places where people don’t have good access to healthy, affordable food. But while interviewing LSP organizer Rebecca Terk for this week’s podcast, an interesting twist emerged: a type of food desert can exist even when… Read More →
Juniper has 20 tillable, 5 forested, and 5 other acres are available for sale in Avoca, WI. She has a 2352 square foot single family home built in 2005 has 4 bedrooms (or 1 as an office) and 2.0 bathrooms. Central a/c, propane furnace, fireplace, walk-out basement. attached garage & separate insulated pole building with… Read More →
Les Macare is the co-owner of Racing Heart Farm, a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) vegetable operation near Colfax, Wis. Les is a graduate of LSP’s Journeyperson course and recently participated in the organization’s Climate Resiliency Cohort. Les, along with partner Els Dobrick, who is also a Journeyperson graduate, found their land via LSP’s Farmland Clearinghouse.
