I’ve been watching with great concern the outbreak of H5N2 highly pathogenic avian influenza in Minnesota turkey confinements. As of today, nine facilities in the state have been affected, including in Lac Qui Parle County, which borders Big Stone, where we live. I raise what the Minnesota Department of Agriculture refers to as a “backyard… Read More →
Historical Move Puts Mega-Operation Under the Microscope The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s Citizens’ Board ruled this week that Riverview LLP’s proposed 8,850-cow dairy operation in Stevens County must undergo an in-depth Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). To my knowledge, this is the first time that the MPCA has ordered an EIS of a factory farm. The… Read More →
Over 80 people came out to the Starbuck Community Center in western Minnesota on a balmy March evening to hear presentations from University of Minnesota meteorologist and climatologist Mark Seeley as well as staff and farmer-members of Land Stewardship Project’s Community Based Food Systems and Farm Beginnings programs. The focus of the event was climate… Read More →
SAINT PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison will keynote the Land Stewardship Project’s Family Farm Breakfast at the Capitol on Thursday, March 13, from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., at Christ Lutheran Church on Capitol Hill (105 University Avenue West). To reserve a spot, see bit.ly/familyfarmbreakfast2025 or call 612-722-6377. Since 2005, the “Best… Read More →
LEWISTON, Minn. — The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) today released a strategic plan that describes how, during the next five years, the Minnesota-based organization will work with its members and allies to support the next generation of farmers and drive rural economic revitalization via community-based food systems, as well as help farmers adopt soil health… Read More →
The Olmsted County Groundwater Protection and Soil Health Program could serve as a holistic model for supporting practices that are good for the farmer, the land, and water quality. More Information • Land Stewardship Letter article on Olmsted County Groundwater Protection & Soil Health Program • Olmsted County Groundwater Protection & Soil Health Program •… Read More →
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Over a dozen farmer-members of the Land Stewardship Project (LSP) and the Midwest Farmers of Color Collective (MFCC) will head to Washington, D.C., March 6-8 to call on policymakers to make climate change a priority of the 2023 Farm Bill. They will be joined by hundreds of farmers, farmworkers and farmer allies… Read More →
LEWISTON, Minn. — On Jan. 3, Daley Farm of Lewiston, L.L.P, filed an appeal in Minnesota District Court challenging the Winona County Board of Adjustment’s decision in December denying the operation’s proposed expansion. This expansion would exceed the county’s animal unit cap by almost four times the current limit. Over the years, Daley Farm has repeatedly shown it has little respect… Read More →
Jan. 15: An LSP Round-up of News Covering Land, People & Communities Bill Gates: America’s Top Farmland Owner (1/15/21) Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda Gates are now the largest private farmland owners in the U.S., according to The Land Report. Highlights: They have accumulated a massive farmland portfolio — 242,000 acres —… Read More →
Contact Your Senator TODAY The Problem: After years of poor returns, farm prices have destabilized even further due to COVID-19. Nearly all farmers are in financial crisis. TIME is needed to recover. TIME, during which no farmer should be foreclosed upon. The Solution: Pass HF 4599 to Extend Farmer-Lender Mediation deadlines through harvest to December… Read More →
