Last month, I attended a hearing held by the Minnesota House of Representatives Mining and Outdoor Recreation Policy Committee, which was my first committee hearing at the state Capitol. It was an eye-opener to witness how the chairman of the committee, Rep. Tom Hackbarth, rolled out the red carpet for corporate interests and treated citizens… Read More →
To anyone driving through rural Minnesota the past few weeks, the images featured in the slideshow below will look familiar. In a sense, the black and white swirls of “snirt”—a mash-up of the words “snow” and “dirt”—have the look of beautiful impressionistic paintings wrought by a wind-borne hand. But these photos, which, with the exception… Read More →
My name is Maria Russo and I am a senior at the University of Minnesota majoring in political science. This semester I was a part of HECUA’s Environmental Sustainability: Science, Public Policy and Community Action program. HECUA stands for Higher Education Consortium of Urban Affairs and is an off-campus study program. The program I’m in… Read More →
2nd of 3 LSP White Papers Examines Nation’s Biggest Farm Program BOYD, Minn. — A key federal farm program has become an engine for consolidating land and financial resources in rural communities in Minnesota and across the country, according to a new white paper released by the Land Stewardship Project (LSP) today. Launched in 1938… Read More →
The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) report, “Breaking the Rules for Profit: An Analysis of the Frac Sand Industry’s Violations of State Regulations & Manipulation of Local Governments in Wisconsin,” posted on our website on Nov. 6, 2014, inadvertently contained errors regarding AllEnergy. These errors have been retracted in a revised version of the report, which… Read More →
Wisconsin Example Serves as a Warning to Minnesota Communities A new Land Stewardship Project report released today shows that the frac sand mining industry in Wisconsin is systemically disregarding state regulations, a red flag to communities in Minnesota that are grappling with the onslaught of this industrial activity. The report, which is based on an… Read More →
The first decade of a farm is full of challenge, sweat, growth, difficult lessons, satisfaction and joy. In order to get more successful farmers on the land, new farmers need to establish their farms in a way that cultivates financial, ecological, personal and relationship sustainability. Land Stewardship Project’s Journeyperson Course wants to help you achieve… Read More →
Gary Van Ryswyk’s concern for how his farming methods impact the landscape is obvious. A practitioner of a no-till system that avoids disturbing a field’s surface as much as possible, he is particularly focused on keeping soil in place. “None of us who farm want the soil to move—we care,” Van Ryswyk told me one… Read More →
As part of our work to help beginning farmers gain access to farmland, the Land Stewardship Project has been working with the Plainview Land Access Organizing Committee in southeast Minnesota. For the past two years, farmers, business owners and others in the agricultural community of Plainview have been meeting to raise awareness of issues beginning… Read More →
A Land Stewardship Project member with decades of experience in agricultural lending has been appointed to the U.S Secretary of Agriculture’s Advisory Committee on Beginning Farmers and Ranchers. Tim Gossman, who is a vice president and commercial and agriculture loan officer at Merchants Bank in St. Charles, Minn., is also a supervisor for the Fillmore… Read More →
