Cover crops proved themselves foul weather friends during the Great Drought of 2012. A groundbreaking farmer survey conducted in the Upper Mississippi River watershed showed that during that year’s brutal growing season keeping the soil covered with small grains and other plants helped fields preserve enough precious moisture to provide a yield bump of, in… Read More →
A few years ago, a travel writer penned an opinion piece in the Minneapolis Star Tribune lambasting the “local foods movement.” One thing that really galled him was seeing all those Volvos, Saabs and Hondas that consumers parked at the farmers’ market while they shopped for vegetables that had been transported into town by numerous,… Read More →
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) announced yesterday that it will award up to $250,000 in 2014 for on-farm sustainable agriculture research or demonstration projects. That funding amount is good news: it marks a $150,000 increase from previous years. The Sustainable Agriculture Demonstration Grant Program has supported farming innovations in the state for almost a… Read More →
Good things go bad when out of their rightful places. Take farm fertilizer and soil, essential ingredients in the field but all wrong in the 27 percent of Minnesota lakes now too contaminated to drink. Last month’s report from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) blasted corn-and-soybean agriculture as the major source of nitrogen contamination… Read More →
Soil, cows, ecology, economics: to milk producer Derek Schmitz, they are all linked, and that feeds his optimism even as tough times cast a shadow over dairy farming. More Information • LSP’s Grazing & Soil Health Web Page • Soil Health Academy Case Study: Derek & Taylor Schmitz • Regenerative Livestock Systems Symposium: April 5, 2024 You can… Read More →
For the fourth year in a row, the Land Stewardship Project will be doing a fundraiser with our friends at Simpls, a Twin Cities based company that makes delicious food from scratch using local, organic, and regenerative ingredients. It’s a very easy online fundraiser! Simpls is providing us with an e-mail template to send to your… Read More →
The Land Stewardship Project’s generous benefits package includes: 1) 100% employer-paid health insurance premium for employees and their spouse and/or dependents; 2) 100% covered dental premiums, long-term disability, and life insurance; 3) 4% 401(k) employer contribution after one year of service; 4) PTO in years 0-2 includes up to 24 days off annually, increasing… Read More →
Martin (he/him) lives in southeastern Minnesota and joined LSP’s Policy Team in June 2023. He organizes southeastern Minnesota communities around issues such as fighting climate change, building a better healthcare system, and stopping factory farms. Martin grew up in Montevideo, Minn., and earned a degree in environmental studies with a focus on climate science and… Read More →
During the Land Stewardship Project’s 40-year history, we’ve always emphasized the power of sharing our stories. We have pulled together member recollections of LSP’s impact on people, the land, and our communities. These stories are featured in a commemorative 40th Anniversary publication that’s now available for $40, plus shipping. (102 pages, color photos)
Farmers like Tom Hunter are setting out to prove that trees and livestock can mix in a way that creates an ecological -economic equilibrium. More Information • Sustainable Farming Association Silvopasturing Resources • The Prairie Enthusiasts • Ear to the Ground 262: A Silvo Secondary Enterprise • LSP’s Soil Health & Grazing Web Page • Project… Read More →
