Many small and medium-size farms are trying to survive by selling meats directly to retail customers and restaurants. The idea shows promise as a way to revitalize an economy otherwise in the shadow of huge farming enterprises. We need slaughterhouses; several good, new up-to-date buildings should be placed throughout the state to serve the growing… Read More →
Note: Land Stewardship Project member Jim VanDerPol raises crops and livestock on Pastures a Plenty Farm near Kerkhoven in western Minnesota. He recently wrote this commentary expressing his opinions on the farm financial crisis for his own blog, and has given permission to re-post it here. Farmer suicide is on an uptrend. Some would call… Read More →
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is avoiding ordering an in-depth Environmental Impact Statement of the proposed Catalpa, LLC factory farm. The agency needs to hear from us (again)! State law requires that if a project has “the potential for significant environmental impacts,” then an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) must be completed. An EIS fully… Read More →
NOTE: On Thursday, Sept. 14, Land Stewardship Project members from Goodhue County’s Zumbrota Township in southeastern Minnesota released a report entitled, “A Community at Risk: A Report on Citizens’ Hydrogen Sulfide Monitoring at Kohlnhofer Factory Hog Farms in Goodhue County, Minn.” The report documented the results of hydrogen sulfide emissions monitoring at six hog facilities… Read More →
Rick Bieber describes how building soil health saved his farm from financial ruin.
Citizen Testimony Documents that Proposed Factory Hog Farm Violates Goodhue County Ordinance REDWING, Minn. — Neighbors to a controversial factory hog farm proposed in Goodhue County’s Zumbrota Township were shocked when the Goodhue Planning Commission Monday night recommended approval of a Conditional Use Permit for the project based on documents produced at the hearing and… Read More →
RED WING, Minn. — Zumbrota Township residents were denied access twice this week to a copy of the Conditional Use Permit application for the Kohlnhofer factory hog farm being proposed in their community. They were denied access to the information despite the fact that a public hearing is scheduled for the Conditional Use Permit on… Read More →
On Monday, Dec. 12, I attended the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s (MPCA) public informational meeting at Zumbrota City Hall. Fellow Zumbrota Township neighbors packed the conference room to show that we have serious concerns about a factory hog farm threatening to move into our neighborhood. We called on the MPCA to do a thorough and… Read More →
My journey into conservation started as a teenager in the mid-1980s— I was tired of picking rocks every year and filling ditches from erosion on a regular basis. We had changed to mulch-till by then to reduce erosion. We had also started transitioning from a corn and hay rotation to a corn and soybean rotation.… Read More →
Stage two typically lasts an additional three to five seasons. You are on your way to a successful farming enterprise. You have a firm direction, you are focused and you have, by trial and error, refined your course (see previous blogs here, and here). You are still doing much fine tuning and investing. If you… Read More →
