Ear to the Ground 358: Low Input - High Returns

Alex Udermann and his family at Meadowbrook Dairy were tired of working harder and harder for less and less. So they invested in building the kind of healthy soil that pays off economically, environmentally, and from a quality of life point of view.

More Information

• LSP’s Soil Health Web Page
• Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program

You can find LSP Ear to the Ground podcast episodes on Spotify, Pandora, iTunes, and other podcast platforms.

**Participants in a 2024 field day held at Meadowbrook Dairy examined a cover crop seeding demonstration.**

Upcoming Events

November 2024

Saturday November 16

10:00 am – 12:00 pm: Minnesota Women in Conservation
Saturday November 16
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Minnesota Women in Conservation
Madison Mercantile, 601 1st St, Madison, MN 56256, USA
Join Minnesota Women in Conservation (MNWiC) at the Madison Mercantile for coffee and conservation conversation with like-minded local women*, and conservation professionals who are in your community and available to help. If you are a farmer already, an avid gardener, a beginning grower, a prairie steward, or someone with land dreams and plans to plant in the future, this event is for you! Come for conversation, share your dreams for spring, and get advice from like-minded women professionals and neighbors.

For more information and to register, click here.

The goal of this event is to leave knowing more women with similar interests, and to learn about the many programs, organizations, federal and state agencies, and individuals who can connect you with technical and financial assistance.

For this informal Learning Circle, we’ll be enjoying the culinary artistry of baker Michele Huggins, founder of Doughp Creations, who uses Kernza, einkhorn, and other artisan grains in her creations. Sample macarons and einkhorn sourdough while we get to know each other.

MNWiC west central region coordinator Alex Kiminski, who is a soil health and land access organizer with the Land Stewardship Project, will host the event. She’ll be joined by colleague Robin Moore, a land access and legacy organizer, who will lead a discussion on the variety of sources for technical assistance and cost-share funding for land stewards. There is no minimum farm income or minimum land requirement to take advantage of these programs. Becca Fitch from The Nature Conservancy will also be there to talk about what they have to offer.

Whether you are an experienced conservationist or an absolute beginner, we invite you to join this Learning Circle conversation to network and learn alongside like-minded women-identifying land stewards. Women from Chippewa, Swift and Lac qui Parle Counties will find the information particularly useful, but all are welcome.

* This is intentionally a safe and women-only informal space.

About Minnesota Women in Conservation

Minnesota Women in Conservation is a brand-new statewide collaborative effort led by Renewing the Countryside in partnership with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). MNWiC brings together Minnesota’s women landowners, farmers, farm workers, urban growers, and conservation professionals to connect, learn, and share about conservation practices, resources, and funding opportunities.

Tuesday November 19

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Solar Grazing Webinar

Tuesday November 19

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Solar Grazing Webinar

Zoom Online

Are you a farmer looking to diversify income, a solar developer interested in reducing pesticide use, or perhaps generally curious about the intersection of agriculture, solar energy and innovative land use?

This is the webinar for you.

Join City of Ames Electric Services energy services coordinator Joel Zook and Goats on the Go co-founder Aaron Steele to learn about their utility-scale solar grazing partnership. Hear about the spark that spurred the project, what benefits they’re seeing from the system, and how they see solar grazing growing across the country.

Register by Monday, Nov. 18, by clicking here.

4:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Food Regulations & Licensing Workshop

Tuesday November 19

4:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Food Regulations & Licensing Workshop

Madison Mercantile, 601 1st St, Madison, MN 56256, USA

Topics covered during this workshop include:

Food regulations in Minnesota.
Food safety.
Farm-to-school sales.
Licensing, exclusions, and exemptions for produce, grains, and other non-meat products.

This Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture (MISA) workshop will benefit farmers, food entrepreneurs, farmers’ market managers, school food service directors, and grocery store and restaurant owners. The workshop will be led by Jane Jewett, farmer and associate director of MISA.

To register, click here.

Wednesday November 20

6:00 pm – 7:00 pm: Dodge County, Incorporated Book Event
Wednesday November 20
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Dodge County, Incorporated Book Event
Moon Palace Books, 3032 Minnehaha Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55406, USA
Come and join Land Stewardship Project members and other members of the community for a discussion featuring Sonja Trom Eayrs, the author of the recently released Dodge County, Incorporated: Big Ag and the Undoing of Rural America.

The book uses the lens of lawsuits by Sonja’s elderly parents and their frontline battles to fight industrial agriculture to tell the larger story of modern, industrial-scale factory farming and its negative impacts on small and medium-sized farms, rural communities, and the environment. This is also the story of Sonja’s family. They watched over the years as their 760-acre farm was encroached upon in all directions by Big Agriculture.

During the event, Sonja will be interviewed by LSP’s Brian DeVore, and there will be an opportunity for audience members to take part in a discussion about ways we can work together to fight industrial-scale factory farming and support a sustainable, economically-just farm and food system.

For details on the event, click here.

Thursday November 21

All Day: Give to the Max Day
Thursday November 21
Give to the Max Day
Online
Support the Land Stewardship Project during the 2024 Give to the Max day.

This Give to the Max Day season, we are excited to explore the deep storytelling tradition at Land Stewardship Project. Stay tuned for highlights of LSP’s communications legacy and our plans for continuing that kind of powerful narrative organizing into the future.

Don’t forget that you don’t have to wait for November 21 to give to the max! You can schedule your gift today, and it will still count toward our goal. Plus, a generous donor is matching every donation dollar-for-dollar up to $15,000!

Thank you for being part of LSP’s story. We are grateful for you. Please join, renew, or make a special gift to LSP as part of Give to the Max Day this year.

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