Fostering an ethic of stewardship for farmland, promoting sustainable agriculture and developing healthy communities.
Around a decade ago, while driving past a farm field in southeastern Minnesota, Bob Christie turned to DJ Mueller with a nervous question: “So you’re saying my fields are going to look like that?”
With farmers adapting to a changing climate and volatile markets, DJ knew that he and Bob must prioritize soil health over high yields to make their farm more...
October 25: An LSP Round-up of News Covering Land, People & Communities
Conversion of Minnesota Grasslands to Crops Threatens Wildlife, Water, Climate
(10/24/21) The Star...
Some five decades ago, a young aspiring farmer named John Snyder brought his bride Bernadette back to Minnesota from Tennessee to begin their farm and family dream together. The newlyweds settled in on a piece of rolling farmland near Preston in southeastern Minnesota where oak savanna forests, limestone ridges, and prairie meet. That first farmhouse had no running water, but it was home. And...
Meet Sasa Organic Farms, a collective of Kenyan farmers who live in the Twin Cities area. Sasa is five family farms: Dawn2Dusk Organic Farms, Lisaviole Farms, Lisaviole Organic Farms, Green Joy Farm, Gedef Organic Farm, and Laurens Organic Farm.
They provide Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) shares, produce, and seedlings...
October 18: An LSP Round-up of News Covering Land, People & Communities
Unhappy with Prices, Ranchers Look to Build Own Meat Plants
(10/16/21) The ...
I became a member-leader of the Land Stewardship Project to help achieve justice for the people and the land. By identifying our self-interest, listening to our neighbors, and acting on our values, I also believe that we can become a welcoming community. Doug Nopar,who worked for many years as a rural LSP organizer, believes that communities are stronger when people with separate backgrounds...
The depth of soil in the American Corn Belt is legendary. One popular saying is that some Midwestern soil is deep enough to bury a pickup truck in — vertically. In many cases, such images are not that far from reality. But there is a danger of equating soil depth with soil health or soil productivity.
It turns out a relatively small portion of the soil profile is where most of...
Turning a Massive Problem into Soil Fertility & Economic Value
I recently witnessed the return of life to Jordan and Rachelle Meyers’ fields, which are transitioning from giant ragweed and thistles into soil-building plants such as chicory, red clover, and wild bergamot. During the past few years, the family, which farms in southeastern Minnesota’s...
When Timing is Everything, Sometimes it Pays to Manipulate the Calendar
Harvey Benson had a simple transition plan for the farm that had been in his family since the late 1860s: he would continue living on those 160 acres until he died, and then it would be passed on to his partner, Bonita Underbakke. In fact, when people ask him if he’s lived on the farm all...
Using Farm Beginnings & Soil Health to Push Marginal Land Beyond Expectations
There are upsides to launching a farm on raw, open land: no broken-down outbuildings or junk piles to deal with, the ability to truly start anew from the soil up. Then…there’s the other side of the fence, so to speak.
“I decided to move the sheep before they...
Thousands of Land Stewardship Project members and supporters from across Minnesota came together during the 2021 session of the state Legislature and organized around our shared values. Together, we mobilized around a collective vision that includes a just food and farm system, a healthy landscape, thriving small and mid-sized farms, just and prosperous communities, and a flourishing...
Last week’s sentencing of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd marks yet another important milestone in the ongoing work to confront the systemic racism that has infiltrated all aspects of our society, including...
From Inception to Winning $5.35 Million in State Soil Health Dollars & Beyond
Land Stewardship Project members believe that the kind of agricultural system and democracy we have is up to us. Our members are the experts when it comes to their communities and farms and, together, we can and must make regenerative agriculture the norm, rather than the exception. We believe our public...
If there was a lesson to be learned this past year, it would be that within challenges there are opportunities.
The Land Stewardship Project and Land Stewardship Action Fund have been undergoing a leadership transition on some level for nearly two years, which has brought both challenges and opportunities. LSP-LSAF staff and board members have been stepping up into new leadership roles...
Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police on the corner of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue in south Minneapolis, just three blocks from the Land Stewardship Project's Twin Cities office.
Our thoughts are with George Floyd’s family and community on the anniversary of his death. His life was taken in the...
Land Stewardship Project members stepped up to the task during the 2021 session of the Minnesota Legislature. Equipped with member-developed legislative priorities, staff-led trainings, and a passion for the mission, members took the lead to coordinate in- district meetings with their elected leaders.
Throughout April and May, hundreds of LSP members and supporters met with a dozen...
The Land Stewardship Project believes that in order for our communities to thrive, everyone, regardless of background or zip code, must have access to the healthcare they need. Yet lack of healthcare access and high costs continue to be major financial stresses for all Minnesotans — particularly for rural residents. More people in rural areas lack employer-based insurance or are...
As we reach the Biden Administration’s first 100 days in office, the Land Stewardship Project has been busy on the federal policy front. The role of agriculture in mitigating the climate crisis has been one focus of both the Administration and the new Congress. Over 500 LSP members and supporters signed on to our...
April 11: An LSP Round-up of News Covering Land, People & Communities
What the American Rescue Plan Means for Child Poverty in Rural America
(4/6/21) The expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) in President Joe Biden’s American Rescue...
During the 2021 session of the Minnesota Legislature, thousands of Land Stewardship Project members from across the state are united in our vision for a sustainable and just farm and food system, as well as healthy communities. This means stewarding a mosaic of prosperous small and mid-sized farms across...
March 29: An LSP Round-up of News Covering Land, People & Communities
When it Comes to Carbon Markets, Farmers Should have Plenty of Questions
(3/18/21) Farmers face a bewildering set of choices and requirements as new carbon...
March 19: An LSP Round-up of News Covering Land, People & Communities
Will the CSA Boom Survive Beyond the Pandemic?
(3/10/21) Civil Eats addresses whether the 2020 pandemic-fueled boom in CSA farm sign-ups will continue in 2021. Highlights:
March 14: An LSP Round-up of News Covering Land, People & Communities
How the Loss of Soil Is Sacrificing America’s Natural Heritage
(3/1/21) Writing in Yale Environment 360, Verlyn Klinkenborg argues that a ...
March 7: An LSP Round-up of News Covering Land, People & Communities
Information on factory farms is spotty at best. The government has been hogtied from doing more.
(2/25/21) There is no comprehensive list of...
Recent news out of Farm Country highlights how imperative it is that a Land Stewardship Project bill working its way through the Minnesota Legislature lands on the Governor’s desk in 2021. First, the USDA predict U.S. farmers will ...