Blog

Land Line: Food Systems, Funding Freeze, John Deere, Immigration, Regenerative Farm Family

March 3: An LSP Round-up of News Covering Land, People & Communities

By Brian DeVore

March 3, 2025

Surrounded by Crops in Minnesota Farm Country, but with Little to Eat (2/26/25) Star Tribune columnist Karen Tolkkinen writes about the paradox plaguing rural communities in western Minnesota: despite massive amounts of land being devoted to agricultural production, little fresh, affordable food is available for local residents. Highlights: A recent study of the food system in… Read More →

Category: Blog

The Devil’s in the Details

Regenerative Ag Can Help Bring Our Dysfunctional Relationship with Phosphorus Back into Balance

By Brian DeVore

February 26, 2025

In the early 2000s, I wrote a series of Land Stewardship Letter articles about a generic environmental impact statement study that was done on Minnesota’s livestock industry. The final report had an interesting finding related to phosphorus, a key source of crop fertility: small livestock farms had a medium phosphorus shortage of 17 pounds per… Read More →

Category: Blog

Tags: CAFO • cover cropping • Dan Egan • Devil's Element • fertilizer • manure • methane digesters • Phosphorus • regenerative farming • water quality

Bernhardt: ‘I hope the federal government will honor their commitments to farmers.’

MN Senate Hearing Highlights How Government Programs Benefit Individual Farmers & Communities

By Heather Benson

February 18, 2025

“I know it’s really valuable to know what I can count on. When I signed a contract with the government, I should be able to plan ahead for my season and count on that.” — LSP Program Committee chair & farmer, Hannah Bernhardt ♦ ♦ ♦ On Feb. 17, the Minnesota Senate Agriculture Committee heard from farmers… Read More →

Category: Blog

Tags: agricultural conservation • CSP • federal ag policy • funding freeze • local foods • NRCS EQIP • regenerative farming • USDA

Land Line: Bird Flu, Egg Prices, Immigration, Funding Freeze, Conservation $$

Feb. 17: An LSP Round-up of News Covering Land, People & Communities

By Brian DeVore

February 17, 2025

The Unnatural History of Bird Flu (2/12/25) Science journalist Brandon Keim, writing in Nautilus, provides an in-depth overview of the causes of the current H5N1 avian influenza outbreak, which has resulted in the death of 150 million chickens and turkeys, either by the virus itself or due to euthanasia as officials attempt to curb its spread.… Read More →

Category: Blog

Tags: bird flu • funding freeze

LSP Members Testify on Farm to School Funding

Aimee Haag & Laura Cullip Spoke Today During an Informational MN Senate Hearing

By Erin Dorbin

February 12, 2025

Land Stewardship Project members Aimee Haag and Laura Cullip testify Wednesday, Feb. 12, during an informational state Senate hearing on Free School Meals in Minnesota and how Farm to School is bolstered through this critical program. For more on LSP’s Farm to School and community-based food systems work, click here. You can listen to an… Read More →

Category: Blog

Tags: child nutrition • community based food systems • direct-marketing • farm-to-school • local food systems • Minnesota Legislature • rural economic development

Land Line: Small Grains, Manure, Soil Carbon, Rural Empowerment, Regenerative Generation

Feb. 3: An LSP Round-up of News Covering Land, People & Communities

By Brian DeVore

February 3, 2025

Growing Small Grains Market in Albert Lea Attracting Attention from Farmers (1/28/25) KAAL-TV reports on a Land Stewardship Project workshop where over 150 people gathered to talk about ways of bringing small grains back to Minnesota. Highlights: After being mostly replaced by corn and soybeans during the past several decades, small grains such as oats… Read More →

Category: Blog

Tags: beginning farmers • CAFOs • factory farms • feedlot permits • grassroots organizing • Land Line • manure • nitrogen • oats • small grains • soil carbon • soil health

A Sense of Where You Are

11 Examples of Viewing Farms in Context (Part 1 in a Series)

By Brian DeVore

January 21, 2025

Note: This is the 1st installment in the 12-part “A Sense of Where You Are” series. On a sunny day in June, hundreds of ewes make their way through a narrow grazing paddock, flowing along the contours of a Driftless Area hill in southeastern Minnesota like a woolly river. Later in the growing season, a… Read More →

Category: Blog

Tags: farmer-to-farmer • field days • regenerative agriculture • soil health

A Sense of Where You Are: Red Dresses & Magic Management

Part 2 in a Series

By Brian DeVore

January 20, 2025

Note: This is the 2nd installment in the 12-part “A Sense of Where You Are” series. One of the ways Rachelle and Jordan Meyer keep things in context is to avoid being distracted by what they call “the woman in the red dress.” Is a new enterprise a good fit for the farm, or is… Read More →

Category: Blog

Tags: A Sense of Where You Are • beginning farmers • managed rotational grazing • pasture walks • pasture-based livestock • soil health

A Sense of Where You Are: In the Blood

Part 3 in a Series

By Brian DeVore

January 19, 2025

Note: This is the 3rd installment in the 12-part “A Sense of Where You Are” series. History is a critical piece of context. All too often, farming practices are carried out without taking into consideration past practices and their subsequent impact. Regenerative farmers often say they are “listening to the land” when making management decisions.… Read More →

Category: Blog

Tags: A Sense of Where You Are • adaptive rotational grazing • Canoe Creek Dairy • dairy • farmer-to-farmer • organic dairy • pasture walks • pasture-based livestock

Upcoming Events

March 2025

Wednesday March 12

11:00 am – 12:00 pm

Webinar on 0% EQIP Bridge Loan

Wednesday March 12

11:00 am – 12:00 pm

Webinar on 0% EQIP Bridge Loan

Zoom Online

The SHOT (Soil Health Opportunities & Tools) Fund invites you to attend an informational webinar where you can learn more about its 0% interest Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Bridge Loan Program.

You may register for the webinar at: https://bit.ly/EQIPZeroWebinar.

EQIP provides a cost share reimbursement to farmers, ranchers, and landowners who install eligible conservation practices that promote soil health, water quality, and biological diversity. One of the major challenges of the program, however, is the requirement that participants pay for the entire cost of practice installation upfront and out-of-pocket.

The SHOT Fund’s EQIP Bridge Loan program provides landowners and farmers with flexible funding to cover the upfront costs of installing EQIP practices. Designed specifically for recipients of NRCS EQIP awards, the bridge loans have no fees, no penalties, and no interest. This 1-hour webinar will feature members of the SHOT Fund team and experts from Food Systems 6 who will cover:

What is the SHOT Fund?
What is the current status of EQIP funding?
What is the SHOT Fund’s EQIP Bridge Loan Program?
What can I expect during the application process?
Q & A

More information is in the attached flyer. Register for this webinar by clicking here.

Join with Google Meet: https://meet.google.com/wus-pgaf-mjk

Learn more about Meet at: https://support.google.com/a/users/answer/9282720

Thursday March 13

8:30 am – 4:00 pm

Nitrogen in Southeastern Minnesota

Thursday March 13

8:30 am – 4:00 pm

Nitrogen in Southeastern Minnesota

AUNE HALL (4-H BUILDING), 1508 Aune Dr SE, Rochester, MN 55904, USA

University of Minnesota Extension will conduct a day long meeting in Rochester for farmers and those involved in agriculture to discuss the current situation related to nitrogen management.

Topics covered include:

An update on the current regulatory and policy situation
How nitrogen behaves in the environment and how it gets into water
The dynamics of groundwater recharge in southeast Minnesota.
Best management practices for both commercial fertilizer and manure, based on local research
On-farm nitrogen management research results in southeast Minnesota

The day will conclude with a panel discussion of local farmers talking about how they manage nitrogen inputs on their farm. In addition to the presentations, several resource booths will be set up for one-on-one discussion regarding various programs, services, and information.

To register, click here.

9:00 am – 10:30 am

LSP Family Farm Breakfast & Day at the Capitol

Thursday March 13

9:00 am – 10:30 am

LSP Family Farm Breakfast & Day at the Capitol

Christ Lutheran Church (ELCA), 105 University Ave W, St Paul, MN 55103, USA

We are excited to announce that Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison will be joining us as our keynote speaker for the Family Farm Breakfast. AG Ellison has a long history of standing up against consolidation in the food and farming system and showing up for rural communities, including this past month filing a lawsuit to give all farmers the right to repair the farm equipment they own as they chose.

RSVP to join the Land Stewardship Project for the 2025 Family Farm Breakfast & Lobby Day on Thursday, March 13, in Saint Paul at Christ Lutheran Church on Capitol Hill.

Join us for breakfast as we ground ourselves in good food and community and bring our voices to our legislators.

Gather with hundreds of members and supporters, partners, and public officials over a delicious meal featuring locally-sourced products from LSP members’ farms.
Hear directly from LSP members about the issues LSP is working on and how we’re organizing for change.
Stay for our Lobby Day to meet with your Minnesota Senator, Minnesota Representative, and other public officials.

Tickets

The breakfast will be served from 9 a.m. to 10:30 am. Choose to stay for our Lobby Day programming and legislator meetings that will follow throughout the day. Please choose the ticket level that works best for you.

We do not want logistics or cost to limit participation. Please reach out to request support not offered in this registration form: tschulte@landstewardshipproject.org.

Breakfast Mugs

Every year we love to commemorate our lobby day with a new LSP Family Farm Breakfast mug! Our mugs are sourced from American-made companies, union-printed, and are handsomely designed with new art each year. Consider ordering a mug to enjoy with your freshly brewed coffee at the breakfast, and then take it home to fill your cup for years to come.

RSVP today to join us at the breakfast!

6:00 pm – 7:30 pm

SFA Homestead Gardening & Seed Starting for Beginners Webinar

Thursday March 13

6:00 pm – 7:30 pm

SFA Homestead Gardening & Seed Starting for Beginners Webinar

Zoom Online

You’ve seen the YouTube videos and listened to podcasts about living a simpler life and growing some, or more, of your own food. Perhaps you’re a loyal customer at the farmers’ market or a parent looking to show your kids where their food comes from.

Growing your own food is a lovely and beautiful thing, but ABILITY, TIME and SPACE make you worry how you could ever do it yourself.

Caroline Hegstrom of The Boreal Farm owns and operates a successful, diversified farming operation that features certified organic CSA shares, flowers, and a farmstand near Lake Superior. Caroline is passionate about the homesteading movement and uses her knowledge and experience to help people to grow their own food, as well as build community. Recently, she started a business called Taiga Farm & Seed where she pairs gardeners with appropriate seed collections.

This SFA webinar will feature:

Starting from scratch: easing into Homestead Gardening
Seed Starting and Troubleshooting 101
What can I grow in a Northern climate?

Registration: It is free to participate. Advance registration is required to receive the Zoom link. To register, click here.

Saturday March 15

9:00 am – 1:00 pm: LSP Western MN Small Grains Workshop
Saturday March 15
9:00 am – 1:00 pm
LSP Western MN Small Grains Workshop
Mckinney's on Southside, 300 14th St S, Benson, MN 56215, USA
Building on the momentum of LSP’s small grain marketing workshop in Albert Lea, Minn., last month, the Land Stewardship Project is offering a workshop in western Minnesota on March 15 in Benson, Minn. All those curious about small grains are welcome!

This FREE event will offer attendees the opportunity to learn from local leaders and innovators about the benefits of small grains in farming operations, conversations about markets, and the infrastructure needs to support them.

The event takes place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 15, at McKinney’s on Southside in Benson, Minnesota.

To register and to secure a spot, click here.

For more information, contact LSP’s Alex Kiminski at 925-207-3721 or at akiminski@landstewardshipproject.org.

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