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Rural Voices Hold More Power Than You Think

By Dan Wilson, LSP member
May 5, 2022

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Like many people, I watched with hope as the protests in Minneapolis and across the country made possible the idea of significant police reform. I also watched with horror in 2021 as those reform efforts stalled in the Minnesota Senate. Being a white farmer living in rural Minnesota, I felt removed and powerless as all this happened. I couldn’t take the time to go to a march or rally in the Twin Cities. And I didn’t have the capacity to organize a rally in my local town. However, the then President of the Senate (now Senate Majority Leader), Jeremy Miller, is my Senator. I didn’t need to drive three hours to a protest; I could just pick up the phone.

When we think of an abuse of power, we typically think of politicians enacting racist and harmful policies. However, an abuse of power is also not using the power given to you to enact positive policies. My Senator, Jeremy Miller, is guilty of the latter. However, I am also guilty of same abuse of power. I live in Senator Miller’s district, and I have not been pressuring him to act for significant change. I sent him an e-mail, and I let it go at that. I didn’t give him a telephone call, I didn’t encourage others to do the same, and I didn’t schedule a meeting with him. Would Senator Miller have passed more police reform bills if he had more pressure from his district? I don’t know, which is why I finally reached out to set up a meeting with him — we have one now for May 7, from 10:30 a.m.-11 a.m., at Miller Scrap Metal & Iron Co. 

Many LSP members live in districts with legislators who hold a lot of power to make significant change for our state, yet they do not act in their communities’ interests. And because of white supremacy, those politicians give more weight to concerns held by white, rural, farming voters. We are in a unique position to push these lawmakers towards considering more transformative policies and to upend their assumptions about us. We are also in a position to vote them out when they are unwilling to listen.

You may think that you hold a minority view in your community; however, most policies championed by LSP in fact are very popular ideas. Which of your neighbors wouldn’t want cheaper healthcare, more money for farm conservation practices, or a convenient local butcher shop? The reality is that most political races are won or lost on voter turnout. In other words, how excited and engaged are the voters in your district? Because of this, apathy towards the political system only strengthens the incumbent. Politicians take our silence on these issues as consent to the status quo. However, by doing simple things such as writing an e-mail or making a telephone call to our local representative, we can demand that they use their power in a responsible way. As farmers, we are called to be stewards of our soil, and this also means being good civic stewards.

The truth is political work can be boring. I started farming because I love working outside, interacting with soil, and seeing simple tasks completed. On a nice sunny day, I would rather have my teeth pulled than sit down and send out an e-mail or make a telephone call to an apathetic politician. But if we write off the political process, we give up so much potential power to improve our lives. Now, thanks to Zoom meetings, I have been able to attend LSP town halls while making dinner or watching my daughter. Just like with doing my farm bookkeeping, I now set aside a small amount of time every week for political work. And just like my bookkeeping, I always dread doing it, but feel much better once it is done.

Police reform, health care reform, action on climate change, and agriculture reform are actually in our grasp. As members of LSP, we have seen that politicians can change their opinions and policies can change. Minnesota needs transformative change on so many issues, and as rural citizens, it is our representatives that are often blocking this progress for our communities. I invite you to join me in talking with Senator Miller on May 7 for positive change in our community and our state. Reach out to me at wilson.a.daniel@gmail.com if you’re ​interested in coming. 

Dan Wilson is an LSP member and farmer in southeastern Minnesota.

Category: Blog
Tags: local democracy • Minnesota Legislature • racial justice

Upcoming Events

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May 2025

Saturday May 31

10:00 am – 12:30 pm
Multi-species Pasture Walk
Saturday May 31
10:00 am – 12:30 pm
Multi-species Pasture Walk
872 320th Ave, Frederic, WI 54837, USA

The NW Wisconsin Graziers Network, River Country RC&Dand UW-Madison Extension invite you to a multi-species pasture walk hosted by JohnsonFamily Pastures LLC. The farm is located five miles east of Frederic in PolkCounty. This educational event willemphasize direct marketing, multi-species grazing, part-time family agricultureand silvopasture development. Light snacks and refreshments will be provided.

TheJohnson Family Pastures farm is home to Chris and Tamara Johnson and their twochildren. They raise grass-fed beef, silvopastured goats, and recently raised anumber of other species. The farm consists of about 160 acres of gently rollingpastures, silvopasture, and forest. Use of both temporary polybraid fencing andhigh tensile permanent fences allow for rotational grazing of small ruminants andout-wintering of beef cattle. Use of long-term farm transition strategies, cost-shareprograms, silvopasture development with goats, regenerative grazing, cattlehandling facility and bale grazing will be discussed along with answering anyand all questions from pasture walk participants.

An extensive and diversified direct marketing programhas been developed by Tamara and Chris that has included farmer markets, e-maillists, newsletters, website ordering, on-farm freezer storage, and other strategiesand tools to support direct sales and services for their customers.  Come and learn all about their successfulapproach.

For more information,contact Chris Johnson at 920-960-4475 or Lynn Johnson 715-225-9882 at NW Graziers.

June 2025

Wednesday June 25

2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
LSP-PFI Grazing Field Day at Hoosier Ridge Ranch
Wednesday June 25
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
LSP-PFI Grazing Field Day at Hoosier Ridge Ranch
Hoosier Ridge Ranch, 15998 Wabasha County Rd 26, Altura, MN 55910, USA

Over the last 50 years, livestock have left many farms. Eric Heins is doing the reverse: bringing cattle – and their poop, pee and hooves – back to his land. Come see how Eric is using his Normande-shorthorn crosses in a variety of grazing situations. During this Land Stewardship Project-Practical Farmers of Iowa field day, you can view permanent pasture, where Eric (like everyone) is battling the cool-season grass takeover. You’ll also learn how Eric is using his cattle in cover crop mixes, prairie and woodlands.

Since purchasing the farm in 2020, Eric has converted the cropland to pasture. He also custom-farms a diverse rotation of crops, covers and small grains on neighboring farms, including an established prairie on Iowa Department of Natural Resources land. A possible bonus: Eric is hoping to have virtual fence collars by the time of the field day, but no guarantees!

A meal featuring Hoosier Ridge Ranch burgers will follow the field day.

See & Discuss

  • Cash-flowing the conversion to pasture on owned versus rented cropland
  • Stockpiling pasture for winter grazing
  • Mechanical buckthorn clearing for silvopasture
  • Grazing agreements on DNR prairie and neighboring cropland
  • A sudangrass mix after a canning pea crop
  • An extended rotation with oats, barley and Kernza

For details and to register, click here.

Saturday June 28

4:00 pm – 8:00 pm
LSP's Boots & Roots: A Celebration of Land & People
Saturday June 28
4:00 pm – 8:00 pm
LSP's Boots & Roots: A Celebration of Land & People
Dream Acres, Co Hwy 8, Spring Valley, MN 55975, USA

Join Land Stewardship Project members and supporters to kick-start the Driftless summer with an evening of good food, good music, and good times. We’ll have activities for all ages that will get you out in nature, exploring the connection between our region’s farms and your community’s food, land, and water. Bring a side or dessert to share for dinner, and the Dream Acres wood-fired oven will provide locally-sourced pizzas and flat breads. Dinner will be followed by live music and contra dancing by the Crater City String Band.  

To reserve a spot, click here.

Camping sites are available at nearby Masonic Park and Forestville Mystery Cave and Lake Louise State Parks. Camping at Masonic is rustic,first-come-first-serve, free, and does not require a reservation. Fillmore County, who manages the park, only asks that you call the dispatchers at507-765-3874 when you arrive with your vehicle information and phone number in case of emergency. State Park reservations cost $25 a night and can be made online.

July 2025

Tuesday July 15

5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Organic Fruit & Vegetable Field Day
Tuesday July 15
5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Organic Fruit & Vegetable Field Day
1805 Dudley Ave, Falcon Heights, MN 55113, USA

Join U of M researchers and Extension for updates on organic fruit and vegetable research and tour the Student Organic Farm and the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station in Saint Paul. Topics include: organic insect management, integrating livestock into vegetable farms, new crops for Minnesota, irrigation strategies, and more. Free to the public.
 
For details and to register, click here.

Wednesday July 16

9:30 am – 2:30 pm
Russell Hedrick Soil Health Event: Cottonwood County
Wednesday July 16
9:30 am – 2:30 pm
Russell Hedrick Soil Health Event: Cottonwood County
27092 Co Rd 8, Comfrey, MN 56019, USA

Details here.

View Full Calendar

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