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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 →

Sign-On to Support New Farmers on the Land

Tell Lawmakers We Need Changes to the MN Down Payment Assistance Grant

February 18, 2025

Between 2012 and 2022, Minnesota lost 9,011 farms — on average 900 farms per year. During that same period, the average size of a Minnesota farm went from 349 acres to 388 acres. The average age of Minnesota farmers has reached an all-time high of 57.1 years. Ninety-nine percent of all farmland in Minnesota is…  Read More →

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 →

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 →

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 →

A Sense of Where You Are: Seeking Signs of Life

Part 4 in a Series

By Brian DeVore
January 18, 2025

Note: This is the 4th installment in the 12-part “A Sense of Where You Are” series.  Jerry and Nancy Ackermann’s context is this: for around four decades, they have been raising corn and soybeans in southwestern Minnesota’s Jackson County, a region dominated by the kind of flat, fertile fields that regularly churn out impressive yields…  Read More →

A Sense of Where You Are: Forest for the Trees

Part 5 in a Series

By Brian DeVore
January 17, 2025

Note: This is the 5th installment in the 12-part “A Sense of Where You Are” series.  Grazing livestock have been described as “combines that poop.” That’s an accurate, if somewhat graphic, depiction of how moving cattle and other animals through well-managed paddocks can rebuild soil that’s been decimated by tillage, chemical use, and compaction. Langdon…  Read More →

A Sense of Where You Are: The Quickening

Part 6 in a Series

By Brian DeVore
January 16, 2025

Note: This is the 6th installment in the 12-part “A Sense of Where You Are” series.  When your context is farming in the city, everything is a little faster, denser, and louder. “We grow everything very intensively,” said Elyssa Eull on a warm evening in early September while she stood near the entrance to California…  Read More →

A Sense of Where You Are: Food Bank Booster

Part 7 in a Series

By Brian DeVore
January 15, 2025

Note: This is the 7th installment in the 12-part “A Sense of Where You Are” series.  Here’s some troubling context in the land of plenty: in 2023, 18 million U.S. households were food insecure at some time during the year, according to the USDA. That figure is up from 17 million in 2022. Food insecurity…  Read More →

A Sense of Where You Are: First Things First

Part 8 in a Series

By Brian DeVore
January 14, 2025

Note: This is the 8th installment in the 12-part “A Sense of Where You Are” series.  So, here’s a chicken or egg situation to ponder: when launching a farming operation, when should you approach the local NRCS office about applying for funding to set up infrastructure such as a high tunnel or a rotational grazing system?…  Read More →