As the 2025 session of the Minnesota Legislature heads into its final two weeks — barring a special session — proposals related to several Land Stewardship Project priorities remain alive. Both the House and Senate have passed their respective Agriculture Bills, and now the proposals head into the conference committee process — the system within which lawmakers… Read More →
Something Smells With the Feedlot Trend, and it’s More Than Just the Manure 3/16/25 Ron Way, former assistant director of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, writes in the Star Tribune about how factory farms have transformed the landscape in southern and central Minnesota. Highlights: Since the 1970s, backers of large-scale, industrialized livestock production have successfully… Read More →
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 →
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 →
The award-winning Meander Art Crawl is a free, self-guided tour of artist studios featuring 30 local artists — including several Land Stewardship Project members — from the Upper Minnesota River Valley. The Meander Art Crawl is held yearly during the first weekend of October. It’s a chance to visit artists in their own environment who celebrate… Read More →
Mapping a rural region’s “community food assets” reveals isolated islands of opportunity in a sea of corn and soybeans. LSP’s Scott DeMuth says now is the time to connect the dots and create a new relationship between farmers, eaters, and the places they live in. For a transcript of this podcast, click here. More Information •… Read More →
During this session of the Minnesota Legislature, Land Stewardship Project members have been making their voices heard loud and clear. Dozens of farmers and rural LSP members have testified in committee hearings, hundreds have come to the Capitol to meet with their elected officials, and thousands have taken action by signing a petition, contacting their… Read More →
This past fall, hundreds of Land Stewardship Project members from across Minnesota came together to build a holistic, state policy campaign — the “Minnesota Food and Farm Campaign.” Now, as the 2023 session of the Minnesota Legislature hits its stride, we’re translating our agenda into legislation. LSP is championing 15 bills (so far) to build… Read More →
The 2022 Minnesota legislative session held incredible promise in the form of a historic budget surplus that had the opportunity to deliver tangible progress on the biggest challenges we face. For example, the Minnesota House Climate Action Caucus, chaired by Rep. Patty Acomb (DFL-Minnetonka), began the session with a bang, proposing a $1 billion investment… Read More →
POSTPONEMENT NOTE: Due to extreme weather halting travel for our presenter, Allen Williams, we must postpone the Feb. 24 event in Ridgeway, Iowa. If you’ve already registered, your ticket purchase for the postponed event will be reimbursed. In the meantime, we will provide this vital and timely information through a podcast interview LSP’s Brian DeVore… Read More →
