Just when you think the facts and figures around federal subsidized crop insurance can’t get any more outlandish, new numbers emerge exposing the out-of-control spending and lack of accountability for this area of farm policy. Earlier this month, USDA released the most recent data on crop insurance costs. It’s ugly: the federal government anticipates doling… Read More →
I recently phoned members of my geographically far-flung family to give them Thanksgiving greetings and was struck by a common element of our ensuing conversations. From Iowa and Nebraska to Kentucky and Texas, the report was the same: drought, drought and more drought. I thought about that recently while watching the new documentary, The Dust… Read More →
The call came in the night. On the end of the line was the panicked voice of Tyler Carlson, a 26-year-old beginning farmer who was starting a grazing operation in west-central Minnesota. It seems that while making a long-distance move of the cowherd he had just purchased a few days before, a baby calf had… Read More →
After a long, hot summer, prospects for a new Farm Bill in 2012 are wilting fast. If Congress doesn’t act within the next few weeks, the current Farm Bill will expire Sept. 30 without a law to replace it. Congress will not reconvene again until the lame duck session after the November elections, where chances… Read More →
ALTURA, Minn. — How one farm is utilizing rotational grazing and diversity to return cattle to the land will be the focus of a field day Wednesday, June 25, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., at Hoosier Ridge Ranch in Altura (15998 County Road 26). This field day, which is sponsored by the Land Stewardship… Read More →
The Wild Farm Alliance is out to prove that thriving wildlife habitat and working farmland are not mutually exclusive — in fact, they can make great partners. More Information • Wild Farm Alliance • The Farm as Natural Habitat • LSP’s Ear to the Ground 371: Avian Award • LSP’s Ear to the Ground 370:… Read More →
An extractive economic system is decimating and dividing our rural communities. Now, more than ever, we need solidarity, says Cristina Ortiz. More Information • LSP’s Community-Based Food System Web Page • LSP’s Justice & Stewardship Web Page • LSP’s Policy Campaign Page You can find LSP Ear to the Ground podcast episodes on Spotify, Pandora, iTunes,… Read More →
LEWISTON, Minn. — The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) applauded the Minnesota Supreme Court’s recent decision to deny a Winona County factory farm owner’s attempt to circumvent Winona County’s rules governing the size of livestock operations. On March 18, Chief Justice Natalie Hudson announced that the Court would not hear an appeal filed by Daley Farm… Read More →
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 →
ALBERT LEA, Minn. — Corn and soybeans may dominate the agricultural landscape in southern Minnesota and northern Iowa, but reintroducing small grains such as oats into the rotation could help make farming more economically, agronomically and environmentally sustainable, while serving a growing consumer demand for healthy food, said a panel of national and local experts during… Read More →
