Search Results

Searched for: MFU Support of Fair Repair February 2023

Land Line: USDA Changes, Climate-Smart Ag, Dead Zone, Nitrate Pollution, Feedlot Regs, Soil Bacteria, the Power of Diverse Farming

By Brian DeVore (editor)
July 28, 2025

‘Farming in the dark’: Brooke Rollins’ Leadership, DOGE’s Grip and the Cost to American Agriculture (7/22/25) According to Investigate Midwest, during her first six months in office U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins  has brought sweeping changes to USDA and largely embraced President Donald Trump’s agenda of downsizing the federal government. Mass firings have purged…  Read More →

LSP Legislative Update: Heading into the Final Days

Local Food, Land Access & Soil Health Proposals Still Alive

By Laura Schreiber
May 7, 2025

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 →

Land Line: Senate Budget Bill, Who Owns Land?, Nitrates, Conservation Cuts, Immigration, Drought When Wet, Judging Soil, Sea of Grass

By Brian DeVore (editor)
July 1, 2025

Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Clears Senate, Sending it Back to House (7/1/25) Vice President JD Vance broke a 50-50 tie in the U.S. Senate today to pass President Donald Trump’s centerpiece legislation on tax cuts and spending, the 940-page “One Big Beautiful Bill,” reports Oklahoma Farm Report. In order to pay for spending on…  Read More →

Beginning Farmer Program for MN, WI & IA Accepting Applications for 2022-2023 Course

Farm Beginnings Marks a Quarter Century of Training Ag’s Next Generation

June 10, 2022

LEWISTON, Minn. — One of the most successful beginning farmer training programs in the country is now accepting applications for its 2022-2023 course session serving the Minnesota, western Wisconsin and northern Iowa region. The Land Stewardship Project’s (LSP) Farm Beginnings initiative is a year-long training program that focuses on the goal-setting, marketing and financial skills needed to…  Read More →

How Farmworker Wage Theft Bankrupts Our Rural Communities

By Brian DeVore
May 3, 2013

A few years ago LSP organizer Doug Nopar was told of a southeast Minnesota farm operation that was withholding wages from a worker after he had accidentally damaged a door with a skid steer loader. Nopar called the farm owner and let him know this action was quite illegal. The farmer’s response? “You know, I…  Read More →

Anatomy of a Grassroots Campaign

By Johanna Rupprecht
March 29, 2017

How citizens in one Minnesota county put values into action to attain a win for the land and their community. On November 22, 2016, history was made in southeastern Minnesota’s Winona County when the Board of Commissioners there passed a ban on any new frac sand operations. It is the first known countywide ban on…  Read More →

2024 Minnesota Legislative Session Wrap-Up 

Soil Health, Water Quality, Emerging Farmers, Regional Foods Supported; Factory Farm Controls Stall; Stage Set for 2025

By LSP’s Policy Team
May 20, 2024

As the clock struck midnight on Sunday, the Minnesota Legislature concluded its 2024 session. During the past few months, lawmakers primarily focused on revenue-neutral policy changes and some targeted funding of specific programs. During the session, Land Stewardship Project members made some progress on advancing our priorities and built a strong foundation to hit the…  Read More →

Land Line: Riverview, Nitrogen Cuts, H20 Poll, Bridge Payments, Meatpackers & Antitrust, Gutting Emerging Farmer Support, Rural Population

By Brian DeVore (editor)
April 7, 2026

Sign Up for Email Delivery of The Land Line Plan for Largest Dairy in Minnesota History Raises Water and Pollution Concerns (4/1/26) Sentient reports on Riverview’s expansion proposal that would crate the largest dairy CAFO in Minnesota. Highlights: The expansion would more than double the capacity of an existing Riverview LLP dairy facility near Morris,…  Read More →

Letter: When it Comes to Addressing Nitrates, State Needs an Effective Public Engagement Campaign

LSP & Allies Call for Several Action Steps on the Part of MDH, MPCA & MDA

December 18, 2023

Note: In April 2023, the Land Stewardship Project joined 10 other groups in filing a petition calling on the Environmental Protection Agency to use its emergency authority under the Safe Drinking Water Act to address the fact that nitrate contamination is causing “an imminent and substantial endangerment to public health” in the karst region of…  Read More →

Land Line: Soil Health, Hunger, Govt. Accountability, Ag Recession, Slaughterhouse Speeds, Checkoffs

By Brian DeVore
April 1, 2025

Improving Soil Health Not Just Feel-Good Endeavor (4/1/25) Indiana Prairie Farmer describes how Rodney Rulon’s 30-year soil health journey utilizing no-till and cover cropping is paying dividends not just environmentally, but economically as well. Highlights: The National Association of Conservation Districts and the Soil Health Institute performed a budget analysis on 29 farms across the…  Read More →