In western Minnesota we live in what used to be a grassland habitat, where warm season perennials were king and the whole system depended on herds of buffalo and the occasional wildfire to break down the abundance of plant material. These days, it’s becoming clear leaving our remaining prairies untouched does not create a healthy… Read More →
The sign of a truly sustainable farming technique, indeed of a sustainable idea in general, is its staying power. Something might not catch on widely at first, especially if it goes against conventional wisdom. But if it’s just a tiny bit viable and enough innovators keep it alive, its time will eventually come. I was… Read More →
Steve O’Neil, the Land Stewardship Project’s first community organizer who went on to serve as a mentor and adviser to the organization for most of its history, lost a battle with cancer on Monday. He was 63. Steve was hired in 1982 by Ron Kroese shortly after Kroese and Victor Ray founded LSP. O’Neil’s first… Read More →
On Tuesday, June 11, I traveled to the Capitol from my home near the city of St. Charles, Minn., in Saratoga Township to meet with Governor Mark Dayton. My home is within a few miles of seven proposed frac sand mines. In February, I traveled to the state Capitol for the first time in my… Read More →
Our federal elected officials finally seem to be getting serious about passing much-needed comprehensive immigration reform in Washington, D.C. That’s good. It is also important to note there’s a very important immigrant worker rights issue that needs to be addressed right here and right now in rural Minnesota. No new laws need to be passed,… Read More →
What with ridiculously high land prices and Washington’s inability to focus on agriculture long enough to pass a Farm Bill, it’s easy to get down about the prospects for beginning farmers these days. That’s why a national meeting held in Rochester, Minn., earlier this month was so important—not only because it proved that there are… 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 →
Near the end of Will Allen’s inspiring book, The Good Food Revolution, DeShell Parker talks about what Growing Power means to her: “It means integrity. It means strong thinking. It means willpower. It means confidence. It means assertiveness. It’s so far beyond dirt and worms.” Allen’s book, which he wrote with Charles Wilson, is extremely… 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 →
I am a 6th-generation Winona County resident; I live near Lewiston on the family farm where I was raised. We are here today, in the spirit of openness and full transparency, to learn more about an industry that is poised to make a huge and rapid impact on this beautiful region. We are a region… Read More →
