MONTEVIDEO, Minn. — A special community conversation to uncover the realities and impacts of migration will be held on Martin Luther King Day, Monday, Jan. 21, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., at the Montevideo Community Center (550 S. 1st Street). This “Migration Stories Past and Present” event is sponsored by the Land Stewardship Project… Read More →
Nov. 1 Deadline for Beginning Farmers to Enroll in Financial Education Programs & Receive Tax Credit MONTEVIDEO, Minn. — Details on how to apply for the newly launched Minnesota Beginning Farmer Tax Credit will be the focus of a meeting on Thursday, Oct. 11, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., at the Montevideo Public Library… Read More →
Recent revelations that at least 2,300 migrant children have been separated from their parents under U.S. President Donald Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy highlights an ugly fact: this country’s immigration policies are inhumane, divisive and unsustainable, and they have been for a very long time. The atrocity of tearing young children from their parents is a… Read More →
I live with my family and raise fruits and vegetables in Oronoco, Minn. As a beginning farmer, I understand the need for access to credit and think that Farm Service Agency (FSA) loans are critical to the farm economy, as they allow loans to be given to smaller or beginning farmer when banks don’t want… Read More →
2nd of 3 LSP White Papers Examines Nation’s Biggest Farm Program BOYD, Minn. — A key federal farm program has become an engine for consolidating land and financial resources in rural communities in Minnesota and across the country, according to a new white paper released by the Land Stewardship Project (LSP) today. Launched in 1938… Read More →
A Land Stewardship Project member with decades of experience in agricultural lending has been appointed to the U.S Secretary of Agriculture’s Advisory Committee on Beginning Farmers and Ranchers. Tim Gossman, who is a vice president and commercial and agriculture loan officer at Merchants Bank in St. Charles, Minn., is also a supervisor for the Fillmore… Read More →
I have never doubted my Honda Civic before. It has served me well in my work with the Land Stewardship Project and otherwise as I traverse west-central Minnesota. Last week it was tested as I drove Ann Bartuska, USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics, to a family farm in the region. Also… Read More →
The U.S. Senate passed its version of a Farm Bill yesterday by a vote of 66-27. Both Minnesota Senators Al Franken (D-MN) and Amy Klobuchar( D-MN) voted for passage of the bill. The upshot is that for the first time ever the Senate bill limits the degree of crop insurance subsidies wealthy farm investors and… Read More →
For the past year the Land Stewardship Project and our allies have been organizing to make sure Minnesota moves forward, not backward, under the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare). It’s clear that our current health care system is failing working people across the state—including urban people, rural people and farmers. In fact, lack of access to… 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 →
