GOODHUE, Minn. — A workshop entitled, “From Entomology to Economics: Building Soil Health with Jonathan Lundgren,” will be offered by the Land Stewardship Project (LSP) on Friday, March 6, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Lion’s Community Center (105 Broadway St.) in Goodhue. It will feature presentations by Dr. Lundgren and a panel featuring… Read More →
NOTE: During a pair of Land Stewardship Project workshops Jan. 29 and 30, Dawn and Grant Breitkreutz will be discussing how they are using no-till row cropping, managed rotational grazing and diversified cover cropping to build soil health profitably on their southwestern Minnesota farm. For more background on the Breitkreutzes, check out this LSP blog… Read More →
On a warm day in early October, the owner-operators of Clover Bee Farm are preparing a delivery for the 43 shareholders that make up their Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) vegetable operation. Standing in a hoop house, Andrew Hanson-Pierre cleans dozens of fat onions, while across the farmyard in a barn that’s been converted to a… Read More →
Innovative Farming Requires an Innovative Approach to Soil Health It’s a bright June day in southeastern Minnesota, and the hilly landscape is in full summer bloom. But as Chuck Henry watches his dairy herd graze a mix of winter wheat and Sudan grass, he has numbers on his mind: 33,000 bites per day, per cow;… Read More →
It is becoming clearer that the chances of the U.S. Congress passing a new Farm Bill by the Sept. 30 deadline are slim. The main roadblock is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and the expanded work requirements called for in the House version. The House and Senate versions of the Farm Bill are currently… Read More →
An Innovative Farming System Requires Innovative Training One sign that you’re a solid employee is that the boss hates the idea of you walking out the door, never to return. So let’s consider the case of Ryan Heinen, who has worked on the west-central Minnesota dairy farm of Nate and Angie Walter for the past… Read More →
Today, the Trump Administration ended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. We believe this is a short-sighted and damaging action which the Land Stewardship Project opposes. Since DACA was started in 2012, the program has provided legal protection for nearly 800,000 undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children. These people… Read More →
In early May, I represented the Land Stewardship Project at “Sequestering Carbon in the Soil: Addressing the Climate Threat,” an international conference held in Paris and organized by Breakthrough Strategies and Solutions. The conference convened 200 scientists, governmental leaders and representatives of nongovernmental organizations from around the world. Attendees included farmers from the Global South… Read More →
NOTE: At the Land Stewardship Project’s event celebrating the passage of the Winona County frac sand ban in southeastern Minnesota, LSP Winona County Organizing Committee members reflected on their involvement and the work that went into organizing the successful campaign for a ban. Committee member Cathy Groebner of St. Charles, Minn., gave these remarks at… Read More →
After receiving my degree from St. Olaf College last spring, I have returned to the family farm outside Caledonia, Minn. I come home with a deeper understanding that soil rich in organic matter and biota can function more efficiently than biologically deprived soils. Having grown up on this small southeastern Minnesota beef and crop farm,… Read More →
