With a single phrase, we can put conservation to work on rented land. And that would have a major impact from a landscape point of view: more than half the crops in Minnesota and Iowa alone are produced on rented acres, and every one of them could be saving soil, water, habitat and money with… Read More →
Finding the weakest link in a farming operation is often easier said than done. But sometimes a few energetic pigs accomplish the task quite nicely. “Today, fencing suddenly moved up the list as our weakest link,” quips Paul Freid on a brisk day in early May. He and his wife Sara, along with their 11-year-old… Read More →
Thanks to the recently passed 2014 Farm Bill, federally subsidized crop insurance is an even bigger player in determining what the landscape looks like. That’s troubling, considering that in recent years that impact has been mostly negative, since the program removes most of the risk associated with plowing up acres formerly considered too erosive, wet… Read More →
Land Stewardship Project members sat down with Governor Mark Dayton for an hour last Wednesday to talk frac sand. Meeting in the River Room at Winona State University, the eight of us were surrounded by pictures of the Mississippi River from the turn-of-the- century featuring the bluffs of the region—a reminder of the uniqueness of… 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 →
The Land Stewardship Project is mourning the passing of Joe Morse of Winona, Minn., a long-time LSP leader and champion of social justice. We valued Joe greatly, fully appreciating the chance to work with him on our efforts to challenge excessive corporate power and expose corruption of the powerful. His assistance in strategizing and organizing… Read More →
Winona County is fortunate to be located in the heart of the Driftless Region, an area unique for its geographic and biological features. For this reason we need a Comprehensive Plan suited to such a priceless resource. A plan that protects our bluff lands, wetlands, river valleys, forests and farms. We are home to many… Read More →
When Lauren Barry pulls a weed or harvests a tomato this summer, she’s doing so on a one-acre plot of land steeped in history. Not the ancient, dusty kind that may or may not have relevance to the current situation, but history rooted in recent growing seasons, when other beginning farmers faced the same meteorological,… Read More →
NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The new federal Farm Bill must benefit farmers, rural communities and the land, rather than corporate interests, said farmer-leaders of the Land Stewardship Project (LSP) today during the release of the organization’s priorities for the nation’s most comprehensive agricultural policy initiative. LSP’s 2023 Farm Bill Platform, which was launched during an… Read More →
LEWISTON, Minn. — The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has ignored sound environmental science and policy by failing to order an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a major dairy expansion project near Lewiston, say rural residents. The MPCA announced today it would issue a feedlot permit for Daley Farms’ proposal to expand its operation by… Read More →
