LSP: Farmers Must Now be Aware of their Mediation Rights SAINT PAUL, Minn. — As a sign of the dire financial situation the state’s agriculture faces, the Minnesota House and Senate last week passed by a combind 201-0 vote legislation that stops foreclosures until December for farmers who elect to take part in creditor mediation.… Read More →
The Minnesota State Legislature only has 13 days left to take advantage of our historic state surplus — $9.25 billion — and invest in our farmers and communities at the scale that is needed to create vibrant resiliency on the land. There are big differences between what the House and Senate are willing to invest… Read More →
This Gateway into Farming Hinges on Small Grains, Livestock & Soil Health With its pool table topography and coffee-colored soils, southern Minnesota’s Nicollet County perennially ranks as one of the top producers of corn and soybeans in the state, and land prices reflect it — in 2019 the average annual non-irrigated cropland rental rate in… Read More →
Many small and medium-size farms are trying to survive by selling meats directly to retail customers and restaurants. The idea shows promise as a way to revitalize an economy otherwise in the shadow of huge farming enterprises. We need slaughterhouses; several good, new up-to-date buildings should be placed throughout the state to serve the growing… Read More →
LEWISTON, Minn. — Two farmer-to-farmer Land Stewardship Project (LSP) discussion workshops focusing on soil building topics will be held in southeastern Minnesota Jan. 25 and 30, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. On Jan. 25, the discussion workshop will be held at Recreation Café, 20 E. Main St., in Lewiston. On Jan. 30, farmers will… 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 →
When you’re wallowing in the pit of despair, it helps to know that others have preceded you and survived. And for John and Heidi Wise, they have another pit-beater: they didn’t exactly jump in without giving it some careful forethought. After more than a decade of classes, working with mentors, business planning and searching, the… Read More →
Over the past few decades, the dominant push in agriculture has been for farms to grow larger and for the industry to consolidate into a few hands to maximize profits. One of the many ways the biggest have been able to get bigger at the expense of small and mid-sized farmers, rural communities, and our… Read More →
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Over a dozen farmer-members of the Land Stewardship Project (LSP) and the Midwest Farmers of Color Collective (MFCC) will head to Washington, D.C., March 6-8 to call on policymakers to make climate change a priority of the 2023 Farm Bill. They will be joined by hundreds of farmers, farmworkers and farmer allies… Read More →
Bill to Offer Incentives to Reach ‘100% Soil Healthy Farming’ in MN by 2040 SAINT PAUL, Minn. — Calling it a “win-win” for agriculture and the environment, farmer-members of the Land Stewardship Project (LSP) applauded today’s scheduled hearing of the “100% Soil Healthy Farming Bill” in the Minnesota House Agriculture and Food Finance and Policy… Read More →
