Following the inability of the U.S. Senate and U.S House to agree on Fiscal Year 2014 spending yesterday, the public must now endure a federal government shutdown. The failure to pass a Continuing Resolution (spending at past fiscal year levels) forces a shutdown which cripples the delivery of programs and services that millions of Americans… Read More →
Talk about ignoring the elephant in the room. When Minnesota environmental officials announced the results of a new major nitrogen pollution study on Thursday, they were surprisingly frank about how bad the problem is, but just as surprisingly hesitant to name a major underlying cause: federal farm policy. First the problem: basically, the Minnesota Pollution… Read More →
ALBERT LEA, Minn. — Corn and soybeans may dominate the agricultural landscape in southern Minnesota and northern Iowa, but reintroducing small grains such as oats into the rotation could help make farming more economically, agronomically and environmentally sustainable, while serving a growing consumer demand for healthy food, said a panel of national and local experts during… Read More →
At the Land Stewardship Project, we value local control — the ability for smaller units of government to build upon laws set by larger units of government. While states like Iowa and Wisconsin have gutted or significantly weakened local control, Minnesota has stayed strong on this issue (because of organizing by LSP members and others)… 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 →
Minnesota Part of 10-State Rural & Small Town Organizing Strategy WASHINGTON, D.C.—Racial justice is an essential element in developing a food and farming system that supports healthy and prosperous rural communities, said central Minnesota farmer Laura Frerichs today during a national rural progressive strategy summit at the National Press Club in Washington. Frerichs, a member… 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 →
Last month in a special report, the Star Tribune newspaper revealed how much water pollution from agriculture is costing taxpayers. At $125 million in 2014 alone, the price of industrialized, monocrop agriculture is significant and only likely to grow. In north-central Minnesota, we have an opportunity during the next few weeks to prevent some of… Read More →
To Matthew Ott, three words could make all the difference as to whether farming systems that protect the soil year-round in Minnesota become a consistent agricultural presence in the state. “For me, the most exciting thing is to be able to use the term, ‘cash cover crops,’ ” says the University of Minnesota graduate student.… Read More →
My great-great-grandfather moved to Houston County, Minnesota, at the end of the Civil War in 1865. I am blessed to be a lifelong resident of Houston County, living on part of our family’s Century Farm, between Houston and Money Creek. All my siblings are farmers in Houston County. Six generations of our family have hunted… Read More →
