On a recent morning in late February, a couple dozen farmers stood in front of a wall of words and pictures, imagining what the future might look like. Just a few minutes before, the farmers had sat at tables in a sunny room of the Chatfield Center for the Arts in southeastern Minnesota, using felt-tipped… Read More →
Iowa Farm & Rural Life Poll: 2025 Summary (November) The majority of farmers responding to the latest Iowa Farm & Rural Life Poll feel that a reliance on specialized commodity agriculture is bad for them and their communities. Highlights: Sixty-nine percent agreed with the statement “Increased specialization in commodities (corn, soybeans, hogs, etc.) has led… Read More →
The Land Stewardship Project became a membership organization in 1994, 12 years after we were founded. The people leading the grassroots work knew that to realize the positive transformation of the farm and food system, LSP had to be organizing people, ideas, and money. Becoming a member by making a financial contribution has always been… Read More →
As the 2025 session of the Minnesota Legislature heads into its final two weeks — barring a special session — proposals related to several Land Stewardship Project priorities remain alive. Both the House and Senate have passed their respective Agriculture Bills, and now the proposals head into the conference committee process — the system within which lawmakers… Read More →
The Questions… What does soil health have to do with racial justice? Why does the Land Stewardship Project write articles and posts about racial justice for mostly homogenous, white audiences in rural, farming communities? From time to time, LSP soil health organizers are asked these questions by farmers at our field days and workshops. Some… Read More →
Meeting Focuses on Need for Policies that Support Family Farmers, Affordable Healthcare & Strong Local Government STAPLES, Minn.— If the 2018 session of the Minnesota Legislature is to advance policies that support rural communities, then lawmakers need to support family farmers, affordable healthcare and strong local government, according to a group of farmers and other… Read More →
LSP Outlines Major Reforms for Making the Nation’s Largest Ag Program an Accountable & Reliable Safety Net for All Producers LE SUEUR, Minn. — The nation’s largest federal agriculture program is a significant barrier to beginning farmers who are trying to get access to land and capital, according to a new white paper released by… Read More →
Over the past two years, we have witnessed firsthand just how fragile our meat processing sector is. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the vulnerability of global, concentrated supply chains, and we have seen farmers euthanize animals while others are forced to book processing dates even before animals are born. What has become clear is that we… Read More →
Contact Your Senator TODAY The Problem: After years of poor returns, farm prices have destabilized even further due to COVID-19. Nearly all farmers are in financial crisis. TIME is needed to recover. TIME, during which no farmer should be foreclosed upon. The Solution: Pass HF 4599 to Extend Farmer-Lender Mediation deadlines through harvest to December… Read More →
It’s hard to believe it’s been almost a month since the Land Stewardship Project participated in The Brave of Us: The Midwest Democracy and Power Summit June 11-12 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. The Summit was an inspiring two days focused on both learning from what we’ve accomplished and creating the future we want. Programming… Read More →
