A few years ago LSP organizer Doug Nopar was told of a southeast Minnesota farm operation that was withholding wages from a worker after he had accidentally damaged a door with a skid steer loader. Nopar called the farm owner and let him know this action was quite illegal. The farmer’s response? “You know, I… Read More →
What is the most critical discussion that needs to take place to ensure a sustainable food and farming system long into the future? Is it one on policy, farming techniques, green technology, consumer preferences or soil fertility? No. It’s the conversation that takes place between Nettie and Gerald during LSP’s play, Look Who’s Knockin’, which… Read More →
One can almost detect the longing in Denise Crews’ voice when she describes what foods she misses the most since she was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. “The hardest thing to give up was the fried chicken—Popeyes, Kentucky Fried Chicken. Their biscuits. The grease,” Crews told me during a recent LSP podcast interview at a… Read More →
Amy Rager wasn’t thrilled about moving from the North Woods to the land of grass. But three decades later, she’s an impassioned advocate for this treeless biome. More Information • Minnesota Master Naturalist Program • Land Stewardship Letter review of Sea of Grass • Ear to the Ground episode 258: Prairie’s Horizontal Grandeur • LSP Soil… Read More →
Gilbert Williams is a pioneer in processing local grains for local markets. His advice? Go stand in the field, put your name on the package, and tell your story. More Information • Ear to the Ground 378 with Noreen Thomas • Ear to the Ground 377 with Peter & Brittany Haugen • Ear to the… Read More →
Noreen Thomas got into organic crop farming almost three decades ago as a way to produce healthy food and survive economically. Today, she’s the mentor she never had. More Information • Register for LSP’s “Bringing Small Grains Back to Minnesota” Networking Meeting on Aug. 2, 2025, in Madison, Minn. • Doubting Thomas Farms • 2025… Read More →
When Peter and Brittany Haugen sought to diversify their western Minnesota crop farm, they realized there was little infrastructure available to support small grains. So they forged their own link in the food chain by launching Sandhill Mill. More Information • Register for LSP’s “Bringing Small Grains Back to Minnesota” Networking Meeting on Aug. 2,… Read More →
The Land Stewardship Project and our members have worked for 43 years to push back against the expansion of a factory farming model that forces out farmers, harms the land and water, and puts our communities at risk. This work is built upon that experience, and the stories of our farmer and rural members who… Read More →
The owners of Keewaydin Farms see birds as not only a source of natural pest control but as a sign they are doing something right. More Information • Keewaydin Farms • Wild Farm Alliance • LSP’s Ear to the Ground 370: Bending the Bird Curve • LSP’s Ear to the Ground 275: Blurring the Bobolink… Read More →
DONNELLY, Minn. — As winter winds howled outside, farmers gathered in a machine shed near Donnelly on March 4 to share stories with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison on how consolidation in everything from livestock markets to ag implement repairs is negatively impacting their operations and communities. The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) meeting was held… Read More →
