What with farmland changing hands at price levels that would make a Beverly Hills realtor blanch, one could be forgiven for jumping to an obvious conclusion: Farm Country is flush with cash these days. Indeed, based on pure numbers, the statistics are impressive. Midwestern farmland values increased 16 percent in 2012, the third largest gain… Read More →
An Indiana initiative has made the state a national leader in getting continuous living cover established on crop acres. Can it change the way farmers view soil? Michael Werling is, literally, a card-carrying connoisseur of soil health. “I call it, ‘My ticket to a farm tour,’ ” says the northeastern Indiana crop producer, showing off… Read More →
Nov. 13 : An LSP Round-up of News Covering Land, People & Communities Crop Diversification Can Help Environment Without Sacrificing Yields (11/12/20) A new study shows diversifying agricultural systems beyond a narrow selection of crops leads to a range of ecosystem improvements while also maintaining or improving yields, reports Morning Ag Clips. But an Iowa… Read More →
How Indiana is using cover cropping and early adopters as ‘gateways’ into a deeper understanding of sustainable soil management. It’s an overcast August morning in northeastern Indiana, and in a massive machine shed well stocked with the tools of a modern row crop operation, some 60 farmers are being reminded that growing corn and soybeans… Read More →
One of the best approaches for combating climate change lies beneath every Midwestern farm: the soil. By increasing soil organic carbon, farmers can help the climate, their bottom lines, and their farms and communities better adapt to the impacts of extreme weather. The Land Stewardship Project is part of the Midwest Sustainable Agriculture Working Group… Read More →
It’s early July—a time on one Wisconsin farm when there’s a brief reprieve between the spring rush of putting in crops and the mid-summer hurly-burly of making sure the land and animals are as productive as possible by fall. What better time to take a breather and assess where you’ve been, and where you’re going.… Read More →
Dec. 18: An LSP Round-up of News Covering Land, People & Communities National Soil Erosion Rates on Track to Repeat Dust Bowl-era Losses Eight Times Over (12/16/20) Unhealthy farming practices and more extreme weather spurred by climate change will lead to an increased rate of soil erosion across the U.S. in the coming decades, according… Read More →
House Passes Tax Bill With SNAP Cuts, Billions for Immigration Enforcement, and Climate Rollbacks (7/7/25) President Donald Trump’s massive tax bill was passed by the U.S. House July 3 and signed into law by the President on July 4, reports Civil Eats. Highlights: The bill includes the biggest-ever changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program… Read More →
Feb. 28: An LSP Round-up of News Covering Land, People & Communities New Evidence Shows Fertile Soil Gone From Midwestern Farms (2/24/21) National Public Radio reports on a new study showing the most fertile topsoil is entirely gone from a third of all the land devoted to growing crops across the upper Midwest. Highlights: The… Read More →
Jan. 15: An LSP Round-up of News Covering Land, People & Communities Bill Gates: America’s Top Farmland Owner (1/15/21) Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda Gates are now the largest private farmland owners in the U.S., according to The Land Report. Highlights: They have accumulated a massive farmland portfolio — 242,000 acres —… Read More →
