NORTHFIELD, Minn. —A culturally relevant “Land Access: Are You Ready?” workshop will be held for Spanish-speaking beginning and aspiring farmers Saturday, April 27, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Emmaus Baptist Church, 712 Linden St. N., in Northfield. This Land Stewardship Project (LSP) workshop is free; materials, lunch and childcare are provided. To register by April… 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 →
The process of environmental review for frac sand mine proposals in Winona County has been seriously flawed from the start. But there’s still time for citizens to get involved and push for an in-depth, comprehensive review—otherwise known as an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)—that would show the full impacts these proposed developments would have on our… 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 →
One winter evening in 1999 I was sitting in on a Farm Beginnings class being held in the southeast Minnesota community of Plainview when a local banker stood up and made a statement that about knocked me out of my chair. “We need to eat our own cooking,” said the banker, Dean Harrington. The statement… Read More →
Maya is seeking a small plot of land (as small as 1/4 acre) to rent or buy within a 60 minute drive from Minneapolis. Maya is a beginning farmer who hopes to grow vegetables for a small CSA and for free food distribution efforts. Maya is open to creative land access arrangements, including renting land… Read More →
Nov. 29: An LSP Round-up of News Covering Land, People & Communities Why Non-operating Landowners Need to be Part of the Conservation Dialogue (11/22/20) Non-operating landowners, otherwise known as NOLOs, are generally in favor of conservation programs and practices, as are the farmers who operate on their land. But there is often a disconnect between… Read More →
ROLLINGSTONE, Minn. — Ways farmers can build soil health will be the focus of a Land Stewardship Project (LSP) field day Wednesday, July 26, from 10 a.m. to noon, at the Rory, Richard and Sharon Beyer farm near Rollingstone (18622 Dixie Drive). Registration starts at 9:30 a.m. and a noon barbecue lunch will follow the… Read More →
A few years ago, a travel writer penned an opinion piece in the Minneapolis Star Tribune lambasting the “local foods movement.” One thing that really galled him was seeing all those Volvos, Saabs and Hondas that consumers parked at the farmers’ market while they shopped for vegetables that had been transported into town by numerous,… Read More →
The local frac sand industry is part of Big Oil’s continued efforts to monopolize the profits from natural resources that belong to everyone. Who really owns the earth, the oil, air and water? Big Oil’s frac-sand process uses huge amounts of water from our limited-supply aquifers. We can live without oil, but we can’t live… Read More →
