Water, as Land Stewardship Project board member Vince Ready says, is vital for life. When Governor Mark Dayton’s Water Summit takes place on Feb. 27, it’s likely a lot of innovative proposals for solving Minnesota’s water quality crisis will be discussed. That’s good, because this Summit is centered around one of the most basic questions… Read More →
Perhaps despite my better judgement, I made the decision several years ago to alter my career trajectory and become a farmer. As a former farm kid from the plains of southwestern Minnesota, it shouldn’t have been that crazy a notion, and I thought I’d have a leg-up getting my farm started. Despite rural connections and… Read More →
The $1.7 Trillion Landlord: New USDA Data Reveals the Shifting Face of Ownership (3/12/26) Farm Journal reports on new USDA showing a 47% surge in rented farmland value over the past decade, even as the footprint of available acreage shrinks. With $1.7 trillion in assets now held by a shifting demographic of landlords, the landscape… Read More →
During this session of the Minnesota Legislature, Land Stewardship Project members have been making their voices heard loud and clear. Dozens of farmers and rural LSP members have testified in committee hearings, hundreds have come to the Capitol to meet with their elected officials, and thousands have taken action by signing a petition, contacting their… Read More →
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is accepting comments on updating its Minnesota Nutrient Reduction Strategy 2025 (full draft document found here), which establishes a roadmap for reaching both phosphorus and nitrate reduction goals. Please take a moment to review LSP’s comments and rationale for actionable items for this plan and submit your comments via… Read More →
The 2024 Minnesota legislative session has begun in Saint Paul and nitrate contamination is top of mind for our legislators. Next week, committees in both the State House and Senate will host hearings about nitrates in our soil and water. This is an opportunity to make it known that Minnesotans expect our state’s decisionmakers to… Read More →
UPDATE (11/12/12): Since this blog was originally published, Winona County was informed by the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board that the error of stating that the MPCA did the Environmental Assessment Worksheet means that the process must be restarted. The new timeline has not yet been established. This is a good first step and Winona County… Read More →
When it comes to farming, oftentimes things don’t work out as planned—and sometimes that’s a good thing. Take for example Greg and Nancy Rasmussen, who on a recent fall afternoon are checking on some newly arrived chicks gathered under heat lamps in their barn. When the Rasmussens enrolled in the Land Stewardship Project’s Farm Beginnings course… Read More →
Corporate Interests’ Lawsuit is Last-Ditch Effort to Undo Frac Sand Ban WINONA, Minn. — The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) this week filed a notice of intervention in a lawsuit challenging Winona County over its ordinance prohibiting frac sand operations. LSP is taking this legal action to represent the interests of its Winona County members whose… Read More →
I am a Planning Commissioner in Florence Township, which is in southeast Minnesota’s Goodhue County. I am also chair of the Save-The-Bluffs Citizen’s group and a new member of the Land Stewardship Project. I have been heavily involved in the silica frac sand issue here in Goodhue County since May 2011. I was retired once,… Read More →
