The telephone rang late one afternoon in early October. It was a call from a jubilant, if exhausted, dairy farmer who said he’d planted 20 acres of rye the previous night. He said he’d been attending Land Stewardship Project cover crop/soil health events and that despite the pitfalls of harvest, machinery and too much rain,… Read More →
As Midwestern farm fields take a long winter’s nap, evidence is piling up that even when the temperature’s above freezing, all that soil is basically in a bit of a stupor—so devoid of microbial life that it can’t even produce a decent crop without getting a hit of chemical inputs. The latest proof of this… Read More →
Saturday, Oct. 5, has been billed the National Day of Dignity and Respect as thousands around the country will join together in calling on Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform. In Minnesota, members of our state’s faith, business, labor, law enforcement and immigrant communities share the goal of comprehensive immigration reform. As a result, a… Read More →
I have never doubted my Honda Civic before. It has served me well in my work with the Land Stewardship Project and otherwise as I traverse west-central Minnesota. Last week it was tested as I drove Ann Bartuska, USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics, to a family farm in the region. Also… Read More →
By the time he was 20, Nolan Lenzen had already completed a dairy management course at a local college and launched a farming career in partnership with his father and grandfather. They were milking 90 cows in a tie-stall barn and cropping 300 acres near the south-central Minnesota community of Watertown. Some might say it… Read More →
Do you own farmland and want to make sure it is taken care of using good stewardship practices? A series of “Managing for Stewardship” workshops will be held in Minnesota during January and February. These workshops are for farmland owners, retired farm men and women, those inheriting a farmland investment and farmers who would like… Read More →
Note: This is the 9th installment in the 12-part “A Sense of Where You Are” series. When someone calls Matthew Fitzgerald for advice about getting into organic crop production, the central Minnesota farmer’s first response is a question of his own: “Do you own a fishing boat?” If they say yes, Fitzgerald then recommends they sell… Read More →
The Federal Farm Bill is the single most important piece of legislation shaping our farm and food system. It spends over $1.5 trillion on nutrition programs, crop insurance, commodity programs, conservation programs, and more. The next Farm Bill, which could still be passed this spring or by early summer, impacts each and every one of… Read More →
We’re Turning 40! In 2022, the Land Stewardship Project is celebrating 40 years of keeping the land and people together On this page you will find a schedule of the special evens will be holding to recognize our birthday. Check back here for updates as new events are scheduled. Summer & Fall: Regional Bonfire Celebrations… Read More →
Nov. 20: An LSP Round-up of News Covering Land, People & Communities Grassland 2.0 Aims to Replace Soy and Corn Farming with Perennial Pasture in the Upper Midwest (11/11/20) With $10 million in funding from the USDA, Grassland 2.0 is a five-year project housed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison that aims to begin transforming the… Read More →
