Governor Mark Dayton announced in January his proposal to require an additional 125,000 acres of perennial vegetation along lakes, rivers and streams. There is a long history of utilizing such living borders to filter out fertilizers and herbicides, while fortifying streambanks and reducing the amount of eroded soil that ends up in the water. While… Read More →
Sept. 25: An LSP Round-up of News Covering Land, People & Communities Very large farms collect one-fifth of USDA’s coronavirus payments (9/23/20) Chuck Abbott reports on Agriculture.com that the government’s COVID-19 payments to agriculture have been a gravy train for mega-operations. According to an analysis done by the Environmental Working Group, the largest 1% of… Read More →
The Minnesota Environmental Quality Board (EQB) is holding a public meeting in Red Wing at the St. James Hotel on Monday, March 25, at 5 p.m., to discuss the value of a Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) on nitrate pollution in the karst area of southeastern Minnesota. (RSVP here.) Two million dollars is proposed in… Read More →
Sign Up for E-mail Delivery of The Land Line Opinion: Huge Dairy Operations Change the Fabric of Farm Country (5/28/26) Dairy farmer Duane Holker writes in the Minnesota Star Tribune that plans to build the largest dairy operation in Minnesota are a threat to producers like himself, as well as rural communities in general. Highlights:… Read More →
Surrounded by Crops in Minnesota Farm Country, but with Little to Eat (2/26/25) Star Tribune columnist Karen Tolkkinen writes about the paradox plaguing rural communities in western Minnesota: despite massive amounts of land being devoted to agricultural production, little fresh, affordable food is available for local residents. Highlights: A recent study of the food system in… Read More →
LEWISTON, Minn. — Winona County residents are hailing the passage of a comprehensive bill that makes significant changes to the investigation of fish kills in Minnesota. The legislation, which was passed during the recently concluded session of the state Legislature, was pushed by a group of local residents after a series of fish kills in their… Read More →
Claim: Grazed Grasslands Trump Cover Crops on Long-term Carbon Sequestration (6/5/22) The Food and Environment Reporting Network reports on research showing that rotationally grazed pastures sequester more carbon than annual cropping systems. An ongoing 29-year-old field experiment in Wisconsin shows that perennial pastures managed with rotational grazing accumulated 18% to 29% more soil organic carbon… Read More →
The past few months have been harder than ever for thousands of Minnesotans. Our communities were already facing a serious farm crisis, inaccessible and unaffordable healthcare, increasing impacts of climate change, corporate consolidation across our economy, and more. On top of that, a pandemic has wreaked havoc on our healthcare system, farm and food system,… Read More →
Policy Changes & Market Support Could Help State Become Leader in Carbon Farming MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Farming systems that build healthy soil by keeping the land covered in vegetation year-round have the potential to lower the net greenhouse gas emissions produced by Minnesota’s crops and livestock by as much as 30% while cutting nitrogen pollution… Read More →
The Land Stewardship Project’s State Policy Steering Committee convened last week to start setting LSP’s state policy priorities for the 2019 Minnesota Legislative Session, which begins Jan. 8. The committee, made up of LSP members who are farmers and leaders in their communities, directs what LSP supports and champions on the state level. Below are… Read More →
