The U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee passed its version of the 2018 Farm Bill on Wednesday, June 13. We expect a vote on the bill by the full Senate in coming weeks. This bill is an improvement on what was introduced and failed in the House of Representatives last month. In fact, because of the hard… Read More →
UPDATE: The House Farm Bill was voted down 212-198 on Friday, May 18; click here for details. Today (Friday May 18th), the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote on the 2018 Farm Bill, H.R. 2. This is a disastrous bill and your Representative needs to hear your opposition. Click here for instructions on… Read More →
PRESTON, Minn.—“Cover Crops, No-Till and More” will be the focus of a special soil health workshop Friday, Feb. 16, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at St. Columban Church (408 Preston St. NW) in Preston. This Land Stewardship Project (LSP) workshop will feature West Union, Iowa, farmer Loran Steinlage. There will also be short presentations… Read More →
The Campaign for Family Farms and the Environment (CFFE), with member organizations in four Midwest farm states, criticized U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue’s Farm Bill priorities released today for not reforming programs currently hurting independent family farms, rural economies and clean water while supporting corporate interests—including factory farm livestock and dairy operations. CFFE… Read More →
The Land Stewardship Project has been fighting a proposal making its way through the Minnesota Legislature this year that would double the size factory farms can be before environmental review is required. Proponents of the bill are pushing hard, and have been justifying this outrageous proposal by providing inaccurate information about the history of the… Read More →
Without MPCA Citizens’ Board, Neighbors Shut Out of Decision ZUMBROTA TOWNSHIP, Minn. — The Commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has decided an inaccurate and incomplete Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) on a proposed factory hog farm in Goodhue County’s Zumbrota Township will not be corrected. Neighbors to the proposed facility learned late last… Read More →
NOTE: At the Land Stewardship Project’s event celebrating the passage of the Winona County frac sand ban in southeastern Minnesota, LSP Winona County Organizing Committee members reflected on their involvement and the work that went into organizing the successful campaign for a ban. Committee member Cathy Groebner of St. Charles, Minn., gave these remarks at… Read More →
*This blog contains new information as of Nov. 1* The individual health insurance market, the place where many self-employed individuals purchase medical insurance is — candidly — a mess. Many Land Stewardship Project members are adversely affected by the current state of this market: premiums exploding, coverage choices dwindling, provider networks shrinking. What are the… Read More →
Wisconsin Example Serves as a Warning to Minnesota Communities A new Land Stewardship Project report released today shows that the frac sand mining industry in Wisconsin is systemically disregarding state regulations, a red flag to communities in Minnesota that are grappling with the onslaught of this industrial activity. The report, which is based on an… Read More →
Gary Van Ryswyk’s concern for how his farming methods impact the landscape is obvious. A practitioner of a no-till system that avoids disturbing a field’s surface as much as possible, he is particularly focused on keeping soil in place. “None of us who farm want the soil to move—we care,” Van Ryswyk told me one… Read More →
