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Soil Health & Racial Justice — What?!

Farmers Seeking to Create a Just, De-centralized, Diverse Food & Farming System Talk Economic & Racial Justice

By Barbara Sogn-Frank
April 5, 2022

The Questions… What does soil health have to do with racial justice? Why does the Land Stewardship Project write articles and posts about racial justice for mostly homogenous, white audiences in rural, farming communities? From time to time, LSP soil health organizers are asked these questions by farmers at our field days and workshops. Some…  Read More →

Winona County BOA Denial of CAFO Variance a Win for Farms, People & the Land

It's Time to Start Investing in a Sustainable Ag Economy

By Tim Ahrens, Sam Streukens & Matthew Sheets
December 2, 2021

Today, the voice of the people in Winona county prevailed against an attempt by a factory dairy farm to blow by local, sensible limitations on the number of animals (and thus the amount of manure) that can be housed in one location. After thoroughly considering the evidence, the Winona County Board of Adjustment once again…  Read More →

The Importance of Investing in Soil Health & Resilient Rural Communities

By Sam Streukens
October 26, 2021

Around a decade ago, while driving past a farm field in southeastern Minnesota, Bob Christie turned to DJ Mueller with a nervous question: “So you’re saying my fields are going to look like that?” With farmers adapting to a changing climate and volatile markets, DJ knew that he and Bob must prioritize soil health over…  Read More →

Land Line: Greenwashing Manure, Climate & Organics, Graziers Needed, Black Farmers, Rural Health Crisis

By Brian DeVore
January 7, 2021

Jan. 7: An LSP Round-up of News Covering Land, People & Communities As the Livestock Industry Touts Manure-to-Energy Projects, Environmentalists Cry ‘Greenwashing’ (12/7/21) Inside Climate News reports that as utilities, oil companies, and livestock companies pitch biogas (turning manure into energy) as an emissions-reducing solution, critics say it simply locks in systems that allow two…  Read More →

Channeling Water’s Power Profitably

By Brian DeVore
June 17, 2020

Farmers Battle Saturated Soils with More Roots in the Ground To Tom Cotter, the various natural resources his farming operation relies on don’t operate in a vacuum. Rather, they have a relational quality — the role one resource plays in keeping his business viable depends on how it interacts with other resources. For example, rain…  Read More →

The ‘Big Reveal’

By Barbara Sogn-Frank
March 31, 2020

The Coronavirus Pandemic Unmasks a Brutal, Multinational Food & Farming System that’s as Unsustainable as the Economic Model that Created it As the coronavirus disrupts “normal” life in America and worldwide—and we ride the rapids of shifting strategy and messaging from the White House, its cabinet, and Congressional leaders — the pandemic also shines light…  Read More →

Soil Health: Short-Term Gains, Long-Term Dividends

By Brian DeVore
January 14, 2020

How One Farm’s Focus on Soil Health Helped Make Row-Cropping Viable…& Fun The economic benefits of building soil health are a balancing act between immediate payoff and delayed gratification. In an ideal situation, the source of those quick profits will set the foundation for a longer-term investment that pays dividends. For example, Dawn and Grant…  Read More →

Farm Transition Profile: The Goal Standard of Farming

By Brian DeVore
January 10, 2020

One day in 2014, a man stopped by Bill and Bonnie McMillin’s farm tucked away in the hills of southeastern Minnesota’s Wabasha County and offered to pay cash for all 160 acres, lock, stock and barrel. Such an offer can be tempting. After all, Bill and Bonnie had worked hard over the previous few decades…  Read More →

Ear to the Ground 226: What Does Justice Look Like?

This is the third and final episode in a series titled, “Farming on Stolen Land.” These three episodes were developed by LSP staff member Elizabeth Makarewicz as a guide to exploring issues of native land justice and equity in Minnesota’s food system. In this episode, writer and scholar Waziyatawin shares with Elizabeth her vision of land justice for the Dakota people.