UTICA, Minn. — Over 100 family farmers and rural residents gathered in Utica May 11 to discuss federal agricultural policy reforms during a special Land Stewardship Project (LSP) meeting with U.S. Rep. Tim Walz. Participants in the meeting made it clear that the 2018 Farm Bill needs to support family farms, conservation, beginning farmers and… Read More →
It is becoming clearer that the chances of the U.S. Congress passing a new Farm Bill by the Sept. 30 deadline are slim. The main roadblock is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and the expanded work requirements called for in the House version. The House and Senate versions of the Farm Bill are currently… Read More →
It’s not every day that you see the words “unicyclists” and “farming” used in the same sentence, but here we go: national and world champion unicyclists Andy Cotter and Irene Genelin launched a farming operation a half-a-dozen years ago. Now, this is the part of the story that cries out for a familiar trope like… Read More →
NOTE: Land Stewardship Project Healthcare Organizing Committee member Al Kruse recently wrote this letter to the editor of the Marshall Independent: The April 27 Marshall Independent editorial about healthcare gets one important thing right: We have a lot of work to do to make quality, affordable healthcare available in our rural communities. Unfortunately, it is… Read More →
Finding the weakest link in a farming operation is often easier said than done. But sometimes a few energetic pigs accomplish the task quite nicely. “Today, fencing suddenly moved up the list as our weakest link,” quips Paul Freid on a brisk day in early May. He and his wife Sara, along with their 11-year-old… Read More →
The Land Stewardship Project, sustainable agriculture and family farming lost a true friend this week when Dan Specht was killed in a tragic farm accident. He was 63. (See obituary here.) Dan, who farmed above the banks of the Mississippi River near McGregor, in northeast Iowa, had been a pioneer in innovative, sustainable farming methods… Read More →
The deadline for farmers to enroll in the 2015 Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) has been extended to March 13. Farmers now have an additional two weeks to submit applications for new contracts. The deadline for farmers to renew existing contracts is still March 31. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has also released full information… Read More →
Judy Rose of Miltona, Minn., owns two quarter sections in North Dakota’s Nelson County— 320 acres of prairie pothole habitat in which she has maintained several areas of wetland. She is a participant in Land Stewardship Project’s Women Caring for the Land group of non-operating women landowners in the Pope County region of western Minnesota.… Read More →
I live with my family and raise fruits and vegetables in Oronoco, Minn. As a beginning farmer, I understand the need for access to credit and think that Farm Service Agency (FSA) loans are critical to the farm economy, as they allow loans to be given to smaller or beginning farmer when banks don’t want… Read More →
LEWISTON, Minn. — The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) today released a strategic plan that describes how, during the next five years, the Minnesota-based organization will work with its members and allies to support the next generation of farmers and drive rural economic revitalization via community-based food systems, as well as help farmers adopt soil health… Read More →
