LEWISTON, Minn. — Corporate agriculture interests have failed in their attempt to limit the time the public has to submit comments to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) about a massive dairy project’s potential environmental risks. A lawsuit was filed in Ramsey County District Court seeking to prevent the comment period for an Environmental Assessment… Read More →
UPDATE (11/1/18): On October 31, the Ramsey County District Court rejected the attempts by corporate ag to squelch public comment on an environmental review of the mega-dairy expansion proposal described below. District Court Judge Jennifer L. Frisch ruled yesterday against an injunction filed by several Minnesota corporate ag groups seeking to limit the public comment… Read More →
UPDATE (10/10/18): We have learned that Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Commissioner John Linc Stine is making a decision on this tomorrow, and we need calls into him by noon on Thursday, Oct. 11. We need to take action to ensure that there is a process that provides for meaningful public participation and that fully evaluates… 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 →
UPDATE: Farmers and rural Minnesotans are standing up and taking action to stop the spread of factory farms in Minnesota. We are in the remaining weeks of the Legislature and things are moving fast. But thanks to action taken by LSP members and supporters, the corporate-backed factory farm provision detailed in this letter didn’t make… Read More →
Minnesota Sands Announces Intentions to Target Fillmore & Winona Counties for More Mining The Minnesota Environmental Quality Board (EQB) made the right decision May 21 by tabling the issue of taking a Houston County mine out of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) ordered on the multi-site Minnesota Sands, LLC, frac sand mining project. Thus, the… Read More →
Winona County officials apparently now have a much better understanding of their role as the “Responsible Governmental Unit” in the environmental review process for frac sand mines, and the concerns LSP raised recently (see previous blog post) will be addressed before the Yoder and Dabelstein EAWs are re-published. We’ve learned that County Planning Department staff… Read More →
UPDATE (11/12/12): Since this blog was originally published, Winona County was informed by the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board that the error of stating that the MPCA did the Environmental Assessment Worksheet means that the process must be restarted. The new timeline has not yet been established. This is a good first step and Winona County… Read More →
How critical is nitrogen to raising corn in the Midwest? Well, consider the fact that farmers feel compelled to pay for it, even at a time when the war with Iran is sending prices to dizzying heights during the 2026 planting season. The agronomic value of nitrogen became clear during a special oversight hearing held… Read More →
On a recent morning in late February, a couple dozen farmers stood in front of a wall of words and pictures, imagining what the future might look like. Just a few minutes before, the farmers had sat at tables in a sunny room of the Chatfield Center for the Arts in southeastern Minnesota, using felt-tipped… Read More →
