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 →
The Land Stewardship Project’s annual Family Farm Breakfast and Lobby Day serves as a prime opportunity for our members to get together with lawmakers and discuss the issues they most care about. As the lead organizer focusing on issues related to land access, it’s my job during the day to facilitate meetings between beginning farmers… Read More →
Oct. 15: An LSP Round-up of News Covering Land, People & Communities World Food Prize Laureate Advocates for Re-Carbonizing Soil to Protect Food Production (10/13/20) Soil scientist Rattan Lal, the 2020 Word Food Prize laureate, makes the case that agriculture globally must take better care of its most valuable resource to not only produce more,… Read More →
The 2017 Minnesota state legislative session is complete, including a four-day special session that was needed for the Legislature to finish passing a budget. Land Stewardship Project members and staff were active throughout the session fighting for healthcare policies that put people before corporate profits. On a positive note for healthcare, the Legislature provided short-term… Read More →
When it comes to youth programs centered around gardening and farming, a common mantra is, “We’re teaching kids about where their food comes from.” Sounds laudable, but to Marcos Giossi, such a feel-good goal is too limiting when it comes to exposing young people to the realities of the farm and food system that dominates.… Read More →
Sign Up for E-mail Delivery of The Land Line Report Accuses Corporate Dairy of ‘Greenwashing’ (6/1/26) The Wisconsin Examiner reports on a study showing that claims by the largest meat and dairy companies that their practices are sustainable are mostly “greenwashing” and are based on unsubstantiated claims. Highlights: The report, published in the journal PLOS… Read More →
MORRIS, Minn. — The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) today sharply criticized the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s (MPCA) decision to allow Riverview LLP’s massive West River Dairy expansion to move forward without requiring a full environmental impact statement (EIS). If approved, the project would expand the operation from 7,855 cows to 18,855 cows, making it the… 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 →
Harvey Benson had a simple transition plan for the farm that had been in his family since the late 1860s: he would continue living on those 160 acres until he died, and then it would be passed on to his partner, Bonita Underbakke. In fact, when people ask him if he’s lived on the farm… Read More →
Local Residents Deliver 687 Postcards from Across Minnesota to Jeff Kohlnhofer at Kohlnhofer Insurance Agency LAKEVILLE, Minn.—In the wake of a ruling from the Minnesota Court of Appeals, rural neighbors to a proposed factory hog farm in Goodhue County’s Zumbrota Township gathered in Lakeville today to announce their next steps in the fight to stop… Read More →
