Ear to the Ground 151
Using conservation grazing to keep wildlife refuges, prairies and other natural areas healthy.
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Ear to the Ground 135
How farmers are improving trout streams with grazing.
LSP Mourns the Loss of Farmer-Leader Dan Specht
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 →
LSP Legislative Update: Heading into the Final Days
Local Food, Land Access & Soil Health Proposals Still Alive
As the 2025 session of the Minnesota Legislature heads into its final two weeks — barring a special session — proposals related to several Land Stewardship Project priorities remain alive. Both the House and Senate have passed their respective Agriculture Bills, and now the proposals head into the conference committee process — the system within which lawmakers… Read More →
Farmland for Rent: Minnesota
Wendy is seeking a renter for 3 grazing acres in Wright County, MN. There is a potential for rental housing, a barn and a chicken coop. There is also some fencing and closer to the house there is a well for watering. The acreage is on a gravel dead end road near Maria State Park. … Read More →
Land Line: Small Grains, Manure, Soil Carbon, Rural Empowerment, Regenerative Generation
Feb. 3: An LSP Round-up of News Covering Land, People & Communities
Growing Small Grains Market in Albert Lea Attracting Attention from Farmers (1/28/25) KAAL-TV reports on a Land Stewardship Project workshop where over 150 people gathered to talk about ways of bringing small grains back to Minnesota. Highlights: After being mostly replaced by corn and soybeans during the past several decades, small grains such as oats… Read More →
Farmers Gather in Albert Lea to Talk About ‘Bringing Small Grains Back to Minnesota’
Attendees from 3 States Heard National, Local Ag Leaders Discuss the Economic, Agronomic & Environmental Opportunities Crops Like Oats Can Provide
ALBERT LEA, Minn. — Corn and soybeans may dominate the agricultural landscape in southern Minnesota and northern Iowa, but reintroducing small grains such as oats into the rotation could help make farming more economically, agronomically and environmentally sustainable, while serving a growing consumer demand for healthy food, said a panel of national and local experts during… Read More →
A Sense of Where You Are: Against the Grain
Part 12 in a Series
Note: This is the 12th installment in the 12-part “A Sense of Where You Are” series. In case Allen and Kathleen Deutz need a reminder of one of the main reasons corn dominates the landscape in their part of southwestern Minnesota, they need to look no further than the massive Archer-Daniels-Midland ethanol plant that rises to… Read More →
Oats & The 3-Legged Stool of Farm Resiliency
This Humble Grain Represents One Commonsense Approach to Diversifying the Landscape
In case you haven’t noticed, the humble oat is having a bit of a moment. After decades of declines in oat plantings in Minnesota, acreage increased this year. Market demand for the small grain is up, a group of farmers are attempting to pull together funding for a major processing plant in southern Minnesota, and… Read More →
Aleta Borrud
Aleta Borrud is a retired physician who brings to LSP her passion for rural healthcare access. Aleta first engaged with LSP’s policy efforts to expand MinnesotaCare, but after inheriting a small grains farm in western North Dakota, she became invested in understanding how soil health principles could counter soil acidification and provide resistance to drought,… Read More →