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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

January 30, 2025

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

By Brian DeVore
January 10, 2025

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

By Shea-Lynn Ramthun
November 16, 2024

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 →

INPUT NEEDED: Submit MDA Legislative Ideas by Aug. 16

What Would You Like to See the MDA Support During the 2025 Legislative Session?

August 8, 2024

Minnesota’s state agencies are in the midst of gathering information and setting their priorities for the 2025 legislative session. They are deciding how they should spend their dollars, what programs to continue, what policy changes are needed, and more. What do you need? Could you take five minutes to share your ideas with the Minnesota Department…  Read More →

Don Wyse’s Land Grant Legacy

It's Imperative Forever Green Stays True to its Foundations: Farmer-Centered, Accountable to the Public, Rooted in the Land

By Brian DeVore
July 5, 2024

Back in 1998, I was working on an article for the Land Stewardship Letter about how the lack of biodiversity in agriculture was threatening the agronomic, ecological, and economic future of Midwestern farming communities. One of the people I interviewed was Don Wyse, a respected University of Minnesota plant scientist who had recently helped coordinate…  Read More →

No. 1, 2024, Land Stewardship Letter

• An online version of the Land Stewardship Letter is here. • A downloadable pdf version is here. • Downloadable pdf back issues of the Land Stewardship Letter are here. • Interactive online back issues of the Land Stewardship Letter are here. • Paper copies are available by contacting Brian DeVore at 612-816-9342 or via e-mail. Table of Contents Stewardship…  Read More →

Tell Congress to Reject False Climate ‘Solutions’ & Factory Farm Funding in the Farm Bill

May 14, 2024

The USDA’s Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) are essential initiatives that give tens of thousands of farmers the tools they need to implement sustainable practices such as cover cropping and managed rotational grazing. Yet, a significant majority of farmers who apply to these programs are unable to access funding. In 2023, only…  Read More →

2024 Minnesota Legislative Session Update: Less Than One Month Left! 

By Amanda Koehler & Laura Schreiber 
April 25, 2024

There is less than one month left in the 2024 Minnesota legislative session. This week, the House and Senate are finalizing and passing their separate omnibus policy and supplemental budget bills, which will then be sent to conference committees where differences between the proposals will be hammered out.   This session, the Land Stewardship Project has…  Read More →

‘Soil Health Economics’ Workshop March 19 in Ridgeway, Iowa

March 6, 2024

RIDGEWAY, Iowa — How can we put a dollar value on soil health? That will be the topic of discussion during a “Soil Health Economics: Learn the Value of Low-Input, Soil-Building Farm Systems” workshop on Tuesday, March 19, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Ridgeway Community Center (690 County Street). Sign-in for this…  Read More →