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Searched for: milk cows closeup grazing

LSP Calls for Full Environmental Review of Unprecedented CAFO Proposal in West-Central MN

Riverview Expansion Would be Nearly Double the Size of Any Existing State Livestock Operation; MPCA Comments Due by May 7

March 9, 2026

MORRIS, Minn. — The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) is calling for a thorough environmental review of an unprecedented proposal that would create the largest livestock operation in the state. Riverview, LLP is proposing to expand an existing concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) in Stevens County to 18,855 dairy cattle, resulting in 26,397 animal units housed… Read More →

Soil Health: Short-Term Gains, Long-Term Dividends

By Brian DeVore

January 14, 2020

How One Farm’s Focus on Soil Health Helped Make Row-Cropping Viable…& Fun The economic benefits of building soil health are a balancing act between immediate payoff and delayed gratification. In an ideal situation, the source of those quick profits will set the foundation for a longer-term investment that pays dividends. For example, Dawn and Grant… Read More →

Public-Private Prairie Partnership

By Brian DeVore

November 26, 2019

A BioBlitz Highlights the Role Livestock Farmers Can Play in Habitat Improvement It’s the kind of overcast day in June that leaves one wondering if the sun decided to take an extended summer holiday. But as heavy thunderstorms threaten this part of Big Stone County in western Minnesota, some 130-people break up into teams and… Read More →

Farm Beginnings Profile: Micro Goals-Big Plans

By Brian DeVore

March 15, 2015

Walking down a sloping lane on a spring afternoon, Luke and Liana Tessum surprise an Angus beef cow wandering up from a bottomland paddock. The lone bovine, and 18 cow-calf pairs grazing on the pasture below, represent the reaching of what the 30-something couple calls yet one more “micro-goal.” In December, the Tessums paid off… Read More →

LSP White Paper Highlights Dairy Consolidation’s Negative Impacts in Minnesota & Calls for Direct Policy Action

Riverview Proposal Could be a ‘Game Changer’ for State’s Farmers & Rural Communities

April 23, 2026

MORRIS, Minn. — As state regulators consider an unprecedented proposal for creating the largest livestock operation in Minnesota, it’s clear a convergence of rapid consolidation, economic distress and large-scale expansion raises urgent questions about whether existing policies are adequately protecting fair competition, rural communities and public resources, argues a new white paper released by the Land… Read More →

LSP Applauds State Supreme Court’s Rejection of Daley Appeal

Ruling Comes After Yearslong Attempt to Circumvent Winona County’s Local Rules Related to CAFOs

March 19, 2025

LEWISTON, Minn. — The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) applauded the Minnesota Supreme Court’s recent decision to deny a Winona County factory farm owner’s attempt to circumvent Winona County’s rules governing the size of livestock operations. On March 18, Chief Justice Natalie Hudson announced that the Court would not hear an appeal filed by Daley Farm… Read More →

Land Line: Land Baron Gates, Regenerative Grazing, Cost of Soil Loss, High Commodity Prices, EQIP Misses the Mark, COVID & OSHA

By Brian DeVore

January 15, 2021

Jan. 15: An LSP Round-up of News Covering Land, People & Communities Bill Gates: America’s Top Farmland Owner (1/15/21) Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda Gates are now the largest private farmland owners in the U.S., according to The Land Report. Highlights: They have accumulated a massive farmland portfolio — 242,000 acres —… Read More →

Pope County Field Day to Focus on Grazing Pasture & Cover Crops

July 16, 2019

BROOTEN, Minn. — A field day on grazing techniques will he held Thursday, Aug. 1, from 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., at the Terry and Darlene Barchenger farm near Broken (10412 230th St., Brooten, MN 56316-4566). The field day will focus mainly on beef cattle management, but these practices can be applied to all classes… Read More →

Renting It Out Right: A Hilltop View of the Land’s Potential

Mark Erickson’s Relationship with Landowners is Rooted in Healthy Soil

By Brian DeVore

June 20, 2019

When considering significant changes to the way one farms, there’s nothing like a couple acres of convincer, a template for the potential offered up by tapping into the land’s ability to build soil health in an economically viable manner utilizing livestock and perennial plants. Mark Erickson points out just such a personal proving ground on… Read More →

Land Line: Dairy $$ Impact, Farm Bankruptcies, Seed Antitrust, Nitrates, Bat Bucks, Busting Bees, Pesticides & Cancer, Compost

By Brian DeVore (editor)

May 29, 2026

Sign Up for E-mail Delivery of The Land Line Opinion: Huge Dairy Operations Change the Fabric of Farm Country (5/28/26) Dairy farmer Duane Holker writes in the Minnesota Star Tribune that plans to build the largest dairy operation in Minnesota are a threat to producers like himself, as well as rural communities in general. Highlights:… Read More →