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 →
On a fall day just south of West Union in northeastern Iowa, Loran and Brenda Steinlage’s harvested field borders two sides of the local USDA Natural Resources Conservation office. With the green foliage of cover crops peeking through a thick mat of corn residue, their field provides a beautiful example of soil conservation amidst a… Read More →
Soil, cows, ecology, economics: to milk producer Derek Schmitz, they are all linked, and that feeds his optimism even as tough times cast a shadow over dairy farming. More Information • LSP’s Grazing & Soil Health Web Page • Soil Health Academy Case Study: Derek & Taylor Schmitz • Regenerative Livestock Systems Symposium: April 5, 2024 You can… Read More →
On a misty June morning in northeastern Iowa, Nikki Meyer led half-a-dozen farmers down a field road through a thick stand of oaks and other hardwoods. The going was tough — the road dropped 400 vertical feet in less than half-a-mile, and a half-inch rain earlier had made the footing greasy with mud. Sensing that… Read More →
By building soil biology via managed grazing, Langdon Collom is learning that expanding a farm’s capacity doesn’t always require horizontal expansion — sometimes you can simply go vertical. More Information • LSP’s Grazing & Soil Health Web Page • Match Made in Heaven: Livestock + Crops • Sustainable Farming Association • Midwest Grazing Exchange • Minnesota Cropland… Read More →
CALEDONIA, Minn. — See, discuss and go in-depth on soil health and grazing with an internationally known regenerative farming expert Thursday, Aug. 18, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Jordan and Rachelle Meyer farm near Caledonia (15091 Crazy Corners Road). Allen Williams, a veteran regenerative producer and consultant, will lead the tour. This event… Read More →
DECORAH, Iowa — Extended fall grazing will be the focus of a Land Stewardship Project (LSP) pasture walk/grazing group kick-off meeting Nov. 11, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Canoe Creek Dairy near Decorah (2954 Middle Sattre Road). This event is free and open to the public and registration begins at 9:45 a.m.; lunch… Read More →
I recently witnessed the return of life to Jordan and Rachelle Meyers’ fields, which are transitioning from giant ragweed and thistles into soil-building plants such as chicory, red clover, and wild bergamot. During the past few years, the family, which farms in southeastern Minnesota’s Houston County, has used hard work and attention to the soil… Read More →
There are upsides to launching a farm on raw, open land: no broken-down outbuildings or junk piles to deal with, the ability to truly start anew from the soil up. Then…there’s the other side of the fence, so to speak. “I decided to move the sheep before they move themselves,” says Hannah Bernhardt with a… Read More →
One of the best approaches for combating climate change lies beneath every Midwestern farm: the soil. By increasing soil organic carbon, farmers can help the climate, their bottom lines, and their farms and communities better adapt to the impacts of extreme weather. The Land Stewardship Project is part of the Midwest Sustainable Agriculture Working Group… Read More →
