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Farmers Gather in Rochester to Discuss Strategies for Diversifying Cropping Systems

Importance of Partnerships Focus of LSP’s ‘Beyond Exports’ Meeting

January 28, 2026

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Diversifying the region’s cropping systems beyond raw, export-driven commodities like corn and soybeans will require a team effort, said the farmer-presenters at the “Beyond Exports: Rebuilding Local Markets” meeting held at the Rochester International Event Center Jan. 27. More than 125 farmers from Minnesota and Iowa gathered for the Land Stewardship Project…  Read More →

Growing New Grains for Better Bread

LSP Small Grain Workshop Helps Spawn New Ideas on a W MN Farm

By Jenny Bredeken
December 3, 2025

Note: LSP believes that a more sustainable food production system must be based on the kinds of farmer-to-farmer education networks that thrive at workshops, field days, and during informal conversations in the field and at the kitchen table. That’s why LSP is committed to building Soil Health Hubs and otherwise bringing farmers together to share…  Read More →

Farm Transition Profile: Full Circle

One LSP Course Helped Launch Melissa Driscoll & Jay Hambidge's Ag Career — Years Later, Another Helped Wrap It Up

By Brian DeVore
November 13, 2025

Note: LSP’s next Farm Transition Planning Course will begin meeting Jan. 27, 2026. For details and information on how to enroll, click here. Sometimes a successful farm transition requires a shoulder season — a period when the current owners are still present, still have their hands in the soil, so to speak, but the newbies…  Read More →

 ‘Big Ag, Big Problems’ Panel to Feature 2 Experts on Consolidation Nov. 4 in Lanesboro

Authors of 'Barons' & 'Dodge County' to Speak

October 27, 2025

LANESBORO, Minn. — The impacts on rural communities of unprecedented consolidation in agriculture and what local citizens can do to address this issue will be the focus of a Land Stewardship Project (LSP) panel discussion Tuesday, Nov. 4, from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., at the Lanesboro Community Center (202 Parkway Ave. South). To reserve…  Read More →

Economic Sustainability: Financial Field-Talk

3rd in a Series on LSP's Soil Health Hubs

By Brian DeVore
October 14, 2025

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 →

Local Democracy Challenge Launched by LSP in MN

Initiative Aims to Increase Citizen Engagement with Local Officials & Processes in Non-election Years

October 1, 2025

MONTEVIDEO, Minn. — The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) today launched an initiative in Minnesota communities aimed at increasing citizen engagement in the local democratic process. The Local Democracy Challenge, which runs through Nov. 26, outlines six areas of direct action that citizens can take in a non-general election year. The public is invited to participate…  Read More →

Land Line: Farm Finance Crisis, Mental Health, Inflated Inputs, Crop-Livestock Synergy, Bread Bloat, Pesticides in Water, Soil Health & MAHA

By Brian DeVore (editor)
August 9, 2025

Minnesota Farmers Seek State Aid as Foreclosure Crisis Looms (8/8/25) Financially strapped Minnesota farmers are asking the state to intervene with their lenders at a midsummer rate not seen in almost a decade, reports the Star Tribune. Highlights: In June, 197 farmers filed notice for help from the University of Minnesota Extension’s Farmer-Lender Mediation program.…  Read More →

LSP Legislative Update: Heading into the Final Days

Local Food, Land Access & Soil Health Proposals Still Alive

By Laura Schreiber
May 7, 2025

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 →

Western MN Farmers Share Stories with Attorney General on How Consolidation is Devastating their Communities

LSP Meeting Highlights the Importance of Reporting Antitrust Activity in Agriculture

March 7, 2025

DONNELLY, Minn. — As winter winds howled outside, farmers gathered in a machine shed near Donnelly on March 4 to share stories with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison on how consolidation in everything from livestock markets to ag implement repairs is negatively impacting their operations and communities. The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) meeting was held…  Read More →

Land Line: Bird Flu, Egg Prices, Immigration, Funding Freeze, Conservation $$

Feb. 17: An LSP Round-up of News Covering Land, People & Communities

By Brian DeVore
February 17, 2025

The Unnatural History of Bird Flu (2/12/25) Science journalist Brandon Keim, writing in Nautilus, provides an in-depth overview of the causes of the current H5N1 avian influenza outbreak, which has resulted in the death of 150 million chickens and turkeys, either by the virus itself or due to euthanasia as officials attempt to curb its spread.…  Read More →