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Land Line: Food Monopolies, Soil Sisters, Bird Benefits, Soil Research Cuts, Farm Divorce, Agro-Environmentalist, China’s Soybean Supplier, Nebraska Nitrates

By Brian DeVore (editor)
December 31, 2025

Unsealed Antitrust Complaint Reveals Key Factor in High Food Prices: Corporate Behemoths (12/18/25) Writing in the Minnesota Reformer, the Minnesota Farmers Union’s Justin Stofferahn describes how monopolization of the food industry and failure to enforce antitrust laws has harmed consumers. Highlights: A newly unsealed antitrust complaint provides a unique look at price discrimination in practice,…  Read More →

Land Line: Commodity Ag Regrets, Bailout Blues, Corn & Climate, USDA Regenerative Ag Pilot, Manure Monitoring, Conservation & Community, Farmer-to-Farmer

By Brian DeVore (editor)
December 16, 2025

Iowa Farm & Rural Life Poll: 2025 Summary (November) The majority of farmers responding to the latest Iowa Farm & Rural Life Poll feel that a reliance on specialized commodity agriculture is bad for them and their communities. Highlights: Sixty-nine percent agreed with the statement “Increased specialization in commodities (corn, soybeans, hogs, etc.) has led…  Read More →

Ear to the Ground 388: On-time Delivery

Ear to the Ground 387: Dumping the Dirt Dogma

When farmers challenged what Kris Nichols had learned from her college textbooks, the soil microbiologist didn’t dismiss them — instead, she dug deeper into the world beneath our feet. (1 of 2 parts) More Information • Ear to the Ground No. 388 Interview with Kris Nichols (2 of 2 parts) • LSP’s Soil Builders’ Web…  Read More →

Land Line: Corn Belt Cancer, Integrating Crops & Livestock, Trade Turmoil, Farmland Access, Erosion, SNAP, Microbe Memory

October 31, 2025

Report: Cancer Rates Rising Among Young People in the Corn Belt (10/29/25) The Minnesota Reformer reports on an analysis conducted by The Washington Post showing that the six states that lead in corn production — Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana, and Kansas — have seen higher rates of cancer among young people than other states…  Read More →

MAHA Gives Regenerative Agriculture a Moment in the Sun

Why a soil-health shoutout from RFK Jr.’s federal commission matters to toe-dippers, early adopters and true believers.

By Brian DeVore
October 20, 2025

Note: This commentary originally ran in the Minnesota Star Tribune on Oct. 17. When Minnesota’s growing season draws to a close, so does another kind of season: that period between spring and fall when farmers invite other farmers onto their land for “field days,” so they can share ideas about what’s working and what isn’t.…  Read More →

Land Line: MAHA, Bumper Corn Crop, Oats, Defining Regenerative Ag, Feeding the World, CAFO Hotspots

By Brian DeVore (editor)
August 28, 2025

Draft of White House Report Suggests Kennedy Won’t Push Strict Pesticide Regulations (8/14/25) A White House report on the health of American children would stop short of proposing direct restrictions on ultraprocessed foods and pesticides that the health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has called major threats, according to a leaked draft of the document…  Read More →

Land Line: Erosion Wake-up, Agrivoltaics, Farm to School, Deep USDA Cuts, Factory Dairy Fight, Farm Aid, New Meat Plant

By Brian DeVore (editor)
June 9, 2025

Soil Health Specialists Sound the Alarm on Continuing Soil Erosion (5/9/25) Despite a “Wake-up Call” warning issued a decade ago, wind erosion has continued to significantly damage soil health in North Dakota, according to Agweek. Highlights: Ten years after NDSU soil health expert Dave Franzen issued a report called “Wake-up Call” that highlighted high levels…  Read More →

Land Line: Modern Dust Bowl, Corporate Indifference, Farmers’ Market Stores, Soybean Giant, SNAP & Local Foods, Carbon Markets, Farm Economy’s Twin Tale

By Brian DeVore (editor)
May 28, 2025

Dust Storm Friday Was City’s Worst Since 1930s, Weather Service Says (5/18/25) Block Club Chicago reports that on May 16 the city experienced its worst dust storm since the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. The dust originated from central Illinois farms. Highlights: A little before 7 p.m. on May 16, a wall of dust slammed…  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 →