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Searched for: regional food system

Who Benefits When Emerging Farmers Can’t Succeed?

Emerging Farmers: What Do You Think of This Proposed Legislation?

By Amanda Koehler
April 4, 2024

Last year, the Land Stewardship Project celebrated the historic investments in emerging farmers that we won at the Minnesota Capitol. One of these wins included doubling the funding for and prioritizing emerging farmer applicants within the Minnesota Farmland Down Payment Assistance Program, which the Land Stewardship Project worked on with the Midwest Farmers of Color…  Read More →

The Story Behind LSP’s Soil Health & Climate Campaign

From Inception to Winning $5.35 Million in State Soil Health Dollars & Beyond

By Amanda Koehler
June 24, 2021

Land Stewardship Project members believe that the kind of agricultural system and democracy we have is up to us. Our members are the experts when it comes to their communities and farms and, together, we can and must make regenerative agriculture the norm, rather than the exception. We believe our public institutions exist to serve the…  Read More →

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 →

Land Line: Climate Change & Erosion, Russia’s Climate Windfall, Big Dairy & Vilsack, Farmland Access, Rivers of Manure

By Brian DeVore
December 18, 2020

Dec. 18: An LSP Round-up of News Covering Land, People & Communities National Soil Erosion Rates on Track to Repeat Dust Bowl-era Losses Eight Times Over (12/16/20) Unhealthy farming practices and more extreme weather spurred by climate change will lead to an increased rate of soil erosion across the U.S. in the coming decades, according…  Read More →

Real Food Hub

Real Food Hub is a nonprofit dedicated to helping local farms succeed by helping people eat better. Real Food offers a year-round subscription to a weekly Bounty Bag of fresh fruits and vegetables that is delivered to your door in central Minnesota. The produce selected is based on national dietary guidelines, so each Bounty Bag…  Read More →

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 →

Healthy Soil, Healthy Farms, Healthy Communities (2nd of 2 parts)

By Brian DeVore
January 9, 2013

Talking about the importance of feeding soil microbes is fine. Speaking with your feet is even better. “Take a closer look—anything you tramp down is just carbon in the soil,” quips soil conservationist Jay Fuhrer on a Thursday afternoon in early September. As he says this, he’s beckoning some 120 farmers and others to follow…  Read More →

Land Line: Tax Bill’s Ag Impact, Farmer Privacy, CAFO Water Demand, Honeybees, Nitrates, Solar’s Bright Spot, Farm Bankruptcies

By Brian DeVore (editor)
July 15, 2025

House Passes Tax Bill With SNAP Cuts, Billions for Immigration Enforcement, and Climate Rollbacks (7/7/25) President Donald Trump’s massive tax bill was passed by the U.S. House July 3 and signed into law by the President on July 4, reports Civil Eats. Highlights:  The bill includes the biggest-ever changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program…  Read More →

Forever Green’s New Crop of Researchers

March 16, 2015

During a recent Land Stewardship Letter roundtable discussion about Forever Green (see “Forever Green: Relaying Resiliency” blog), eight University of Minnesota graduate students working on the initiative responded to the question, “What excites you most about this research?” New Tools Have Compressed Time • Kevin Dorn has been mapping the genome for pennycress, which holds…  Read More →

The Devil’s in the Details

Regenerative Ag Can Help Bring Our Dysfunctional Relationship with Phosphorus Back into Balance

By Brian DeVore
February 26, 2025

In the early 2000s, I wrote a series of Land Stewardship Letter articles about a generic environmental impact statement study that was done on Minnesota’s livestock industry. The final report had an interesting finding related to phosphorus, a key source of crop fertility: small livestock farms had a medium phosphorus shortage of 17 pounds per…  Read More →