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Searched for: regional food system

Insuring Against Disaster

Thanks to the recently passed 2014 Farm Bill, federally subsidized crop insurance is an even bigger player in determining what the landscape looks like. That’s troubling, considering that in recent years that impact has been mostly negative, since the program removes most of the risk associated with plowing up acres formerly considered too erosive, wet…  Read More

Land Line: USDA Changes, Climate-Smart Ag, Dead Zone, Nitrate Pollution, Feedlot Regs, Soil Bacteria, the Power of Diverse Farming

‘Farming in the dark’: Brooke Rollins’ Leadership, DOGE’s Grip and the Cost to American Agriculture (7/22/25) According to Investigate Midwest, during her first six months in office U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins  has brought sweeping changes to USDA and largely embraced President Donald Trump’s agenda of downsizing the federal government. Mass firings have purged…  Read More

Bernhardt: ‘I hope the federal government will honor their commitments to farmers.’

MN Senate Hearing Highlights How Government Programs Benefit Individual Farmers & Communities

“I know it’s really valuable to know what I can count on. When I signed a contract with the government, I should be able to plan ahead for my season and count on that.” — LSP Program Committee chair & farmer, Hannah Bernhardt ♦ ♦ ♦ On Feb. 17, the Minnesota Senate Agriculture Committee heard from farmers…  Read More

Ear to the Ground 347: Bite-by-Bite

Mapping a rural region’s “community food assets” reveals isolated islands of opportunity in a sea of corn and soybeans. LSP’s Scott DeMuth says now is the time to connect the dots and create a new relationship between farmers, eaters, and the places they live in. For a transcript of this podcast, click here. More Information •…  Read More

Tell Congress: Support Market Access for Farmers by Funding Local Food Purchasing

Take 2 Minutes to Tell Congress to Support the "Local Farmers Feeding Our Community" Act

The Land Stewardship Project and our partners across the nation are calling on Congress to support investment in local foods for our communities. We need to keep the pressure up. Congressional members are responding to our demands for permanent investments for local foods in local nutrition programs. We need your help to keep up the…  Read More

Organizing Secures Key Wins for Rural Healthcare in 2023 Minnesota Legislative Session 

MinnesotaCare Public Option & Prescription Drug Affordability Board are Strong Steps Forward

The Land Stewardship Project began organizing around healthcare in 2008 after hearing over and over again from our members that one of the primary barriers to getting into farming, or staying in it, is lack of access to affordable and useful health insurance. Farmers and other self-employed people do not have employer-based healthcare coverage without off-the-farm or…  Read More

Why Restricting the Right to Vote is Bad for our Land, Farms & Rural Communities

Recently, the Land Stewardship Project joined “Our Vote, Our Future,” a coalition of over 70 organizations working to oppose the voter restriction amendment to the state constitution that is to be put before Minnesota voters Nov. 6. Why is an organization whose mission is stewardship of the land and our communities speaking out on this…  Read More

Ear to the Ground 283: Ending the Extractive Economy

Ken Meter draws on decades of community analyses to explain why agriculture will never be truly regenerative until we fix our dysfunctional food system. More Information: • LSP Community Food Webs Learning Circles (March 2023) • Building Community Food Webs, by Ken Meter • Crossroads Resource Center • LSP Community-Based Food Systems Web Page •…  Read More

What CapX2020 (& Bad Public Policy) Could Destroy

As LSP’s latest action alert makes clear, the companies behind the CapX2020 high voltage line are trying to get away with not paying for the true value of the Minnesota farm operations they will be destroying. Unfortunately, the attitude that land which isn’t sprouting industrial infrastructure or subdivisions is nothing more than cheap”wasted space” is…  Read More

LSP: Congress Should Vote No on Fast Track, TPP

As Land Stewardship Project members and supporters know, LSP has been active in working to defeat Congressional approval of pro-corporate trade policy, such as fast track authority and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. This week, we sent letters to members of the Minnesota and Wisconsin congressional delegations, laying out LSP’s reasons for its firm opposition, and urging…  Read More