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Searched for: regional food system

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

By Brian DeVore (editor)
July 28, 2025

‘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

By Heather Benson
February 18, 2025

“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 →

Another Farm Crisis Looms, but it’s Not too Late to Take Action

By Laurie Driessen
October 23, 2025

Farming, we love this life. No matter what type of farmer you are, we all know how tough it can be to live the farming life. From unpredictable weather, markets we have no control over, input cost increases, equipment breaking down, exhaustion, and now tariffs — the U.S. agriculture system is entering a crisis not…  Read More →

Don Wyse’s Land Grant Legacy

It's Imperative Forever Green Stays True to its Foundations: Farmer-Centered, Accountable to the Public, Rooted in the Land

By Brian DeVore
July 5, 2024

Back in 1998, I was working on an article for the Land Stewardship Letter about how the lack of biodiversity in agriculture was threatening the agronomic, ecological, and economic future of Midwestern farming communities. One of the people I interviewed was Don Wyse, a respected University of Minnesota plant scientist who had recently helped coordinate…  Read More →

Stewardship, Justice & Democracy

By Mark Schultz
July 23, 2019

At the Land Stewardship Project, among member-leaders and staff, we’ve been thinking more about our work in the context of economic, racial, and gender equity in this country, and how that relates to core values of LSP, like stewardship, justice, community, democracy, and health. Land Stewardship Project’s board is meeting this week to give a…  Read More →

MN Farmers Travel to DC to Advocate for a More Sustainable Approach to Ag Policy 

Farmers Call for Less Volatility, More Stability

February 18, 2026

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Minnesota farmers traveled to the nation’s capital last week with a clear message for lawmakers: the federal government is creating a situation that makes it next to impossible to farm in a manner that’s economically viable, agronomically resilient and sustainable in the long term.   “There’s a lot of volatility in farming these…  Read More →

PETITION: Aim High for Farmers & Our Future at the MN Legislature

With a $17.6 Billion Surplus, MN has Unique Opportunity to Deliver for People & the Land

February 17, 2023

With a historic $17.6 billion surplus, our Minnesota Legislature has a unique opportunity and responsibility to deliver for people and the land. In March, the Speaker of the Minnesota House and the Majority Leader of the Minnesota Senate will assign each legislative committee in their respective legislative body an amount to spend on their budget.…  Read More →

Land Line: NOLOs, Dirty Music, Ag Secretary Battle, Salatin, Ag Concentration

By Brian DeVore
November 29, 2020

Nov. 29: An LSP Round-up of News Covering Land, People & Communities Why Non-operating Landowners Need to be Part of the Conservation Dialogue (11/22/20) Non-operating landowners, otherwise known as NOLOs, are generally in favor of conservation programs and practices, as are the farmers who operate on their land. But there is often a disconnect between…  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

October 22, 2025

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 →