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Searched for: regional food system

Ear to the Ground 400: Small Farms, Big Markets

Sign the Petition for Legislative Support of “Farm to Kids”

2025 Legislative Session Concludes May 19

The AGRI Farm to School and Early Care Programs have been critical for expanding market access opportunities across the state, especially for beginning farmers and smaller operators, as well as for getting healthy, local food to our kids in both schools and childcare settings. This initiative reimburse schools and early childcare education centers for purchases…  Read More →

Ear to the Ground 360: Food Bank Booster

At a time when rural residents are grappling with high food insecurity, an innovative Wisconsin program is connecting local farmers with local eaters. More Information • Wisconsin Local Food Purchase Assistance Program • LSP’s Community-Based Food Systems Web Page • Latino Economic Development Center • Threshing Table Farm You can find LSP Ear to the Ground podcast…  Read More →

A Home Away From Home

When Melissa Driscoll Climbed Down the Ladder, She Reassessed Sustainability

Every living thing needs a home — even ginger, tomatoes, and garlic. And southeastern Minnesota farmer Melissa Driscoll sees written contracts as handy and efficient vehicles for getting her produce to their final destination. An extensive use of forward contracts isn’t just good for business — it gives Driscoll the kind of peace of mind…  Read More →

Frac Sand Mining & Food Production Aren’t Compatible

In the 1980s, we helped start the Winona Farmers’ Market in Winona, Minn. Today, downtown Winona is buzzing with activity on Saturday mornings, with 40 vendors selling vegetables, fruits, meats, flowers, baked goods, dairy, honey and all sorts of delicious and healthy products, all grown and processed within a 50-mile radius of Winona. The Farmers’…  Read More →

Bringing the Land & People Together in Mexico

On day two of our trip, we visited EDUCA (which stands for the Spanish equivalent of “Services for an Alternative Education”), an NGO located in Oaxaca City. It was housed in a two-story building, with a wall out front and a formidable door. EDUCA was formed in 1994 to promote civil participation, indigenous rights and…  Read More →

Pollinators in Peril

As last week’s Congressional Research Service report on bee health makes clear, the crisis plaguing pollinators is not a single, big bad bogey man. It’s likely a combination of factors such as habitat loss, pesticide poisoning, introduced diseases and the stress of making domesticated honey bees the insect equivalent of migrant workers. That’s the bad…  Read More →

Avian Flu

H5N1 avian influenza virus that emerged in 2022 is what role the mega-confinement, industrialized poultry system of agriculture has played in creating and propagating this pandemic. Are these operations the “victims” of a virus that originated in an environment outside of Big Ag’s control? Or is the Big Bird CAFO system itself the source of…  Read More →

LSP Demands Answers Surrounding Recent Manure Spill in Kandiyohi County

Riverview's Meadow Star Dairy Suffers Manure Leak From Biogas Digester System

PENNOCK, Minn. — The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) today called on one of the country’s largest dairy farming firms and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to release details on a recent manure spill that was reported in southwestern Minnesota’s Kandiyohi County. According to the West Central Tribune, Riverview, LLP officials reported to state officials that…  Read More →