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Searched for: regional food system

U.S. House Does a Hatchet/Half Job on Farm Bill

Path to Final Farm Bill More Unclear Than Ever Today the U.S. House passed a “partial” Farm Bill (HR 2642) on a vote of 216 to 208. House leadership separated nutrition programs and funding from the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act, which failed in the House last month. This allowed them to advance…  Read More

Sustainable Ag’s Most Critical Conversation

What is the most critical discussion that needs to take place to ensure a sustainable food and farming system long into the future? Is it one on policy, farming techniques, green technology, consumer preferences or soil fertility? No. It’s the conversation that takes place between Nettie and Gerald during LSP’s play, Look Who’s Knockin’, which…  Read More

Something’s Rotten in Tomatoland

This winter, when you reach for a nice, perfectly-shaped tomato in the produce section of your local supermarket, think of Lucas Mariano Domingo. For two and a half years the Guatemalan lived in the back of a windowless box truck with three other men while he picked tomatoes in the fields surrounding the Florida community…  Read More

A Healthy Hub of Activity

1st in a Series on LSP's Soil Health Hubs

On an overcast morning in June, more than a dozen livestock producers gathered in the on-farm cabinetmaking shop of Leslea and Brad Hodgson, situated in the scenic hills near southeastern Minnesota’s Root River. Soon after taking seats on folding chairs arranged in a wide circle, the farmers answered an opening question: “Why am I here?”…  Read More

A Beginning Farmer Legacy

Returning to the Classroom a Quarter Century Later

2025-2026 Farm Beginnings Class LSP is now accepting applications for its 2025-2026 Farm Beginnings class session. For details, click here. ♦ ♦ ♦ In a sense, when the brothers Andy and Ben Klein enrolled in the Land Stewardship Project’s Farm Beginnings course in 2023, it was a return engagement for at least one of them.…  Read More

Alan Perish’s Passion for Local Democracy

 'If you can’t control things locally, somebody else is going to control them for you...'

When Alan Perish passed away May 14, we lost a stalwart advocate for  family farming and local democracy. Alan, a fourth-generation farmer, milked cows in central Minnesota’s Todd County for many years and he was a longtime Land Stewardship Project and Minnesota Farmers Union member. Over the years, I had several opportunities to talk with…  Read More

community holding signs against factory farms

LSP Applauds State Supreme Court’s Rejection of Daley Appeal

Ruling Comes After Yearslong Attempt to Circumvent Winona County’s Local Rules Related to CAFOs 

LEWISTON, Minn. —  The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) applauded the Minnesota Supreme Court’s recent decision to deny a Winona County factory farm owner’s attempt to circumvent Winona County’s rules governing the size of livestock operations. On March 18, Chief Justice Natalie Hudson announced that the Court would not hear an appeal filed by Daley Farm…  Read More

Make Your Voice Heard on Nitrates, Soil & Clean Water

2 Legislative Hearings in Saint Paul: Feb. 26 & 29

The 2024 Minnesota legislative session has begun in Saint Paul and nitrate contamination is top of mind for our legislators. Next week, committees in both the State House and Senate will host hearings about nitrates in our soil and water. This is an opportunity to make it known that Minnesotans expect our state’s decisionmakers to…  Read More

community holding signs against factory farms

LSP Applauds Court’s Support of Winona County Decision on Factory Farm

LSP Launches ‘Story Center Powerline’ Initiative for Rural Residents Fighting Big Ag

LEWISTON, Minn. — Land Stewardship Project (LSP) members applauded today’s decision by the Minnesota District Court to deny Daley Farm’s latest attempt to circumvent Winona County’s rules related to the size of large livestock operations. (The Court’s decision is available here.) For the past four years, Daley Farm has sought a variance from the county’s…  Read More

Protect & Expand Funding for Working Lands Conservation Programs in the 2023 Farm Bill

Don't Let Congress Raid IRA Conservation Funds

Farmers are uniquely positioned to both mitigate and build resiliency when it comes to climate change. Farmers are on the front lines of managing extreme weather events, emerging pests and disease, degraded topsoil, altered planting and harvesting timing, dwindling pollinator populations, and more. At the same time, small and mid-sized farmers are facing consolidation, financial…  Read More