You’ve probably heard by now that the U.S. House failed to pass a Farm Bill last week. It came as somewhat of a shocker, failing 195 to 234, which is a pretty big margin. It’s the first time since 1973 that the House has voted down a Farm Bill. In what can only be interpreted… Read More →
Sometimes, there’s nothing like a speed bump to send you on your way toward that ultimate goal. In the case of Jason and Juli Montgomery-Riess, that slight detour was in the form of the Land Stewardship Project’s Farm Beginnings course. Before taking the class, both had worked on some of the top produce operations in… Read More →
When it comes to the crop insurance sweepstakes, southwest Minnesota farmer Darwyn Bach is a winner. But he concedes that his good fortune presents a quandary, since the way the program is implemented these days creates significant losers: the soil, beginning farmers and Main Street businesses that suffer when the number of families in a… Read More →
There are numerous ways of communicating the value society places on having more family farmers on the land, not fewer. This morning, the USDA announced it was awarding $18 million in grants to groups that are helping beginning farmers nationwide. That sends an important message that the federal government, thanks to initiatives put in the… Read More →
Note: This commentary originally ran in the Minnesota Star Tribune on Oct. 17. When Minnesota’s growing season draws to a close, so does another kind of season: that period between spring and fall when farmers invite other farmers onto their land for “field days,” so they can share ideas about what’s working and what isn’t.… Read More →
On a misty June morning in northeastern Iowa, Nikki Meyer led half-a-dozen farmers down a field road through a thick stand of oaks and other hardwoods. The going was tough — the road dropped 400 vertical feet in less than half-a-mile, and a half-inch rain earlier had made the footing greasy with mud. Sensing that… Read More →
Over the past few decades, the dominant push in agriculture has been for farms to grow larger and for the industry to consolidate into a few hands to maximize profits. One of the many ways the biggest have been able to get bigger at the expense of small and mid-sized farmers, rural communities, and our… Read More →
Currently, more than 175,000 Minnesotans live in communities with elevated nitrate levels (>3mg/L) in their drinking water. This problem is particularly bad in southeastern Minnesota. Consuming too much nitrate can affect how blood carries oxygen and studies suggest that nitrate exposure increases the risk of cancer, as well as increases heart rate, nausea, headaches, abdominal cramps, and more. Nitrate is… Read More →
During this legislative session, Minnesota lawmakers are considering the passage of a bill to create a PRESCRIPTION DRUG AFFORDABILITY BOARD (PDAB) and pharmaceutical corporations are doing everything they can to stop it. On Friday, April 14, an amendment was passed on the Senate Floor that would exclude rare disease drugs, as well as any drug that has been… Read More →
LEWISTON, Minn. — The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has ignored sound environmental science and policy by failing to order an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a major dairy expansion project near Lewiston, say rural residents. The MPCA announced today it would issue a feedlot permit for Daley Farms’ proposal to expand its operation by… Read More →
