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Searched for: regional food system

Stanford Organic Study: Flawed & Simplistic

A recent press release from the Stanford School of Medicine read, “Little evidence of health benefits from organic foods.” The headline could just have easily read, “Despite billions spent on research and subsidies, conventional foods found more dangerous than organic.” The Stanford study was striking in several regards: 1) no new research was conducted —…  Read More

Frac Sand Prevents Justice for All

The local frac sand industry is part of Big Oil’s continued efforts to monopolize the profits from natural resources that belong to everyone. Who really owns the earth, the oil, air and water? Big Oil’s frac-sand process uses huge amounts of water from our limited-supply aquifers. We can live without oil, but we can’t live…  Read More

Rolling Our Land to Death

I sat in a farmhouse one afternoon last month as a hot wind lifted rich topsoil from surrounding fields. On the drive in, I’d noticed a surprising amount of rill erosion on newly tilled cropland—surprising because recent rains had not been all that intense and the fields were not unusually steep. Out of the blue…  Read More

Ear to the Ground 365: Perennial Pivot

When Sogn Valley Farm transitioned out of intensive production of vegetable crops, it opened up opportunities to utilize a unique cousin of wheat as a way to steward the land. More Information • Sogn Valley Farm • Forever Green Initiative • Ear to the Ground 367: Disrupting the Food Chain • Ear to the Ground…  Read More

A Sense of Where You Are: Seeking Signs of Life

Part 4 in a Series

Note: This is the 4th installment in the 12-part “A Sense of Where You Are” series.  Jerry and Nancy Ackermann’s context is this: for around four decades, they have been raising corn and soybeans in southwestern Minnesota’s Jackson County, a region dominated by the kind of flat, fertile fields that regularly churn out impressive yields…  Read More

A Sense of Where You Are: Forest for the Trees

Part 5 in a Series

Note: This is the 5th installment in the 12-part “A Sense of Where You Are” series.  Grazing livestock have been described as “combines that poop.” That’s an accurate, if somewhat graphic, depiction of how moving cattle and other animals through well-managed paddocks can rebuild soil that’s been decimated by tillage, chemical use, and compaction. Langdon…  Read More

Paula Williams

Paula lives with her family on a former dairy farm in Barnum, Minn. After doing an internship on the Food Farm in Wrenshall, Minn., in 2000, she tried her hand at farming, running a small-scale flower business for 10 years. Experiencing just how challenging farming can be, Paula turned her attention to advocating for small-scale…  Read More

Farm to School

Farm to School connects Minnesota farmers directly to students by serving locally-sourced foods in school as well as providing educational activities that connect them with local agriculture.  As part of Land Stewardship Project’s support for community-based food systems, we have been a long-time champion of this program. Want to Get Involved? Want to stay connected…  Read More