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Searched for: regional food systems

40th Anniversary Events

We’re Turning 40! In 2022, the Land Stewardship Project is celebrating 40 years of keeping the land and people together On this page you will find a schedule of the special evens will be holding to recognize our birthday. Check back here for updates as new events are scheduled. Summer & Fall: Regional Bonfire Celebrations…  Read More

Farmers Gather in Madison to Discuss ‘Bringing Small Grains Back to Minnesota’

LSP Networking Meeting Centers Around Producing, Processing & Marketing Wheat, Oats & Other Alternatives to Row Crops

MADISON, Minn. — “Welcome to my midlife crisis,” joked Peter Haugen on a Saturday morning in early August as a couple dozen farmers stood in a semi-circle around him and his wife, Brittany, at the edge of a 12-acre field south of Madison.  The “crisis” Peter was referring to was what was growing in that…  Read More

2024 Minnesota Legislative Session Wrap-Up 

Soil Health, Water Quality, Emerging Farmers, Regional Foods Supported; Factory Farm Controls Stall; Stage Set for 2025

As the clock struck midnight on Sunday, the Minnesota Legislature concluded its 2024 session. During the past few months, lawmakers primarily focused on revenue-neutral policy changes and some targeted funding of specific programs. During the session, Land Stewardship Project members made some progress on advancing our priorities and built a strong foundation to hit the…  Read More

Changes Ahead for LSP in 2023

Mike McMahon Departing as Executive Director

As the Land Stewardship Project begins the new year, Mike McMahon will be wrapping up his tenure as the executive director of LSP and the organization’s 501(c)4 political leadership development partner, the Land Stewardship Action Fund. McMahon would like to share this message with LSP’s members: “The Land Stewardship Project is a special organization and…  Read More

The Story Behind LSP’s Soil Health & Climate Campaign

From Inception to Winning $5.35 Million in State Soil Health Dollars & Beyond

Land Stewardship Project members believe that the kind of agricultural system and democracy we have is up to us. Our members are the experts when it comes to their communities and farms and, together, we can and must make regenerative agriculture the norm, rather than the exception. We believe our public institutions exist to serve the…  Read More

LSP, Soil Health & Climate Change

In early May, I represented the Land Stewardship Project at “Sequestering Carbon in the Soil: Addressing the Climate Threat,” an international conference held in Paris and organized by Breakthrough Strategies and Solutions. The conference convened 200 scientists, governmental leaders and representatives of nongovernmental organizations from around the world. Attendees included farmers from the Global South…  Read More

Seeley: We Need Strategies to ‘Weather’ the Storm

Over 80 people came out to the Starbuck Community Center in western Minnesota on a balmy March evening to hear presentations from University of Minnesota meteorologist and climatologist Mark Seeley as well as staff and farmer-members of Land Stewardship Project’s Community Based Food Systems and Farm Beginnings programs. The focus of the event was climate…  Read More

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

‘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

“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