When I first moved to Minnesota eight years ago, my knowledge of soils and agricultural systems was purely textbook. I live and work in an amazing community that has taught me more than I ever expected to learn, and has pulled back the curtain on our current farming systems and the ways in which they… Read More →
LEWISTON, Minn. — On Jan. 3, Daley Farm of Lewiston, L.L.P, filed an appeal in Minnesota District Court challenging the Winona County Board of Adjustment’s decision in December denying the operation’s proposed expansion. This expansion would exceed the county’s animal unit cap by almost four times the current limit. Over the years, Daley Farm has repeatedly shown it has little respect… Read More →
Earlier this year, The Saint Paul Foundation issued the “Forever Saint Paul Challenge” as a way to put $1 million towards one idea to make our capitol city great. I submitted an idea for creating new opportunities for building a healthier, more equitable and sustainable regional food system through an “Urban Oasis Food Hub.” The… Read More →
Nov. 29: An LSP Round-up of News Covering Land, People & Communities Why Non-operating Landowners Need to be Part of the Conservation Dialogue (11/22/20) Non-operating landowners, otherwise known as NOLOs, are generally in favor of conservation programs and practices, as are the farmers who operate on their land. But there is often a disconnect between… Read More →
During the Biden Administration’s first 100 days in office, the Land Stewardship Project was busy on the federal policy front. The role of agriculture in mitigating the climate crisis has been one focus of both the Administration and the new Congress. Over 500 LSP members and supporters signed on to our public comment on climate… Read More →
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 →
Unsealed Antitrust Complaint Reveals Key Factor in High Food Prices: Corporate Behemoths (12/18/25) Writing in the Minnesota Reformer, the Minnesota Farmers Union’s Justin Stofferahn describes how monopolization of the food industry and failure to enforce antitrust laws has harmed consumers. Highlights: A newly unsealed antitrust complaint provides a unique look at price discrimination in practice,… Read More →
LEWISTON, Minn. — Last week’s announcement that a deadly strain of avian influenza has reemerged in Minnesota raises renewed questions about the role large, industrialized poultry operations play in propagating this disease, say authors of a new white paper published by the Land Stewardship Project (LSP). “Big Bird. Big Problem: How the Poultry Industry is… Read More →
A cornerstone of creating a regenerative agricultural system in the Upper Midwest is reintegrating livestock onto the land in a way that farmers can add value to forages and grains while cycling nutrients in a manner that manure becomes a way to build soil biology, rather than a waste product to be disposed of. Over… Read More →
The $1.7 Trillion Landlord: New USDA Data Reveals the Shifting Face of Ownership (3/12/26) Farm Journal reports on new USDA showing a 47% surge in rented farmland value over the past decade, even as the footprint of available acreage shrinks. With $1.7 trillion in assets now held by a shifting demographic of landlords, the landscape… Read More →
