Many small and medium-size farms are trying to survive by selling meats directly to retail customers and restaurants. The idea shows promise as a way to revitalize an economy otherwise in the shadow of huge farming enterprises. We need slaughterhouses; several good, new up-to-date buildings should be placed throughout the state to serve the growing…  Read More →

Farmers Battle Saturated Soils with More Roots in the Ground To Tom Cotter, the various natural resources his farming operation relies on don’t operate in a vacuum. Rather, they have a relational quality — the role one resource plays in keeping his business viable depends on how it interacts with other resources. For example, rain…  Read More →

As a Nature Conservancy scientist based in a Midwestern state, Steve Chaplin thinks a lot about the impact agriculture has on ecological treasures such as native tallgrass prairie. “Other than plowing, grazing has probably been responsible for the degradation of more prairie than any other source,” says Chaplin, who is in the Conservancy’s Minnesota field…  Read More →

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 →