MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Now that spring has finally arrived, it brings with it a reminder that this region is home to dozens of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms that provide regular deliveries of produce and other locally raised food throughout the growing season. The Land Stewardship Project’s 2019 Twin Cities, Minnesota and Western Wisconsin Region… Read More →
Minnesotans value a vibrant democratic process and we won’t let it be undermined to serve corporate interests. We know that this process includes respect for free speech and dissent, which has been critical to achieving progress towards justice in our state. Critical farm policy reforms such as the 1986 statewide legislation that included mandatory mediation… Read More →
“The reinsurance bill passed today by the Minnesota House and Senate gives $542 million of public money to insurance companies, but it does not give certainty or stability to rural Minnesotans who need affordable health care,” said Mark Schultz, Executive Director of the Land Stewardship Project. “The farmers and other rural members of the Land… Read More →
After a lifetime of working for others in agricultural jobs, and retired after a career with the postal service, Tom Hoekstra and his wife, Lisa, bought a 150-acre farm outside of Plainview in southeastern Minnesota. Tom was 59 when they bought the farm in 2009. Right after their purchase, they immediately went to work re-building… Read More →
The Land Stewardship Project recently published a three-part expose of the federal crop insurance program. The white papers are titled: “Crop Insurance-the Corporate Connection,” “Crop Insurance Ensures the Big Get Bigger” and “How Crop Insurance Hurts the Next Generation of Farmers.” The final paper title provides the key to LSP’s concern. The introductory article says… Read More →
Iowa Farm & Rural Life Poll: 2025 Summary (November) The majority of farmers responding to the latest Iowa Farm & Rural Life Poll feel that a reliance on specialized commodity agriculture is bad for them and their communities. Highlights: Sixty-nine percent agreed with the statement “Increased specialization in commodities (corn, soybeans, hogs, etc.) has led… Read More →
The Land Stewardship Project congratulates the 2025 recipients of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s AGRI Farm to School and Early Care Programs. This includes K-12 school districts and early care centers that received reimbursement grants, as well as family daycare providers participating in the MDA’s first-ever Local Tots Cost-Share Program. Grantees span the… Read More →
Improving Soil Health Not Just Feel-Good Endeavor (4/1/25) Indiana Prairie Farmer describes how Rodney Rulon’s 30-year soil health journey utilizing no-till and cover cropping is paying dividends not just environmentally, but economically as well. Highlights: The National Association of Conservation Districts and the Soil Health Institute performed a budget analysis on 29 farms across the… Read More →
The Unnatural History of Bird Flu (2/12/25) Science journalist Brandon Keim, writing in Nautilus, provides an in-depth overview of the causes of the current H5N1 avian influenza outbreak, which has resulted in the death of 150 million chickens and turkeys, either by the virus itself or due to euthanasia as officials attempt to curb its spread.… 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 →
