LEWISTON, Minn. — The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) filed a legal brief May 22 with the Minnesota Court of Appeals contesting Daley Farm’s appeal of the state District Court’s decision to deny the operation’s attempt to circumvent Winona County’s rules related to the size of large livestock operations. Daley Farm is seeking a variance so that… Read More →
A streak of creativity brightens the landscape when farmers join forces with scientists to investigate “the standard” of what we thought we already knew. Take, for example, the fresh look at how soil functions—collectively called soil health—that has been the talk of Land Stewardship Project workshops and field days the past five years or so.… Read More →
Dofa is seeking an internship in Minnesota. Dofa has been farming for the last two seasons, one with Big River Farm, Minnesota in 2024 and then 2025 Dofa farmed with Sudan Farmers at Sharing Our Roots in Northfield, Minnesota. Ideally Dofa is looking for a situation where there is a teaching/ learning exchange going both… 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 →
Note: This is the 1st installment in the 12-part “A Sense of Where You Are” series. On a sunny day in June, hundreds of ewes make their way through a narrow grazing paddock, flowing along the contours of a Driftless Area hill in southeastern Minnesota like a woolly river. Later in the growing season, a… Read More →
Note: This is the 12th installment in the 12-part “A Sense of Where You Are” series. In case Allen and Kathleen Deutz need a reminder of one of the main reasons corn dominates the landscape in their part of southwestern Minnesota, they need to look no further than the massive Archer-Daniels-Midland ethanol plant that rises to… Read More →
An Innovative Farming System Requires Innovative Training One sign that you’re a solid employee is that the boss hates the idea of you walking out the door, never to return. So let’s consider the case of Ryan Heinen, who has worked on the west-central Minnesota dairy farm of Nate and Angie Walter for the past… Read More →
LSP Outlines Major Reforms for Making the Nation’s Largest Ag Program an Accountable & Reliable Safety Net for All Producers LE SUEUR, Minn. — The nation’s largest federal agriculture program is a significant barrier to beginning farmers who are trying to get access to land and capital, according to a new white paper released by… Read More →
In Boone County, Iowa, fertile farmland stretches as far as the eye can see. But as our van of Land Stewardship Project members rounded the corner on a rural road, we saw a disturbing sight: miles of black, vacant land where the landscape has been shaved to make way for the Dakota Access Pipeline. On… Read More →
An Indiana initiative has made the state a national leader in getting continuous living cover established on crop acres. Can it change the way farmers view soil? Michael Werling is, literally, a card-carrying connoisseur of soil health. “I call it, ‘My ticket to a farm tour,’ ” says the northeastern Indiana crop producer, showing off… Read More →
