When I and four other college students from Winona participated in the Southern civil rights movement of the 1960s, we were proud of Minnesota. Like the dozens from all over Minnesota who spent months or years helping people to register and vote in the face of poll taxes, literacy tests, threats and murder, we knew… 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 →
There is a widely-circulated public story, or narrative, that growing enough food for the world’s future population will require doubling production by relying on technologies such as nitrogen fertilizer and pesticides tied to traits in genetically modified crops. The narrative is that family farmers, consumers and governments must rely on corporate-controlled technology from multi-national agricultural… 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 →
Michael is seeking 80 acres (a mix of open and forested land) to buy in western Wisconsin (preferably near River Falls, Hudson, New Richmond, or Somerset, but open to options) to establish a rotational grazing and perennial food crop production enterprise. Ideally, the forested portion of the land would have adequate wildlife and maple trees… Read More →
Andie is seeking 10 acres (6 tillable- organic or not been sprayed preferred) to buy in Iowa or Illinois. A home on-site would be ideal and at least one outbuilding, but there is flexibility if there is enough land to build and the sale price reflects this. At least some utilities would be a plus:… Read More →
• An online version of the Land Stewardship Letter is here. • A downloadable pdf version is here. • Downloadable pdf back issues of the Land Stewardship Letter are here. • Interactive online back issues of the Land Stewardship Letter are here. • Paper copies are available by contacting Brian DeVore at 612-816-9342 or via e-mail. Table of Contents Stewardship… Read More →
I got a call from a colleague this morning asking how I was dealing with the corona virus pandemic and I said I was feeling grateful. Grateful to live in a rural area where my primary activity outside of working for the Land Stewardship Project is goofing around outside collecting firewood and going for long… Read More →
ELGIN, Minn. — Beginning farmers looking for land and retiring farmers seeking next-generation farmers are encouraged to attend a special Land Stewardship Project workshop on Saturday, March 25, from 9:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., at Peace United Methodist Church (52497 275th Ave.), in Elgin. “LSP’s Networking Farming Generations: Beginning with Hope, Retiring with Security” is… Read More →
