Every living thing needs a home — even ginger, tomatoes, and garlic. And southeastern Minnesota farmer Melissa Driscoll sees written contracts as handy and efficient vehicles for getting her produce to their final destination. An extensive use of forward contracts isn’t just good for business — it gives Driscoll the kind of peace of mind… Read More →
During the 2021 Minnesota legislative session, Land Stewardship Project farmer-members wrote and championed a comprehensive soil health bill that led to the establishment of a Soil Health Cost-Share Program. Through this program, $1.3 million will be available through the Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR). The program will provide payments to farmers for implementing soil-healthy… Read More →
Harvey Benson had a simple transition plan for the farm that had been in his family since the late 1860s: he would continue living on those 160 acres until he died, and then it would be passed on to his partner, Bonita Underbakke. In fact, when people ask him if he’s lived on the farm… Read More →
Pulling Together. Moving Forward. Stand with LSP on the Farm Crisis. The pain of this crisis is not being felt by agribusiness and corporate interests that continue to make profits at the expense of farmers and rural communities. The fact is that there is money in agriculture, but farmers are not getting a fair share… Read More →
Sometimes the rules of simple cause and effect don’t directly apply. Take, for instance, the fact that cattle are ruminants, and like all ruminants they utilize a wonderfully complex digestive system to turn forages and grain into meat and milk. A major side effect of all that fermentation on four legs is the production of… Read More →
For longer than I can remember, my family has taken the same route from our farm in southeast Minnesota to visit my grandparents in north-central Wisconsin. The first leg of the four-hour trip takes us across the Mississippi River and through the farmland, pastures and rolling, wooded hills of Trempealeau and Jackson Counties. The landmarks… Read More →
The landowners Jeremy and Jessica Holst rent from like to see a green landscape — no wonder the dairy farmers’ rotational grazing system is considered a neighborhood asset. More Information • LSP’s Soil Health & Grazing Web Page • LSP’s Conservation Leases Toolkit • LSP’s 2023 Field Day Special Report: “A Long, Hot Summer” You can find… Read More →
Staff from the Land Stewardship Project’s Bridge to Soil Health Program have been getting out and visiting farms the past few months. These visits are primarily to: network and meet with farmers in our Soil Builders’ Network, see what practices people are trying out on the landscape, determine what farmers want more information on, and… Read More →
NOTE: John Meyer, his wife Linda and their two youngest children, Charlie and Maggie, farm about 500 acres in southwestern Olmsted County, Minn. John planted his first oat cover crop in early spring of 2016 on half his land — on frozen ground and through snow — and planted corn directly into that “green,” allowing… Read More →
Despite the unrelenting rain, more than 100 people congregated on the corner of Franklin and Portland Avenue in Minneapolis last Tuesday to celebrate the launch of the South Quarter IV development project, which included a heartfelt speech from Mayor RT Rybak. The ceremony was hosted by Aeon, affordable housing developers and long-time partners in Hope… Read More →
