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 →
A decade ago, veggie and livestock farmers Josh Bryceson and Rama Hoffpauir realized sweat equity would only take them so far in their ag journey, so they looked up from the grindstone long enough to take in the big picture (1 of 2 parts). More Information • Turnip Rock Farm & Cosmic Wheel Creamery • LSP’s Farm… Read More →
I became a member-leader of the Land Stewardship Project to help achieve justice for the people and the land. By identifying our self-interest, listening to our neighbors, and acting on our values, I also believe that we can become a welcoming community. Doug Nopar,who worked for many years as a rural LSP organizer, believes that… Read More →
How women play a major role in the future of farmland and our rural communities.
On a recent July afternoon, southeastern Minnesota farmer Martin Larsen stopped his Gleaner R-62 combine in the middle of oat harvest, climbed down the ladder, and walked a hundred yards or so to where the Chair of the Minnesota Senate Agriculture Committee was standing at the edge of the field. Larsen then described to Sen.… Read More →
Flooding the Market How Dairy Consolidation is Drowning Minnesota’s Farmers & Rural Communities April 2026 Minnesota is facing a generational crisis in agriculture as dairy farmers are pushed out of the industry at an alarming rate even as production continues to rise. Extreme consolidation, driven in part by the rapid expansion of mega-dairies like Riverview… Read More →
