Between 2012 and 2022, Minnesota lost 9,011 farms — on average 900 farms per year. During that same period, the average size of a Minnesota farm went from 349 acres to 388 acres. The average age of Minnesota farmers has reached an all-time high of 57.1 years. Ninety-nine percent of all farmland in Minnesota is… Read More →
Back in 1998, I was working on an article for the Land Stewardship Letter about how the lack of biodiversity in agriculture was threatening the agronomic, ecological, and economic future of Midwestern farming communities. One of the people I interviewed was Don Wyse, a respected University of Minnesota plant scientist who had recently helped coordinate… Read More →
LEWISTON, Minn. — When isn’t farming naked a good idea? A new Land Stewardship Project (LSP) billboard campaign promoting the power of building healthy soil on southern Minnesota farms answers that question and more. The billboards, which made their debut this month near the Minnesota communities of Austin, Spring Valley, Fountain, Preston, Dexter, Grand Meadow and… Read More →
Note: This is the 4th installment in the 12-part “A Sense of Where You Are” series. Jerry and Nancy Ackermann’s context is this: for around four decades, they have been raising corn and soybeans in southwestern Minnesota’s Jackson County, a region dominated by the kind of flat, fertile fields that regularly churn out impressive yields… Read More →
Oct. 30: An LSP Round-up of News Covering Land, People & Communities Prevented Plant at Historic Highs Again in 2020 (10/26/20) Over 10 million acres of U.S. crop ground was not planted this year as a result of extreme weather conditions, reports Agricultural Economic Insights. This growing season marks the second-highest “prevented plant” level in… Read More →
WINONA, Minn. — Are you a farmland owner who values good stewardship practices? Are you a farmer looking to invest in soil building on rented land? A free workshop to help you act on your conservation values will be held Friday, March 13, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., at Bluff Country Co-op, 121 W.… Read More →
David is seeking a farmer for 50 tillable, pasture and forest acres in East Troy, WI, Walworth County. There is housing as well as enclosed sheds, an open sided shed, greenhouses, and a garage. Available 1/1/26
Robert is seeking a renter for 115 certified organic tillable acres in rural New Glarus, Green County, WI. Currently Certified Organic, has been for 10 years. No spray for several years before that. 24 / 7 / 365 Class A Highway Access. 105 open acres, 10 acres adjacent just across driveway. No house, outbuildings, power,… Read More →
Maryann is seeking a farmer to buy 420 acres (372 tillable) available in London, Ohio (Madison County.) On the property there is a 55×96 pole barn; a 40×40 pole barn both metal sided, and 2 grain bins one 10,000bu and one 5000bu. There is also a well maintained two story farmhouse, 1839 square with private… Read More →
With knowledge comes power—as well as responsibility. On an overcast Saturday in July 2014 several dozen people were gaining more of the former with each step they took through rolling grassland in west-central Minnesota. And as they referred to field guides and smart phone nature apps while tallying a growing list of plant and animal… Read More →
