On a crisp morning in September, North Dakota farmer Gabe Brown held two handfuls of soil and searched for signs of life—theoretically not a difficult task considering one teaspoon of humus contains more organisms than there are humans in the world. But many of the bacteria and invertebrates that lurk in the dark basement of… Read More →
It’s early July—a time on one Wisconsin farm when there’s a brief reprieve between the spring rush of putting in crops and the mid-summer hurly-burly of making sure the land and animals are as productive as possible by fall. What better time to take a breather and assess where you’ve been, and where you’re going.… Read More →
Something Smells With the Feedlot Trend, and it’s More Than Just the Manure 3/16/25 Ron Way, former assistant director of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, writes in the Star Tribune about how factory farms have transformed the landscape in southern and central Minnesota. Highlights: Since the 1970s, backers of large-scale, industrialized livestock production have successfully… Read More →
Jan. 29: An LSP Round-up of News Covering Land, People & Communities After COVID-related Livestock Kills, a Push to Diversify Meat Processing in Minnesota (1/25/21) When several large pork processing plants shuttered last spring because workers got sick with COVID-19, it had a huge impact on farmers across the Midwest. One estimate is more than… Read More →
Sign Up for E-mail Delivery of The Land Line MDA to Gather Input on Socioeconomic Impact of Large-Scale Dairies in Minnesota (7/16/26) Morning Ag Clips reports that the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is gathering public input on the socioeconomic impact of large-scale dairies in the state. Highlights: The MDA is soliciting input after the… Read More →
Scott is seeking a farmer to rent or buy a 0.56 acre urban homestead in the city limits of Fergus Falls, Minnesota, Otter Tail County. There are sixty-six 25’x30” raised beds built with 18” wood chip paths between beds. The front yard is a terraced south-facing slope sized about 20’x100’ with raised beds and mounds… Read More →
As a retired dairy farmer, I remember the hard fought battles between family farmers and utility companies over high voltage power lines cutting across Minnesota in the 1970s. One of the outcomes of this was the “Buy the Farm” law. Essentially, this law says that farmers and landowners have the right to require that companies… Read More →
Stephanie is seeking a farmer to rent 39 acres (10 pasture, 8 forest and 21 other) near Hutchinson, MN. There is no housing or outbuildings on site, however accommodations could be made during the warm season next door at New Story Farm. Some fencing is already there but Stephanie will provide the fence if you… Read More →
Pierce is seeking organic farmland to rent in Minnesota. No house is needed.
John and Sonya are seeking a farmer to rent part of their home farm including 10 acres of hay (cool season grasses) and 18 acres of a former CRP field (forbes, warm season grasses, willow etc) on a former dairy farm in Spring Valley, Wisconsin (45 miles east of St Paul, MN). No chemical herbicides… Read More →
