After a long, hot summer, prospects for a new Farm Bill in 2012 are wilting fast. If Congress doesn’t act within the next few weeks, the current Farm Bill will expire Sept. 30 without a law to replace it. Congress will not reconvene again until the lame duck session after the November elections, where chances… Read More →
I coordinate a project in western Minnesota that is based on the idea that producing positive environmental impacts in a watershed can happen without having to remake the entire region’s landscape. Scientific studies and on-the-farm experience suggest that just a 10 percent increase in diverse crop rotations, grasses and other perennial plant systems can be enough to meaningfully improve the safety of the water, reduce flood potential, restore wildlife habitat and stimulate a thriving local and regional foods economy. This is especially true if we can target fields that are particularly sensitive to problems like erosion.
The U.S. Senate passed its version of the 2012 Farm Bill this week. While it’s far from perfect, specific amendments related to conservation and accountability that were passed during the floor vote give one hope that the voices of average citizens can be heard inside the Beltway. Let’s hope this is a sign of things… Read More →
I sat in a farmhouse one afternoon last month as a hot wind lifted rich topsoil from surrounding fields. On the drive in, I’d noticed a surprising amount of rill erosion on newly tilled cropland—surprising because recent rains had not been all that intense and the fields were not unusually steep. Out of the blue… Read More →
When it comes to the crop insurance sweepstakes, southwest Minnesota farmer Darwyn Bach is a winner. But he concedes that his good fortune presents a quandary, since the way the program is implemented these days creates significant losers: the soil, beginning farmers and Main Street businesses that suffer when the number of families in a… Read More →
One winter evening in 1999 I was sitting in on a Farm Beginnings class being held in the southeast Minnesota community of Plainview when a local banker stood up and made a statement that about knocked me out of my chair. “We need to eat our own cooking,” said the banker, Dean Harrington. The statement… Read More →
When a business closes in a rural community, the following 24 months or so are key. Whether it be a farm, small town grocery or repair shop, if the real estate it occupied is still lacking a day-to-day human presence a year or two down the road, it sends a troubling message about the future… Read More →
Myron Sylling approaches farming from a no-nonsense, cause-and-effect point of view. So, he asks, if a reliance on heavy dosages of fertilizer is costing producers money while polluting our water, what’s keeping us from building a less nitrate-tainted farming system? (last in a series on nitrates, farming, and water) More Information • LSP’s Rethink Nitrogen… Read More →
Lance Petersen feels strongly that as agriculture’s regulatory future related to nitrate pollution is being debated, one thing is certain: farmers like himself need to be in the room, at the table, and taking part in the discussion. (part of a series on nitrates, farming, and water) More Information • LSP’s Rethink Nitrogen Campaign •… Read More →
Thank you for signing onto our petition. We will keep you updated on our legislature’s actions around Minnesota water quality in the months ahead. Feel free to share this direct link to the petition with anyone in Minnesota you think should be a part of this action! Petition link here: https://secure.ngpvan.com/PRw8scm2c0yhprCXYOKM7A2 We invite to learn… Read More →
