When it comes to making the ag landscape healthier, how much is enough? One day in 2007, a farmer walked into Paul Wymar’s office in Montevideo, Minn., not far from where the Chippewa River drains into the Minnesota River. He had a question for Wymar, who at the time was a scientist for the Chippewa… Read More →
I recently witnessed the return of life to Jordan and Rachelle Meyers’ fields, which are transitioning from giant ragweed and thistles into soil-building plants such as chicory, red clover, and wild bergamot. During the past few years, the family, which farms in southeastern Minnesota’s Houston County, has used hard work and attention to the soil… Read More →
One day in 2014, a man stopped by Bill and Bonnie McMillin’s farm tucked away in the hills of southeastern Minnesota’s Wabasha County and offered to pay cash for all 160 acres, lock, stock and barrel. Such an offer can be tempting. After all, Bill and Bonnie had worked hard over the previous few decades… Read More →
With a single phrase, we can put conservation to work on rented land. And that would have a major impact from a landscape point of view: more than half the crops in Minnesota and Iowa alone are produced on rented acres, and every one of them could be saving soil, water, habitat and money with… Read More →
Ready for the Next Step (part 1) Jon Kaiser is less than a year away from paying off his Farm Beginnings livestock loan. He smiles when he says this, because it means he’s just a little bit closer to making farming more than just a fantasy. “I’m surprised I’ve come this far,” says the 35-year-old… Read More →
At a time when rural residents are grappling with high food insecurity, an innovative Wisconsin program is connecting local farmers with local eaters. More Information • Wisconsin Local Food Purchase Assistance Program • LSP’s Community-Based Food Systems Web Page • Latino Economic Development Center • Threshing Table Farm You can find LSP Ear to the Ground podcast… Read More →
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — During these uncertain times brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, buying a share in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm makes more sense than ever, according to the Land Stewardship Project (LSP). LSP’s 2020 edition of the Twin Cities, Minnesota & Western Wisconsin Region Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Directory (www.landstewardshipproject.org/stewardshipfood/csa) lists over… Read More →
RUSHFORD, Minn. — A special Land Stewardship Project workshop on how conventional and organic farmers can utilize the roller-crimper to build soil health and suppress weeds will be held Thursday, March 7, at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Rushford (103 N. Mill Street). During the workshop, Dr. Erin Silva of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and… Read More →
It has become far too common these days to open a newspaper or hear from a neighbor about another small dairy going under, whether it be from a labor shortage, slim margins on low milk prices, or the nonstop work of running a dairy single-handedly. I am a Land Stewardship Project soil health organizer, tasked… Read More →
As you may have heard, the stormy weather of this past weekend inflicted heavy damage on numerous Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms in the Minnesota-western Wisconsin region. The timing of the hail and heavy winds couldn’t have been worse—in many cases entire plantings were wiped out in a matter of minutes, decimating months of preparation… Read More →
