A three-hour drive separates the rolling hills of Minnesota’s Douglas County from the front steps of the Bell Museum of Natural History. But a year after the controversy over Troubled Waters—the Bell’s Emmy award-winning film on farmland pollution in the Mississippi River basin—brought words like “dead zone,” hypoxia” and “nitrogen fertilizer” to the attention of… Read More →
MADISON, Minn. — Are you a farmland owner who values good stewardship practices or a farmer looking to invest in soil building on rented land? The Land Stewardship Project (LSP), in partnership with the Lac Qui Parle Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD), is offering an online workshop on Tuesday, Jan. 24, to help you… Read More →
ROCHESTER, Minn. — A “Finding Farmland” workshop will be held Saturday, Sept. 15, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Peace United Church of Christ in Rochester (1503 2nd Ave. NE). This event, which is sponsored by the Land Stewardship Project (LSP) and National Young Farmers Coalition (NYFC), is free, but participants are asked to… Read More →
During yesterday’s otherwise excellent field day at the USDA’s soil conservation lab in Morris, the “S” word reared its ugly head. “S” as in our best farmland needs to be “sacrificed” in the name of food and fuel production, leaving room for only an odd corner here and there to provide a smattering of natural… Read More →
Brittany is seeking an internship near Fergus Falls, MN, Ottertail County. She is a beginner without much knowledge but an eagerness to learn. The ideal fit would be a 3-month internship where Brittany provides free labor. She would be willing to travel in a 20 mile range. If there are housing options available she would… Read More →
Anne on behalf of the Land Conservation Natural Burial Association is seeking to conserve/restore a minimum of 20 acres. But if the land directly touches other protected land, the minimum is much lower: just 5 acres (though more is welcome!). If you have a much larger parcel of land that you would like to conserve,… 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 →
