I’m not sure I would recommend this, but I recently read two books back-to-back that represent the “how” extremes of today’s food system. I started out with The Town That Food Saved: How One Community Found Vitality in Local Food, and, literally within minutes of finishing it, picked up Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food… Read More →
If ever there was a shining example of a smart public investment in our food and farming future, Minnesota’s Sustainable Agriculture Demonstration Grant Program is it. This program has been an important driver of sustainable (and conventional) farming innovations in the state for almost a quarter-century. Farmers who qualify for these competitive grants are able… Read More →
Talking about the importance of feeding soil microbes is fine. Speaking with your feet is even better. “Take a closer look—anything you tramp down is just carbon in the soil,” quips soil conservationist Jay Fuhrer on a Thursday afternoon in early September. As he says this, he’s beckoning some 120 farmers and others to follow… Read More →
The sustainable agriculture community lost a true friend this week when Bud Markhart passed away after a courageous battle with cancer. I had the opportunity to interview Markhart last fall for an LSP podcast. He was a professor of horticultural science at the U of M, and so it’s no surprise that he made his… Read More →
When a new food and farming model is introduced to a region, it can be slow to catch on—if at all. On the other hand, sometimes a new concept takes off like a galloping horse, challenging its practitioners to hang on for the ride. One Saturday last October, Kristianna Gehant and Nick Siddens were on… Read More →
MORRIS, Minn. — Any public policy related to creating a positive future for dairy farming must include strong provisions for controlling the rampant growth of mega-operations in the region while instituting market reforms, argues the Land Stewardship Project (LSP) in official comments submitted to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) today. From now until Oct.… Read More →
MORRIS, Minn. — By giving the green light to what will be the largest concentrated animal feeding operation in Minnesota history, Stevens County officials have cast a vote for a type of livestock production that threatens water quality, puts small and medium-sized farmers out of business and empties rural Main Streets, said the Land Stewardship… Read More →
Sign Up for E-mail Delivery of The Land Line RANCH Act Introduced to Help Rebuild Cattle Herd (8/21/26) Beef Magazine reports that two U.S. Senators have introduced a bipartisan bill that has the goal of boosting the grazing of beef cattle on perennial grasses and forbs. Highlights: The “Rebuilding America’s National Cow Herd (RANCH) Act,”… Read More →
BYRON, Minn. — How do you grapple with a hidden problem? That was a question at the center of a Land Stewardship Project (LSP) “Smarter Nitrogen Policy” discussion involving around two dozen farmers, water quality experts and state legislators at the Martin Larsen farm near Byron Aug. 20. “We fix what we can see —… Read More →
MORRIS, Minn. — The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) has joined Food & Water Watch in suing the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) over the state’s recent failure to order an environmental impact statement (EIS) for Riverview’s proposed West River Dairy expansion near Morris. If built, the 18,855-cow facility would be the largest factory farm in… Read More →
