The U.S Drought Monitor released its latest figures yesterday, verifying what we already knew: Minnesota is extremely dry. In fact, 55 percent of our state now falls under the “severe drought” or “moderate drought” category. Over 60 percent Minnesota’s subsoil moisture is “short” or “very short.” The National Drought Mitigation Center reported that in August… Read More →
Pack-shed or people? That’s the question Les Macare and Els Dobrick are grappling with on a dank day in mid-March as they brave a biting wind to inspect the garden plots, cover crops, and outbuildings on Racing Heart Farm in western Wisconsin. With the exception of some onions sprouting in one of the hoop houses,… Read More →
DECORAH, Iowa — A farm tour on creative ways to get access to farmland will be held Sunday, Sept. 29, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., at Humble Hands Harvest in Decorah (2741 Hidden Falls Road). This Land Stewardship Project (LSP) event is free but RSVPs are required. To reserve a spot or for more… Read More →
Water, as Land Stewardship Project board member Vince Ready says, is vital for life. When Governor Mark Dayton’s Water Summit takes place on Feb. 27, it’s likely a lot of innovative proposals for solving Minnesota’s water quality crisis will be discussed. That’s good, because this Summit is centered around one of the most basic questions… Read More →
When I heard that Land Stewardship Project board member Loretta Jaus was being recognized by the White House this week as a “Champion of Change for Sustainable and Climate-Smart Agriculture,” I couldn’t think of a more deserving recipient. From the first time almost a decade ago that I visited the western Minnesota dairy operation she… Read More →
CANNON FALLS, Minn. — Shea-Lynn Ramthun stood in a recently harvested oat field on her family’s farm near Cannon Falls last week and described to a couple dozen lawmakers a dilemma that’s all-too-common in the agriculture business: she had just successfully raised a bumper crop, only to run into the brick wall of not having… 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 →
I got a call from a colleague this morning asking how I was dealing with the corona virus pandemic and I said I was feeling grateful. Grateful to live in a rural area where my primary activity outside of working for the Land Stewardship Project is goofing around outside collecting firewood and going for long… Read More →
