On a misty June morning in northeastern Iowa, Nikki Meyer led half-a-dozen farmers down a field road through a thick stand of oaks and other hardwoods. The going was tough — the road dropped 400 vertical feet in less than half-a-mile, and a half-inch rain earlier had made the footing greasy with mud. Sensing that… Read More →
Oct. 9: An LSP Round-up of News Covering Land, People & Communities Minnesota Department of Transportation rethinks no-spray ditch program after yanking signs (10/9/20) The Minnesota Department of Transportation is reevaluating its decision to pull “Do Not Spray” signs without warning in southeastern Minnesota, according to the Star Tribune. Farmers, including LSP members, had complained… Read More →
The Midwest has Lost 57.6 Billion Metric Tons of Soil Due to Agricultural Practices (3/16/22) The Midwest has lost approximately 57.6 billion metric tons of topsoil since farmers began tilling the soil, 160 years ago. And this is despite conservation practices put in place in the wake of the Dust Bowl in the 1930s, according to Phys.org. Much… Read More →
Dec. 18: An LSP Round-up of News Covering Land, People & Communities National Soil Erosion Rates on Track to Repeat Dust Bowl-era Losses Eight Times Over (12/16/20) Unhealthy farming practices and more extreme weather spurred by climate change will lead to an increased rate of soil erosion across the U.S. in the coming decades, according… Read More →
Nov. 29: An LSP Round-up of News Covering Land, People & Communities Why Non-operating Landowners Need to be Part of the Conservation Dialogue (11/22/20) Non-operating landowners, otherwise known as NOLOs, are generally in favor of conservation programs and practices, as are the farmers who operate on their land. But there is often a disconnect between… Read More →
Land Stewardship Project members believe that the kind of agricultural system and democracy we have is up to us. Our members are the experts when it comes to their communities and farms and, together, we can and must make regenerative agriculture the norm, rather than the exception. We believe our public institutions exist to serve the… Read More →
Emily is seeking a farmer to rent 80 acres (25 tillable, 15 pasture, 20 forested, and 20 other) in Southwest Michigan in Berrien County. There is a barn, field shelters, and a licensed meat freezer storage/farm store. Also there is fencing, animal travel lanes, animal watering pipeline, 2 wells, internet, sheep equipment, and stock trailer. … Read More →
Corey is seeking 150 acres of tillable land and 100 acres of pasture land in Northwestern Wisconsin or East Central Minnesota. A barn, pole sheds and other usable buildings would be a plus, as well as fencing and water/ponds. Available 8/26/25.
As a retired dairy farmer, I remember the hard fought battles between family farmers and utility companies over high voltage power lines cutting across Minnesota in the 1970s. One of the outcomes of this was the “Buy the Farm” law. Essentially, this law says that farmers and landowners have the right to require that companies… Read More →
Do you own farmland and want to make sure it is taken care of using good stewardship practices? Two “Managing for Stewardship” workshops are being presented in Minnesota this winter by the Land Stewardship Project (LSP) and the Upper Mississippi Region of the League of Women Voters. These workshops are for farmland owners, retired farm… Read More →
