Ear to the Ground Podcast

Here you will find LSP’s 20-year collection of podcasts featuring farmers, scientists, and others telling stories from the land. You can find LSP Ear to the Ground podcast episodes on Pandora, iTunes, and other podcast platforms.

Ear to the Ground 188: Telling a New Story About Race

Autumn Brown talks about how we can counter the myths that lead to racial injustice in rural America and elsewhere.

Ear to the Ground 187: Soil & Survival

Allen Williams on soil health, livestock and “compounding, cascading effects.”

Ear to the Ground 186: New LSP Leadership

George Boody and Mark Schultz discuss their personal passions and how LSP brings about positive change as the organization prepares for a leadership transition.

Ear to the Ground 185: Beauty Beneath Our Feet

An artist uses her work to introduce people to the wonders of the soil universe.

Ear to the Ground 184: Cross-Border Connections

LSP members see firsthand how rural Mexicans are using their connections to the land to fight the corporate takeover of ag.

Ear to the Ground 183: Rains Don’t Lie

Seeing is believing: a rain simulator shows the value of continuous living cover on farm fields.

Ear to the Ground 182: Cover, Cattle, Clean Water

How rotational grazing on one farm is improving profits, wildlife habitat and community relations.

Ear to the Ground 181: Diverse Land, Drunk Grasshoppers

How birds, biology and food production blend on one Minnesota dairy farm.

Ear to the Ground 180: Forging Strong Ties from Weak Links

Using Farm Beginnings and Journeyperson training to make holistic decisions on a community farm.

Ear to the Ground 179: Risky Business

LSP investigates how innovative farmers manage economic and agronomic risk.

Upcoming Events

March 2025

Thursday March 13

8:30 am – 4:00 pm

Nitrogen in Southeastern Minnesota

Thursday March 13

8:30 am – 4:00 pm

Nitrogen in Southeastern Minnesota

AUNE HALL (4-H BUILDING), 1508 Aune Dr SE, Rochester, MN 55904, USA

University of Minnesota Extension will conduct a day long meeting in Rochester for farmers and those involved in agriculture to discuss the current situation related to nitrogen management.

Topics covered include:

An update on the current regulatory and policy situation
How nitrogen behaves in the environment and how it gets into water
The dynamics of groundwater recharge in southeast Minnesota.
Best management practices for both commercial fertilizer and manure, based on local research
On-farm nitrogen management research results in southeast Minnesota

The day will conclude with a panel discussion of local farmers talking about how they manage nitrogen inputs on their farm. In addition to the presentations, several resource booths will be set up for one-on-one discussion regarding various programs, services, and information.

To register, click here.

9:00 am – 10:30 am

LSP Family Farm Breakfast & Day at the Capitol

Thursday March 13

9:00 am – 10:30 am

LSP Family Farm Breakfast & Day at the Capitol

Christ Lutheran Church (ELCA), 105 University Ave W, St Paul, MN 55103, USA

We are excited to announce that Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison will be joining us as our keynote speaker for the Family Farm Breakfast. AG Ellison has a long history of standing up against consolidation in the food and farming system and showing up for rural communities, including this past month filing a lawsuit to give all farmers the right to repair the farm equipment they own as they chose.

RSVP to join the Land Stewardship Project for the 2025 Family Farm Breakfast & Lobby Day on Thursday, March 13, in Saint Paul at Christ Lutheran Church on Capitol Hill.

Join us for breakfast as we ground ourselves in good food and community and bring our voices to our legislators.

Gather with hundreds of members and supporters, partners, and public officials over a delicious meal featuring locally-sourced products from LSP members’ farms.
Hear directly from LSP members about the issues LSP is working on and how we’re organizing for change.
Stay for our Lobby Day to meet with your Minnesota Senator, Minnesota Representative, and other public officials.

Tickets

The breakfast will be served from 9 a.m. to 10:30 am. Choose to stay for our Lobby Day programming and legislator meetings that will follow throughout the day. Please choose the ticket level that works best for you.

We do not want logistics or cost to limit participation. Please reach out to request support not offered in this registration form: tschulte@landstewardshipproject.org.

Breakfast Mugs

Every year we love to commemorate our lobby day with a new LSP Family Farm Breakfast mug! Our mugs are sourced from American-made companies, union-printed, and are handsomely designed with new art each year. Consider ordering a mug to enjoy with your freshly brewed coffee at the breakfast, and then take it home to fill your cup for years to come.

RSVP today to join us at the breakfast!

6:00 pm – 7:30 pm

SFA Homestead Gardening & Seed Starting for Beginners Webinar

Thursday March 13

6:00 pm – 7:30 pm

SFA Homestead Gardening & Seed Starting for Beginners Webinar

Zoom Online

You’ve seen the YouTube videos and listened to podcasts about living a simpler life and growing some, or more, of your own food. Perhaps you’re a loyal customer at the farmers’ market or a parent looking to show your kids where their food comes from.

Growing your own food is a lovely and beautiful thing, but ABILITY, TIME and SPACE make you worry how you could ever do it yourself.

Caroline Hegstrom of The Boreal Farm owns and operates a successful, diversified farming operation that features certified organic CSA shares, flowers, and a farmstand near Lake Superior. Caroline is passionate about the homesteading movement and uses her knowledge and experience to help people to grow their own food, as well as build community. Recently, she started a business called Taiga Farm & Seed where she pairs gardeners with appropriate seed collections.

This SFA webinar will feature:

Starting from scratch: easing into Homestead Gardening
Seed Starting and Troubleshooting 101
What can I grow in a Northern climate?

Registration: It is free to participate. Advance registration is required to receive the Zoom link. To register, click here.

Saturday March 15

9:00 am – 1:00 pm: POSTPONED: LSP Western MN Small Grains Workshop
Saturday March 15
9:00 am – 1:00 pm
POSTPONED: LSP Western MN Small Grains Workshop
Mckinney's on Southside, 300 14th St S, Benson, MN 56215, USA
NOTE: This event has been postponed due to weather.

Building on the momentum of LSP’s small grain marketing workshop in Albert Lea, Minn., last month, the Land Stewardship Project is offering a workshop in western Minnesota on March 15 in Benson, Minn. All those curious about small grains are welcome!

This FREE event will offer attendees the opportunity to learn from local leaders and innovators about the benefits of small grains in farming operations, conversations about markets, and the infrastructure needs to support them.

The event takes place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 15, at McKinney’s on Southside in Benson, Minnesota.

To register and to secure a spot, click here.

For more information, contact LSP’s Alex Kiminski at 925-207-3721 or at akiminski@landstewardshipproject.org.
12:00 pm – 4:00 pm: LSP Mixer for Aspiring Farmers
Saturday March 15
12:00 pm – 4:00 pm
LSP Mixer for Aspiring Farmers
First Universalist Church, 3400 Dupont Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55408, USA
What: A Land Stewardship Project farmer mixer to bring aspiring farmers together to chat/dream/hash/connect/share around the possibilities of cooperative/community/collective farming.

Why: Affordable/just land access continues to be a huge challenge. More and more aspiring farmers are looking to more equitable/just/affordable ways to grow food for their communities.

How: Sharing a meal, optional potluck from noon to 1 p.m. Informal, guided conversations and facilitated connections around emerging themes from 1 p.m.-4 p.m.

For details and to register, click here.

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