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Soil Health & Racial Justice — What?!

Farmers Seeking to Create a Just, De-centralized, Diverse Food & Farming System Talk Economic & Racial Justice

By Barbara Sogn-Frank
April 5, 2022

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The Questions…

What does soil health have to do with racial justice? Why does the Land Stewardship Project write articles and posts about racial justice for mostly homogenous, white audiences in rural, farming communities? From time to time, LSP soil health organizers are asked these questions by farmers at our field days and workshops.

Some answers to those questions came from a group of farmers at a gathering at the Stockton Community Center in southeastern Minnesota on a frigid, icy, winter Saturday in February. On that day, 18 southeastern Minnesota farmers plus some non-farming rural residents — all LSP members — came together to attend an economic justice and racial justice day-long workshop. The event offered opportunities to hear stories, share stories, ask questions, and learn about historic and present realities regarding how racial justice and agricultural economic justice are and have been deeply tied together and how the impacts are felt.

Workshop participant Karen Stettler presented a quilt she made as a reminder that we can all work together for positive change in our communities — one leaf at a time.

In response to the question, “Why are you here today?” this group of farmers revealed a shared desire to gather with other farmers, on-purpose, to think and discuss where hope lies for bringing about an agricultural economy, production system, society, and communities that thrive in health, prosperity and well-being.

Responses…

Over the past couple of years leading up to this winter workshop, many one-to-one conversations between LSP staff and LSP farmers have taken place. These conversations played a vital role in helping us learn from LSP’s farming and rural community members exactly what their concerns and desires are for how our organization works on and communicates about building upon the values of stewardship, justice, health, democracy and community. LSP staff can only have confidence that our work is on track when we know that it’s rooted in the mission and vision that our members have told us aligns with their values.

Following are some of the things that workshop attendees said they hoped to get out of a day together sharing and learning about the past and present situation when it comes to economic and racial justice in our American food and farming systems. They said they wanted to:

  • Hear authentic personal stories from other farmers from the community that help widen understanding of how economic justice and racial justice plays out in the community.
  • Gain confidence and use our skills to feel empowered to speak up and take action for economic and racial justice.
  • Hear discussions with representatives of minority groups and gain insight into other opinions, values, perspectives, and additional historical knowledge.
  • Find allies in a shared cause.
  • Learn in community and gain ideas for ways to think and explain things.
  • Do a deep dive into the topics of economic and racial justice…and maybe be pushed a little into discomfort….(but) have these conversations in a safe space.
  • Share activity and discussions with a group on how to better create dialog, community and educational learning with farmers of color. It’s hard as a white person to insert yourself and initiate contact when it comes to racial justice issues.

Throughout the Saturday workshop, attendees broke into pairs and small groups to share stories and consider tough questions. They participated in exercises that illuminated the realities of our economic system’s effects on people representing various socioeconomic standings. They heard from farmers in their community.

Winona County farmer and grazier Dan Wilson told of his efforts to “build power with other farmers who are also stuck in this economic machine.” His experience includes standing up and speaking out while working with others to reject racism and discrimination against vulnerable migrants and immigrants, most recently by fighting and winning against a community-severing proposal to construct an ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) detention facility in southeastern Minnesota.

Vegetable producer Sandy Dietz told a profound story about the brutal effects of agricultural lending practices and market forces on small and mid-sized independent family farmers. Her story highlighted the power of community which helped her family keep their farm operational after a couple of bad years of extreme weather and market conditions threatened to wipe out decades of focused, hard, smart, successful work building living soil and providing healthy food.

A key component of the workshop centered on walking the length of an 80-foot “Equity in the Food System Timeline,” which was created by a team led by farmer Zoe Hollomon of Midwest Farmers of Color Collective and Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA). The food and farming policy timeline provides a stunning snapshot of a long history of oppressive control over large groups of people (primarily people of color) by small groups of people (primarily white) over the centuries through control of land, life, and food. As Zoe said, “We believe that shared education about the history of racist policies and actions is essential so that we don’t repeat them.”

“Racial equity and justice work requires work at the personal level, at the organizational level, and at the systemic level. It’s about how…we show up every day, how we resist the norm, how we open decision-making tables, how we are allies, use our privilege,” said Susan Phillips, co-creator and co-facilitator of the timeline. “The work starts with us.”

Workshop attendees said that exposure to the Equity in the Food System Timeline, along with the discussions it prompted, helped them gain a heartfelt sense of historic, systemic abuse of power, how pervasive it is, that the system is still in play today, and that there is hope to create a new, just food and farming system.

A full day of connecting, learning, talking, laughing, relating, eating great local food and grappling with tough challenges concluded with a visual reminder in the form of quilted art presented by Karen Stettler, LSP land access organizer. Karen’s story of the tree she quilted sent everyone out with bright and hopeful reminders. We left thinking about the power of people working together for healthy land, clean water, and a sustainable environment. We were also reminded of our power to establish healing, just markets and economies, and to create beauty and livelihoods that help people and the planet thrive.

One Step at a Time…

We noted that some people have commented that LSP should “stay in its lane,” and that talking about racial and economic justice doesn’t have anything to do with farming. In fact, LSP’s “lane” has always been built on working for social, racial, and economic justice in our agricultural system, as our latest long range plan makes clear. The Land Stewardship Project launched in 1982 in response to the economic farm crisis and massive soil erosion. These two destructive forces resulted from policies advanced by people like the late Earl Butz, who was the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture between 1971 and 1976 and who favored promoting “get big or get out” large-scale corporate farming, no matter what it did to our land, communities, and food system.

We need to build the kind of soil health that supports healthier food, vibrant communities, and prosperous farms. And it’s become clear in recent years that living soil is critical to create sustainability in our environment and to counteract climate change.

Countering the “get big or get out” movement, 40 years ago LSP identified foundational values for creating a thriving food and farming system: stewardship, justice, health, democracy, and community. Wherever our lives are centered — town or country — we are all affected by systems we inherited and are now involved in creating, dismantling, or perpetuating either on-purpose or without thinking about it.

The same forces that created an unsustainable food and farming system that devastates the land and our communities undermines the ability of all people to thrive. A truly sustainable and regenerative agriculture system is rooted in healthy soil as well as justice and fairness for everyone, no matter their color or background. That’s why LSP will keep moving down this lane as much as possible — one leaf at a time.

LSP soil health organizer Barb Sogn-Frank can be reached at 612-400-6357 or via e-mail. To get involved with LSP’s racial justice work, click here.

Category: Blog
Tags: agriculture policy • economic justice • local food systems • racial justice • regional food systems • soil health • state policy

Upcoming Events

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February 2023

Tuesday February 7

9:00 am – 12:30 pm
Wholesale Readiness Training for Farmers
Wholesale Readiness Training for Farmers
Tuesday February 7
9:00 am – 12:30 pm

MISA, UMN Extension and Renewing the Countryside are offering training and one-to-one technical assistance for farmers who want to grow their operation into wholesale markets. Wholesale isn’t just for large-scale distributors. You can use this training and support team to prepare to sell to schools, restaurants, grocery stores and hospitals in your community. Participating farmers will be eligible for $500 mini-grants to cover expenses related to launching a wholesale enterprise. 

For details, click here.

10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Crop, Livestock & Soil Innovation Conferences Workshop
Crop, Livestock & Soil Innovation Conferences Workshop
Tuesday February 7
10:00 am – 2:00 pm

The Land Stewardship Project is a co-sponsor of the 2023 I-90 & Highway 14 Tour CLASIC. Network, learn, and get inspired with area farmers and regional farming innovators as we discuss current trends for improving productivity and profitability in crop and livestock operations utilizing soil-healthy practices. The Crop, Livestock, and Soil Innovation Conferences (CLASIC) is made up of two tours in Minnesota, traveling along Interstate 90 and Highway 14, consisting of several stops.

Click this link for more details and a complete listing of workshops. Each venue’s program is unique and varied — be sure to check them all out and register for multiple events.

The speakers for the Feb. 7 workshop are Dean Sponheim and Andy Linder. Sponheim is a 4th generation farmer from Mitchell County Iowa. He began strip-tilling in 1999, aerial applying cover crops in the fall of 2012, and started a cover crop seed business in 2014 and no-tilling corn and soybeans in 2019.

Linder farms with his dad near Easton, Minn. Their soil health journey unintentionally started in 2010 when they purchased a vertical tillage machine. In fall 2016 they put cover crops on every acre.They now no-till most of their corn aces and do some strip-till trials.

For more information and to register, click here.

Wednesday February 8

9:00 am – 2:30 pm
Crop, Livestock & Soil Health Conferences Workshop
Crop, Livestock & Soil Health Conferences Workshop
Wednesday February 8
9:00 am – 2:30 pm

The Land Stewardship Project is a co-sponsor of the 2023 I-90 & Highway 14 Tour CLASIC. Network, learn, and get inspired with area farmers and regional farming innovators as we discuss current trends for improving productivity and profitability in crop and livestock operations utilizing soil-healthy practices. The Crop, Livestock, and Soil Innovation Conferences (CLASIC) is made up of two tours in Minnesota, traveling along Interstate 90 and Highway 14, consisting of several stops.

Click this link for more details and a complete listing of workshops. Each venue’s program is unique and varied — be sure to check them all out and register for multiple events.

The speakers for the Feb. 8 workshop are Dean Sponheim, Martin Larsen, and Andy Linder.

Sponheim is a fourth-generation farmer from Mitchell County, Iowa. He began strip-tilling in 1999 and began no-tilling his corn and soybean acres in 2019. Sponheim started aerial applying cover crops in 2012 and in 2014 started a cover crop seed business.

Martin Larsen farms 700 acres near Byron, Minn., producing corn, soybeans, cover crops and food-grade oats in a full no-till system. As an Olmsted County Soil and Water Conservation District staffer, he gives technical assistance to farmers and manages soil health test plots.

Andy Linder farms with his dad, Don, near Easton, Minn. Together, they raise corn, soybeans, oats, canning crops, and grass hay. Their journey to soil health unintentionally started in 2010 when they purchased a vertical tillage machine. In the fall of 2016, a cover crop was put on every acre and they continue using cover crops. He has transitioned to most corn being no-till.

For more information and to register for the Feb. 8 workshop, click here.

Thursday February 9

9:30 am – 1:30 pm
Crop, Livestock & Soil Innovation Conferences Workshop
Crop, Livestock & Soil Innovation Conferences Workshop
Thursday February 9
9:30 am – 1:30 pm

The Land Stewardship Project is a co-sponsor of the 2023 I-90 & Highway 14 Tour CLASIC. Network, learn, and get inspired with area farmers and regional farming innovators as we discuss current trends for improving productivity and profitability in crop and livestock operations utilizing soil-healthy practices. The Crop, Livestock, and Soil Innovation Conferences (CLASIC) is made up of two tours in Minnesota, traveling along Interstate 90 and Highway 14, consisting of several stops.

Click this link for more details and a complete listing of workshops. Each venue’s program is unique and varied — be sure to check them all out and register for multiple events.

The speakers for the Feb. 9 workshop are Dean Sponheim and Martin Larsen.

Sponheim is a fourth-generation farmer from Mitchell County, Iowa. He began strip-tilling in 1999 and began no-tilling his corn and soybean acres in 2019. Sponheim started aerial applying cover crops in 2012 and in 2014 started a cover crop seed business.

Martin Larsen farms 700 acres near Byron, Minn., producing corn, soybeans, cover crops, and food-grade oats in a full no-till system. As an
Olmsted County Soil and Water Conservation District staffer, he gives technical assistance to farmers and manages soil health test plots.

For more information and to register for the Feb. 9 workshop, click here.

5:30 pm – 8:30 pm
LSP Farm Transition Planning Course: Session 3
LSP Farm Transition Planning Course: Session 3
Thursday February 9
5:30 pm – 8:30 pm

…Are you a farm family or landowner thinking about the future or next steps for your farm?

…Are you interested in planning for the next generation of farmers on your land?

…Do you have a spouse/partner helping to make these decisions? Are you both on the same page?

…Are you ready to begin the planning process but don’t know where to start?

THE WORKSHOPS WILL FOCUS ON: 

  • Values and Vision;  
  • Financial,  tax, and legal considerations; 
  • Options for farm transitions; 
  • Resources to guide the planning process,
  • Communication tools. 

YOU WILL COME AWAY WITH:

  • Tools to use that will help gain clarity around your future planning
  • Next steps toward creating a farm transition plan
  • Ideas and advice from other farmers and professionals 
  • Networks and support to continue to share and learn
  • Individualized support

Session One: Thursday, Jan. 26: The focus will be on values and vision. In addition, we will be getting to know one another, discussing expectations for the course, and understanding where folks are in the transition planning process.

Session Two: Thursday, Feb. 2: The focus will be on financial planning. Presenter Joy Kirkpatrick, a Succession Outreach Specialist for the University of Wisconsin Center for Dairy Profitability, will share her 29 years of experience working with farm families as they assess their financial needs for retirement and how that impacts their farm transition.

Session Three: Thursday, Feb. 9: The focus will be on legal issues in planning a farm transition. Jason Wagner, an attorney with Wagner Oehler Ltd., will share his experience and knowledge regarding legal aspects that need to be considered when planning a farm transition.

Session Four: Thursday, Feb. 16: The focus will be on communications and intergenerational considerations which are critical to a successful farm transition and that are often overlooked.

Session Five: Thursday, Feb. 23: The focus will be on long -term care issues. Kate Graham, an attorney with an elder law focus, will share her knowledge and experience of what needs to be considered when planning long-term care and how a farm transition can be impacted.  

Session Six: Thursday, March 2: The focus will be on integrating all that has been discussed and sharing resources (people, organizations, and materials) that are available to help continue the farm transition planning process. The goal is for each family to create individual next steps to continue the farm transition planning process once the course is over.

To register, click here.

View Full Calendar

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