Ear to the Ground 260: Soil Health’s Long View
Martin Larsen’s integration of small grains into his cropping operation is centered on building economic and ecological resiliency beyond the next growing season.
For more information…
Are you farming in southeastern Minnesota and need help getting started in your soil health journey? LSP has put together a directory of technical assistance providers in southeastern Minnesota that can provide funding for cover crop establishment, as well as equipment rentals, testing services, and more. Check it out here.
Check out our LSP’s web calendar for the latest field Days, workshops and pasture walks.
Check out LSP’s new series of videos featuring farmers who are utilizing various methods to build soil health profitably.
Check out LSP’s ongoing Ear Dirt podcast series for conversations on cover cropping, no-till, managed rotational grazing, fungi, and just about anything else that builds soil health.
If you have an idea you’d like to have featured in a video, blog, podcast, or field day, contact us.
LSP’s Soil Health, Water & Climate Change: A Pocket Guide to What You Need to Know, is available as a pdf document or as a mobile-friendly app.
In October 2020, a special LSP report was published: “Building the Bridge to Soil Health: The Power of Organizing Farmer-to-Farmer Engagement.” It describes the organization’s experience with launching the Bridge to Soil Health initiative. The report is available here.
Download file | Play in new window | Duration: 21:03 | Recorded on October 25, 2021
Martin Larsen’s integration of small grains into his cropping operation is centered on building economic and ecological resiliency beyond the next growing season.
For more information…
Download file | Play in new window | Duration: 21:03 | Recorded on October 25, 2021
EYOTA, Minn. — Test plots, interseeding and grazing cover crops, fencing around crop fields, pollinator plantings and transitioning to organic will be the focus of a…
Download file | Play in new window | Duration: 21:03 | Recorded on October 25, 2021
Note: Earlier this summer, Land Stewardship Project soil health organizer Alex Romano reached out to one of our soil health steering committee members, Mike Seifert…
On Saturday, June 3, Wisconsin Farmers Unions will be holding a farm visit at Baldur Farm (N7659 950th St., River Falls,WI 54022) for landowners and renters looking to lease to the next generation of farmers.
Joyce Monari, a native of Kenya, has been growing two types of chinsaga, a type of green familiar to her people, for several years on Baldur Farm. She will show participants her garden, talk about her crops, and discuss the difficulty of finding land.
Juliet Tomkins and Prescott Bergh have rented land to a variety of farmers over the years, from beginning CSA growers to livestock operators. They will talk about their experiences, which have led to the contract they now use to ensure understanding between themselves and their renters before problems arise.
Light snacks and refreshments provided after the talks. Maureen and Rich, the farmers at Baldur Farm, will be on-hand to answer questions about their draft horses. Attendees are welcome to walk the farm trails.
For more information, contact the Farmers Union’s Maureen Ash at maureen7ash@gmail.com.
Stewards of the Land/Serán las dueñas de la tierrais a feature documentary about Stephanie, Ian, and Alfredo, three young landless ecological farmers in Puerto Rico striving to produce healthy food for local consumption.
In this economically depressed U.S. territory, producing food locally is urgent. The archipelago sits on the path of powerful hurricanes, an increasing threat as the climate crisis worsens. Puerto Rico is highly dependent on food imports and a third of its population lives food insecurity.
The story begins when the protagonists arrive for the first time on the public lands they rent. The farms have been abandoned for decades and lack the most basic infrastructure to get started. The story follows the protagonists as they struggle to get the farms running before and after powerful hurricanes devastate the archipelago. The documentary shows the protagonists’ grit as they attempt to carve a living without land ownership or capital.
There are two opportunities to participate:
Stewards of the Land/Serán las dueñas de la tierrais a feature documentary about Stephanie, Ian, and Alfredo, three young landless ecological farmers in Puerto Rico striving to produce healthy food for local consumption.
In this economically depressed U.S. territory, producing food locally is urgent. The archipelago sits on the path of powerful hurricanes, an increasing threat as the climate crisis worsens. Puerto Rico is highly dependent on food imports and a third of its population lives food insecurity.
The story begins when the protagonists arrive for the first time on the public lands they rent. The farms have been abandoned for decades and lack the most basic infrastructure to get started. The story follows the protagonists as they struggle to get the farms running before and after powerful hurricanes devastate the archipelago. The documentary shows the protagonists’ grit as they attempt to carve a living without land ownership or capital.
There are two opportunities to participate:
The Environmental & Economic Clusters of Opportunity (EECO) grant provides an ecosystem services payment as well as risk management payments to growers enrolled in the program for winter barley, hybrid winter rye, winter camelina, and Kernza. Join us for an introductory webinar series on these four crops where we pair University researchers and Extension professionals with farmers who have trialed these crops on-farm. The webinar on June 6 will be on winter barley and will feature Jochum Wiersma (UMN Extension small grains agronomist) and Kurt Kimber (farmer, Hampton, Minn.).
To sign-up for the June 6 webinar on winter barley, click here. These presentations will be recorded for future viewing if you’re not able to make it.
The Environmental & Economic Clusters of Opportunity (EECO) grant provides an ecosystem services payment as well as risk management payments to growers enrolled in the program for winter barley, hybrid winter rye, winter camelina, and Kernza. Join us for an introductory webinar series on these four crops where we pair University researchers and Extension professionals with farmers who have trialed these crops on-farm. On June 7, there will be a webinar on winter camelina. Presenters include Matthew Ott (UMN post doc researcher, camelina genetics) and Anne Schwagerl (farmer, Browns Valley, Minn.).
To sign-up for the June 7 webinar on winter camelina, click here. These presentations will be recorded for future viewing if you’re not able to make it.