Soil Health

LSP's 'Power of Soil Health' 2022 Billboard Campaign, Southern MN

Field Days & Workshops

Check out our LSP’s web calendar for the latest field Days, workshops and pasture walks.

Soil Builders' Video Page

Check out LSP’s new series of videos featuring farmers who are utilizing various methods to build soil health profitably.

Ear Dirt Soil Health Podcast Series

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.

Got an Idea?

If you have an idea you’d like to have featured in a video, blog, podcast, or field day, contact us.

Soil Health Pocket Guide

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.

Report: Building the Bridge to Soil Health

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.

Soil Health Blogs, Podcasts & Stories

Ear to the Ground 260: Soil Health’s Long View

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…

Ear to the Ground 260: Soil Health’s Long View
‘Test Plots, Cover Crop Interseeding, Pollinators & Grazing’ Field Day Sept. 30 on Lawler Farm Near Eyota

September 13, 2022
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…

News Releases
cover crops, interseeding, no-till, organic, pollinators, rotational grazing, soil health

‘Test Plots, Cover Crop Interseeding, Pollinators & Grazing’ Field Day Sept. 30 on Lawler Farm Near Eyota
Cover Crop ROI & All That Matters

July 27, 2022
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…

Blog
Braiding Sweetgrass, climate change, cover crops, Dana Seifert, Mike Seifert, ROI, soil health, Uninhabitable Earth

Cover Crop ROI & All That Matters

Soil Health Team

- Shona Langseth, Programs Department co-director,
  612-767-9886, e-mail
- Alex Romano, grazing,
  612-767-9880, e-mail
- Barbara Sogn-Frank, field crops,
  612-400-6357, e-mail
- Robin Moore, non-operating landowners,
  612-767-9480, e-mail
- Maura Curry, field crops,
  612-767-9882, e-mail

Upcoming Events

February 2023

Monday February 6

8:30 am – 1:30 pm: Crop, Livestock & Soil Innovation Conferences Workshop

Crop, Livestock & Soil Innovation Conferences Workshop

Monday February 6

8:30 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 speaker for the Feb. 6 event will be Dean Sponheim, a fourth-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.

To register for the Feb. 6 workshop, click here.
3:30 pm – 5:30 pm: Produce Safety Alliance Grower Training Course

Produce Safety Alliance Grower Training Course

Monday February 6

3:30 pm – 5:30 pm

This Northeast Wisconsin Technical College course is for produce growers who want to navigate the best food safety practices for growing vegetable produce. It is for farmers who need to comply with this FSMA (Food Safety Modernization Act) requirement:

“At least one supervisor or responsible party for your farm must have successfully completed food and safety training at least equivalent to that received under standardized curriculum recognized as adequate by the Food and Drug Administration.”

Upon completion of the course, you will receive an AFDO/PSA certificate verifying that you fulfilled the requirements of the training. The cost of the certification is covered by Wisconsin Farmers Union.

For more information, click here.

Registration: Enroll in class #22701. Call or text NWTC at 1-888-385-6982 for help enrolling or go to this link: https://www.nwtc.edu/admissions-and-aid/contact-nwtc.

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.

View Full Calendar

Ear to the Ground 260: Soil Health’s Long View

‘Test Plots, Cover Crop Interseeding, Pollinators & Grazing’ Field Day Sept. 30 on Lawler Farm Near Eyota

Cover Crop ROI & All That Matters

Soil Health Team