CAFO

Approval of Riverview Facility Threatens Water, Family Farms & Rural Communities

Public Has Until Oct. 1 to Comment on Impacts of Mega-Dairies

September 2, 2026

MORRIS, Minn. — By giving the green light to what will be the largest concentrated animal feeding operation in Minnesota history, Stevens County officials have cast a vote for a type of livestock production that threatens water quality, puts small and medium-sized farmers out of business and empties rural Main Streets, said the Land Stewardship…  Read More →

Category: News Releases
Tags: • • • • • •

Next Steps in the Riverview Fight

Sign up for LSP's Digital Dairy Action Network

August 26, 2026

We wanted to share an important update from Stevens County, where Riverview LLP is seeking approval to expand its West River Dairy near Morris from 7,855 cows to 18,855 cows — a project that would make it the largest dairy facility and largest concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) in Minnesota. On Aug. 19, the Stevens…  Read More →

Category: Action Alerts
Tags: • • •

It’s Not Over Until It’s Over — A Riverview Update

Riverview expected a rubber stamp. Our community won invaluable time.

August 7, 2026

On Monday, Aug. 3, Land Stewardship Project members and local residents gathered at the Stevens County Planning and Zoning public meeting — and because our community showed up, spoke out, and organized together, we won an important step forward. Riverview demonstrated a very organized corporate approach. But our community met that pressure with real people…  Read More →

Category: Blog
Tags: • •

Land Line: Nitrate Pollution, Oats, Packers at the Trough, Consolidation, Right to Repair, Crop Profits, Bird Flu

By Brian DeVore (editor)
July 10, 2026

Sign Up for E-mail Delivery of The Land Line Report Calls for Stricter Fertilizer Rules as US Nitrate Pollution Crisis Grows (6/1/26) The New Lede writes about a report that finds lax regulations and mismanaged applications are contributing to making nitrogen runoff a major water pollution problem in the U.S. Highlights: U.S. farmers annually apply…  Read More →

Category: Blog
Tags: • • • • • • • • • •

When Industrial Dairy Comes to Town, Rural Communities are Fighting Back

Tri-state coalition webinar shows how industrial dairy expansion is not a “done deal” when rural communities get organized. 

By Heather Benson
June 10, 2026

Across South Dakota, North Dakota, and Minnesota, rural residents are facing a growing wave of industrial dairy proposals that could reshape their communities for decades. On June 3, a coalition of organizations hosted “Community Responses to Industrial Dairy Proposals in SD, ND, and MN,” a webinar where community members and advocates shared what they are seeing on…  Read More →

Category: Blog
Tags: • • • • • • • • • • •

Land Line: Dairy $$ Impact, Farm Bankruptcies, Seed Antitrust, Nitrates, Bat Bucks, Busting Bees, Pesticides & Cancer, Compost

By Brian DeVore (editor)
May 29, 2026

Sign Up for E-mail Delivery of The Land Line Opinion: Huge Dairy Operations Change the Fabric of Farm Country (5/28/26) Dairy farmer Duane Holker writes in the Minnesota Star Tribune that plans to build the largest dairy operation in Minnesota are a threat to producers like himself, as well as rural communities in general. Highlights:…  Read More →

Category: Blog
Tags: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Land Line: Nitrates, High Tech Mismatch, Dairy Soil Health, USDA Cuts, A Dairy’s Demise, New Farm Bill, Whole Grain Baking

By Brian DeVore (editor)
May 12, 2026

Sign Up for E-mail Delivery of The Land Line Nearly One-Fifth of Americans Are Consuming Water With High Levels of Nitrates (4/27/26) Close to 20% of Americans are exposed to water polluted with high levels of potentially cancer-causing nitrates, known to come mostly from agricultural runoff, according to a study reported on in Inside Climate…  Read More →

Category: Blog
Tags: • • • • • • • • • • • •

Wading into Hostile Waters

This Week's MPCA Meeting on Riverview Highlights the Importance of Being Allowed to Ask Authentic Questions

By Brian DeVore
May 1, 2026

When debating a controversial topic in public, a well-proven trick is to never ask a question you don’t already have the answer to. That technique was on full display Tuesday evening in a packed-to-the-gills meeting held at Old No. 1 Bar & Grill in Morris, Minn. The topic at hand was a proposal by Riverview…  Read More →

Category: Blog
Tags: • • • • • •

Land Line: Nitrate Pollution, Sensing Trouble, Fertilizer Prices, Price Crunch, EIS for CAFOs, MAHA & School Lunch, Oats

By Brian DeVore (editor)
April 24, 2026

Sign Up for E-mail Delivery of The Land Line Nitrate is Quietly Polluting Rural Drinking Wells. How Researchers are Working to Help (4/21/26) Harvest Public Media reports that across the Midwest and Great Plains, large-scale fertilizer application and livestock facilities have increased the pace of nitrate contamination accumulating in groundwater. Highlights: Scientists have tested more…  Read More →

Category: Blog
Tags: • • • • • • • • • • • •

Land Line: Riverview, Community Foods, State Farm Bills, Avian Flu, Nitrogen Fertilizer, Glyphosate & Cancer, MCOOL

By Brian DeVore (editor)
March 22, 2026

Proposed Dairy in Morris Would Become Minnesota’s Largest Feedlot (3/16/26) The Minnesota Star Tribune reports on a proposal to create the largest livestock operation in Minnesota. Highlights: Riverview LLP, the state’s largest milk producer, has applied for permits to build the single largest dairy and feedlot in the state’s history by expanding one of its…  Read More →

Category: Blog
Tags: • • • • • • • • • • • • •