On a recent July afternoon, southeastern Minnesota farmer Martin Larsen stopped his Gleaner R-62 combine in the middle of oat harvest, climbed down the ladder, and walked a hundred yards or so to where the Chair of the Minnesota Senate Agriculture Committee was standing at the edge of the field. Larsen then described to Sen.… Read More →
MORRIS, Minn. — The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) has joined Food & Water Watch in suing the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) over the state’s recent failure to order an environmental impact statement (EIS) for Riverview’s proposed West River Dairy expansion near Morris. If built, the 18,855-cow facility would be the largest factory farm in… Read More →
In June, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency failed Minnesotans when it refused to require a full environmental impact statement (EIS) for Riverview LLP’s massive West River Dairy expansion in Stevens County. That decision left Stevens County families, farmers, neighbors, and local officials to face the risks of an operation that would hold more than 26,000… Read More →
MORRIS, Minn. — The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) is applauding the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s (MDA) recent announcement that it will be seeking public input on the socioeconomic impact of large-scale dairies in the state. Information will be gathered through two virtual meetings (noon to 1 p.m., and 7:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.) on Tuesday, July 28, as… Read More →
MORRIS, Minn. — The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) today sharply criticized the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s (MPCA) decision to allow Riverview LLP’s massive West River Dairy expansion to move forward without requiring a full environmental impact statement (EIS). If approved, the project would expand the operation from 7,855 cows to 18,855 cows, making it the… Read More →
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 →
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 →
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 →
Minnesota’s largest dairy producer has applied to build the first livestock operation in the state to hold over 20,000 animal units. If built, the concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) will hold 18,855 dairy cattle, bringing the total animal units to 26,397 in one facility. This proposed operation is the first of its size in Minnesota.… Read More →
Soil, cows, ecology, economics: to milk producer Derek Schmitz, they are all linked, and that feeds his optimism even as tough times cast a shadow over dairy farming. More Information • LSP’s Grazing & Soil Health Web Page • Soil Health Academy Case Study: Derek & Taylor Schmitz • Regenerative Livestock Systems Symposium: April 5, 2024 You can… Read More →
