dairy farming

LSP Calls for Full Environmental Review of Unprecedented CAFO Proposal in West-Central MN

Riverview Expansion Would be Nearly Double the Size of Any Existing State Livestock Operation; MPCA Comments Due by April 9

March 9, 2026

MORRIS, Minn. — The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) is calling for a thorough environmental review of an unprecedented proposal that would create the largest livestock operation in the state. Riverview, LLP is proposing to expand an existing concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) in Stevens County to 18,855 dairy cattle, resulting in 26,397 animal units housed…  Read More →

Category: News Releases
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MPCA Needs to Set the Right Precedent for this Unprecedented CAFO

Tell the MPCA by April 9 that Industrial-Scale Projects Need Industrial-Scale Review

March 2, 2026

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 →

Category: Action Alerts
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Farm Aid Fridays: Bonnie & Vance Haugen, LeeAnn & Jim VanDerPol

Celebrating the LSP Member Stories Shared During 2025 Farm Aid in Minneapolis

December 19, 2025

From Farm Aid’s YouTube Channel: Dairy farmers Bonnie and Vance Haugen talk about the disappearance of farms and neighbors in their community in the wake of expanding factory farms nearby. They explain the need for people to come together and create policies that are made to work for all farmers, not just the biggest ones.…  Read More →

Category: Blog
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LSP Demands Answers Surrounding Recent Manure Spill in Kandiyohi County

Riverview's Meadow Star Dairy Suffers Manure Leak From Biogas Digester System

March 7, 2025

PENNOCK, Minn. — The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) today called on one of the country’s largest dairy farming firms and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to release details on a recent manure spill that was reported in southwestern Minnesota’s Kandiyohi County. According to the West Central Tribune, Riverview, LLP officials reported to state officials that…  Read More →

Category: News Releases
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A Sense of Where You Are: The Snowball Effect

Part 10 in a Series

By Brian DeVore
January 12, 2025

Note: This is the 10th installment in the 12-part “A Sense of Where You Are” series.  There’s nothing like getting diminishing returns on your investment in time, labor, and resources to put things in context. “I just got sick and tired of spending money on fertilizer, planting in the dry powder, and watching the soil blow…  Read More →

Category: Blog
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Ear to the Ground 359: Trash to Treasure

Soil conservationist Julie Reberg sees composting as a “very scientific art form” that can transform waste into biological bullion. More Information • LSP’s Soil Microbiology Web Page • NRCS Manure Composting Fact Sheet • Ear to the Ground 358: Low Input – High Returns • Ear to the Ground 352: Land of the Living • Ear to the…  Read More →

Ear to the Ground 358: Low Input – High Returns

Alex Udermann and his family at Meadowbrook Dairy were tired of working harder and harder for less and less. So they invested in building the kind of healthy soil that pays off economically, environmentally, and from a quality of life point of view. More Information • LSP’s Soil Health Web Page • Minnesota Agricultural Water…  Read More →

Ear to the Ground 349: Family, Farming & Forages

Since taking over their family’s livestock operation, Parker and Sam Beard have added a few new twists. But one thing will never change: those hills will remain in grass. More Information • LSP’s Grazing & Soil Health Web Page • LSP’s Farm Transitions Tools Web Page • Iowa Organic Association You can find LSP Ear…  Read More →

Ear to the Ground 330: String Theory

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 →

Ear to the Ground 324: Good Grass Makes Good Neighbors

The landowners Jeremy and Jessica Holst rent from like to see a green landscape — no wonder the dairy farmers’ rotational grazing system is considered a neighborhood asset. More Information • LSP’s Soil Health & Grazing Web Page • LSP’s Conservation Leases Toolkit • LSP’s 2023 Field Day Special Report: “A Long, Hot Summer” You can find…  Read More →