factory farm

Ear to the Ground 384: Power Play

Ag antitrust expert Austin Frerick sees the current food system as a mechanism for modern robber barons to treat rural communities as mere “extraction colonies.” But, he argues, changing how we eat isn’t enough —  we need to disrupt how power is distributed all along the food chain (2 of 2 parts). More Information •…  Read More

As Avian Flu Reemerges in Minnesota, White Paper Asks: Are Factory Farms the Victims or the Vectors?

LSP Report Examines Latest Research into the Development of Highly Pathogenic Influenza & Calls for a More Resilient Approach to Farming

LEWISTON, Minn. — Last week’s announcement that a deadly strain of avian influenza has reemerged in Minnesota raises renewed questions about the role large, industrialized poultry operations play in propagating this disease, say authors of a new white paper published by the Land Stewardship Project (LSP). “Big Bird. Big Problem: How the Poultry Industry is…  Read More

Contact the MPCA by July 22 About Revising its Feedlot Rules

This is a Once-in-a-Generation Opportunity to Improve How Minnesota's Manure is Managed

The Land Stewardship Project and our members have worked for 43 years to push back against the expansion of a factory farming model that forces out farmers, harms the land and water, and puts our communities at risk. This work is built upon that experience, and the stories of our farmer and rural members who…  Read More

U.S. Supreme Court’s Decline of Iowa Case Bolsters Local Control

SCOTUS Action a Good Indicator That These Kinds of Laws Work

On July 1, the United States Supreme Court delivered a win for local control and a blow to Big Ag when it declined to hear the Iowa Pork Producers Association’s case against a California law that mandates the amount of space livestock animals, in particular hogs, have while being raised. The Iowa Capitol Dispatch explains…  Read More

community holding signs against factory farms

LSP Applauds State Supreme Court’s Rejection of Daley Appeal

Ruling Comes After Yearslong Attempt to Circumvent Winona County’s Local Rules Related to CAFOs 

LEWISTON, Minn. —  The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) applauded the Minnesota Supreme Court’s recent decision to deny a Winona County factory farm owner’s attempt to circumvent Winona County’s rules governing the size of livestock operations. On March 18, Chief Justice Natalie Hudson announced that the Court would not hear an appeal filed by Daley Farm…  Read More

LSP Demands Answers Surrounding Recent Manure Spill in Kandiyohi County

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

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

community holding signs against factory farms

LSP Applauds Appeals Court Ruling on Winona County CAFO

Ruling a Victory for Water Quality & Local Democracy

LEWISTON, Minn. —  The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) applauded today’s ruling by the Minnesota Court of Appeals upholding a county’s right to limit the size of large animal feedlots operating within its borders. The ruling confirms an earlier state District Court’s decision that there was “no actual evidence of bias” when Winona County denied Daley…  Read More

LSP Media Statement on Latest Daley Farm Appeals Filing

LEWISTON, Minn. — The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) filed a legal brief May 22 with the Minnesota Court of Appeals contesting Daley Farm’s appeal of the state District Court’s decision to deny the operation’s attempt to circumvent Winona County’s rules related to the size of large livestock operations. Daley Farm is seeking a variance so that…  Read More

Tell Congress to Reject False Climate ‘Solutions’ & Factory Farm Funding in the Farm Bill

The USDA’s Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) are essential initiatives that give tens of thousands of farmers the tools they need to implement sustainable practices such as cover cropping and managed rotational grazing. Yet, a significant majority of farmers who apply to these programs are unable to access funding. In 2023, only…  Read More

Ask Your MN Representative to Co-Author LSP’s Manure Management Reform Legislation

Over the past few decades, the dominant push in agriculture has been for farms to grow larger and for the industry to consolidate into a few hands to maximize profits. One of the many ways the biggest have been able to get bigger at the expense of small and mid-sized farmers, rural communities, and our…  Read More