farmland access

Ear to the Ground 403: Values on the Table

Emily and Ryan Kjesbo-Johnson vowed their lifelong commitment to community would not stop when they moved out of their urban neighborhood and onto a farm. Farm Beginnings is helping them keep that promise. More Information • LSP’s Farm Beginnings Course (2026-2027 Early Bird Discount Deadline Aug. 1, 2026; Final Deadline Sept. 1, 2026) • Crowded Table…  Read More

Flooding the (Legislative) Zone with Emerging Farmers

LSP & its Allies Bring Land Access Stories to the Capitol

The Land Stewardship Project’s annual Family Farm Breakfast and Lobby Day serves as a prime opportunity for our members to get together with lawmakers and discuss the issues they most care about. As the lead organizer focusing on issues related to land access, it’s my job during the day to facilitate meetings between beginning farmers…  Read More

Ear to the Ground 402: Enemy of Good

Jane Marynik’s pursuit of perfection ran into a brick wall called vegetable farming. LSP’s Farm Beginnings has helped her strike a more sustainable balance between work and life. More Information • LSP’s Farm Beginnings Course (2026-2027 Early Bird Discount Deadline Aug. 1, 2026; Final Deadline Sept. 1, 2026) • Four Beans Farm • Food Farm •…  Read More

Ear to the Ground 401: The Belly of Belief

Livestock producer Frances Kelliher admits to being a bit cynical and burnt-out on her first day in LSP’s Farm Beginnings course. But the program helped revitalize her belief that regenerative grazing can renew one’s relationship with the land and community.   More Information • LSP’s Farm Beginnings Course (2026-2027 Early Bird Discount Deadline Aug. 1, 2026;…  Read More

Legislative Wrap-up: Lack of Ag Bill Passage Represents Lost Opportunities 

Some Gains Made for Clean Water/Soil Health & Beginning Farmers

It’s been said that politics is the art of the compromise. But during the 2026 session of the Minnesota Legislature, that approach to policymaking was undermined by disagreements about the role one particular herbicide should play in the state’s agricultural production system. As the session of the Minnesota Legislature entered its final month, it was…  Read More

Land Line: Bridge Payments, Food Pyramid, Farmland Prices, Riverview Dairy, CAFO Funding, Restoring Habitat, ICEing Ag, Nitrates in Winter

Bridge Payment Rates Are Here — But Are They Enough to Help Your Bottom Line? (1/7/26) Writing for Farm Progress, Joshua Baethge describes concerns that the aid package being issued to farmers in February to help them deal with damage caused by the trade war will not make up for years of mounting losses in…  Read More

LSP Stands With Immigrant Neighbors in Rural Minnesota 

As ICE Activities Escalate, LSP & Other Members of the Immigrant Defense Network are Providing Training, Networking & Support in Outstate Communities

MONTEVIDEO, Minn. — As federal officials escalate attacks on immigrants in Minnesota, the Land Stewardship Project (LSP) is more committed than ever to working with its allies to ensure all members of rural communities are treated in a just and fair manner, according to an LSP organizer who has a long history of working with…  Read More

Land Line: Corn Belt Cancer, Integrating Crops & Livestock, Trade Turmoil, Farmland Access, Erosion, SNAP, Microbe Memory

Report: Cancer Rates Rising Among Young People in the Corn Belt (10/29/25) The Minnesota Reformer reports on an analysis conducted by The Washington Post showing that the six states that lead in corn production — Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana, and Kansas — have seen higher rates of cancer among young people than other states…  Read More

For its 10th Round of Farm Transition Workshops, LSP Expands Course to South Dakota 

Farmers/Landowners in Region Offered 2 Options for 2026 Session

LEWISTON, Minn. — The Land Stewardship Project’s long-running course for farmers and other landowners looking to transition their agricultural operations to the next generation is expanding into South Dakota in 2026. The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) Winter Farm Transition Planning Course, which enters its 10th session in 2026, provides a holistic opportunity to dig into important topics…  Read More

Economic Sustainability: Financial Field-Talk

3rd in a Series on LSP's Soil Health Hubs

On a misty June morning in northeastern Iowa, Nikki Meyer led half-a-dozen farmers down a field road through a thick stand of oaks and other hardwoods. The going was tough — the road dropped 400 vertical feet in less than half-a-mile, and a half-inch rain earlier had made the footing greasy with mud. Sensing that…  Read More