The MPCA’s Justin Watkins sees nitrates leaking out of farm fields as an “invisible” problem that’s all too easily ignored. The solution is to shine a spotlight on widespread systems changes in agriculture. (part of a series on nitrates, farming, and water) More Information • LSP’s Rethink Nitrogen Campaign • Other Episodes in LSP’s Rethink… Read More →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
After Nitrate Lawsuit, Minnesota Opens Farm Fertilizer Rule for Public Comment (2/18/26) The Star Tribune reports that the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is seeking public comment on its 2019 groundwater protection rule, a standard that governs how and when fertilizer is applied. Highlights: It’s the first step in the MDA’s review of the standard… Read More →
Farmers Focus on Local Markets (1/31/26) The Tri-State Neighbor reports on a meeting in Rochester, Minn., where farmers and others gathered to discuss practical ways of diversifying the corn-soybean duo-culture that dominates Midwestern agriculture. Highlights: The “Beyond Exports” meeting, which was hosted by LSP, featured farmer-presenters who are in various stages of utilizing small grains,… Read More →
These three crop producers see no reason why productive farming and clean water can’t co-exist. But first, we need to stop the greenwashing and get our hands dirty. (2 of 2 parts; part 1 is here; this is part of a series on nitrates, farming, and water) More Information • Ear to the Ground 395:… Read More →
In the Corn Belt, water quality is not improving at a rate that is leading to meaningful landscape level change, and these poster boys for conservation farming say it’s time for the ag industry, commodity groups, and government to step up and take responsibility. (1 of 2 parts; part 2 is here; this is part… Read More →
Alan Jostock uses the kind of diversity that builds soil health as a kind of insurance policy for his farm. That means meshing his crop and livestock enterprises in a way that they prop each other up through thick and thin. More Information • Jan. 27, 2026, LSP Workshop — “Beyond Exports: Rebuilding Local Markets”… Read More →
