local meat processing

Land Line: Regenerative Ag Mixed Bag, High Input Costs, Crop Insurance, Cropland Ecology, Fertilizer Use, Avian Flu’s Bovine Jump, Meat Processing

By Brian DeVore (editor)

October 8, 2026

Sign Up for E-mail Delivery of The Land Line USDA’s Regenerative Pilot Program Expansion Contradicts Farm Bill’s Funding Cuts (10/2/26) Brownfield Radio Network reports on the USDA’s plans to expand its Regenerative Pilot Program and concerns that conservation program cuts will undermine its implementation. Highlights: The USDA announced increased financial assistance for the Regenerative Pilot… Read More →

Category: Blog

Land Line: Grazing Legislation, Diversification Barriers, Nitrate Cancer Review, Riverview Lawsuit, Devil’s Element, Local Meat Processing, Returning to the Farm

By Brian DeVore (editor)

August 26, 2026

Sign Up for E-mail Delivery of The Land Line RANCH Act Introduced to Help Rebuild Cattle Herd (8/21/26) Beef Magazine reports that two U.S. Senators have introduced a bipartisan bill that has the goal of boosting the grazing of beef cattle on perennial grasses and forbs. Highlights: The “Rebuilding America’s National Cow Herd (RANCH) Act,”… Read More →

Category: Blog

Tags: adaptive managed grazing • B • beef production • beginning farmer • corporate consolidation • dairy crisis • diversifying agriculture • local meat processing • meatpackers • nitrate pollution • pasture-based livestock • phosphorus fertilizer • Riverview Dairy • small grains

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

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

By Laura Schreiber

June 4, 2026

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 →

Category: Blog

Tags: beginning farmer • Beginning Farmer Tax Break • clean water • emerging farmers • farmland access • Local Food Purchase Assistance Program • local meat processing • Minnesota Legislature • Minnesota state policy • nitrate pollution • Olmsted County Groundwater Protection and Soil Health Program • soil health

Breaking the Meat Processing Bottleneck

Endowed Chair Puts the Right People in the Right Place to Address a Critical Problem

By Brian DeVore

January 3, 2025

A cornerstone of creating a regenerative agricultural system in the Upper Midwest is reintegrating livestock onto the land in a way that farmers can add value to forages and grains while cycling nutrients in a manner that manure becomes a way to build soil biology, rather than a waste product to be disposed of. Over… Read More →

Category: Blog

Tags: ag consolidation • livestock production • local meat processing • Minnesota Farmers Union • regenerative agriculture • reintegrating livestock • rural economic development

Ear to the Ground 304: Policy for the People

Perhaps no single piece of legislation has a more profound impact on what our landscape and rural communities look like. That’s why LSP’s members are working hard to influence the 2023 Farm Bill (1st of 2 parts). More Information • Ear to the Ground 305: Farm Bill as a Public Good (2nd installment in this… Read More →

Add Your Name to the Farmer & Producer Sign-On Letter

March 28, 2023

This week, the House and Senate Agriculture Committees in the Minnesota Legislature are rolling out their budgets for the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. Both the House and Senate have included important items, such as funding for the Emerging Farmers Office and establishing a Meat and Poultry Liaison position in the Department of Agriculture, as well… Read More →

Category: Action Alerts

Tags: 100% Soil Healthy Campaign • agriculture budget • Family Farm Breakfast • local food systems • local meat processing • Minnesota Legislature

Legislative Update: Fair Farm Economy, Resilient Climate, Soil Health, Land Access & Regional Food on the Table

LSP is Championing 15 Bills (So Far)

By Amanda Koehler & Laura Schreiber

February 10, 2023

This past fall, hundreds of Land Stewardship Project members from across Minnesota came together to build a holistic, state policy campaign — the “Minnesota Food and Farm Campaign.” Now, as the 2023 session of the Minnesota Legislature hits its stride, we’re translating our agenda into legislation. LSP is championing 15 bills (so far) to build… Read More →

Category: Blog

Tags: 100% Soil Healthy Campaign • COOL • factory farms • Family Farm Breakfast • farm-to-school • fish kills • healthcare • local food systems • local meat processing • Minnesota Legislature • MPCA Citizens' Board • soil health • water

LSP Platform Calls for Farm Bill that Supports Farmers, Rural Communities & the Land

Platform & Survey Results Released on Northfield Area Farm Today

August 16, 2022

NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The new federal Farm Bill must benefit farmers, rural communities and the land, rather than corporate interests, said farmer-leaders of the Land Stewardship Project (LSP) today during the release of the organization’s priorities for the nation’s most comprehensive agricultural policy initiative. LSP’s 2023 Farm Bill Platform, which was launched during an… Read More →

Category: News Releases

Tags: 2023 Farm Bill • ag consolidation • agriculture policy • beginning farmers • BIPOC farmers • climate change • crop insurance • Farm Bill Survey • local meat processing • LSP Farm Bill Platform • Midwest Farmers of Color Collective • National Young Farmers Coalition • regional food systems

LSP Applauds USDA’s Step to Promote Transparency & Address Exploitative Poultry Contracting System

New Rule a Needed Move Toward Reform of Abusive Livestock Processing & Marketing Infrastructure

May 27, 2022

SAINT PAUL, Minn. — The USDA’s proposal Thursday to address the highly controversial “tournament system” in poultry production is a positive, yet overdue, step forward as the agency seeks to address unfair competition and trade practices under the Packers and Stockyards Act, according to members of the Minnesota-based Land Stewardship Project (LSP). “Corporate ag has monopolized… Read More →

Category: News Releases

Tags: federal ag policy • livestock • livestock marketing • local meat processing • meat marketing • meatpackers • Packers and Stockyards Act • poultry • tournament system • USDA

2022 Minnesota Legislative Session Wrap-up — Maybe?

More Undone than Done, but Some Key Wins LSP is Eager to Build on

By Amanda Koehler

May 25, 2022

The 2022 Minnesota legislative session held incredible promise in the form of a historic budget surplus that had the opportunity to deliver tangible progress on the biggest challenges we face. For example, the Minnesota House Climate Action Caucus, chaired by Rep. Patty Acomb (DFL-Minnetonka), began the session with a bang, proposing a $1 billion investment… Read More →

Category: Blog

Tags: 100% Soil Healthy Campaign • drought relief • emerging farmers • local meat processing • Minnesota Legislature • regional food systems • soil health