market access

Another Farm Crisis Looms, but it’s Not too Late to Take Action

By Laurie Driessen

October 23, 2025

Farming, we love this life. No matter what type of farmer you are, we all know how tough it can be to live the farming life. From unpredictable weather, markets we have no control over, input cost increases, equipment breaking down, exhaustion, and now tariffs — the U.S. agriculture system is entering a crisis not… Read More →

Category: Blog

MEDIA STATEMENT: LSP Response to Pure Prairie Poultry Bankruptcy

October 10, 2024

MONTEVIDEO, Minn. — The bankruptcy and subsequent shutdown of the Pure Prairie Poultry processing plant in St. Charles, Iowa, has once more laid bare the dangers and the inadequacies of our industrial farming structure. “Too big to fail” is no longer just a condition of the financial sector, it is now a concept that is reaching… Read More →

Category: News Releases

Tags: Big Ag • consolidation • factory farming • food systems • market access • poultry • rural economic development

Upcoming Events

November 2025

Thursday November 13

8:30 am – 1:00 pm: Women in Conservation Northern Network Gathering: Stories from the Field
Thursday November 13
8:30 am – 1:00 pm
Women in Conservation Northern Network Gathering: Stories from the Field
Bigwood Event Center, 921 Western Ave, Fergus Falls, MN 56537, USA
Join Minnesota Women in Conservation and Renewing the Countryside for a relaxed, creative, restorative, and interactive day of networking and learning with fellow women conservation professionals. Breakfast and lunch are included at the lovely Bigwood Event Center. Cost is $25.

For more information and to register, click here.

Please reach out to burke@rtcinfo.org for information on scholarships before registering.

Friday November 14

9:00 am – 3:00 pm: Scaling Up Soil Health Strategies Bus Tour
Friday November 14
9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Scaling Up Soil Health Strategies Bus Tour
Leatherdale Equine Center, 1801 Dudley Ave, St Paul, MN 55108, USA
Visit three farms near Northfield, Minn., to explore soil health at a larger scale. Learn about mechanized cover cropping, reduced tillage, erosion control, and using perennials and pollinator strips.

This is the third tour in a three-part soil health bus tour series. Participants can sign up for just one, two, or all three tours. Register at https://z.umn.edu/vegetablebustours. The cost is $15 (flat fee, covers 1, 2, or 3 tours). There are more details in the attached flyer.

Wednesday November 19

12:15 pm – 1:45 pm: We Can Do Better Book Discussion at Iowa Nature Summit
Wednesday November 19
12:15 pm – 1:45 pm
We Can Do Better Book Discussion at Iowa Nature Summit
Olmsted Center, 2875 University Ave, Des Moines, IA 50311, USA
The Johnson Center for Land Stewardship Policy is excited to share that one of our its primary pillars of work — a published collection of Paul Johnson’s writings — is set for release on Oct. 2. The book features a brief biography and a discussion of Paul’s ideas within the historical and future contexts of private lands conservation. For details on We Can Do Better: Collected Writings on Land, Conservation, and Public Policy click here.

Curt Meine will speak about the book during the 12:15 p.m.-1:30 p.m. luncheon at the Iowa Nature Summit on Nov 19.

Thursday November 20

All Day: Give to the Max Day
Thursday November 20
Give to the Max Day
Online
Give to the Max Day is coming up on Thursday, November 20. But you don’t have to wait until Give to the Max Day to make your gift to LSP. Any contribution made through the GiveMN portal, now until November 20, will count toward our $15,000 goal and is fully tax-deductible!

This Give to the Max Day season, the Land Stewardship Project is gearing up to share the stories of resilience, change, and action that LSP members are a part of in their towns and on their farms.

We’re up against some pretty overwhelming challenges these days and now is the time for turning hope into action and coming together over common goals. One way to do that is to support the work of building the farm and food system we want and need for the future.

We know the future of farming is diverse and innovative, and should be set up to reward stewardship-minded farmers for the solutions they bring to some of our biggest challenges like soil health, clean water, and a changing climate.

Bringing that vision for the future into reality requires taking on the biggest of the big in the agriculture industry, supporting the next generation of farmers, and reforming farm policies, as well as developing new, reliable, fair markets for all farmers that support conservation, healthy food, and local prosperity.

That’s a big mountain to climb and we need people power to make it happen. LSP brings farmers, rural, urban, and suburban people together to take action around our common goal of a fair and sustainable farm and food system in this country.

Give to the Max Day is a fun and collective way to get into the giving spirit across the entire state of Minnesota. Thank you for being part of LSP’s work to build a better future for our farm and food system. Please join, renew, or make a special gift to LSP as part of Give to the Max Day this year.

Saturday November 22

1:00 pm – 4:00 pm: Farm Scale Deep Winter Greenhouse Open House
Saturday November 22
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Farm Scale Deep Winter Greenhouse Open House
Tintah Beach Farm, Thief River Falls, MN
Please join Marcus Langevin from Tintah Beach Farm and the University of Minnesota at an open house and ribbon cutting celebrating the completion of the farm scale deep winter greenhouse prototype on Nov. 22, from 1 p.m.-4 p.m.

This new deep winter greenhouse design allows farmers in cold climates to grow crops for sale to their customers throughout the winter months. The heavily insulated greenhouse utilizes a steeply sloped south-facing glazing wall to capture solar heat which is stored in an underground soil thermal mass where it is available to heat the greenhouse at night when the outside temperatures drop.

The new energy efficient greenhouse was designed to suit the needs of small and medium scale vegetable farmers. It is larger, cheaper per square foot to construct than previous designs, and is simple enough that farmers with minimal construction experience can build it themselves. Deep winter greenhouses like these allow farmers the ability to grow market crops year-round, thereby increasing their yearly revenues and allowing Minnesotans year-round access to healthy, fresh, locally grown produce.

Registration: This event is free to attend, but registration is required at z.umn.edu/TintahBeachOpenHouse. Please register by November 15.

Download farm scale deep winter greenhouse building documents. This farm scale deep winter greenhouse design is available for free download from the UMN Extension RSDP’s deep winter greenhouse website.

This work is made possible by University of Minnesota Extension; College of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS); College of Design Center for Sustainable Building Research (CSBR); and the Agriculture Research, Education, Extension and Technology Transfer Program (AGREETT).

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