Minnesota Legislature

Stevens County Approved a Mega-Dairy — Now Minnesotans Must Speak Up

Public Has Until Oct. 1 to Comment on Impacts of Mega-Dairies

September 2, 2026

On Tuesday, Sept. 1, Stevens County officials approved Riverview’s conditional use permit for the proposed West River Dairy expansion near Morris, Minn. This decision largely clears the way for what will become the largest concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) in Minnesota history. Once completed, this 18,855-cow facility will be more than 60 times the size… Read More →

Category: Action Alerts

Tags: dairy crisis • dairy farming • MDA • Minnesota Legislature • Riverview Dairy • rural economic development

Farmers Discuss Balancing Profits & Clean Water When it Comes to Nitrogen

LSP’s Farmer-Centered ‘Rethinking Nitrogen’ Campaign Launched

August 25, 2026

BYRON, Minn. — How do you grapple with a hidden problem? That was a question at the center of a Land Stewardship Project (LSP) “Smarter Nitrogen Policy” discussion involving around two dozen farmers, water quality experts and state legislators at the Martin Larsen farm near Byron Aug. 20. “We fix what we can see —… Read More →

Category: News Releases

Tags: clean water • Lance Petersen • Martin Larsen • Minnesota Legislature • Minnesota state policy • Myron Sylling • nitrate pollution • nitrogen fertilizer • oats • Olmsted County Groundwater Protection and Soil Health Program • rethinking nitrogen • soil health

Submit Your Ag Legislative Ideas to the MDA Today

Let's Prioritize Soil Health, Farmland Access, Support for Small & Medium Farms, Water Quality

August 20, 2026

We currently have an important opportunity to support state policy that bolsters family farmers, clean water, healthy soil, and thriving rural communities. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) has officially opened its 2027 Legislative Ideas Portal. Between now and Sept. 18, the MDA is gathering policy, program, and funding proposals from the community to help… Read More →

Category: Action Alerts

Tags: community-based food • emerging farmers • farm-to-school • Minnesota Department of Agriculture • Minnesota Legislature • Minnesota state policy • nitrates • soil health • water quality

Bringing Lawmakers to the Farm

Legislative Ag Leaders Get a Firsthand Look at Challenges, Opportunities SE MN Farmers Face

By Laura Schreiber

August 7, 2026

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 →

Category: Blog

Tags: Aric Putnam • Bonnie and Vance Haugen • clean water • dairy crisis • groundwater • karst geology • managed rotational grazing • Martin Larsen • Minnesota Legislature • Myron Sylling • oats • soil health • state policy • Torrey Westrom

Flooding the (Legislative) Zone with Emerging Farmers

LSP & its Allies Bring Land Access Stories to the Capitol

By Pam Hartwell

June 19, 2026

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 →

Category: Blog

Tags: BIPOC farmers • emerging farmers • farmland access • Minnesota Legislature

Land Line: Corporate Greenwashing, Beginning Farmer Help, Forever Green, Rural Grocery, Imported Fertility, Grain Market Consolidation, Grazing Pays Off

By Brian DeVore (editor)

June 8, 2026

Sign Up for E-mail Delivery of The Land Line Report Accuses Corporate Dairy of ‘Greenwashing’ (6/1/26) The Wisconsin Examiner reports on a study showing that claims by the largest meat and dairy companies that their practices are sustainable are mostly “greenwashing” and are based on unsubstantiated claims. Highlights: The report, published in the journal PLOS… Read More →

Category: Blog

Tags: beef production • beginning farmer • Beginning Farmer Tax Credit • community based food systems • corporate consolidation • corporate control • Farm Beginnings • Forever Green • greenwashing • managed rotational grazing • Minnesota Legislature • pasture-based livestock • rural economic development • 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

Land Line: Riverview, Community Foods, State Farm Bills, Avian Flu, Nitrogen Fertilizer, Glyphosate & Cancer, MCOOL

By Brian DeVore (editor)

March 22, 2026

Proposed Dairy in Morris Would Become Minnesota’s Largest Feedlot (3/16/26) The Minnesota Star Tribune reports on a proposal to create the largest livestock operation in Minnesota. Highlights: Riverview LLP, the state’s largest milk producer, has applied for permits to build the single largest dairy and feedlot in the state’s history by expanding one of its… Read More →

Category: Blog

Tags: CAFO • cancer • clean water • community based food systems • COOL • dairy consolidation • Farm to Kids • farm-to-school • federal farm policy • glyphosate • mandatory country of origin labeling • MCOOL • Minnesota Legislature • Riverview Dairy

Morris Forum Focuses on Potential & Challenges Related to a More Regionally Focused Food System

'We’re feeling some real momentum right now.'

February 25, 2026

MORRIS, Minn. — Building a community-based infrastructure that is centered around local farmers producing food for local markets is a significant challenge in a region dominated by an export-driven corn and soybean system, but there are signs of progress being made in the Upper Minnesota River Valley, said participants in a Land Stewardship Project (LSP)… Read More →

Category: News Releases

Tags: community based food systems • farm to institution • Farm to Kids • farm-to-school • food shelves • local food • Minnesota Legislature • Morris Area Schools • rural economic development • rural hunger • rural poverty

Want to Learn How to Share Your Story With Lawmakers?

Get Prepped for LSP's 2026 Family Farm Breakfast & Lobby Day

February 10, 2026

The Land Stewardship Project’s annual Family Farm Breakfast & Lobby Day (being held March 11 this year) offers an opportunity to share our vision for a better farm and food system with lawmakers and move our legislative agenda forward. Having strong lobby meetings with your elected officials makes a difference! It’s how we get more legislators… Read More →

Category: Blog

Tags: Family Farm Breakfast • lobbying • Minnesota Legislature • Minnesota state policy