pork checkoff

Land Line: Soil Health, Hunger, Govt. Accountability, Ag Recession, Slaughterhouse Speeds, Checkoffs

By Brian DeVore

April 1, 2025

Improving Soil Health Not Just Feel-Good Endeavor (4/1/25) Indiana Prairie Farmer describes how Rodney Rulon’s 30-year soil health journey utilizing no-till and cover cropping is paying dividends not just environmentally, but economically as well. Highlights: The National Association of Conservation Districts and the Soil Health Institute performed a budget analysis on 29 farms across the… Read More →

Category: Blog

Ear to the Ground 333: 2 Kinds of Power

When LSP farmer-members like Paul Sobocinski took on Big Pork, it showed the long-term impact grassroots organizing can have. More Information • Making Change from the Ground Up: 40 Stories for 40 Years of Land Stewardship Project • LSP’s Policy Campaigns Web Page • January/February/March 2001 Land Stewardship Letter: Pork Checkoff Voted Down by Farmers • Ear… Read More →

Upcoming Events

April 2025

Thursday April 3

1:30 pm – 3:30 pm: MFU People's Town Hall
Thursday April 3
1:30 pm – 3:30 pm
MFU People's Town Hall
Far North Spirits, 2045 220th Avenue, Hallock, MN 56728, USA
Minnesota Farmers Union (MFU) is hosting a series of People’s TownHall events.

MFU wants to hear directly from family farmers and rural residents on howthe state and federal government can help meet their needs and build robustfarms and rural communities.

These events are open to the public; feel free to invite yourneighbor.

To reserve a spot, click here.Contact Claudine Arndt at 612-202-7872 or e-mail her at claudine@mfu.orgwith any questions.
4:00 pm – 7:00 pm: LSP Montevideo Office Open House
Thursday April 3
4:00 pm – 7:00 pm
LSP Montevideo Office Open House
111 N 1st St, Montevideo, MN 56265, USA
We will be holding an open house for members and community at the Land Stewardship Project’s new Montevideo location at 111 N. First Street. Snacks and beverages provided. We invite the public to join us in touring the new space and meeting the LSP staff members who are working in the western Minnesota region. For more information, call 320-269-2105.

Friday April 4

7:00 pm – 9:00 pm: To Be Reconciled Preview Screening & Fundraiser
Friday April 4
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
To Be Reconciled Preview Screening & Fundraiser
550 Vandalia St #170, St Paul, MN 55114, USA
This is a preview screening of Minnesota filmmaker James Christenson’s debut feature film, To Be Reconciled, followed by a Q & A with its creators and on-screen participants to support its mission.

Inspired by his great-grandmother Alicia Navarro’s decision nearly 100 years ago to send her children by themselves to the Upper Midwest after experiencing violence by Border Patrol in Texas, director Christenson began documenting this new story seven years ago.

A legal and spiritual journey, To Be Reconciled follows Minnesota resident Carlos Urrutia’s trials through the dizzying U.S. immigration justice system. As his hometown in Mexico becomes one of the country’s most violent amidst its democratization and the drug war, Carlos’ struggle inspires him to reconcile with his mother who sent him to El Norte 30 years ago, and to whom he may return.

Now, with four additional years of filming the still unresolved story, you have the opportunity to be the first to see and review an extended preview of the feature film in progress, helping make a difference at this critical time in our community and U.S.-Mexico relations. Your support will help complete a third and final production trip to central Mexico as well as begin collaborating with Veracruz-based film editor Luna Escoto, with your feedback informing crucial creative choices.

For more information and tickets, click here.

Saturday April 5

9:30 am – 5:00 pm: EcoFaith Summit 2025: Earth's Cries, Earth's Call
Saturday April 5
9:30 am – 5:00 pm
EcoFaith Summit 2025: Earth's Cries, Earth's Call
First Lutheran Church, 1100 E Superior St, Duluth, MN 55802, USA
The EcoFaith Summit will feature compelling speakers, enlivening worship, informative exhibits, opportunities for networking, and an array of engagement sessions for giving birth to strong, creative action in our congregations, camps, campuses, and communities. Morning refreshments, fresh local lunch and celebratory final reception are included in the day.

Keynote speaker Dr. Cynthia Moe-Lobeda, author, organizer, and theological ethicist, will lead participants in naming the powers that are destroying the Earth and introducing them to midwives of hope today.

Special presenter: Dr. Kelly Sherman-Conroy, member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, dynamic storyteller, poet, scholar, and the the first Native woman to earn a PhD in theology within the ELCA, will offer a groundbreaking blend of Indigenous spirituality and Christian teachings.

This event is presented by: The Northeastern Minnesota Synod EcoFaith Network, Northwest Synod of Wisconsin, and Saint Paul Area Synod, along with partner organizations, synods, camps, colleges, and seminaries.

For details and to register, click here.

Monday April 7 – Wednesday April 9

Green Lands Blue Waters Conference

Monday April 7 – Wednesday April 9

Green Lands Blue Waters Conference

Madison, WI, USA

Green Lands Blue Waters is excited to bring our community of continuous living cover (CLC) agricultural enthusiasts together again! Join other ag practitioners in a peer-rich environment with timely educational opportunities, lively dialogue, and open networking time. The conference is intentionally designed to balance information delivery with engaged working time and peer connections across a diverse, multi-sector mix of researchers, technical service providers, students, farmers, and advocates committed to actualizing CLC on the Midwest landscape. Our intention is to gather to support one another in cooperation, possibility, and positivity.

Schedule:

Monday, April 7: optional courses and meetings, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. followed by an opening reception
Tuesday, April 8: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., breakfast and lunch provided
Wednesday, April 9: 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., breakfast and lunch provided

AGENDA – We are building an agenda with sessions related to:

Coalitions and networks
Diverse ways of knowing
Markets and value chains
Next generation farmers, researchers and ag practitioners
Policy approaches
Research updates and future directions
Technical assistance
Transdisciplinarity, cross-sector approaches and systems thinking

For details and to register, click here.

View Full Calendar

This event is presented by: The Northeastern Minnesota Synod EcoFaith Network, Northwest Synod of Wisconsin, and Saint Paul Area Synod, along with partner organizations, synods, camps, colleges, and seminaries.

For details and to register, click here.

Schedule:

AGENDA – We are building an agenda with sessions related to: