regenerative agriculture
Farmers Gather in Albert Lea to Talk About ‘Bringing Small Grains Back to Minnesota’
Attendees from 3 States Heard National, Local Ag Leaders Discuss the Economic, Agronomic & Environmental Opportunities Crops Like Oats Can Provide
ALBERT LEA, Minn. — Corn and soybeans may dominate the agricultural landscape in southern Minnesota and northern Iowa, but reintroducing small grains such as oats into the rotation could help make farming more economically, agronomically and environmentally sustainable, while serving a growing consumer demand for healthy food, said a panel of national and local experts during… Read More →
A Sense of Where You Are
11 Examples of Viewing Farms in Context (Part 1 in a Series)
Note: This is the 1st installment in the 12-part “A Sense of Where You Are” series. On a sunny day in June, hundreds of ewes make their way through a narrow grazing paddock, flowing along the contours of a Driftless Area hill in southeastern Minnesota like a woolly river. Later in the growing season, a… Read More →
‘Bringing Small Grains Back to Minnesota’ Workshop Jan. 28 in Albert Lea
Local & National Farmer-Experts Featured
ALBERT LEA, Minn. — Farmers, agricultural professionals, and community members are invited to a “Bringing Small Grains Back to Minnesota” workshop Tuesday, Jan. 28, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Edgewater Bay Pavilion in Albert Lea. This free, all-day Land Stewardship Project (LSP) event is an opportunity to learn from industry leaders and… Read More →
Breaking the Meat Processing Bottleneck
Endowed Chair Puts the Right People in the Right Place to Address a Critical Problem
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 →
Ear to the Ground 358: Low Input – High Returns
Alex Udermann and his family at Meadowbrook Dairy were tired of working harder and harder for less and less. So they invested in building the kind of healthy soil that pays off economically, environmentally, and from a quality of life point of view. More Information • LSP’s Soil Health Web Page • Minnesota Agricultural Water… Read More →
Ear to the Ground 354: Great Expectations
When Jay Fuhrer first started talking to his conservation colleagues about a different approach to protecting and building soil, he ended up eating lunch alone. But eventually the Burleigh County Soil Health Team helped launch a movement that’s showing how farming, the environment, and local economies benefit when people stop accepting soil as a degraded resource. More… Read More →
Ear to the Ground 343: Healthy Soil Vs. Plastic Worms
Clifford Johnson calls himself an “honest regenerative hypocrite,” which says a lot about his approach to building soil health on his family’s crop and livestock farm. (Second episode in a series on LSP’s 2024 Grazing School.) More Information • 5th in the Grazing School Podcast Series: “Pasture Pixie Dust” • 4th in the Grazing School… Read More →
Don Wyse’s Land Grant Legacy
It's Imperative Forever Green Stays True to its Foundations: Farmer-Centered, Accountable to the Public, Rooted in the Land
Back in 1998, I was working on an article for the Land Stewardship Letter about how the lack of biodiversity in agriculture was threatening the agronomic, ecological, and economic future of Midwestern farming communities. One of the people I interviewed was Don Wyse, a respected University of Minnesota plant scientist who had recently helped coordinate… Read More →
Ear to the Ground 336: Biology Booster
Gary Zimmer says before a farm can be sustainable, it has to be regenerated — and that starts with the soil. More Information • LSP’s Bridge to Soil Health Web Page • LSP’s Microbiology & Soil Health Web Page • Gary Zimmer • Agri-View Article on Gary Zimmer You can find LSP Ear to the Ground… Read More →