rural poverty

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

Land Line: Corn Belt Cancer, Integrating Crops & Livestock, Trade Turmoil, Farmland Access, Erosion, SNAP, Microbe Memory

October 31, 2025

Report: Cancer Rates Rising Among Young People in the Corn Belt (10/29/25) The Minnesota Reformer reports on an analysis conducted by The Washington Post showing that the six states that lead in corn production — Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana, and Kansas — have seen higher rates of cancer among young people than other states… Read More →

Category: Blog

Tags: beginning farmers • cancer • chemical pollution • farmland access • farmland transition • food insecurity • integrating livestock • Lake Pepin • rural poverty • SNAP • soil erosion • soil health • soil microbes • soil microbiology • soybeans • trade • water quality

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

Tags: agricultural economy • food banks • food worker safety • funding freeze • pork checkoff • rural economic development • rural poverty • soil health

A Sense of Where You Are: Food Bank Booster

Part 7 in a Series

By Brian DeVore

January 15, 2025

Note: This is the 7th installment in the 12-part “A Sense of Where You Are” series. Here’s some troubling context in the land of plenty: in 2023, 18 million U.S. households were food insecure at some time during the year, according to the USDA. That figure is up from 17 million in 2022. Food insecurity… Read More →

Category: Blog

Tags: A Sense of Where You Are • Cala Farm • CSA • food banks • hunger • Local Food Purchase Assistance Program • Rodrigo Cala • rural economic development • rural poverty • Threshing Table Farm • vegetable production

Ear to the Ground 360: Food Bank Booster

At a time when rural residents are grappling with high food insecurity, an innovative Wisconsin program is connecting local farmers with local eaters. More Information • Wisconsin Local Food Purchase Assistance Program • LSP’s Community-Based Food Systems Web Page • Latino Economic Development Center • Threshing Table Farm You can find LSP Ear to the Ground podcast… Read More →