small grains

Land Line: Grazing Legislation, Diversification Barriers, Nitrate Cancer Review, Riverview Lawsuit, Devil’s Element, Local Meat Processing, Returning to the Farm

Sign Up for E-mail Delivery of The Land Line RANCH Act Introduced to Help Rebuild Cattle Herd (8/21/26) Beef Magazine reports that two U.S. Senators have introduced a bipartisan bill that has the goal of boosting the grazing of beef cattle on perennial grasses and forbs. Highlights:  The “Rebuilding America’s National Cow Herd (RANCH) Act,”…  Read More →

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

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 →

Land Line: Nitrates, High Tech Mismatch, Dairy Soil Health, USDA Cuts, A Dairy’s Demise, New Farm Bill, Whole Grain Baking

Sign Up for E-mail Delivery of The Land Line Nearly One-Fifth of Americans Are Consuming Water With High Levels of Nitrates (4/27/26) Close to 20% of Americans are exposed to water polluted with high levels of potentially cancer-causing nitrates, known to come mostly from agricultural runoff, according to a study reported on in Inside Climate…  Read More →

Land Line: Trillion $ Landlord, Ag’s Next Generation, Fertilizer Prices, Oats, Farm Finance Grumbles, CAFO Permits, Big Meat

The $1.7 Trillion Landlord: New USDA Data Reveals the Shifting Face of Ownership (3/12/26) Farm Journal reports on new USDA showing a 47% surge in rented farmland value over the past decade, even as the footprint of available acreage shrinks. With $1.7 trillion in assets now held by a shifting demographic of landlords, the landscape…  Read More →

How Might Minnesota be a Leader in Creating a Resilient Agriculture?

In Testimony Before the State Senate Ag Committee, LSP Calls for Policy that Supports New Farmers, the Land & Communities

Note: On March 2, Minnesota Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Aric Putnam invited agricultural groups to share insights on their members’ concerns, frustrations, and current work in a special “State of Agriculture” hearing at the capitol. Below is the testimony shared by Laura Schreiber, the Land Stewardship Project’s government relations director, with the Agriculture, Veterans, Broadband,…  Read More →

Land Line: Beyond Exports, Nitrate Lawsuit, Soil Health $$, Local Food, Ag Collapse?, Ag Econ Downer, ICE & Rural Economies

Farmers Focus on Local Markets (1/31/26) The Tri-State Neighbor reports on a meeting in Rochester, Minn., where farmers and others gathered to discuss practical ways of diversifying the corn-soybean duo-culture that dominates Midwestern agriculture. Highlights: The “Beyond Exports” meeting, which was hosted by LSP, featured farmer-presenters who are in various stages of utilizing small grains,…  Read More →

Land Line: Oats, Nitrates & Karst, Fraudulent Science, ICE & Ag, Soil Health, Biostimulants, Fertilizer Price Collusion

Opportunity Knocks for Oats in Minnesota (1/28/26) Morning Ag Clips reports that interest in returning oats to Minnesota crop rotations is increasing as a result of a new processing facility being built and research related to the soil health benefits of planting the small grain. Highlights: A new, $68 million food-grade oat mill is expected…  Read More →

Farmers Gather in Rochester to Discuss Strategies for Diversifying Cropping Systems

Importance of Partnerships Focus of LSP’s ‘Beyond Exports’ Meeting

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Diversifying the region’s cropping systems beyond raw, export-driven commodities like corn and soybeans will require a team effort, said the farmer-presenters at the “Beyond Exports: Rebuilding Local Markets” meeting held at the Rochester International Event Center Jan. 27. More than 125 farmers from Minnesota and Iowa gathered for the Land Stewardship Project…  Read More →

Ear to the Ground 394: Canceling Commodities

As a farmer and entrepreneur, John Strohfus sees the production of food-grade crops as a key opportunity for regenerative farmers to forge links in a value chain based on building healthy soil. More Information • Jan. 27, 2026, LSP Workshop — “Beyond Exports: Rebuilding Local Markets” • Field Theory Foods • LSP Small Grains Web…  Read More →

Ear to the Ground 393: Risk Reducers

Alan Jostock uses the kind of diversity that builds soil health as a kind of insurance policy for his farm. That means meshing his crop and livestock enterprises in a way that they prop each other up through thick and thin.  More Information • Jan. 27, 2026, LSP Workshop — “Beyond Exports: Rebuilding Local Markets”…  Read More →