Issuu

The

Land Stewardship Letter 42 Years of Keeping the Land & People Together

landstewardshipproject.org

Volume 42

Number 2, 2024

Putting it all in context (page 12).

u —An Organic Farmer Meets a Weed Scientist— —LSP Community Events— —2025 MN Legislative Preview— — A Piece of the Land Access Pie — —Oats & the 3-Legged Stool — —Building Community Food Assets — —Youth Movement— —Reviews: Devil’s Element, Dodge County, Soil & Spirit—

Contents

The

Land Stewardship Keeping the Land & People Together

Letter

Volume 42—Number 2, 2024

The Land Stewardship Letter is published by the Land Stewardship Project, a private, nonprofit organization. The Land Stewardship Project’s mission is to foster an ethic of stewardship for farmland, to promote sustainable agriculture, and to develop healthy communities. Members of the Land Stewardship Project receive this publication as a benefit. Annual membership dues are $35. All inquiries pertaining to the Land Stewardship Letter should be addressed to the editor, Brian DeVore, 4917 Nokomis Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55417; phone: 612-816-9342; e-mail: bdevore@landstewardshipproject.org.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Aleta Borrud, Josh Bryceson, Laurie Driessen, Laura Cullip, Dan McGrath, Les Macare, Sara Morrison, Beth Slocum, Paula Williams

STAFF Southeastern Minnesota

180 E. Main Street, P.O. Box 130, Lewiston, MN 55952; phone: 507-523-3366; e-mail: aromano@landstewardshipproject.org Annelie Livingston-Anderson, Pam Hartwell, Shea-Lynn Ramthun, Alex Romano, Karen Stettler

Stewardship Roots…3

• The Organic Farmer & the Weed Scientist • Don Wyse’s Legacy Must Continue

Myth Buster…6

• CAFOs & Rural Economies

Policy & Organizing…8 • Court Upholds CAFO Limits • Farm Bill Roundtable • Legislative Preview • Land Stewardship Action

• LSP Staff Update • Vicki Poier Remembered • LSP’s Long Range Plan

Farmer-to-Farmer…12 • Putting Farming in Context

Soil Health…20

• Oats & the 3-Legged Stool • LSP’s Soil Health Steering Committee

Community-Based Food…24 • Building Community Food Assets • LSP Receives USDA Local Food Grant

Farm Beginnings…26

• Applications Being Accepted for 2025-2026 Course • Seeking Farmers-Seeking Land Clearinghouse • LSP Land Access Workshop • FB Profile: Marcos Giossi • LSP Winter Farm Transition Course

Western Minnesota

111 North 1st Street, Montevideo, MN 56265; phone: 320-269-2105; e-mail: rmoore@landstewardshipproject.org Amy Bacigalupo, Heather Benson, Scott DeMuth, Alex Kiminski, Robin Moore, Nick Olson, Matthew Sheets

In Community…30 • Farms, Food, Fun & Friends • Poetry: “Making Hay”

Twin Cities

821 East 35 St., Suite 200 Minneapolis, MN 55407; phone: 612-722-6377; e-mail: info@landstewardshipproject.org Olivia Blanchflower, Sean Carroll, Brian DeVore, Scott Elkins, Natalia Espina Talamilla, Josh Journey-Heinz, Elizabeth Makarewicz, Emily Minge, Timothy Kenney, Clara Sanders, Megan Smith, Seth Kuhl-Stennes, Whitney Terrill

LSP News…7

Reviews…31 Membership Update…34 • Why Do We Gather? • Sign-up for LIVE-WIRE • Planned Giving to LSP • Factory Farm Podcast • In Memory & in Honor • Membership Questions?

• Soil & Spirit • The Devil’s Element • Dodge County, Incorporated

Stewardship Calendar…36 This LSL printed by Johnson Printers, Rochester, Minn.

No. 2, 2024

• Small Grains Marketing • Farm Transition Workshop • Family Farm Breakfast at the Capitol

The Land Stewardship Letter

upon the idea of researching the impact on Canada thistle of an organic rotation that included alfalfa. Don had his technician use global positioning system coordinates to map every thistle patch in a 24-acre field, and then count each thistle plant in each patch. We did this study through a five-year rotation, mapping and counting every spring at the appropriate time. The end result of this study was that alfalfa significantly decreased the thistle population and has become the hen Don Wyse died in July as a result of injuries from a fall, we didn’t just lose an mainstay and primary means for organic innovative agricultural scientist — we lost someone who was a standard-bearer farmers to suppress Canada thistle, the most for what the land grant mission is all about: using science to serve the land, communities, challenging weed in an organic cropping and, most importantly, people. And he didn’t just give lip service to that mission. system. Wyse’s contributions to plant science during his five decades at the University of MinIn fact, shortly after the conclusion of nesota — from his early days doing ryegrass research to recent breakthroughs in the areas of this study, Don and I organized a van tour of developing crops that could provide the land in corn and soybean regions with “continuous organic farmers in southwestern Minnesota living cover” — are impressive, and would be enough to label a typical academic career and spent the day visiting a number of or“successful.” In fact, if you know anything about Dr. Wyse, it’s probably in relation to the ganic farms in the area. And our suspicions development of Kernza, an intermediate wheatgrass that is now considered the world’s first were confirmed that farmers who incorpocommercially viable perennial grain. rated alfalfa into their organic rotations were But as the commentaries below and on page 5 illustrate, Wyse’s true legacy was conmore successful overall than those without tributing to a regenerative farming research and outreach infrastructure within a giant alfalfa. institution that hasn’t always been friendly to agricultural systems that don’t fit into the Both of these reflections may seem like corn-bean-feedlot machine model of production. As land grant institutions across the nation small and insignificant stories about just become increasingly focused on research that benefits an industrialized, corporate-controlled another research project. But the real story is model of farming, science that’s accountable to farmers and the general public, as well as how Don was just as deeply interested and the land, is more important than ever. That’s why it is so critical that a key contribution concerned about organic farm production isWyse made to regenerative agriculture — co-directing the nationally-known Forever Green sues as he was about conventional systems. initiative and the cutting edge research into the continuous living cover crops associated To him, it has always been about equality. with it — continue, be further strengthened, and directed in a way that it is accountable, It was during one of Don’s early visits to and useful, to the small and medium-sized farmers who are the bedrock of our land and our farm to see how the Pseudomonas study rural communities. was progressing that I first began to realize just how great a teacher and mentor he was to me. He and I took some time that day to together for two summers trying to make it By Carmen Fernholz just sit in the middle of a restored prairie on work. I should say that in the end, the failure the farm and carry on the greatest conversaof the Pseudomonas bacteria to more permation ever about ecosystems. ell, here’s the damn story. It nently suppress Canada thistle was one of The reason this conversation is still fixed started nearly 40 years ago, Don’s greatest disappointments. in my memory is the simple fact that I was after I had read an article in a However, several years later we came an organic farmer, and paying attention to farm magazine about research natural systems was just a given Don Wyse was engaged with refor me. On the other hand, most lated to Canada thistle manageorganic farmers had become ment. While mowing highway disillusioned with the university ditches in the summer during land grant system as personified his college years, it turns out by the agricultural Extension that Don took note of a fact that service and its very critical assome patches of Canada thistle sessment and absence of support would turn yellow for some for organic farming. But to listen reason. And when he was here to a weed scientist immersed in in Minnesota, the recollection the latest and greatest herbicide of those yellowing thistles in research talking about ecosysthe road ditches while driving tems got my attention. to work again surfaced. Now Many times, Don complained that he was a weed scientist, he about organic farmers “throwwas going to try and find out ing stones at the University.” the cause. But it was a two-way street, and After reading about his interwe both knew it. I think from est in Canada thistle, I wrote that day on our respect for each Don a letter about my problems other grew to where he would with the noxious weed. He Carmen Fernholz (left) and Don Wyse, pictured at a field day Fernholz assigned a graduate student to Wyse, see page 4… the project and he and I worked hosted on his farm near Madison, Minn. (Forever Green Initiative Photo)

Stewardship Roots

An Organic Farmer Meets a Weed Scientist

The Land Stewardship Letter

No. 2, 2024

Don happened to stop by about the time we were contemplating windrowing the Kernza. He always seemed to appear just at the most opportune time, and this day was one of those times. We went to the field and took our samples and were ready to perform …Wyse, from page 3 the protocol for determining the moisture level of the grain. I offered to use Sally’s microwave oven. He would have none of it. ultimately trust me to be the first board chair He asked if there was an appliance dealer of the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable in Madison. There was, and so we went to Agriculture (MISA). At the same time, my town and purchased a microwave. The aptrust for him grew to a level where I could pliance dealer was especially curious when withstand and defend any criticism from I introduced him to Don. In fact, he had my fellow organic farmers who may Don tell him the whole story of what we have perceived me as selling out to the were up to; he had always been curious university. about what was going on at “that farm east Don would always engage with me of Madison.” not as one who needed to be educated And finally on a very personal note, on ways to manage weeds, but as a Don and I were once in Michigan for a peer. I sat in his office many times for Cover Crops Council meeting. Just as we hours on end, and I’ve talked to other were about to leave for home, I received farmers who have had the same experia call from Sally that my dad had passed ence. To make a farmer feel like the away. Needless to say, it was a long trip work I was doing every day out in the back. When Don finally asked me why I field was equally as important as the was so quiet, I told him the situation. We work going on at a premier land grant spent much of the remainder of that trip university became the substance of talking about our fathers — how they were our bonding. We could challenge each so much alike and how this father-son other, yet hold the deepest respect for relationship, their work ethic, and sense each other’s expertise and life experiof responsibility had impacted us. Over ences. Here are a couple of little stories to Carmen Fernholz explaining how Kernza fits into the years, we would occasionally remark help convey the extent of this bonding: his crop rotation during an on-farm event. Don Wyse about the stories we shared that night. Don created for me the best of two Shortly before I was asked to apply “would always engage with me not as one who needed for the first University of Minnesota to be educated on ways to manage weeds, but as a worlds. One was the opportunity to participate very deeply and intimately in the Endowed Chair for Sustainable Studpeer,” writes Fernholz. (Photo by Dana Jackson) academic and scientific community as an ies, I was at the local high school one “So how do I harvest this grain?” I asked. engaged, respected, and appreciated person. evening where we were rehearsing for an “It’s not like any other grain crop, you At the same time, I was able to invite the upcoming theatre production I was directknow.” academic community to participate in my ing. Don happened to be coming through He simply replied, “You’re a farmer — world as a farmer. Madison that evening and stopped at the you’ll figure it out.” And we did. In the end, this is about the organic house to visit. My wife, Sally, informed him And seven years later I had the first field farmer and the weed scientist. We were both that I was at a rehearsal. So, without letting of certified organic “Minnesota Clearwafarm boys and remained farm boys at heart. me know, he comes walking into the theatre ter” Kernza variety ready to harvest. The We just took different roads that ended up at just as the rehearsal was about to begin. His challenge was determining when to harvest the same place. p timing was impeccable, but so was the fact based on kernel moisture content. The U of that he wanted to see me in my other life. M had a formula it used that in part required Carmen Fernholz, along with his wife, Sally, This is a story we have reminisced over utilizing a microwave oven, a scale, and a many times. owns and operates A-Frame Farm near brown paper bag. In 2011, Don asked me if I was interested Madison, Minn.

Stewardship Roots

in growing intermediate wheatgrass. I didn’t know much about it, but was always open to try anything that Don was involved in. He gave me enough seed for about two acres, which Sally and I planted that September. The first year it appeared as though no one was interested in the project, so I ended up cutting and baling the crop. The second year, however, out of the blue I get a call from Don asking me how the intermediate wheatgrass was doing. I assured him that it was growing well and was nearing harvest. “We need to harvest it, you know,” he said.

More on Don Wyse & Forever Green

➔ Forever Green Initiative: forevergreen.umn.edu ➔ Blog: “Don Wyse’s Land Grant Legacy” — landstewardshipproject.org/don-wyses-land-grant-legacy ➔ Blog: “Forever Green: Relaying Resiliency” — landstewardshipproject.org/forever-green-relaying-resiliency ➔ Blog: “Forever Green’s New Crop of Researchers” — landstewardshipproject.org/forever-greens-new-crop-of-researchers ➔ Podcast: “How the Forever Green Initiative could make Minnesota farming more efficient” — landstewardshipproject.org/podcast/ ear-to-the-ground-153 ➔ Podcast: “Kernza’s Continuous Cover” — landstewardshipproject.org/podcast/ear-to-the-ground-229-kernzas-continuous-cover ➔ Podcast: “Kernza’s Stress Test” — landstewardshipproject.org/podcast/ear-to-the-ground-no-259-kernzas-stress-test

No. 2, 2024

The Land Stewardship Letter

Don Wyse’s Regenerative Ag Vision Must Continue By Scott Elkins, Sophia Murphy, Steve Morse, Jan Joannides, Lucinda Winter & Theresa Keaveny

s Minnesota’s sustainable farming and environmental community grieves the passing of a giant in the movement, the critical need for public investment in an agricultural system that builds resilient farms, landscapes, and communities is clearer than ever. When Don Wyse, co-director/founder of the nationally-known Forever Green Initiative at the University of Minnesota, passed away in July, we didn’t just lose an innovative plant breeder; we lost someone who was using science to serve farmers, natural resources, rural communities and the greater good. Wyse was the epitome of the land-grant mission in action: public science serving the public good. He left behind a 50-year legacy of research that is benefiting people and the land today. For example, through Forever Green Wyse drove the development of “continuous living cover” crops that build soil and habitat, protect our water, sequester carbon, and generate economic activity 365-daysa-year. In all, 16 crops — from Kernza to camelina — are under development through the Forever Green Initiative. Wyse understood there’s a reason we are dominated by a duo-culture of corn and soybeans: our agronomic, marketing, transportation, and processing systems, along with public policy, drive this narrow focus. Indeed, it was public investment via the land grant system that helped make such crops so dominant. Now we need public investment to create the next generation of crops. Forever Green isn’t just a “crops incubator” — it’s driving a food system that delivers

Color Contrast

April 20-May 3 The Land Stewardship Letter

multiple benefits to society. Wyse’s greatest legacy is his ability to harness the resources of the U of M — our land grant university — to address critical public needs for agriculture that are beyond the ongoing efforts to further entrench the dominant industrial model. As we increasingly understand the limits and liabilities of the industrial ag system, science that responds to and is accountable to farmers, local communities, and the public is critical. Wyse recognized that if we are to bring about significant, but practical, changes to Midwestern agriculture, farmers must be key players in research and outreach partnerships. Carmen Fernholz (see page 3), a southwestern Minnesota farmer and a pio-

Don Wyse Scholarship

scholarship fund has been created to support students pursuing studies related to the work Don Wyse did on regenerative agriculture research. To donate, see everloved.com/life-of/dr-donald-wyse/donate. neering Kernza producer, is a living example of how fruitful such partnerships can be. “This relationship with Don showed me that the fields on a farm were really no different than plots on the Saint Paul campus,” the farmer said recently when reflecting on working with the scientist. “Most of these Forever Green crops have the potential to not only provide a more robust food system but also benefit the land, our water, and the human resource, namely farmers.” Such teamwork has set in motion the creation of a network of regenerative research and outreach that extends beyond one individual scientist’s lifespan. But this legacy won’t survive and thrive by accident; we

need to be intentional and double down on the work to create regenerative continuous living cover systems that protect our environment and are profitable for farmers. This won’t be easy. There is incredible inertia pushing for a bigger reliance on the monocultural cropping systems that dominate. But Wyse has shown us it can be done. The timing is critical: farming is being rocked by the extreme weather accompanying climate change, and the negative repercussions of undermining our soil’s health are showing up in the form of water pollution across our state. Conventional agriculture’s focus on producing a handful of crops and removing animals from the land and crowding them into giant confined facilities creates vulnerabilities that we can’t ignore. That’s why it’s so important that Forever Green continue, be built out, and directed in a way that is accountable and beneficial, especially to the emerging, small and mediumsized farmers who are the bedrock of our land and rural communities. Minnesota’s sustainable agriculture and environmental community calls on public institutions to step up and expand support for agroecological systems to fulfill Don Wyse’s vision of building resiliency — on the land, on our farms, and on Main Street. p Scott Elkins, Sophia Murphy, Steve Morse, Jan Joannides, and Lucinda Winter are executive directors of the Land Stewardship Project, the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, the Minnesota Environmental Partnership, Renewing the Countryside, and the Sustainable Farming Association, respectively. Theresa Keaveny is the Minnesota state policy lead for Climate Land Leaders.

During presentations promoting the need for a diversified farming system, Don Wyse would show the following series of slides illustrating how Midwestern crop fields were bare and lacked green vegetation— represented by the brown and pale colors — most of the year. (Images: USDA VegScapeVegetation Condition Explorer)

July 13-26

October 5-16 No. 2, 2024

Myth Buster Box

An Ongoing Series on Ag Myths & Ways of Deflating Them

➔ Myth: More Hogs on Fewer Farms = More Money in Local Piggy Banks Hogs have traditionally been known as “mortgage lifters” on small and medium-sized farms. That’s because they can be brought to market relatively quickly utilizing feed raised right on the farm. Farmers could sell a pen load of pigs on a regular basis, bringing in a steady income that paid bills, and yes, helped pay off the farm. But somewhere along the line, hogs transitioned from being a mortgage lifter for individual farms to a way for Big Ag to foreclose on rural America’s economy. Today, the vast majority of those hogs are not raised in systems that boost incomes for small and medium-sized farms, or, in general, benefit the economies of local communities. That’s because the hog industry has become consolidated to an unprecedented level due to the onslaught of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and the replacement of open markets with the closed contract system. In Iowa, the nation’s top pork producer, the number of farms raising pigs dropped by two-thirds between 1997 and 2022, according to the USDA. During that same period, the average number of pigs per Iowa farm has jumped from 825 to over 4,500. In Minnesota, which is the country’s second largest pork producer, the trends are similar: there were over 7,700 farms raising pigs in 1997; in 2022 that figured was below 3,000. Meanwhile, the average Minnesota herd size skyrocketed from 730 to a little over 3,000. When the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) reports such statistics in its industry summaries, it tends to gloss over the number of lost livelihoods they represent, and focuses instead on overall economic activity. A recent NPPC report noted that the “$27.2 billion of gross cash receipts from hog marketings in 2023 represents only a portion of the total economic activity supported by the industry.” That’s an eye-popping figure, but doesn’t tell the whole story of how much money stays in rural communities, where it can be circulated among farmers and local businesses. In 2022, Food & Water Watch released an analysis examining the relationship between the health of rural Iowa communities and the size of hog operations. The research-

➔ Fact:

No. 2, 2024

ers looked at the period between 1982 and 2017 using data gleaned from the U.S. Census of Agriculture and the Iowa Department of Revenue. What they found was that the Iowa counties that sold the most hogs and those with the largest hog farms declined economically based on several categories, including real median household income and total wage jobs. The counties with the most large hog CAFOs also experienced population declines at twice the rate of the state’s typical rural county. On a per capita basis, personal income increased in each Iowa county between 1982 and 2017. But measuring per capita income can mask economic inequality, by, for example, not accounting for the fact that a few large earners inflate the county average. Measuring median household income can provide a more accurate gauge by finding the middle point among all households. Indeed, it turns

Hogs have gone from being mortgage lifters to a way for Big Ag to foreclose on rural America’s economy. out the median household income among counties with high hog sales and large farms was between 6% and 7% less in 2017 than in 1979. In contrast, it increased slightly within counties with smaller farms. Meanwhile, the four largest meatpacking firms now control 67% of all hog purchases. Brazil-based JBS, the largest meatpacker in the world, has been reporting record profits in recent months. In contrast, an Iowa State University agricultural economist recently wrote that, for farmers, it was possible that 2023 and 2024 will go down as the “worst two year stretch for profitability in hog production.” One benefit touted by the boosters of the consolidated CAFO system is that it provides a ready market for feedstuffs in the form of corn and soybeans. However, the loss of individual crop farms has paralleled the loss of hog operations. When hogs were more integrated on diversified farms that were of moderate size, farmers weren’t as vulnerable to crop market price swings — they could simply walk lowpriced corn off the farm in the form of a hog. The economic devastation caused by Big

Pork is another reason the Land Stewardship Project and its allies are working for a Farm Bill that addresses consolidation in the industry and stops subsidizing the establishment of manure digesters and other facilities that make producing livestock in mega-scale operations lucrative at taxpayers’ expense. It’s also why LSP is working on the state level (see page 10) to make CAFOs pay the full cost of managing all that liquid manure they produce. The real cost of factory farming should give local government leaders pause as they consider approving permits for such facilities as a way to supposedly boost the local economy. As the new book by Sonja Trom Eayrs, Dodge County, Incorporated (see page 33), points out, too often local township officers and county supervisors buy into the myth that if a few pigs are good for the local economy, then lots and lots of pigs are even better for the bank. Instead of chasing manure lagoons, they could be taking steps to support a more localized food economy. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition recently reported on some interesting figures from the U.S. Census of Agriculture: in 2022, 116,617 farms reported more than $3.26 billion in direct-to-consumer sales — this is a 150% increase in the value of direct sales since 2012. Research conducted by food analyst Ken Meter shows that local food webs can keep wealth circulating in rural communities at a much higher level than the commodity-based, export-driven system of agriculture. Someone once erected a billboard along Interstate 35 in northern Iowa that read, “Politicians Take Note…Hogs Don’t Vote.” Decision-makers should also keep in mind that it’s not more hogs that drive a local economy, it’s more hog farmers.

More Information

• Food & Water Watch report: “The Hog Bosses,” foodandwaterwatch.org. • NSAC blog: “Census of Agriculture Reveals the Promise of Regional Food Systems,” bit.ly/nsacblog. • Other installments in LSP’s long-running Myth Buster series: landstewardshipproject.org/myth-busters.

The Land Stewardship Letter

LSP News LSP Staff Update

eather Benson has joined the Land Stewardship Project’s staff as a communications specialist. Benson has over two decades of marketing, communications, and public relations experience within both the agricultural and nonprofit spheres, and most recently was the digiHeather Benson tal strategy manager for South Dakota Public Broadcasting, that state’s National Public Radio and Public Broadcasting Service member station. A recent transplant to Minnesota, she and her daughter operate a farm near Appleton in the western part of the state. Benson is based out of LSP’s office in Montevideo, Minn., and her work focuses on social media outreach, media relations, and other communications initiatives. She can be reached at hbenson@landstewardshipproject.org. Alex Kiminski has joined LSP as an organizer focused on soil health and land access issues. Kiminski has spent the past two decades working in various aspects of the food industry, including working with crop and livestock farming in Montana. Kiminski is based out of LSP’s Montevideo office and her work focuses on working with crop and livestock farmers who are interested in adopting practices that build soil

Alex Kiminski The Land Stewardship Letter

health profitably. She also works with non-operating landowners who are looking for ways to continue their conservation legacy. Kiminski can be reached at akiminski@ landstewardshipproject.org. Amanda Koehler Amanda Koehler has departed LSP’s Policy and Organizing Department to join the staff of the National Young Farmers Coalition, where she is working as that organization’s land policy associate director. Koehler joined LSP’s staff in 2017 and over the years worked with members who were organizing around issues ranging from factory farms and local democracy to legislative support for farmers who want to adopt soil health practices and federal initiatives related to land access for beginning and emerging farmers. Recently, Koehler served as LSP’s policy manager; in that role she, among other things, coordinated and expanded the popular Family Farm Breakfast and Day at the Capitol (see page 11). Martin Moore has left LSP’s policy team to return to teaching. Beginning in 2023, Moore was involved with various campaigns in southeastern Minnesota as a policy organizer. He worked with LSP members and allied groups around such issues as nitrate contamination of groundwater, methane digesters, and a large dairy operation’s attempt to circumvent Winona County’s animal unit limit (see page 8). p

Martin Moore

LSP’s 5 Year Plan Approved by Board

he Land Stewardship Project’s board of directors in September approved the organization’s long range plan for 2025-2030: The Roots of Resilience: Grow, Challenge, Build & Steward. Every five years, LSP’s board gathers input from members, supporters, allies, and staff on what work should be prioritized so that the organization can develop a long range plan that best fulfills its mission going forward. During the spring of 2024, a member and staff-led committee worked with LSP’s consulting partner, Seiche, a social impact strategy and communications firm, to conduct a member and supporter survey and hold six inperson listening sessions. LSP also hosted a panel discussion with some of the Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) allies the organization works with. A copy of the long range plan is available at landstewardshipproject.org/ long-range-plan. For a paper copy, e-mail info@landstewardshipproject.org, or call 612-722-6377.

Vicki Poier: 1948-2024

ong-time Land Stewardship Project member Vicki Poier passed away Aug. 24 at the farm she owned with her husband, Keith, near Montevideo in western Minnesota. She was 76. Poier was extremely active in her community over the years, and worked frequently with LSP members and staff on various initiatives. She served on the first LSP Land Access Steering Committee and for 30 years was a leader in the annual Hunger Walk. Robin Moore, an LSP organizer, shared this remembrance of Poier: “She was deeply committed to the care of both land and community, as well as leaders, in our work and in the greater ecosystem. I can’t think of a more consistent, kind, and generous person that I’ve met in this community — always willing to listen, to pitch in, and to act on her values. She was committed to creating access and sharing, something I could count on when my own hope flagged.” p Vicki Poier No. 2, 2024

Policy & Organizing Local Democracy

Court Upholds County’s AU Limit

n a victory for local democracy, the Minnesota Court of Appeals issued a ruling Dec. 9 upholding a county’s right to limit the size of large animal feedlots operating within its borders. The ruling confirms an earlier state District Court’s decision that there was “no actual evidence of bias” when Winona County denied Daley Farm’s attempt to circumvent the county’s 1,500 animal unit cap. The Court of Appeals decision is at bit.ly/Daleydecision. For the past five years, Daley Farm has been attempting to obtain a variance to the rules to add 3,000 dairy cows to its facilities near Lewiston, which would put the operation at 5,968 animal units (roughly 4,500 cows), almost four times Winona County’s cap. Annually, the expanded facility would use 92 million gallons of the area’s groundwater and produce 46 million gallons of manure and wastewater in an area dominated by karst geology and nitrate pollution problems.

The Winona County Board of Adjustment has twice denied the variance, and, despite strong opposition from Winona County residents, Daley officials — backed by supporters of industrialized livestock farming on the state level — have repeatedly attempted to circumvent local county government rulings through various means, including suing Winona County. All of these attempts have been unsuccessful. Soon after the Court of Appeals issued its Dec. 9 ruling, Daley Farm announced that it would continue its legal challenges. “This latest court decision is yet another victory for the right of people to speak up for the future of their community, its farms, the land, and water,” says Sean Carroll, LSP’s policy director. “It’s time that Daley Farm stopped wasting public resources on frivolous lawsuits so we can focus on advancing farming practices that support local economies and protect our groundwater.” Winona County adopted its animal unit

Federal Policy

A Piece of the Land Access Pie

Emerging Farmers Call for Farm Bill Support Via the LASO Act

f lawmakers are looking for a wise investment to make in the future of food production and the environment, they should look no further than a growing group of farmers that don’t fit neatly into the traditional category of what American agriculture looks like. That was the general conclusion of a recent panel made up of some of these alternative agrarians. “We are doing so much work,” said Zoe Hollomon during a roundtable discussion held at Sharing Our Roots Farm near Northfield, Minn., in August. The “we” Hollomon was referring to are the kinds of farmers decision-makers often overlook when developing public policy, such as farmers of color and other so-called “emerging farmers.” Hollomon, who is the executive director of policy coordination and land fund development for the Midwest Farmers of Color Collective, said such farmers are more likely to utilize sustainable

No. 2, 2024

practices that build soil health. They also spend their dollars locally while producing healthy food. “But all of this depends on having access to land,” Hollomon added. And that’s a problem, given that 75% of the farmers in Hollomon’s network alone don’t own the land they farm. The challenges of accessing land for emerging farmers, and all types of small and medium-sized operations, for that matter, was the theme of the August discussion. Besides Hollomon’s group and Sharing Our Roots, the roundtable was hosted by the Land Stewardship Project and the Latino Economic Development Center. Sharing Our Roots, which was formerly a 163-acre row crop operation, offers long-term land agreements and shared infrastructure for immigrant, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and emerging farmers through a commons-based cohort model.

cap ordinance in 1998 to balance the interests of farmers with the unique risks industrial agricultural practices pose to groundwater within the region’s vulnerable karst topography. Groundwater is the area’s main source of drinking water, and the Environmental Protection Agency has ordered state agencies to take action to deal with rampant nitrate pollution problems in the region. Since its founding over four decades ago, LSP has worked in Winona County and other parts of southeastern Minnesota to support farmers in their efforts to develop crop and livestock systems that are economically viable, build healthy soil, and protect water resources. During the past five years, LSP members in Winona County have been involved in upholding the county’s animal unit cap, and in May the organization filed a legal brief with the Minnesota Court of Appeals contesting Daley Farm’s appeal of the state District Court’s decision. Representing LSP in the case is FarmSTAND, a legal advocacy organization that is dedicated to taking on industrial animal agriculture. “It’s essential that all Big Ag attempts to use the civil justice system to avoid accountability to rural America be rejected,” says Holly Bainbridge, FarmSTAND staff attorney and counsel for LSP. p During the farm tour and roundtable discussion, area emerging farmers shared the challenges they face getting access to land with Chuck Ackman, who is the senior regional outreach director for Minnesota U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, and Whitney Place, the executive director of the Minnesota office of the USDA’s Farm Service Agency. Also present was Kristi Pursell, a Northfield area state Representative and the vice-chair of the Minnesota House Agriculture Committee. The farmers who spoke agreed that one concrete step lawmakers could take is to include in the next federal Farm Bill the Increasing Land Access, Security, and Opportunities (LASO) Act. A top LSP priority during discussions over what should go into the next Farm Bill has been getting more farmers on the land. In partnership with the Midwest Farmers of Color Collective and the National Young Farmers Coalition, LSP members have been advocating for the LASO Act, which reauthorizes the federal Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access Program with an infusion of $100 million. LASO, championed by Minnesota U.S. Land, see page 9… The Land Stewardship Letter

Mhonpaj Lee, who operates a certified organic farm in Minnesota’s Washington County, agreed, saying it Senator Tina Smith, would fund communityshould be part of an overall strategy led solutions to the land access crisis facing of how society starts working toward the new generation of young and Black getting more healthy food raised lofarmers, Indigenous farmers, and farmers cally. Along with federal policy help, of color. This legislation would increase there needs to be changes on the local access to capital for underserved farmers, government level by, for example, boost training and economic opportunity for modifying zoning to benefit smaller beginner farmers, and help make land more farmers, she said. affordable for BIPOC farmers. “We need a rethinking of how we Gina Aguilar, a graduate of LSP’s Farm support a different lifestyle and future Beginnings course (see page 26) who raises generations,” said Lee, adding that produce and livestock with her husband, when she walks through the Saint Silvano, near Amery in western WisconPaul Farmers’ Market, she notices sin, told the officials that getting small and that only a handful of vendors own medium-sized farmers access to food should the land they farm on. “We need a complete Farm Bill that’s not just Lily Mboss, who favoring established farmers and disincentivizing has teamed up with everyone else who’s trying to farm,” said livestock four other immigrants producer Tessa Parks. Pictured with Parks is Levi from Kenya to raise Welbourn, the regional food systems coordinator vegetables on rented for the Latino Economic Development Center. land in Minnesota’s (LSP Photo) Carver County, said even if the LASO Act could should be directed, Congress failed to pass a provide emerging farmers a new bill in 2023 or 2024; the current law is small portion of the support in limbo as a new Congress convenes. corn and soybean producers “We need lawmakers to step up and currently get via the Farm Bill, represent us,” said Funwi Tita, who raises it would go a long ways tovegetables on leased land in the Minnesota ward providing them stability communities of Otsego, Montrose, and Mewhen it comes to land access. dina. Tita is also president of the Minnesota “I’m tired of all the talking, all the drama that’s going She shared how commuting to African Immigrant Farmers Association. on,” said vegetable farmer Funwi Tita, referring to the land they are currently renting “I’m tired of all the talking, all the drama inability of Congress to pass a Farm Bill. Pictured with via a short-term lease involves that’s going on. It’s become like a ritual.” p Tita is Mhonpaj Lee, a vegetable farmer. (LSP Photo) not having access to bathroom facilities and, at times, even LSP’s Farm Bill platform can be viewed hauling water for the plants in their cars. be viewed as an issue of national security at at landstewardshipproject.org/federal“It’s not sustainable,” she said. “Imagine a time when food safety recalls are rampant policy/farmbill2023. For more information just having that security of even a long-term and situations like the COVID-19 pandemic on LSP’s federal policy work, contact lease as a farmer? I think there’s a lot of show how fragile our consolidated food policy director Sean Carroll at scarroll@ people out there who want to do organic and system is. landstewardshipproject.org. sustainable farming, but they just don’t have “It’s entering into our national conversathe resources. We just want a piece of the tion that our food system is broken,” Aguilar pie, and a very small piece of it.” said. Tessa Parks, who raises livestock at Sharing Our Roots, said beginning farmers like herself need support in getting access to land so they can focus more of their energies on the kind of innovative experimentation needed to successfully operate a regenerative farm. “We’ve learned to farm in drought, now we’re learning to farm in floods,” said Parks. “But we need a complete Farm Bill that’s not just favoring established farmers and disincentivizing everyone else who’s trying to farm.” The Farm Bill is re-drafted every five years, and a new one was due to be passed in Gina Aguilar said making it easier for 2023. However, due to disagreements over more beginning and emerging farmers to “We just want a piece of the pie, and a very everything from funding over hunger relief get access to land is a matter of “national small piece of it,” said farmer Lily Mboss. programs to how conservation programs security.” (LSP Photo) (LSP Photo) …Land, from page 8

The Land Stewardship Letter

No. 2, 2024

Policy & Organizing State Policy

Legislative Preview: Farm to School, Manure Management, Emerging Farmers

s the 2025 session of the Minnesota Legislature gets underway, lawmakers are faced with a budget year. In other words, to avoid a state government shutdown, they will have a mandate to pass legislation which funds the state’s various programs. And as a result of the 2024 election results, the DemocraticFarmer-Labor party no longer controls both the Senate and the House. As a result of the DFL trifecta being broken, lawmakers from opposing parties will need to reach across the aisle if they are to successfully pass legislation before adjournment in May. In this environment, the Land Stewardship Project is uniquely positioned to move our agenda forward because of our history of working with both parties. During the 2024 session, for example, we worked with DFLers and Republicans to win support for the Farm to School Program. So, this session LSP will be working with its members and allies to push through numerous proposals that support small and medium-sized farmers, clean water, vibrant community food systems, and healthy rural communities.

nesota Extension and IATP. A total of 435 vendors were involved in direct-to-school sales, and nearly all of them were farmers. But this initiative is sorely underfunded. In 2023, the program had only $1.25 million in state money available, while the Minnesota Department of Agriculture received over $5.3 million worth of requests from schools. Considering how much even a nominally funded Farm to School Program has already benefited Minnesota farmers, the potential for a fully resourced initiative to support

with various allies, LSP helped develop the plan, which, among other things, proposes policies that would provide more funding for the Farm to School grant program, and for aggregation, regional coordination, and infrastructure investments, as well as farmer and food service trainings. During the 2025 legislative session, LSP and IATP are leading a broad coalition that’s pushing lawmakers to provide up to $10 million to the Farm to School and Early Care Program. This amount of money would make it possible for schools and early care facilities in every corner of the state to source locally produced food for their meal programs. The funding would provide resources to not only purchase food straight from farmers but to procure the equipment needed to process and store the food. Lastly, LSP and IATP are leading a complementary bill to establish regional local food procurement coordinators that can help facilitate connections between producers and buyers, whether in school settings, hospitals, or restaurants.

Farm to School

Over the past five years, LSP and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) have worked with numerous partners to bolster regional food systems that open up markets for small and medium-sized farmers while generating (and keeping) wealth in local communities. For example, Minnesota’s Farm to School and Early Care Program now has a $1 million annual budget and is managed by a dedicated position at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. Creating stable markets for locally grown food is critical to supporting our farmers across the board, especially beginning and emerging producers. The Farm to School Program has already helped many school districts serve healthy, local food while supporting hundreds of farmers. During fiscal year 2023 alone, the program had $3.1 million in economic impact on Minnesota’s economy, according to an analysis conducted by University of Min-

No. 2, 2024

In the late 1990s, this hog operation in Minnesota’s Renville County was the source of a manure spill that killed an estimated 690,000 fish along almost 19 miles of stream. Manure management rules in the state have not been updated in nearly 25 years. (Submitted Aerial Photo) agriculture is tremendous. In particular, this would give farmers who produce meat, poultry, and dairy products greater access to institutional markets. The U of M ExtensionIATP analysis found that nearly half of the local food purchases made by schools during fiscal year 2023 were for protein. And a fully funded Farm to School and Early Care Program would go a long way toward supporting the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s Farm to Kids Strategic Plan, which provides a five-year road map for advancing local purchasing and agricultural education in K-12 schools and early care settings across the state. Working

As the session gets underway, LSP is confident we will yet again have bipartisan support for further fortifying initiatives that smooth the path between farms and schools/ early care facilities.

Manure Management

During the 2024 session of the Legislature, LSP’s Animal Agriculture Steering Committee worked with farmer-members of the organization to develop and build support for legislation that supports comprehensive manure management reform in the state. Preview, see page 11… The Land Stewardship Letter

legislators to co-author our manure management reform bill. During the 2024 legislative session, a manure reform proposal gained 19 co-authors. LSP is looking forward to working with them again during the 2025 session to finally make comprehensive manure management rules a reality.

And in recent years, lawmakers have delivered. In 2019, the Minnesota state budget included just $500,000 for soil health programs, and there was little conversaSuch reform is long overdue — Minnesota tion about creating a statewide initiative to feedlot rules have not been updated in nearly support soil healthy farming practices that 25 years. We need rules that, for example, tackle climate change. By 2023, Minnesota’s require large concentrated animal feeding state budget reflected a significant commitoperations (CAFOs) to put in place and ment to regenerative agriculture, with more Land Access & Emerging Farmers adhere to manure management plans that than $50 million in investment in resources In 2023, LSP worked alongside several specify strict setbacks from vulnerable water to support farmers implementing soil buildallies, including groups led by farmers of resources. (During the summer of 2024, the ing practices, thanks in large part to the color, to successfully push for historic public Minnesota Pollution Control Agency took legislative work of LSP and our allies in investments in emerging farmers. One of comments from the public on updating two promoting the idea that regenerative farming these wins included doubling the funding for permits that regulate livestock operations can play a key, positive role in cleaning our and prioritizing emerging farmer applicants that are 1,000 animals units or more in size. water, sequestering carbon, and revitalizing within the Minnesota Farmland Down For details, see bit.ly/feedlotpermit.) the economies of rural communities. Payment Assistance Program. “EmergThe state’s outdated approach to manure During the 2024 legislative session, ing farmers” are farmers from historically management rules are one of the ways the LSP’s Climate Policy Steering Committee underserved communities, including Black, biggest get bigger at the expense of small worked to advance a bill that would create a Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), and mid-sized farmers, rural communities, pilot initiative modeled after the successful immigrants, women, veterans, people with and our water and climate. These mega-opOlmsted County Soil and Water Conservaerations can extertion District Groundwanalize their costs of ter Protection and Soil pollution via rules Health Program, which that aren’t up to the ark you calendars for the Land Stewardship Project’s 19th Family Farm Breakfast takes a results-based task of making sure and Day at the Capitol. It will be held Thursday, March 13, from 9 a.m. to 10:30 payment approach by the proper amount a.m. This is a chance to gather with hundreds of members and supporters, partners, and public incentivizing cover of manure is being officials over a delicious meal featuring locally sourced products from LSP members’ farms. cropping, grazing, and applied to cropland Hear directly from LSP members about the issues we’re working on and how we’re organiza diverse crop rotaand used as a way to ing for change. After the meal, stay for our Lobby Day to meet with your state senator, state tion that includes small build healthy soil. representative, and other public officials. grains such as oats. The And not having Check LSP’s website at landstewardshipproject.org for details on the Breakfast and Lobby proposed bill that came updated manure Day as they are developed. To volunteer or for other information, contact LSP’s Taya Schulte out of those efforts management rules at tschulte@landstewardshipproject.org. had two hearings in is also a threat to the House Agriculture our land and water Committee, but unforturesources. In June nately, most parts were not made part of the disabilities, young and beginning farmers, 2024, the Minnesota Pollution Control 2024 omnibus bill. LGBTQ farmers, and others. Agency reported that heavy rains caused 17 In 2025, LSP will continue to advocate When the program was launched, it was manure pits at 15 large farms in southwestfor programs on the state and local level that clear that demand was significantly higher ern Minnesota to overflow, releasing liquid help farmers adopt practices that build soil than the available funding. In 2023, for manure, among other contaminants, into health in an economically viable manner. p example, only 66 of 172 applicants were the environment. Manure that leaks from a able to be funded. The program has a standlagoon or runs off farm fields after disposal Want to get involved? See LSP’s State Policy ing budget of $1 million and offers up to can flow into waterways — where it causes web page at landstewardshipproject.org/ $15,000 in funding to each recipient. fish kills — as well as into groundwater, state-policy, or contact Laura Schreiber, During the 2025 legislative session, LSP where it raises nitrate levels to unhealthy will be working with groups led by farmers LSP’s government relations director, at levels in drinking water. of color and other allies to ask the LegislaRecent advances have been made to deal lschreiber@landstewardshipproject.org. ture to prioritize the program by asking that with this issue. After a series of fish kills in the initiative’s budget be expanded enough southeastern Minnesota, LSP members in that all qualified applicants can receive fundWinona County successfully pushed through Land Stewardship Action ing. We will also be asking that lawmakers legislation in 2023 that updated fish kill and Stewardship Action (LSA) is raise the amount individual prospective reporting requirements for state agencies. LSP’s 501(c)(4) partner organifarmers can qualify for to at least $20,000. These new rules are a good first step, but zation that provides the movement with don’t address how we can be proactive about political and electoral tools for reforming preventing manure-caused pollution in the our farm and food system. Soil Health & Climate Resiliency first place. During 2024, LSP gathered over For more information on LSA and to This past growing season has, yet again, 800 petition signatures calling for compreget involved in such initiatives as voter been one for the record books when it comes hensive policy that reforms manure manageeducation and deep canvassing, see landto extreme weather. It was another reminder ment in the state, and in April, 10 LSP rural, stewardshipaction.org or contact political that we need to support farmers in their urban, and farming members participated in organizer Emily Minge at eminge@landadoption of practices that build the kind of LSP’s Animal Ag Day at the Capitol, where stewardshipaction.org, 612-400-6353. healthy soil that’s more climate resilient and we delivered a letter from 85 farmers asking that can protect our water resources.

…Preview, from page 10

LSP Family Farm Breakfast & Lobby Day March 13

The Land Stewardship Letter

No. 2, 2024

clear in the spring of 2024, when they experienced the heartbreaking tragedy of having their 2-year-old daughter, April, taken from them in a farm accident. They keep their balance utilizing the “three-legged stool” strategy: the farm family perches on top of this metaphorical stool, and each leg represents a key ingredient to overall success: profitability, soil health, 11 Examples of Viewing Farms in Context and quality of life. Such a strategy helped the family not only determine recently that adding an enterprise like sheep worked for the cost from a labor, input, and equipment By Brian DeVore them, the land, and their family, but also led point of view? And what happens when the them to decide that the cow-calf and turkey market nosedives? Integrating cover crops businesses they formerly had were not a into a corn-soybean operation is always a n a sunny day in June, hundreds good fit. Besides raising the ewes and rungood idea if reducing erosion and building of ewes make their way through a ning a conventional dairy, they have pasturesoil biology are the goals, but how sustainnarrow grazing paddock, flowing based enterprises that involve rotationally able is the practice if it doesn’t generate along the contours of a Driftless Area hill in grazing goats, beef cattle, hogs, and poultry. enough economic value to keep it going in southeastern Minnesota like a woolly river. They direct-market meat to consumers, as the long term? Later in the growing season, a west-central well as lease out their goats to people hoping During the 2024 field day season, considMinnesota farmer shows off a flatto rehabilitate worn-out land that’s as-a-pancake field that had formerly been taken over by invasive plants. grown hybrid poplars — it’s now being In late June, the couple explained converted to another form of perennihow they utilize this management als that can be grazed by beef cattle. As strategy while hosting a Land Stewtrains rumble by just a few yards away, ardship Project grazing school on the a vegetable farmer in the middle of hilly acres they farm in southeastern Minneapolis grapples with the chalMinnesota’s Houston County. Over lenges of building soil health in the a two-day period, farmers and other city. In western Wisconsin, a produce experts led discussions on everything and chicken operation bases part of from setting up fencing and watering its marketing strategy on the idea that systems on a budget to monitoring rural people deserve to eat healthy food soil health, assessing pasture quality, as well. In central Minnesota, a dairy utilizing government conservation farming family realizes that building programs, and crunching the numbers biology isn’t just good for the land on farm profitability. and crops — it also improves qualTo the mix of aspiring, new, and ity of life. Seventy miles to the south, established graziers present, the Meyan organic farmer checks a massive An LSP grazing school in June highlighted the importance ers recommended “learning your farm whiteboard “spreadsheet” set up in his of taking a big picture view of livestock farming. (Drone first” before putting in more permamachine shed to schedule daily tasks nent infrastructure such as perimeter photo by Nikki Meyer) at a time when climate change leaves fencing. Fortunately, innovations such little room for error. In southwestern Minas light-weight, portable electric fencing ering things in context was a major theme nesota, a family converts row cropped fields make it possible to try out grazing techof discussion in pastures and crop fields, as to annual and perennial forages as their niques in different areas before settling on a well as in vegetable plots and high tunnels. neighbors haul corn past their fields to the more permanent system. On the following pages are 11 examples local ethanol plant. “Our biggest thing is to be adaptive,” said of farmers connecting the dots and putting Doing things in “context” is a big part of Rachelle. them into perspective every chance they get. the regenerative farming discussion these On the second day of the school, the days. In fact, the original “five principles couple led participants to a 15-acre field of soil health” — armor the soil, minimize 1) Red Dresses & on rented ground that, before they started soil disturbance, increase plant diversity, Magic Management farming it, had suffered the environmental keep living roots in the soil, and integrate ne of the ways Rachelle and Jordan and agronomic consequences of years of livestock — now have a sixth companion: Meyer keep things in context is to row-cropping and heavy tillage. The recent keep things in context. It’s not enough to avoid being distracted by what they call “the addition of the ewes has helped the Meyadopt a practice that, for example, produces woman in the red dress.” Is a new enterprise ers add economic value to the perennials a marketable product, reduces labor, or a good fit for the farm, or is its flashiness and annuals that are now building soil and builds good aggregate soil structure. One overshadowing the downsides of adding it to crowding out the weeds. also needs to figure out where that practice the mix? The Meyers are in their early 30s “This whole field as far as you can see fits in as far as the bigger, interconnected and have six children. That means any busiwas giant ragweed,” Jordan said, pointing picture is concerned. Raising corn when ness decisions they make on the farm must beyond their flock of hair sheep at a diverse prices are high makes sense when considerbe balanced against the needs of the family, ing it as an isolated enterprise. But what’s first and foremost. That became particularly Context, see page 13…

Farmer-to-Farmer

A Sense of Where You Are

No. 2, 2024

The Land Stewardship Letter

management decisions. Chemicals, iron, and oil can muffle what the land’s saying, but only temporarily. And the results of such a stand of forages growing along the contour disconnect can be disastrous: both in terms of the hill. With the assistance of Skipper, a of keeping the operation financially and massive, white Maremma guard dog, he and ecologically sustainable, as well as when Rachelle then moved the flock to a new padit comes to maintaining a farming future dock. Rotational grazing is often associated generations want to be involved in. with squared off, grid-like paddocks, but on During an Iowa Organic Association field this Driftless Area topography, the Meyday in late August, brothers Parker and Sam ers often utilize portable fencing to create Beard made it clear that they are quite aware long, narrow foraging channels. These linear of the historical context of their family’s paddocks hug the contours of the rugged farm, which is tucked away amongst the piclandscape and force animals like sheep into turesque hills near Decorah, in northeastern smaller areas for a shorter period of time, Iowa. At the beginning of the field day, the creating a “mob” effect. Again, it’s all about brothers took field day participants to a ridge context — the sheep have a lighter impact overlooking the farm’s milking parlor. While on the soil compared to cattle, meanpeople watched, Sam and his wife, Jen, ing they needed to be crowded more moved the dairy herd to a new grazing to get the same effect of trampling paddock — the land was covered in a manure and biomass into the soil dense stand of grasses and forbs, which while knocking back weeds; it’s the were doing well despite a recent spate epitome of an adaptive, rather than a of droughty weather. But there is some cookie-cutter, rote approach to raiserosive history here. It turns out long ing livestock. before the brother’s parents, Dan and There’s adapting to the landscape, Bonnie Beard, bought this farm, it had and then there’s adapting to the state been plowed and row-cropped. of the soil and the limiting factor of “At one point it had to be farmed in climate, as well as one’s access to 17 different pieces because of the gulthat most valuable of resources: time. lies,” said Parker. For example, one of the other grazThat history was one reason the elder ing school instructors was George Beards adopted pasture-based dairy proHeller, who’s launched a livestock duction soon after moving onto the land operation on sandy, drought-prone “Our biggest thing is to be adaptive,” said pasture-based in the 1980s. In 2003, they transitioned soil in northern Minnesota’s Wadena livestock producer Rachelle Meyer. (LSP Photo) to certified organic. In 2017, the Beards County. Before Heller started farmentered the grass-milk market, which ing it, the land was impoverished by flooding, and disease, while producing a means they receive another price boost on years of continuous hay production. He’s nutritious feed for decades? top of their organic premium for feeding also dealing with a 120-day growing season; “Not to disappoint anyone, but that grass their cows a 100% forage-based diet. in contrast, the growing season in southeastdoesn’t exist,” said Duchene while leading These days, Canoe Creek Dairy is being ern Minnesota can be 150 days or more. As a plant identification session in one of the managed by a new generation of graziers — Heller put it during a discussion about soil Meyers’ hilltop pastures. “There is no magic Parker, 30, and Sam, 32, have transitioned biology in one of the Meyers’ pastures, “I’m grass — the magic is in the management.” into the operation. Parker, along with his always planning for winter.” Clifford Johnson, a central Minnesota wife Esther, focus on the dairy end of the “That’s his context,” quipped Jordan crop and livestock farmer, explained to the operation, while Sam and Jen produce beef. Meyer at one point. The point being that if participants that regenerative management Spend any time with the Beards and Heller attempted to stock his paddocks at the often involves compromises — sometimes it’s clear that the family has not only made same rate the Meyers do on their comparaone may have to turn to tillage or chemifarming a viable option for the next generatively rich soil, it would be an economic and cal applications, which can set soil health tion — all four of the Beard children are ecological disaster. back temporarily. It’s all about keeping the involved in farming — from an economic But over the past five years, Heller has big picture in perspective and not allowing and agronomic point of view, but from a built up an adaptive rotational grazing a few backward steps stop a farm’s overall quality of life standpoint as well. operation on 290 owned and rented acres trajectory forward. It also helps to have a “It’s always something we did as a famthat supports his cattle and sheep, as well sense of humor. ily,” said Sam of producing livestock on regenerates the depleted soil. He is building “I call myself the HRH — Honest Regengrass. “There’s the joy of doing it together this enterprise literally from the ground-up erative Hypocrite,” Johnson joked. u and getting to share the responsibilities and — beyond fencing and watering systems, as victories and difficulties.” well as a four-wheeler, his infrastructure is During the tour of Canoe Creek’s hilly 2) In the Blood minimal, and he estimates that not counting pastures, it was evident that the brothers are istory is a critical piece of context. the land costs, he has just a few thousand more committed than ever to their family’s All too often, farming practices dollars invested in the whole operation. legacy of perennial plant-based livestock are carried out without taking into considHeller’s day job is running a concrete production. But that doesn’t mean they eration past practices and their subsequent business, so he has limited time to spend impact. Regenerative farmers often say they managing the farm. One way he buys a few Context, see page 14… are “listening to the land” when making precious hours is to run cattle and sheep

…Context, from page 12

together in the same paddocks as a “flerd.” In the end, the grazing school wasn’t just about stocking rates, or what kind of grass to plant on former corn ground, or which fencing reel works best (even though plenty of talk focused on such nuts and bolts topics) — it was about how to make the kinds of observations and calculations that put daily decisions in context. As a grazing specialist for the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Jeff Duchene has set up rotational grazing plans for farmers in at least 50 of Minnesota’s 87 counties. Not surprisingly, farmers frequently ask him for advice on what type of forage to plant. What is the ultimate species that will withstand drought,

The Land Stewardship Letter

No. 2, 2024

Farmer-to-Farmer …Context, from page 13 aren’t willing to add their own twists to the system. For example, instead of weaning calves soon after they are born, the Beards now utilize a smaller herd of nurse cows, also called nanny cows, to feed the young stock. This not only saves the labor of hauling milk buckets to calves while keeping them healthy, it also provides a way to make use of parts of the farm that would be difficult to graze the main milking herd on. And now that the brothers are having children of their own, new generational depth is being sunk into the soil: these days, their young daughters play at “making fence” using beat-up wire spools. “They say, ‘We’re going fencing, papa,’ ” said Parker with a smile. “I think grazing is in our blood, and this farm’s blood too.” u

3) Seeking Signs of Life

erry and Nancy Ackermann’s context is this: for around four decades, they have been raising corn and soybeans in southwestern Minnesota’s Jackson County, a region dominated by the kind of flat, fertile fields that regularly churn out impressive yields of row crops utilizing conventional production methods. So the Ackermanns would be forgiven for pretty much raising crops the way folks always have in their neighborhood. Such production methods rely on tillage, exposed soil, and killing off weed and insect pests with chemicals. But the Ackermanns also bring the context of being long-term stewards to the table. “I was always taught you try to leave the ground in better shape than when you took it over,” said Jerry during a late-August field day the couple hosted. So they’ve long implemented no-till practices to protect the soil from eroding. And it became clear a few years ago that just armoring the soil wasn’t enough, that biology also needed to be built up utilizing the living roots cover crops can provide. As a result of these soil health practices, they’re seeing better water infiltration and increased organic matter levels. The farmers have also been able to maintain high yields, despite the fact that they’ve reduced nitrogen fertilizer applications over the years. During the field day, which was sponsored by the Soil Health Coalition, Practical Farmers of Iowa, and Pheasants Forever, Jerry emphasized how less tillage and more resilient, self-reliant soil has allowed them

No. 2, 2024

to cut their spending on fertilizer, fuel, tile drainage, and tillage equipment. “I look at cover crops as an investment and not an expense,” Jerry said. “I’m using the money I’m saving on fuel and labor to pay for the cover cropping, and I feel I’m still 40 or 50 bucks ahead.” Particularly striking is how, since they’ve adopted no-till and cover cropping, the Ackermanns have experienced Sam and Jen Beard moving cows on their northeastern Iowa farm. “It’s always something we did as a family,” says Sam of fewer problems with pest insects. Jerry comes grass-based livestock production. (LSP Photo) across as a no-nonsense an accurate, if somewhat graphic, depiction row crop farmer, one of how moving cattle and other animals who crunches the numbers and notices cause through well-managed paddocks can rebuild and effect. But he made it clear that when soil that’s been decimated by tillage, chemiit comes to the complex, often mysterical use, and compaction. ous, interactions that result from building Langdon Collom farms in a part of westbiological life on his farm, he’s willing to central Minnesota that sorely is in need of step back and just enjoy the results. In fact, such rejuvenation. On parts of the land he his agronomist is a bit mystified at how little farms, the soil starts to thin out to the point spraying for insect pests needs to be done on where it’s not unheard of to hit gravel when the Ackermann farm. digging down just a bit past the surface. On “Whether it’s beneficial insects that’s a hot evening in mid-September, under a sky controlling the bad bugs or whether it’s your made smoky by distant Canadian wild fires, soil practices, I don’t know,” Jerry recalled the farmer explained how he’s used beef catthe agronomist once telling him. “But sometle to bring the soil back to life. His family thing is working.” was hosting a field day sponsored by “Match Sometimes the answer is as simple as Made In Heaven: Livestock Plus Crops,” this: life generates more life. During the an initiative that’s helping show ways crops field day, Stephanie McLain, a soil health and livestock can be integrated in a profitspecialist for the Minnesota office of the able and sustainable manner. Match Made In NRCS, showed the results of some insect Heaven is a six-state collaboration involving trapping she had done on the Ackermann 50-plus groups, including LSP. land that week. What was particularly exciting for her was that beneficial insects that Context, see page 15… feed on the “bad bugs” were found not just in a patch of wetland habitat the farmers have restored, but in the cropped fields as well — the ecological boundaries between the domesticated and wild parts of the farm were porous. “In agriculture, we often focus on killing things,” said McLain later. “These farmers who get into soil health realize it’s not about death, it’s about life, and it’s about building this ecosystem.” u

4) Forest for the Trees

razing livestock have been described as “combines that poop.” That’s

Jerry Ackermann’s agronomist is a bit mystified at how little spraying is needed on his farm. “Something is working,” the agronomist told the farmer. (LSP Photo) The Land Stewardship Letter

“We grow everything very intensively,” said Elyssa Eull on a warm evening in early September while she stood near the And Collom wasted little time entrance to California Street Farm, an showing that when done under the urban vegetable operation that grows food auspices of managed rotational on a third-of-an-acre. As she said this, a grazing, the marriage of animals BNSF train engine rolled by a few yards and land can be a happy one. He away. walked field day participants out Aspiring and newbie farmers had gathto a spot that had grown corn and ered here on this particular day to see how soybeans for years. Six years ago, this Northeast Minneapolis operation was he seeded it down to perennial forable to make a go of it on land tucked beages and started rotationally graztween a set of railroad tracks and an open ing it. That worked well, but three lot, just across the street from a collecyears ago, thanks to advice he tion of artist spaces called the California received from Sustainable FarmBuilding. The event was being put on by ing Association grazing specialists Langdon Collom (right) and Jonathan Kilpatrick examine the Twin Cities Metro Growers Network, Kent Solberg and Jonathan Kilpat- a field that has been converted from row crops to perennial forages. “The only thing we’re taking off the soil is a pound which is an initiative of the Sustainable rick, he “upped his game,” as he Farming Association. put it, by increasing the number of of beef, versus a bunch of hay or corn, and all the organic During the field day, staffers with the paddocks, varying their sizes, and matter with it,” said Collom. (LSP Photo) University of Minnesota’s Extension manipulating stocking densities. Service, as well as the local office of it’s become a field I could conceivably raise On this September evening, the results the NRCS and the USDA’s Farm Service corn on,” said Collom. were evident: there was a verdant mix of Agency, were on-hand to share information But he isn’t breaking out the corn planter perennials that had been grazed 40 days on resources available to farmers raising anytime soon. His experience with adaptive before and were ready for another pass by food in urban areas. As she provided a tour grazing on other parts of the farm has, by Collom’s Black Angus cow-calf beef herd. of the well-tended vegetable plots and two the farmer’s estimation, virtually doubled This was a field that had weathered three hoop houses she uses to raise over 50 variethis carrying capacity. That’s resulted in a years of drought and then, in a reversal of ies of vegetables, Eull fielded questions healthier biological cycle and more money fortune, early 2024 rains so pervasive that about soil health, fertility issues, governin the bank. at one point part of his herd was stranded on ment cost-share funding that’s available, and “Actually, when we do taxes now it’s the opposite side of a swollen waterway. the economics of producing food in the city. not quite as easy to show losses as it used “The pasture just rejuvenates itself,” It was clear the field day participants were to be, so we’re coming on to a new problem Collom said in half amazement as Kilpatrick here to learn how to make a go of it in agrithere,” Collom chuckled. “But we’ll be able dug up a fragrant spadeful of soil. culture, even if the setting was concrete and to handle that one.” u It’s one thing to bring a field growing curbs, rather than fields and fencelines. annual row crops back to life using walking During the 2024 growing season, the 5) The Quickening biology, but quite another to take on a parcel farm had 37 Community Supported Agrihen your context is farming in the of land that resembles a dendrological obcity, everything is a little faster, stacle course. At one point, Collom led the Context, see page 16… denser, and louder. group across the road to a 40-acre field that represented a failed experiment in perennialization. Three decades ago, a company came in and bought up thousands of acres of land in the neighborhood and planted fastgrowing hybrid poplars for the pulp paper market. The business went bust, and Collom bought this particular field with the trees still growing on it. The poplars had sucked massive amounts of fertility out of the ground and when they were cut, stumps and logs made it difficult to even navigate a four-wheeler though the field. The farmer bought a type of heavy disc used by road construction crews and “beatup” on the woody leftovers. He then planted a 15-way mix of cover crops and began grazing it. Besides getting low-cost forage off the field, Collom is finding that the biological activity he’s triggered is helping break down the plantation’s remnants. On this particular evening, a few bare “Because it’s such a small area, the challenges I’m experiencing with soil health are spots were evident, but the former poplar quickened,” said Elyssa Eull, shown leading a field day on her vegetable operation in grove was beginning to resemble a thriving Northeast Minneapolis. (LSP Photo) stand of forages. “After only three years, …Context, from page 14

The Land Stewardship Letter

No. 2, 2024

Farmer-to-Farmer

headed over to California Street’s farmstand on a nearby street corner, brimming with late-summer bounty. u

6) Food Bank Booster

ere’s some troubling context in the land of plenty: in 2023, 18 million U.S. households were food insecure culture (CSA) shares and marketed produce at some time during the year, according to through a farmstand set up next to the plots, the USDA. That figure is up from 17 milas well as via the Northeast Minneapolis lion in 2022. Food insecurity is defined as Farmers’ Market. Eull, who’s 30, makes a situation where people can’t access the enough during the growing season to pay sustenance they need to live their fullest two part-time employees and to support lives. In short, these are people who simply herself. But she didn’t sugarcoat it: urban aren’t getting enough to eat. It’s a problem agriculture comes with plenty of potholes, that’s more common in rural communities; particularly when it comes to soil health. such areas comprise less than two-thirds of “Because it’s such a small area, the chalall U.S. counties, but nine out of 10 counties lenges I’m experiencing with soil health are with the highest food insecurity rates are quickened,” she said. “It’s like in one year I rural, says Feeding America. have three years of accumulation of disease, Meanwhile, there are plenty of farmers or stress, or using up those nutrients.” who are willing and able to produce food The farmer has responded by focusing on for local eaters in their communities, but who are stymied by a marketing and distribution system that’s structured around commodities like corn and soybeans. This troubling gap between farmers and eaters was the focus of attention during an August field day on Rodrigo Cala’s farm in western Wisconsin’s Barron County. “In rural communities it’s difficult to get really healthy food,” said Cala. “We need to find a way to help lowincome families get access “It’s for the benefit of not just farmers, but the community,” to organic food, natural said Wisconsin farmer Rodrigo Cala of a program that gets food.” That’s why Cala, who locally produced food into area food shelves. (LSP Photo) raises produce, chickens, hogs, and sheep, is participating in a proutilizing cover crops and low-till methods to gram that’s trying to reduce some of that build the soil’s resiliency. Eull also removes food insecurity in rural areas while supportthe plastic from the hoop houses periodically ing farmers who churn out produce, meats, so that natural precipitation can dilute salts and value-added products. The Wisconsin that tend to accumulate in the soil. Local Food Purchase Assistance Program Eull, who is a graduate of LSP’s Farm pays farmers a fair price for their producBeginnings course (see page 26), feels she tion, and then distributes that food to local has the confidence to tackle such problems food pantries and food banks. Called LFPA because raising food in the city on a comfor short, versions of the initiative exist in mercial basis is starting to be taken more other parts of the country, and are often seriously. She’s benefited greatly from U of structured around a partnership between M Extension research and NRCS conservastate departments of agriculture and farm tion cost-share programs that have in the and food nonprofits. The USDA administers past been mostly directed at bigger row crop the program, which is funded by the federal farmers in rural areas. For example, one of American Rescue Plan. her hoop houses was funded by the EnvironIn Wisconsin, the program has been up mental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), and running for two years and is led by an initiative of the NRCS. the Department of Agriculture, Trade, and “I think there’s a real awareness of urban Consumer Protection, in collaboration with farming being real farming,” said Eull as she Marbleseed, the Wisconsin Food Hub Coop…Context, from page 15

No. 2, 2024

erative, and the Wisconsin Farmers Union. In 2024 alone, 125 farmers from throughout the state sold $1.8 million worth of food through the program. Cala sells produce and pork through the LFPA, and said it now accounts for about 20% of his farm’s income. Since the program picks up the food at the farm, it helps alleviate two major headaches for farmers: marketing and transportation. One of the farmers attending the field day was Mike Lenz, who, along with his wife, Jody, operates Threshing Table Farm in Star Prairie, Wis. Like Cala, the Lenzes have been selling produce through the LFPA program the past two years. Lenz said being involved with the program has allowed them to employ at least four more seasonal employees, which means more money is circulated in the community. “The money stays local to our area and the produce stays local to our area,” he said. “It gives me a lot of hope, actually.” u

7) First Things First

o, here’s a chicken or egg situation to ponder: when launching a farming operation, when should you approach the local NRCS office about applying for funding to set up infrastructure such as a high tunnel or a rotational grazing system? It might be tempting to apply for an EQIP grant right from the get-go, so when you buy that first herd of cattle, they’re ready to be plopped into the paddocks, where they’ll immediately start turning grass into protein. Not so fast, say Klaus ZimmermannMayo and Emily Hanson. They operate Whetstone Farm, a vegetable and grassbased livestock enterprise in western Wisconsin’s Polk County. Their advice is to first figure out what kind of farming you like to do and what kind of system fits best with the land, resources, and labor available. In other words, determine what kind of context you’d like to set that infrastructure up in. “We tried to do a lot of things when we first started and had a lot of ideas about what we wanted to do and what farming would look like,” Zimmermann-Mayo said recently while standing next to Whetstone’s oldfashioned barn. “Some things we got more passionate about and got better at and are still doing, and a lot of things we dropped.” For example, through trial-and-error the couple figured out that raising pigs and chickens didn’t quite work out for Whetstone; a cow-calf beef herd and a flock of ewes were a better fit. Today, besides livestock, they raise vegetables and market the food via CSA, a farmers’ market, and direct-to-eater sales. They launched the farm Context, see page 17… The Land Stewardship Letter

…Context, from page 16 on 40 acres a decade ago, and recently added another 135 acres. Over the years, the operation has brought together multiple partners and enterprises. It is now run as a collaborative farm consisting of eight adults in total. Whetstone has benefited from multiple NRCS programs — they used EQIP funds to put in a high tunnel and a rotational grazing system, and receive payments for grazing their livestock in a way that builds carbon, prevents erosion, and keeps water clean. Hanson and Zimmermann-Mayo shared their experiences with utilizing government conservation programs during an August field day sponsored by GO FARM CONNECT, a farmer-led initiative to build relationships between non-traditional farmers and agricultural support agencies such as the NRCS and Farm Service Agency. Other sponsors of the field day included Renewing the Countryside and the USDA. The couple led field day participants on a tour of their rotational grazing system as well as their vegetable plots and the high tunnel. The farmers made it clear that this infrastructure didn’t get established right away. Whetstone, for example, didn’t get cost-share funding to put in a high tunnel until Hanson and Zimmermann-Mayo had been on this land for four years. Brandon Wiarda agrees with this trialand-error, wait-and-see, approach. He’s a NRCS resource conservationist for Wisconsin’s Pierce, Saint Croix, Polk, Burnett, and Washburn counties. During the field day, he reminded participants that the NRCS’s priority is to fund on-farm projects that help address conservation issues, such as water quality and soil health. That’s why it’s important for applicants to look around their farm and figure out what kind of NRCSfunded infrastructure can help them be more viable economically, agronomically, and environmentally. In a sense, applying for NRCS funds successfully is a bit of a dance that involves matching the agency’s goals with what the farmers want to accomplish. He acknowledged that a lot of beginning farmers get frustrated that the NRCS can’t help fund projects as soon as an operation is getting launched. “We’re not just helping farmers build up infrastructure from scratch,” said Wiarda. “We need to be solving some existing environmental problem as justification to use taxpayer dollars.” In the case of Whetstone, the high tunnel has provided a way to raise vulnerable vegetables in a new climate reality. “We simply couldn’t raise certain crops without the high tunnel,” said Hanson while giving a tour of the structure, which was The Land Stewardship Letter

fragrant with a crop of August tomatoes. Once a farmer has bootstrapped it a few years and feels ready to commit to a certain kind of production infrastructure, approaching an agency like the NRCS can be worth the paperwork — yes, there’s plenty of paperwork — involved with applying for funding. As Wiarda pointed out, the federal Inflation Reduction Act almost doubled his agency’s budget, and more money is now being earmarked for small and beginning farmAs a result of climate change, “We simply couldn’t raise ers, as well as producers who were historically underserved. certain crops without the high tunnel,” said Emily Hanson, shown here with Klaus Zimmermann-Mayo. (LSP Photo) “This is how we want to farm and these programs have made it more doable,” said reveal,” as he called it, was meant to show Zimmermann-Mayo. “The myth of the india group of farmers — along with lenders vidual going out and doing it on your own is and folks involved with the marketing-end BS.” u of organic farming — gathered for a field day that although organic agriculture comes 8) The Big Picture with benefits such as a lower impact on the hen someone calls Matthew environment and premium prices, it also Fitzgerald for advice about getting involves some very, very busy days during into organic crop production, the central the growing season, days made even more Minnesota farmer’s first response is a queshectic by the fact that climate change nartion of his own: “Do you own a fishing rows the window of opportunity available boat?” If they say yes, Fitzgerald then recfor getting critical field work done. ommends they sell it, because, as he puts it, The field day, which was sponsored by “You’re going to have to work all summer” the Organic Agronomy Training Service, to raise organic crops. Grain Millers, the U of M’s Forever Green On an overcast day in late August, Initiative, and the Minnesota Office for Soil the 33-year-old farmer provided a visual Health, was focused on providing a comprerepresentation to back up his argument that hensive view of the opportunities and chalorganic crop producers would be better off lenges associated with organic crop producinvesting in ice fishing gear. tion. Fitzgerald’s planning board, which he “This is what being an organic farm looks calls “Farm Flow,” was a good place to start. like,” Fitzgerald quipped as he spun around a large dry-erase whiteboard set up in his Context, see page 18… farm’s cavernous machine shed. This “big

“This is what being an organic farm looks like,” said Matthew Fitzgerald, referring to the “Farm Flow” planner his operation uses during the growing season. (LSP Photo) No. 2, 2024

Farmer-to-Farmer

schedule and figure out what needs to be done to fill in those blank spots. The Fitzgeralds are so happy with the Farm Flow system that they are in the process of digitizing it and making it available to other farmers. After a farmer panel on marketing, a mini-tour of the Fitzgeralds’ weed control equipment, and a field-side discussion about the balancing act organic crop farmers must strike between controlling weeds with tillage and maintaining soil health, it became

9) The Snowball Effect

4 Episode 348: Urban Agrarian (Elyssa Eull)

4 Episode 355: Silver Buckshot (Matthew & Joe Fitzgerald)

4 Episode 349: Family, Farming & Forages (Parker & Sam Beard)

4 Episode 356: First Things First (Klaus Zimmermann-Mayo & Brandon Wiarda)

here’s nothing like getting diminishing returns on your investment in time, labor, and resources to put things in context. “I just got sick and tired of spending money on fertilizer, planting in the dry pow…Context, from page 17 der, and watching the soil blow away,” said Alex Udermann while sitting next to a stack The chart uses different colored dots to of hay bales on his family’s farm in central track daily weed management across the Minnesota’s Stearns County. 2,700 acres the McLeod County farm “And we were working until 11 grows certified organic corn, soybeans, or 12 every night trying to get wheat, peas, and edible beans on. everything done.” Each color represents a different weed In 2016, Meadowbrook control method — tine weeding, rotary Dairy, after decades of convenhoeing, flame weeding, and utilizing tional tillage, began cutting soil an electric zapper. Why the fixation disturbance and utilizing cover on weed control? Fitzgerald said that crop mixes to reduce erosion and they’ve found that the biggest factor build organic matter. The farm impacting organic yields is how well consists of an 80-cow dairy and weed pests are controlled. And whereas 300 beef steers. It also raises a conventional farm might have at its corn, soybeans, alfalfa, and small disposal a few “big hammers” in the grains on 1,000 acres. Today, the form of chemicals to control problems, operation is 100% no-till on its an organic farm has to rely on several corn and soybean acres, multismaller practices and tools. Timing is species mixes of cover crops are everything: getting rained out on a day a regular part of the rotation, and when you needed to get in and rotary Field day participants examine a cover crop planting the farm is focused on getting hoe can have major negative repercus- demonstration at Meadowbrook Dairy. “It seems like we are manure applied across fields sions down the line. And such weather working less and getting more done as a family,” said Alex at rates that are agronomically disruptions are more common than Udermann. (LSP Photo) correct. ever these days. When Meadowbrook hosted a Practi“We’re really on the front lines of climate clear why something like a giant planner is cal Farmers of Iowa field day in August, it change as organic farmers,” said Fitzgerald. needed to help navigate the growing season. was clear these changes were paying off. A “We don’t have cover-up tools available to It can also help a farmer justify that feeling slaking demonstration and some impromptu deal with those swings in the weather.” of being a bit overwhelmed at times. sampling showed that the somewhat sandy Fitzgerald’s father, Joe, has been raising “Stepping back after going through a soil had good aggregate structure, with signs organic crops since 1994, and he says the weeding season, it’s like, ‘Wow, that’s why Farm Flow board provides a handy way to, I’m so tired,’ ” Matthew said. u Context, see page 19… at a glance, track gaps in the weed control

Give it a Listen

une in to LSP’s Ear to the Ground podcast to hear the voices of the farmers and others featured in this “Farmer-to-Farmer” feature. The episodes are available at landstewardshipproject.org/series/ ear-to-the-ground, or on various podcast platforms. 4 Episode 342: Ignoring the Red Dress (Rachelle Meyer) 4 Episode 343: Healthy Soil Vs. Plastic Worms (Clifford Johnson) 4 Episode 344: Flerd is the Word (George Heller) 4 Episode 346: Pasture Pixie Dust (Jeff Duchene)

No. 2, 2024

4 Episode 350: Cranking Up Capacity (Langdon Collom & Jonathan Kilpatrick)

4 Episode 357: Against the Grain (Allen Deutz)

4 Episode 351: Less Tillage, More Money (Jerry Ackermann)

4 Episode 358: Low Input-High Returns (Alex Udermann)

4 Episode 352: Land of the Living (Stephanie McLain)

4 Episode 359: Trash to Treasure (Julie Reberg)

4 Episode 353: 7 Years Later (Jon Stevens)

4 Episode 360: Food Bank Booster (Rodrigo Cala & Mike Lenz)

4 Episode 354: Great Expectations (Jay Fuhrer)

The Land Stewardship Letter

herd on forages, and then taking advantage of the fertility added by the manure and legumes to grow two years of cash crops like of activity on the part of earthworms and corn and soybeans on the former grazing other beneficial critters. paddocks. Udermann is the fifth generation on this The farmers have noticed dramatic farm, which also consists of his wife, Krissy, changes to their fields as a result of this his brother, Jake, and the brothintegration of row crops, livestock, and ers’ parents, John and Mary Lou. perennials. Water is infiltrating better, As Alex explained during the field their beef herd is thriving, and their day, this transition to regenerainput costs have dropped. tive practices has helped the farm “Those food grade soybeans over dramatically reduce its reliance there had no purchased phosphorus and on chemical inputs. Udermann potassium applied to them this year,” estimates they’ve saved roughly said Jon, pointing to a lush stand of the $100 per acre on the cost of putting legume. “It’s working.” in a crop, and that accounts for the Still, the couple was nervous about roughly $55 an acre they spend having Jay Fuhrer be the main speaker on cover cropping. A lot of that at their field day. While a staffer with savings results from fewer tire trips the NRCS, he was instrumental in across the fields. developing the Burleigh County Soil “We now have just the three Health Team in North Dakota. That steps — cover cropping, applying team, which consisted of farmers like manure, and planting — instead of Gabe Brown, as well as government the eight or 10 we had before,” said Soil health expert Jay Fuhrer examined a field sample on the natural resource experts and scientists, Jon and Carin Stevens farm seven years after first visiting played a key role in sparking the curthe farmer. “It seems like we are working less and getting more done the operation. “...the bar has been raised when it comes to rent soil health revolution we’re seeing as a family. It’s fun farming again.” soil health on this farm,” he said. (LSP Photo) in this country and beyond. Today, Getting so many payoffs from Fuhrer travels widely as a soil health building soil health doesn’t come without consultant and speaker. By coincidence, he 10) 7 Years Later some investments. But in a process that had visited Maple Grove Farm seven years e careful who you invite onto the Udermann describes as a “low input transiago, just as the operation was beginning to farm, especially if it’s a return visit. tion,” the farmers avoided large outlays of make major changes to the way it managed Jon and Carin Stevens learned that lesson money in the beginning. Rather than sinking soil. Back then, Fuhrer could barely get his in late August when a nationally known big bucks into new equipment, for example, shovel in the ground to take samples. soil health expert walked their fields and Meadowbrook Dairy invested more in taking So, when he hiked the operation’s fields grubbed up some samples during a field day a different approach to management and the in 2024, there was some trepidation as to sponsored by the Minnesota Soil Health way they viewed their soil. They did this, for what he’d find. This time, the shovel slid in Coalition, U of M Extension, and the state instance, by using their existing field equipeasily, unearthing dark clumps of soil with department of agriculture, among others. ment to no-till soybeans. And once those nogood aggregate structure. The Stevenses’ farming context is that tilled beans began to show signs of paying “What I’m really seeing here is that the they are raising corn and soybeans pretty off financially, then the family began putting bar has been raised when it comes to soil much on the edge of where such row crops money into tools such as a no-till planter for health on this farm,” Fuhrer said. “I think can be raised successfully in Minnesota. corn. At that point, Udermann explains, such they’ve done a really good job of connecting They have 750 crop and pasture acres in purchases are no longer seen as a one-way the cropping system and the grazing system. Pine County. To get a sense of how far north expense — expenditures graduated to the Maybe seven years from now we can look at that is, there are times when they’ve had to level of being long-term investments in forit again.” u use tillage to fix damage black bears wreak tifying a more resilient way of farming. on their fields. And as Jon puts it, the lowMore investments are in the offing. The 11) Against the Grain lying landscape of the farm can be pretty last stop on the field day tour was a demn case Allen and Kathleen Deutz need unforgiving when it comes to compaction, onstration of some experimentation Meada reminder of one of the main reasons turning into a layer of “concrete” so hard owbrook is doing with composting. Julie corn dominates the landscape in their part of that water can barely penetrate. Reberg, a district conservationist for the southwestern Minnesota, they need to look Traditionally, operating in such a harsh NRCS, explained that by breaking down into no further than the massive Archer-Danielsenvironment has prompted Maple Grove a biologically rich soil amendment manure Midland ethanol plant that rises to the sky Farm to rely on moldboard plowing and and other “waste” materials produced by the just across one of their fields. Here’s their other forms of intense tillage to tame the farm, the operation can further reduce its context: that plant has been gobbling up corn soil. But during the past half-dozen-years, reliance on purchased inputs while building in the region since the mid-1980s. As a rethe farmers have made some significant the land’s long-term resilience. Udermann sult, fences have been taken down, pastures changes to the operation, including utilizing has been playing around with low-cost comand hay ground plowed up, and livestock more no-till practices and cover cropping. posting by making piles consisting of mapretty much removed from the land. And Carin has added a cow-calf herd, which nure, wood chips, straw, and other materials, “It changed the landscape,” said Allen they rotationally graze. Overall, the Stevensand flipping them with his skid steer loader. es have developed a rotation that involves, He’d also like to do more with the kind of Context, see page 20… for example, four years of grazing their beef …Context, from page 18

compost extracts that are produced via the static Johnson-Su Bioreactor system. “There’s always more,” a visibly excited Udermann said after the field day. “Once you get bit by the soil bug, it just becomes a snowball rolling down the mountain.” u

The Land Stewardship Letter

No. 2, 2024

…Context, from page 19 one evening recently, gesturing toward the biofuel plant across the Redwood River. The Deutzes farm some 800 acres in Lyon County. They do raise corn, and yes, much of it goes to that ADM plant. But as farmers from throughout the region haul corn past the Deutz place — Allen jokes that “every farmer in four counties drives by my farm at some point” — they can’t help but notice a different look to this particular farm’s landscape: there are small grains such as wheat, well-kept fences, and forages — and animals out there grazing those forages. Literally in biofuel’s massive shadow, the Deutzes are going against the grain. About half the acres that make up Redwood River Farms produce crops for the organic market. They have a cow-calf beef herd, as well as a flock of hair sheep. Goats and hogs are also part of the mix, and the couple direct-markets meat to area eaters. All those animals are raised on rotationally grazed perennials and summer annuals. They also graze a local Minnesota Department of Natural Resources wildlife area. The Deutzes dairy farmed until they sold the herd in 2016, and re-integrating animals onto the farm hasn’t been easy. For one thing, they had to set up miles of fencing, which they were able to do with the help of the NRCS’s EQIP program. At first glance, not taking full advantage of a handy local market for a crop that grows well on this land may not seem to make sense. But the Deutzes have some good, commonsense reasons for not going whole hog into growing corn for biofuels. Allen has a master’s degree in economics and teaches ag business at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, so he knows how to crunch the numbers and do financial projections. He sees livestock as a

Soil Health

Oats & the 3-Legged Stool of Farm Resilience

By Shea-Lynn Ramthun

n case you haven’t noticed, the humble oat is having a bit of a moment. After decades of declines in oat plantings in Minnesota, acreage increased in 2024. Market demand for the small grain is up, a group of farmers are attempting to pull together funding for a major processing plant in southern Minnesota, and research is showing that this crop can serve as a key linchpin in a rotation that builds healthy soil and protects water quality. Finally, myself and other southeastern Minnesota farmers

No. 2, 2024

way to diversify the farm’s income stream while providing a kind of insurance policy that fortifies the farm against crop failures — something that’s become particularly critical in recent years as climate change cooks up extreme weather events on a regular basis. For example, during a September field day sponsored by the Sustainable Farming Association and the Department of Natural Resources, Allen explained how a drought in 2023 devastated a corn crop he had planted. However, after checking with his insurance agent, he was able to bring cattle onto the fenced field and graze Allen Deutz examines a stand of forages he plans to graze. In the background is an ADM ethanol plant, which buys it. That not only produced some economic value from the corn from a wide area around his southwestern Minnesota farm. The farmer sees not devoting his entire land base to ruined crop while controlling growing corn for the plant as a way to stay economically weeds, but built soil fertility and agronomically nimble. (LSP Photo) for the next growing season, when he planted organic “summer pasture,” which was made up of wheat on the field. That wheat wheat, oats, barley, field peas, common was his most profitable crop in 2024. The vetch, and buckwheat, would be grazed. In Deutzes knew that the drought-stricken field 2025, organic corn will be planted in the probably got some second looks from farmresulting nutrient-rich soil. ers driving to the ethanol plant, but over the As the sun set, the lights of the ADM long-term, it’s turned out to be a success. plant twinkled at the edge of the field. Bio“It didn’t look good, but I knew that fuel was being distilled above the ground. failed corn field made sense economically,” Biology was being built beneath it. p Allen said while standing at the edge of the 40-acre plot. “I’m not stuck in a rut of Numerous groups sponsor on-farm field days always having to make money from having in the region. For details, see LSP’s events corn and soybeans in my rotation. The livestock and fencing system gives us options, calendar at landstewardshipproject.org/ and with the erratic weather systems we upcoming-events, or sign-up for the LIVEhave now, it provides some resilience.” WIRE e-letter at landstewardshipproject. At one point, the Deutzes took the field org/live-wire-sign-up. day participants to a 170-acre parcel north of the farmstead. Allen explained how this

who are organizing around cooperatively marketing the grain were recently featured prominently in the Star Tribune newspaper. As a beginning farmer, Land Stewardship Project soil health organizer, and rural resident who cares about the economic and environmental health of my community, I’m thrilled to see this small grain getting some big attention. It’s become clear that if we are successful in making it a key part of our rotation, it could serve as a three-legged stool that supports economic, agronomic, and environmental sustainability. The oat isn’t the GOAT, but it does have some pretty cool superpowers.

For example, on my farm I recently interseeded oats with clover — oats serve as an excellent protective “nurse crop” for forages while they’re getting started. I harvested the oats for the grain and the straw, and started rotationally grazing my beef herd on the forage a month later. This saved me two months of feeding hay, which resulted in a roughly $1,500 reduction in my feed bill for my herd of nine cattle. That’s a major boost for a beginning farmer who is trying to figure out how to integrate livestock back onto the land in a practical, economically Oats, see page 21… The Land Stewardship Letter

The $5.16 billion market for oats in the U.S. is projected to have a 7.8% mean annual growth rate between now and 2030. So what can be done to get more oats viable manner. To top it off, because of the growing on more Minnesota farms? For high feed value provided by the forage, I one, farmers like me need to be guaranteed had to call the butcher and move up the a consistently profitable market if we are exslaughter date by six weeks. By the way, my pected to make this crop part of our regular customers said that was the best beef they’d rotation. Two out of the top 10 companies ever had. with the largest oat market shares are based There are other economic benefits to diin Minnesota. Ironically, those companies, versifying the rotation with a crop like oats. General Mills and Grain Millers, source When paired with a legume like clover, oats most of their oats from Canada; in fact, the create a field environment where nitrogen U.S. is the biggest importer of oats in the can be fixed naturally. In fact, studies show world. What if our homegrown companies that integrating small grains like oats into a bought more homegrown rotation can boost corn and soyproduct? bean yields by 5%, adding $30 per The potential for rural Minacre in farmer income. In addition, nesota is huge. Consider this: when integrated with legumes, oats farmers who are proposing a can result in a $15 per acre savings processing facility in Albert as a result of reduced fertilizer Lea that could handle 30,000 costs. That’s important at a time acres of oats annually estimate when commercial fertilizer prices that each oat-producing acre remain stubbornly high. would use 50 pounds less And it turns out less of a relipurchased nitrogen per year. ance on purchased nitrogen fertilNow what if we expanded this izer means less nitrate pollution in environmental (and economic) our groundwater, a key issue here opportunity by having addiin southeastern Minnesota. Adding tional oat processing facilities a single small grain like oats to a located in other parts of Minrotation can have a significant posinesota? One estimate is that tive impact on our air and climate, three oat processing facilities according to research conducted by would support 500 small to the University of Minnesota and mid-sized farms through the Iowa State University. That study addition of a profitable third found more diverse rotations used crop while creating dozens of 56% less fossil fuels, generated A forage crop emerges from a harvested oat field on Shea-Lynn new jobs. 54% fewer greenhouse gas emisRamthun’s farm. (Photo by Shea-Lynn Ramthun) Are oats some sort of magisions, and had monetized damages cal silver bullet? No, but they from greenhouse gas emissions and climate change makes farming more chaldo represent one commonsense approach to air pollutants that were 42% lower than the lenging that ever. diversifying our landscape while building conventional corn-soybean system. There are big picture economic benefits economic, agronomic, and environmental The other farmers I work with through to increasing the presence of oats here in resiliency. Let’s take advantage of oats’ moLSP’s Soil Builders’ Network (see page 22) Minnesota as well. With a growing consumment in the sun while we have the chance. p have found that oats can play a key role in er trend toward healthy, sustainable foods, building soil health profitably. Oats provide oats present a prime opportunity to build a LSP soil health organizer Shea-Lynn cover for the soil and fibrous living roots resilient, locally-driven supply chain for an Ramthun is a Farm Beginnings graduate beneath the surface at a time when row in-demand product. Oat sales climbed alcrops like corn and soybeans are just getting and raises crops and livestock in most 45% during the 2022 growing season, their growing season started. The beauty of southeastern Minnesota’s Goodhue County. according to one market research analysis. oats is that, unlike some experimental “third …Oats, from page 20

crops” out there, they have a long history on Midwestern farms; oats have been grown on our farm for six generations, for example. Growing this grain does not require a major shift in equipment or handling and storage facilities. And oats can play a complementary role in our existing corn-soybean rotation. Raising a crop like oats may not produce profitable returns immediately (like corn and soybeans can in good years), but it creates a good investment in the soil and my bank account over several growing seasons. That long-term resiliency is particularly important when volatile price swings plague commodity crops and extreme weather caused by

Jan. 28 LSP Workshop: ‘Economic Opportunity in a New Small Grains Market Environment’

n Tuesday, Jan. 28, the Land Stewardship Project is hosting a workshop in Albert, Lea, Minn., for farmers who are seeking practical know-how related to raising and selling small grains. Presenters will include farmer Bob Quinn of Kamut International, along with farmers Roy Pfaltzgraff of Pfz Farms and Landon and Anne Plagge of Green Acres Milling. Learn how farmers are: • Increasing the value of what they produce and demonstrating the value of those products to human and environmental health. • Diversifying crop production while maintaining quality and profitability. • Organizing around cooperatively processing and marketing grains. To register, see bit.ly/LSPsmallgrains. For details, contact LSP’s Shea-Lynn Ramthun at slramthun@landstewardshipproject.org or 651301-1897.

The Land Stewardship Letter

No. 2, 2024

Soil Health LSP’s Soil Health Farm Leadership Team Sets Priorities

he Land Stewardship Project’s Soil Health Steering Committee got together in September to discuss ways of helping farmers in the region successfully adopt cover cropping, managed rotational grazing, no-till, and other regenerative practices. Discussions focused on developing a more viable small grains marketing infrastructure, supporting livestock integration into cropping operations, strengthening the Soil Builders’ Network, and making deeper investments in our localized peer learning groups such as soil hubs and grazing groups. See below and the next page for short bios on the Soil Health Steering Committee members. Over the past five years, LSP’s Soil Builders’ Network has grown to 4,000 people, encompassing the region that covers southern Minnesota, northeastern Iowa, and southwestern Wisconsin. Based on surveys, it’s estimated that the Network has directly supported farmers in implementing regenerative LSP’s Soil Health Steering Committee has committed to making deeper practices such as cover cropping, reduced or no-till, and man- investments in peer learning hubs like the grazing group pictured here. aged rotational grazing on more than 38,000 acres. (LSP Photo) For details on joining the Soil Builders’ Network, see landstewardshipproject.org/soil-health/soil-builders-network. Are you interested in guiding LSP’s Soil Health Program vision? LSP will be recruiting new members for its Soil Health Steering Committee this spring. Contact LSP’s Alex Romano at aromano@landstewardshipproject.org if you are interested or would like more information. Are you interested in joining a farmer-to-farmer soil hub? Contact LSP’s Shea-Lynn Ramthun at slramthun@landstewardshipproject.org for details.

Stacie Madson

live by Hartland, Minn., about 15 minutes north of Albert Lea, with my husband, Casey, and our three children. We raise organic corn, soybeans, oats, and peas, along with conventional corn and soybeans. We tine harrow, cultivate, flame cultivate, ridge till, weed zap, and plant cover crops. This year, we planted a few prairie strips. I joined LSP’s Soil Health Steering Committee because I am interested in more sustainable practices for farming, and I’m excited to learn more from other’s experiences. u

Stacie Madson

No. 2, 2024

Josh Nelson

’m from Wright County, Iowa, in the north-central portion of the state. My wife, Kate, and I run Cardinal Creek Farm, a diversified operation raising corn, soybeans, cereal rye, oats, and other assorted small grains. We also have a commercial hog operation. I’m focused on implementing the soil health principles and improving market access for “alternative” crops here in the land of King Corn. I use cover crops on all my acres, and strip-till or no-till techniques for my various crops. I also use extensive crop and soil testing to figure out ideal rates

Josh Nelson

for fertilizers, focusing on utilizing animal manures when I have access to them. I previously raised registered Highland cattle and sold vegetables through a regional food cooperative. I joined LSP’s Soil Health Steering Committee to see if there was some broader regional cooperation that can be done to improve the state of agriculture in our area. u

John Snyder

run a diversified farm with my wife, Bernie, and son, Ben, near Preston, Minn. We produce cattle, hogs, goats, turkeys, chickens, and eggs. Our hogs are raised in deep-bedded straw, with no GMOs, antibiotics, or growth hormones. The goats are raised on feed produced on the farm. The cattle, chickens, and turkeys are pastureraised with diets supplemented by grain. For crops, we raise non-GMO corn, soybeans, oats, barley, alfalfa/clover/grass mix, and cover crops. We’ve also been trying to get peas in the rotation. We use no-till or minimum till on organic acres as well as conventional acres that are transitioning to organic. I joined LSP’s Soil Health Steering Committee because we must make farming better Soil Leadership, see page 23… The Land Stewardship Letter

work. I also try to promote soil health in my neighborhood when and where I can. u

…Soil Leadership, from page 22 for future generations — from soil health to financial health to people’s health. u

Tony Hackbarth

John Snyder

Scott Holthaus

y wife, Amanda, and I own Oak Creek Pastures near Decorah, Iowa. We raise cattle, sheep, and chickens in a grass pasture-based operation. We directmarket some of our production. The reason I am active with the Land Stewardship Project is that I want to spread the hope of healthier, more sustainable farming. u

took on this role on the Land Stewardship Project’s Soil Health Steering Committee to offer my perspective as a young farmer navigating the challenges of starting a farm from scratch. My journey through agriculture thus far has introduced me to some excellent role models. Many of these influences have helped shape my journey by showing me tons of different ideas and production models. I have also been blessed to have some very financiallyminded people explain the importance of business in my farming journey. This spicemix of styles has created a healthy, hybrid system that allows us to have a good quality of life and financial freedom. The mentors I have did a fantastic job of teaching me that success is self-defined — it is not to be determined by your neighbors. I hope I can help by sharing my experiences. u

Mark Klinski

Scott Holthaus

The Land Stewardship Letter

am from Caledonia, Minn., where I raise organic crops. My farm has been certified organic since 2015, and I have grown corn, soybeans, oats, wheat, rye, and peas. I retired in 2021 from my day job as a heavy truck mechanic in La Crosse, Wis. I first got interested in soil health to add “livestock” to my organic ground, and have been trying some biologicals/biochar to improve soil life. I enjoy living in the Driftless Area with its scenic hills, where I spend time in the woods to relax, forage for mushrooms, and hunt for ginseng. I joined LSP’s Soil Health Steering Committee to continue working with leaders in soil health. Field days, events on composting and grazing, and working with people that are doing good things and promoting these ideas are all things that get me excited to do this

Mark Klinski

Bob Leisen

farm with my brother on a farm south of Plainview Minn., in southern Wabasha County. We also run a couple of farms in northern Olmsted County. We are currently growing just corn and soybeans, with a few beef cattle on the side. Until a few years ago, we had around 70-plus dairy cows, plus

Bob Leisen young stock. We plant using a mix of tillage styles, depending on the crop, field, and the history of the field. We have been using different styles of cover crops and no-till for over 10 years now and are still learning. I joined LSP’s Soil Health Steering Committee to both learn more about soil health practices and to help promote smaller and large-sized operations. u

Soil Health Podcasts

heck out LSP’s Ear Dirt podcast series for conversations on cover cropping, no-till, rotational grazing, fungi, and anything else that builds soil health: landstewardshipproject.org/ear-dirt. p No. 2, 2024

us move forward on taking this beyond just the mapping phase? DeMuth: “One of the things we’ve heard from a lot of producers about as far as where we should be focusing our energy right now is trying to build relationships with institutions through initiatives like Farm to School (see page 10). Also, hospitals and food shelves offer a great opportunity. “Rather than having to find 100 customs part of the work to develop a community-based food initiative in the Upper ers in a community, you have one customer, Minnesota River Valley, the Land Stewardship Project and our allies have been which is the school district. When going for doing “asset mapping” in order to determine what resources are already available in terms of some of these bigger wholesale markets, direct-marketing farmers, processing facilities, transportation, and retail outlets. It’s become we have to create some infrastructure and clear that in order to create what food system analyst Ken Meter calls a “community food coordination among producers and in terms web,” connections need to be made between these various assets. For example, we need to of aggregation and distribution. And by figure out how to efficiently haul all that meat or produce from all those local farms to the doing that work, we’re also creating a lot grocery stores, schools, restaurants, early care facilities, and individual eaters who want that of the same infrastructure that would allow food. That’s why LSP has been following up asset mapping sessions with meetings where producers to sell more directly retail. farmers can connect with other links in the food chain. “But we need to answer questions like, One of the people who’s been doing this work is Scott DeMuth, a food systems organizer ‘Is there a commercial kitchen? Is there a for LSP who lives in Granite Falls, a town of around 2,700 people that sits on the Minnesota way to process the food?’ Transportation River in the western part of the state. issues and aggregation are other big chalRecently, DeMuth talked to the Land Stewardship Letter about what the community lenges that people are facing. asset mapping project revealed, and some of the ripple effects, economic as well as social, “When you look at costs, I think distrithat can occur in a community when it focuses on building a food system not based on exbution is a big one for folks, and having porting raw commodities. He also shared how, as a resident of the area, building a thriving the volume of sales needed to really make food and farm system resonates with him on a personal level. Below is an excerpt of that those costs worth it. And so part of the asconversation. To listen to an LSP Ear to the Ground podcast interview with DeMuth, see set mapping was identifying a lot of things landstewardshipproject.org/podcast/ear-to-the-ground-347-bite-by-bite. like commercial kitchens in our region, as well as refrigeration space. You know, we don’t have a lot of open, usable refrigeration space. We do have a lot of commercial LSL: Scott, tell me a little bit about “Overall, connecting people, ideas, and kitchens that people could be using. community food asset mapping. infrastructure has been a key component of “A lot of this is about repurposing DeMuth: “When we started this food LSP’s early food system meetings.” existing space. The Madison Mercantile in systems work, a lot of what we had been Madison, Minnesota, for example, is taking hearing from folks was that there isn’t a loLSL: It’s like two ships passing in the this old mercantile building, which has a cal foods movement here. But we kept hearnight. There’s all these great things going huge square footage of area, and creating ing about things that used to exist, or that on, but folks aren’t communicating. multiple incubation spaces in it. They are might be here; this person might have some DeMuth: “You see where the opportunity also looking at converting part of that into equipment, or that person might have a mill. is. For us, the nice thing about it too is at the cold storage that producers could use, and “Meanwhile, I’m in this very privileged food asset mapping sessions we got to hear that could be a potential aggregation and position to be able to hear from people we about some history and about things that transportation hub. do listening sessions with about all the excitused to be there. And “We’ve been working things that they individually are doing we also had a couple “It’s these kind of things ing with the Regional around local foods, and I’m hearing about sessions where we had that attract people to a Sustainable Development all these different opportunities. And so the producers and people Partnership to set up a list community and make them asset map itself was like the end product. who were looking to of 10 to 20 products that But what really came out of it was bringing buy local food sitting want to put down roots.” local farmers can produce people together in these different communiat the same table, and that would be competitive ties to have some of those conversations. they were able to conprice-wise and that could be marketed via “So what are the cool things that people nect. It wasn’t anything grand in terms of inFarm to School. are doing in terms of local foods? Where frastructure, but we were just making those “We also have done food forums where are the farms that they’re buying food from? kinds of connections that build community. we do producer and buyer matchmaking. What equipment do they know about? “I think the part that is most replicable We’d like to do more of that and get more Where are the buildings that are empty and is that it doesn’t really take much in terms institutional or wholesale buyers in our not being utilized in the communities? of experts to host something like this. What region to attend these forums. We want to “We were using the answers to these you really need, though, are the people and identify more farmers that are growing cerquestions to literally just create a map. We getting the people to the table.” tain products in the region, and then match draw a map on the wall, and people are putthem up with these buyers.” ting Post-it notes up to kind of identify these LSL: What are the next steps, and are assets. Through that, we’re trying to create there one or two things that you’re seeing and facilitate connections between people that make you think okay, if we could get this Bite, see page 25… and trying to get some ideas going. mechanism in motion, this would really help

Community-Based Food Systems

Building Community Food Assets Bite-by-Bite

No. 2, 2024

The Land Stewardship Letter

…Bite, from page 24 LSL: Transporting food from the farm to the fork seems to be a huge barrier. DeMuth: “Transportation is one thing that is a really big log jam right now. I could see that being something someone’s going to need to figure out. Prairie Five Community Action, for example, is a nonprofit that’s doing a ton of transportation in our region, just moving people around as part of its work to support rural residents. And they also are doing meal deliveries with refrigerated trucks, so they’ve got some sense of what transportation in this region looks like. We are hoping to just be able to learn from them a little bit about their experiences and what they’ve learned about coordinated transportation.” LSL: Creating such an infrastructure must also spawn other benefits for the community as well. DeMuth: “You know, when I talk about rural economic development, from my perspective you look at things like putting the culture back in agriculture, right? And part of that is about local foods and local food traditions that exist. And then it’s also the arts and music piece. “I mean, Granite Falls is a really good example of a community that has invested a ton in local arts, and what you’ve seen as a result of that is a pretty vibrant downtown compared to a lot of other communities of similar size. “This is a population of 2,700 people, and you have a brew pub, you have two different art buildings. We have a local barber shop, and we have a really awesome bakery owned by a local farm family. I don’t know if any one of those would be able to succeed as well as they do without each other. “It’s these kind of things that attract people to a community and make them want to put down roots.”

LSL: I know you live just outside of Granite Falls, and you have deep connections to the community. Is this kind of fun to think about planting the seeds of what a future food system could look like in this area? DeMuth: “Absolutely. I spend most of my days working with producers and organizing meetings with producers, which is pretty fun. They are great groups of people to be in meetings with, oftentimes with really good food when we do potlucks. It’s awesome to see the intersections of community and our food all coming together in one spot. Just the vibrancy that brings into a community is pretty amazing. “You know, there’s definitely long days but I feel privileged to be able to do this work, for sure. I live out here, so I’m hopefully going to be directly benefiting from the fruits and vegetables of Asset maps like this one help farmers, buyers, and other my labor. It’s definitely in my self-interest to grow this links in the food chain figure out what kind of infrastructure already exists for developing community-based food webs, kind of work. But it’s also for my kids too. My kids are as well as what holes need to be filled. (LSP Photo) going to be in the school district out here and when they’re being served through baby steps. My kid a year ago was meals it would be amazing to have a signifitaking baby steps, and now he’s running cant portion of that coming from producers faster than I am. So it doesn’t take a long that I’m working with, versus coming from time, either.” p who knows where and who knows what’s in it. That’s gotta start somewhere. Scott DeMuth can be contacted at “We’re talking really big pieces here, but sdemuth@landstewardshipproject.org we’re also just trying to start with, ‘Hey, or 612-767-9487. For more on LSP’s let’s do one vegetable or one dish, and Community-Based Food Systems work, see let’s just start from there.’ Because I think landstewardshipproject.org/community-food. that’s really where these systems get built is

LSP Awarded USDA Grant to Build Community-Led Food Systems

he Land Stewardship Project has been awarded a $305,000 Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP) grant by the USDA to support building a resilient and community-led local food system in west-central Minnesota. The new funding will be used to:

• Increase local farmer income through sales to local wholesale buyers, including schools and food access programs. • Increase market access for producers by educating wholesale buyers and The Land Stewardship Letter

connecting them with local producers. • Increase local food access through local foods sales in schools, food access programs, and food businesses. • Expand and strengthen private-public partnerships around local foods in west-central Minnesota by adding new partners to the Minnesota Valley Local Foods Network. The project funded by the LFPP grant focuses on efforts in five counties in west-

central Minnesota: Chippewa, Big Stone, Swift, Lac qui Parle, and Yellow Medicine. In addition to farms and food businesses that grow, process, and sell food, LSP will build off the community foods work happening in the towns of Appleton, Granite Falls, Madison, and Montevideo. The initiative aims not only to meet the immediate needs of the local community, but to develop a model that could be a blueprint for similar rural areas. For more information, contact Scott DeMuth at sdemuth@landstewardshipproject. org or 612-767-9487. p No. 2, 2024

Farm Beginnings

FB Course Accepting Applications for 2025-2026

eginning and prospective farmers are invited to apply to the Land Stewardship Project’s Farm Beginnings course, a training program that focuses on the goal setting, marketing, and financial skills needed to establish a successful farm business. The next class will run from November 2025 through March 2026. The deadline for applications is Sept. 1. The cost of the class is $1,000 for up to two participants per farm. Early bird applications submitted by Aug. 1 will receive a $100 discount if you are accepted into the class. Scholarships are available. For more details and to apply, see landstewardshipproject.org/ farm-beginnings-class. Reach out with any specific questions by contacting Annelie Livingston-Anderson at annelie@ landstewardshipproject.org, 612-400-6350, or Whitney Terrill at wterrill@landstewardshipproject. org, 612-400-6346.

Is Farming for You?

By the way, if you’re trying to figure out if farming is the right career path for you, take part in LSP’s Farm Dreams Visioning Exercise at landstewardshipproject.org/farm-dreams-workshop. p

Holistic Decision-Making Workshop in February

he Land Stewardship Project will be holding a workshop in February on values-based decision-making using Holistic Management. Led by farmer and Holistic Management practitioner Cree Bradley, this workshop will explore unique concepts around wealth and expenses. Participants will learn how to create the kind of dynamic plan that puts farmers in control of their financials throughout the year. The two-day workshop will be held on Saturday, Feb. 15, in Maple Grove, Minn., and Monday, Feb. 17, online. The fee is a sliding scale of $50 to $100 per farm; scholarships are available. There’s no charge for current LSP Farm Beginnings participants. To register, see bit.ly/HolisticFinancialPlanning2025. For more information, contact LSP’s Annelie LivingstonAnderson at annelie@landstewardshipproject.org. p

No. 2, 2024

Farm Beginnings Guiding Principles

he Land Stewardship Project is a member of the Farm Beginnings Collaborative, a coalition of community-based groups that offers the Farm Beginnings course in several states. The Farm Beginnings Collaborative adheres to the following principles for the course: ➔ Farmer-led: Class participants will hear from regional farmers about their farms and how they’ve implemented goal setting, marketing, and financial management practices. ➔ Community Based: Because LSP is best able to provide resources and connections in this area, applicants from Minnesota, western Wisconsin, and northern Iowa will be given priority for our specific Farm Beginnings course. If you are located elsewhere, check out the Farm Beginnings Collaborative website at farmbeginningscollaborative.org to see if there is an organization near you offering Farm Beginnings. ➔ Racial Equity: We acknowledge the historical and ongoing racial inequities and oppression in agriculture towards communities of color. We commit to furthering our own understanding of this issue and support farmers we interact with to do the same. We commit to using the power and influence we have across our organization to build more inclusive and equitable agricultural systems and implement changes that make it possible for more farmers of color to be successful. ➔ Focused on Sustainable Agriculture: All Farm Beginnings participants are encouraged to create a farm plan that is economically, socially, and ecologically sustainable.

Agrarian Class Act

Participants in the current Farm Beginnings course gathered for a class photo during their initial November session in Maple Grove, Minn. During the inaugural class, participants shared what they wanted to connect with each other about, and participated in values identification and holistic goal writing exercises. In addition, Farm Beginnings grad Jason Montgomery-Riess gave a presentation about values and decision making. (Photo by Whitney Terrill)

The Land Stewardship Letter

Seeking Farmers-Seeking Land Clearinghouse

re you a beginning farmer looking to rent or purchase farmland in the Midwest? Or are you an established farmer/landowner in the Midwest who is seeking a beginning farmer to purchase or rent your land, or to work with in a partnership/employee situation? Then consider having your information circulated via the Land Stewardship Project’s Seeking Farmers-Seeking Land Clearinghouse. To fill out an online form and for more information, see landstewardshipproject.org/farmland-clearinghouse. You can also obtain forms by e-mailing LSP’s Karen Stettler at stettler@landstewardshipproject.org, or by calling her at 612-767-9885. Below are a few recent listings. For the latest listings, see landstewardshipproject.org/farmland-clearinghouse.

Farmland Available

u Kimberly Rockman has for sale 1.15 acres of farmland near Luverne in southwestern Minnesota. The land at one time was a sheep pasture, with the south boundary having the original fence. In the early 1980s, it was planted into an orchard; there are six apple trees remaining, each a different variety. There is also a 60 x 30 gothic greenhouse with a double poly covering. There is no housing. The price is $30,000. Contact: Kimberly Rockman, 507-353-0041, kimberlyelizabeth@live.com. u Pam Hartwell is seeking a farmer to rent 6 acres (1 tillable, 2 pasture, 3 forest) in Dresbach in southeastern Minnesota (near La Crosse, Wis., and Winona, Minn.). This farm was all woods 10 years ago; a 2-acre pasture has been reopened. There is fertile soil in a .5 acre spot where there had been pigs and goats and a big garden many years ago. There are outbuildings and equipment that could be shared, in addition to a lot of experience on the land. Hartwell would be willing to cost-share some investments into the land. Contact: Pam Hartwell, 507-4582294, sustainablepam@gmail.com. u Peg Furshong is seeking a farmer to buy 13 acres — 2 tillable, 7 pastured, 2 forested, and 2 other — in Renville County in western Minnesota. The land has not been sprayed. There are various outbuildings. There are three fenced-in pastures (one native prairie that has never been tilled — grazed only), water (two new outdoor water hydrants), a grove, fruit trees, grapes, and asparagus. There is a fenced-in garden area that is 150 x 75, along with a four-bedroom farmhouse. Contact: Peg Furshong, 320-

333-6132, hawkcreekprairiefarm@gmail.com.

Seeking Farmland

u Cody Chamberlain is seeking 1-5 pastured acres to rent in Minnesota. A barn/ structure for livestock and fencing would be helpful for raising a small number of hogs and lambs. Contact: Cody Chamberlain, 612-4426429, cody@chamberlaingrain.com. u Cameran Bailey is seeking an acre of land to rent or buy in Minnesota. Bailey is interested in planting and managing perennial plants to support habitat and sell products (herbs, seeds, cuttings, fruit, berries, roots). A small shed would be nice but not necessary. No housing is needed. Contact: Cameran Bailey, 760-712-8859, cameran.b@gmail. com. u Kara Wetel is seeking 8 acres (6 tillable, 1 forest, 1 pasture) in Minnesota. Wetel is interested in a barn or shed to house equipment. Water access, electricity, and entrance/ access to land would be preferable; no house is needed. Contact: Kara Wetel, 612-404-4500, kara@kddlaw.net. u Yao Sun is seeking to rent 2 acres of farmland to grow vegetables near the Twin Cities; ideally no longer than two hours’ drive from the University of Minnesota. No house is needed. Contact: Yao Sun, 507-407-0264, yao.sun.17@gmail.com. u Samuel Varney is seeking 2 acres of certified organic farmland to rent in Wisconsin. He is seeking to rent in late 2025 to plant a crop of garlic; the garlic would be harvested in the fall of 2026. A shed of some kind would be nice, but not completely necessary. Varney doesn’t need housing. Contact: Samuel

Va r n e y, 6 0 8 - 2 1 9 - 5 3 7 6 , s a m v r n y @ gmail.com. u Dan Grantier is seeking 30-50 acres (open to larger as well) in Xcel Energy territory for a combined use of agrivoltaics and an incubator farm for emerging farmers. No house is needed. Contact: Dan Grantier, 509-304-4658, grantier.dan@gmail.com. u Derek Ellis is seeking to rent forest and pasture acres in Minnesota. He doesn’t need a house but would prefer outbuildings, if possible. Contact: Derek Ellis, 612-6663811, dereklellis62@gmail.com. Michelle Sopa is seeking to buy 10 acres of land in Wisconsin. A combination of forested, pastured, and tillable acres is preferred. She would be interested in a house, fencing, and a water feature. Contact: Michelle Sopa, msopa@shorewest.com. u Erin Anderson is looking for 1 acre of certified organic farmland in Minnesota. Anderson is looking to put a yurt on the land in exchange for work, trade, or rent. Anderson would also be interested in buying land where a yurt could be placed. Contact: Erin Anderson, 952-465-2200, andersonerinelizabeth@gmail.com.

Seeking Farmer

u Joe Fischer is seeking a farmer to help him convert 150+ acres from conventional ag to a regenerative, grass-based system near the east-central Missouri town of Washington. Fischer is open to various plans that include ruminants, pigs, and/or chickens (layers or meat). No housing is available. Fischer lives on the farm, so there will be flexibility to have most weekends off. Contact: Joe Fischer, fischer.joe@gmail.com.

‘Land Access: Are You Ready?’ Workshop Feb. 1

ew or aspiring farmers are invited to participate in a Land Stewardship Project-Farmland Access Hub “Land Access: Are You Ready?” workshop on Saturday, Feb. 1, in Inver Grove Heights, Minn. This workshop will provide strategies, tools, and participatory activities to get you started on your land access journey. Resource people will be on-hand to provide guidance on such topics as navigators, financing options, and assessing soils. To register and for details, see bit.ly/ready2025 or contact LSP’s Karen Stettler at stettler@landstewardshipproject. org, 612-767-9885. LSP has tools available to help beginning farmers, as well as retiring farmers and non-operating landowners, navigate the transition of land and other agricultural resources to the next generation. For details on publications, workshops, tax credits, and other resources, see landstewardshipproject.org/land-transition-tools, or contact Stettler. p The Land Stewardship Letter

No. 2, 2024

that a surprising amount of food can be raised on a city lot. On the other hand, besides learning how much we abuse our soil, Giossi was exposed to how city regulations and zoning are not amenable to urban agriFarm Beginnings Profile culture. Even when vegetable production is allowed on a plot in the city, it’s often seen by officials as a temporary placeholder until some sort of “best use” can be put in place like a parking lot or a soccer field. That was From Tilling an Old Soccer Field to Helping Teens Kick-off Better Communities Giossi’s first brush with how institutional decision-making can have a big impact on a Giossi picked up the skills required to By Brian DeVore community’s access to fresh, healthy foods. do the kind of goal setting that’s based on After studying biology and botany in such distinctions while enrolled in the Land college, he spent a year in Bolivia working hen it comes to youth programs Stewardship Project’s Farm Beginnings in agriculture and habitat restoration. It was centered around gardening and course. Now, as the manager of the Urban through that experience that Giossi saw how farming, a common mantra Roots market garden program, he feels he’s farming and the natural environment could is, “We’re teaching kids about where their better equipped to show high schoolers not be blended in a way that both food producfood comes from.” Sounds laudable, but to just where their food comes from, but also tion and the land benefits. That philosophy Marcos Giossi, such a feel-good goal is too where it could come from. dovetails with the mission of Urban Roots. limiting when it comes to exposing young “I’m still rosy eyed and I think we can “We’re exploring that ethic of, ‘What people to the realities of the farm and food win,” says the 28-year-old with a laugh. “I does it look like to be good stewards of the system that dominates. think we can build a better world here.” world around us and of our commu“There’s not this imaginities?’ ” he says. nary happy place where all The nonprofit has vegetable plots our food is coming from, and an orchard in the flyover area of you know?” says Giossi on the Saint Paul Downtown Airport, a wintery Friday afternoon as well as gardens in various spots while sitting in the East around the eastern side of the city. Saint Paul, Minn., offices The program works with a cohort of an organization called of around 80 high school students Urban Roots. “The food during the summer and around half system is really big and that number the rest of the year. The complicated and oftentimes youth come from a variety of backa really unjust thing. It’s grounds — some face issues of food part of my responsibility insecurity and live in neighborhoods working with these young that lack access to consistent sources people and engaging them of fresh, healthy food. with the food system to After working at Urban Roots for recognize the ways that it’s “Some useful, practical skills were combined with prioritizing things a few years, Giossi felt, despite his so deeply broken.” like, how is this a meaningful way to spend my time?” says Marcos extensive background in production He’s in the right place to Giossi of the Farm Beginnings class. (Photo courtesy of USDA) agriculture, that he needed to learn do that. skills that relate to agricultural finanUrban Roots (urbancial management and goal setting. rootsmn.org) is a nonprofit enrichment and Kicking Dirt So, in 2022 he enrolled in the Farm empowerment program that works with Giossi started his journey toward building Beginnings course (see page 26). Through Saint Paul public high school students. It a better farm and food world when he was the class, LSP introduces students to holistic has programs centered around cooking with the same age as many of the young people business planning, a system that provides fresh, healthy food, as well as habitat restohe works with today. As a high school a big-picture view of farm management by ration and market gardening. Giossi, who’s student, he gained experience on an urban putting the land, finances, community, and worked there for six years, believes ardently farm in South Minneapolis through Urban the farmer’s quality of life on the same level in not only helping young people learn about Ventures, a nonprofit that works to give of importance. Giossi says he particularly the negative side of our dominant farm and low-income youth an opportunity to attend appreciated the goal setting and planning food system, but also helping them see the college. The roughly quarter-acre vegetable skills he learned in the course. positive things that can propagate when they plot on the Midtown Greenway was part of “I loved the focus of the Farm Beginget involved in something as basic as raising a soccer field, and Giossi has not-so-fond nings class on centering the decisions you a garden and selling its production in the memories of digging up mesh that was left make and the structures that you build on a local neighborhood. over from when the sod had originally been farm around what your values and your core Striking such a balance requires the put down for the playing surface. goals are, and expanding that to the whole ability to, at times, step back and guide the “At an early age, I saw the great and human behind those goals and values,” he young gardeners through a decision-making beautiful things and all of the terrible things says. “Some useful, practical skills were process that questions whether a path you about trying to start an urban farm,” he are on is effective, or whether it’s just being recalls. done out of force of habit. Youth, see page 29… On the positive side, Giossi saw firsthand

Farm Beginnings

Youth Movement

No. 2, 2024

The Land Stewardship Letter

…Youth, from page 28 combined with prioritizing things like, how is this a meaningful way to spend my time?” In fact, such skills in prioritizing came in handy after Giossi finished the course and Urban Roots was facing a decision as to whether to continue its Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, which allowed eaters to buy shares in the produce operation ahead of the growing season. Urban Roots had been doing the CSA for several years, and it had become the driver of how the farm was operated — from what was grown to how food was marketed and delivered. But Giossi says his Farm Beginnings training gave him the skills to reassess the difference between doing something out of daily habit, and management practices that help reach overall goals. One thing he’s aware of is that as a nonprofit working with young people, Urban Roots’ goals might differ from a market gardener who is focused on trying to make a living from their production. “When we sort of stepped back and thought about, okay, what are our main goals with this urban farm, it was trying to get food back into the community, trying to take good care of the land, and trying to take good care of ourselves and empower youth in the process,” recalls Giossi. It turned out having two marketing deadlines — one for the CSA delivery in the middle of the week and another for a farmers’ market and neighborhood farmstands at the end of the week — was stressful and

cut into time that could have been spent on programming and educational activities for the high schoolers. Plus, the young people enjoyed selling produce face-to-face. “They get really excited about showing off things that they grew and sharing what they’ve learned about preparing those foods,” says Giossi. “There’s nothing like connecting with other people over food.” So, Urban Roots dropped the CSA and now focuses on marketing through farmers’ markets, as well as via neighborhood farm-

tution that’s integral to their lives: school. Who makes up the school board? How are decisions made? How do people impacted by those decisions get heard? When the Saint Paul School Board was up for election recently, some of the Urban Roots students organized an informational session with the candidates and invited their peers to take part. It was a good chance for the students to see not only how decisionmaking is done on the institutional level, but how they can have an influence — whether it be in the garden or the conference room — in ways that create a positive future. “I think we can build a better world here.” Giossi and other staff at Ur— Marcos Giossi ban Roots are under no illusions that every teen who works in the stands and food distribution sites in East market garden will go on to be a farmer. But Saint Paul. Surprisingly, the farm’s former good decision-making and goal setting skills CSA members were supportive of the shift. are needed beyond the vegetable plot and They wanted to support the farm, and were greenhouse. willing to do that by seeking out its produce “Because no matter what you do,” says via farmers’ markets and market stands. the young farmer, “you’re going to be on this Earth and you’re going to be part of a community.” p Building Life Skills Part of the community building Urban Roots is involved in centers around helping youth see how institutions — from city councils to legislatures — impact their lives. n LSP’s Ear to the Ground Just as the food system’s realities aren’t podcast episode 334, Marcos always positive, decisions made at various Giossi talks about using a valueslevels of society can also have negative based decision-making model to impacts. As the old saying goes, if you don’t build future farmers — and future have a seat at the table, you’re likely to be citizens: landstewardshipproject. what’s for supper. org/podcast/ear-to-the-groundFor example, at one point young people 334-youth-movement. involved with Urban Roots realized they knew little about the governance of an insti-

Give it a Listen

LSP Winter Farm Transition Course

re you a farmland owner or retirThe topics, dates, and times for the online “As a landowner, you ing farmer looking to transition course are: have the power to ownership or rent your farmland u Jan 28: Goal Setting for Life & Land in ways that reflect your values? determine the legacy of your u Feb. 4: Values and Why Farm The Land Stewardship Project is hosting land — that decision is Transition Planning is Needed an online holistic Farm Transition Planning the most important decision u Feb. 11: Financial Considerations Course designed to help you act on your conservation and social values. Seven u Feb. 18: Legal Considerations you can make.” sessions will bring professionals, farmers, u Feb. 25: Working with Next and LSP staff together to dig into values Generation Farmers — retired southeastern and goals, as well as communication, genMinnesota farmer u March 4: Long-Term Care erational, financial, legal, and long-term Bill McMillin Considerations care considerations. The sessions build on each other and it is u March 18: Resources and Planning, important to plan on attending all of them. Next Steps and Presentations The sessions will include participatory activities and there will be work participants To register, see bit.ly/FarmTransitions2025. More information are encouraged to complete outside of the is available by contacing LSP’s Karen Stettler at stettler@ online course time. landstewardshipproject.org. The Land Stewardship Letter

No. 2, 2024

In Community

Farms, Food, Fun & Friends

2024 LSP Gatherings Connect People with the Land & Each Other

and Stewardship Project members and allies had a trio of opportunities to get together and share food and fun activities on area farms in 2024. In June, a farm on the banks of the Root River in Wykoff, Minn., was the location for the “Boots & Roots: a Celebration of Land & People” event, which featured a potluck, square dancing, yard games, and a dunk tank where LSP’s executive director, Scott Elkins, and LSP’s policy director, Sean Carroll, good-naturedly served as “targets.” The event was hosted by the DreamAcres land collective, which features an organic farm managed by Eva Barr and Todd Juzwiak, along with Liz Newberg and Jake Stacken. Along with producing food, DreamAcres

(dreamacresfarm.org) offers educational and cultural programs, and is home to the nonprofit Dreamery Rural Arts Initiative. In August, Scott and Dawn Lightly invited folks to their farm near Oakland, Minn., for a field tour, potluck, yard games and a chance to network around building soil health. The Lightlys are fifth-generation farmers and they use no-till and cover cropping to raise row crops. This is their first year raising sunflowers for a Twin Cities cereal company. In September, roughly 60 members of LSP and COPAL (Communities Organizing Latine Power and Action) gathered at the crop and livestock farm of Ruth and Jon Jovaag near Austin, Minn. The evening

Jon Jovaag described his crop rotation to COPAL and LSP members during a tour of his family’s farm. Besides crops, the Jovaags also raise hogs. (LSP Photo)

DreamAcres, which hosted the “Boots & Roots” event, has an organic farm and hosts educational and cultural events. (LSP Photo)

No. 2, 2024

featured presentations by COPAL members, apple cider pressing, a chance to watch honey being extracted from combs, and a tour of the Jovaag operation, which also involves Jon’s parents, Lois and Arvid. The event was capped off with a meal featuring the Jovaags’ pork that was served on the banks of the Cedar River. COPAL (copalmn.org) is a member-based organization established in 2018 to improve the quality of life of Latine families. The Land Stewardship Project and its political education partner, Land Stewardship Action (see page 11), have collaborated with COPAL on various rural organizing initiatives. To get the latest updates on LSP events, see landstewardshipproject.org/upcomingevents. Signing up for our monthly LIVEWIRE e-letter is also a great way to stay informed: landstewardshipproject.org/ live-wire-sign-up. p See page 34 for a report on LSP’s Twin Cities Cookout & Potluck, which was held in July.

Scott Lightly provided a tour of his farm’s sunflower field during an August LSP gathering. (Photo by Kim Finnegan)

“Boots and Roots” featured contra dancing led by the Crater City String Band and caller Robin Nelson. (LSP Photo) The Land Stewardship Letter

Poetry

Making Hay

not a tourist. It is difficult to be a tourist

The sun shines hazy, and the air has weight.

of strength. Earth gathered into sky. A field

heavy and moist. Fog along low places,

remote island. Crows settle on a resting hay

squeaky axle, and old fashioned square

mow gapping open and the elevator waiting,

and dense. The music of work out here.

of mind and body and the reality of night.

twine wrapped tightly claws at gloves.

Land Stewardship Project member Larry Gavin is the author of five books of poetry. He lives in Faribault, Minn.

baling hay. Difficult to imagine the boundaries

It pushes down on me from all directions

dotted with more bales like effigies on some

and no breeze at all. The smell of diesel,

rake bringing with them evening. The hay

bales. One rooster pheasant cackles loud

all doorways lead to dark; into the labyrinth

Dust clouds stand in one spot, and baling I stack the bales shoulder high. I sweat

— Larry Gavin

like I was just rained on. But there is nothing stronger than honest work. The pure poetry of muscle and breath and dust redeems me. Released from the burden of thought and washed in life as a pilgrim

Soil & Spirit

Cultivation & Kinship in the Web of Life By Scott Chaskey 264 pages Milkweed Editions milkweed.org Reviewed by Dale Hadler

n Soil and Spirit: Cultivation and Kinship in the Web of Life, Scott Chaskey draws on his experience as a farmer, poet, educator, and global advocate for organic and regenerative agriculture to write a book of essays that encourages the reader to see soil not only as a living entity but as something that could be viewed with a spiritual presence. Chaskey argues that as humans face climate disruption and the numerous other challenges of the modern world, it is The Land Stewardship Letter

“timely to revisit an ancient theme, an interspecies theme — our kinship with nature.” Chaskey started his own kinship with the land on a small farm in Maine, the history of which he deftly traces from the time the Abenaki people stewarded the area to his own, present day, experience. He then takes the reader on a world tour of sorts, offering firsthand accounts of how people connect to the spirituality of the land in places such as Cornwall in the United Kingdom, as well as in rural Ireland. Chaskey, a leader in the Community Supported Agriculture movement, also provides a dispatch from a conference in China dedicated to this farming model. One of his most engaging essays describes his time with a group of Indigenous women at the Santa Clara Pueblo in New Mexico, where he helped harvest amaranth seeds. Various forms of this nutritious food have been cultivated by Indigenous people for 8,000 years. The Spanish conquistadores feared the pagan rituals that the Aztecs formed around

the crop, and burned amaranth fields while banning production. Groups such as Tewa Women United — a multicultural and multiracial organization located in the northern New Mexico pueblos — are dedicated to the spiritual connection to the land the crop represents, and are attempting to bring it back. Chaskey’s essay on this fascinating plant — it is not a grass or a classic cereal grain, and technically is classified as a “pseudocereal” — makes it clear that even a simple act of harvest can be a spiritual act. “As we cup our hands around and over the flameshaped seed heads, they shatter, and a sea of pink and gold grains flows around our knees,” writes Chaskey. “Perhaps we are at a threshold, the place of entrance to a dwelling. The dwelling is the soil we kneel upon as we thresh the grain, our common home; the amaranth is an entrance, our shared harvest.” p LSP member Dale Hadler lives in Winona, Minn.

No. 2, 2024

The Devil’s Element

Phosphorus & a World Out of Balance By Dan Egan 228 pages W. W. Norton & Company wwnorton.com Reviewed by Angela Anderson

he Devil’s Element: Phosphorus and a World out of Balance is truly a book for anyone concerned about the future of food production and how we balance it with environmental health. Clearly and superbly written by Dan Egan, an award-winning Wisconsin-based journalist, this book is gripping and entertaining. It provides an in-depth understanding of the life-giving role of phosphorus, and simultaneously its dangerously irresponsible overuse in our agricultural practices. This book makes it clear that our increasing reliance on chemical fertilizers and industrial-scale agriculture is threatening and poisoning another life-giving and -sustaining resource: water. Divided into three parts — “The Race for Phosphorus,” “The Cost of Phosphorus,” and “The Future of Phosphorus” — this book uses historic anecdotes, current science, on-the-scene reporting, and informed insight to convey the urgency of our current situation. Paraphrasing the author’s words: We have broken a circle of life, turned it into a straight line, and that line is now approaching its end. In part 1, the race for phosphorus — the “devil’s element” — begins in the 17th century, in Henning Brandt’s Hamburg labora-

Correction

he review of the book Barons that was published in the No. 1, 2024, Land Stewardship Letter stated that Ezra Taft Benson was President Harry Truman’s secretary of agriculture and that he promoted the idea that farmers should “get big or get out.” In fact, as several sharp-eyed readers pointed out, Benson was President Dwight Eisenhower’s ag secretary. While Benson may have supported the “get big” philosophy, Earl Butz, ag secretary under presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, was better known for promoting the idea.

No. 2, 2024

tory, with its discovery in human waste (in this instance, urine). The author goes on to compare the phosphorus of pre-agricultural times, when it existed naturally as part of the “circle of life,” to its role as a commodity during the Industrial Revolution, World War II, and onward. With the population boom of the Industrial Revolution, the need for increased food production grew exponentially (and has continued to do so in step with population growth). Increased demand resulted in increasingly extreme sourcing methods when it came to phosphorus as a source of plant fertility — from looting battlefields for bones, to scraping guano off remote islands. To this day, modern agriculture relies largely on fossilized feces and bones, or rock-based phosphorus, for this type of fertilizer. Sources are waning quickly. What has taken the Earth eons to produce, we have used up in a couple centuries (in some instances, a few decades). Egan also writes about the recently tapped phosphorus mines, the huge phosphorus rock deposits in places like the Western Sahara and Morocco, where an estimated 70% to 80% of the world’s reserves are located and controlled by one company, which, in turn, is controlled by the king of Morocco. The blood that’s been spilt to acquire or maintain this monopoly is considerable. In 2019, these mines were scraping 250 million tons of phosphorus out of the ground annually — an entirely unsustainable rate of extraction. Part two begins with a phosphorus problem so easily fixed it is almost comical (almost!). In the 1950s, U.S. waterways began to foam. Soap suds from America’s washing machines — full of a magical ingredient to make clothes clean and velvety soft — began flowing into rivers and lakes. Super-charged sodium tripolyphosphate was the culprit. Eutrophic lakes, already rich in nutrients, took the brunt of this onslaught, resulting in deadly algae blooms. Where there was life, phosphorus made more life than these aquatic systems could handle. Once the problem was identified, phosphorus was slowly removed from detergents, and up through the 1980s, rivers and lakes continued to recover. However, writes Egan, “While the Clean Water Act works brilliantly for any pollution one can send down a pipe, it left a yawning exemption for one specific industry — agriculture.” Today, the algae blooms are back and deadlier than ever, this time fueled by

excessive phosphorus fertilizer washing off croplands into our rivers and lakes. On top of nutrients escaping mono-cropped fields, large-scale concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) contribute to the phosphorus load when they dispose their liquid manure onto surrounding soil. Turning crop fields into sources of raw materials exacerbates the problem. Where once phosphorus fertilizer was used solely to feed a growing population, it is now used to produce animal feed and ethanol. The federal government’s ethanol mandate has effectively created a fertilizer mandate, which has directly resulted in damage to our drinking water, fisheries, and recreation/tourism. What is happening on our coasts highlights the critical state of our watersheds. In 2019, triggered in part by climate change and a rapidly changing agricultural landscape, flooding in the northern part of the U.S. brought a first-of-its-kind outbreak of Microcystis to the Gulf of Mexico. By July 4th, 21 coastal beaches were closed for swimming due to toxic algae blooms fueled by nutrient overloads; marine life was decimated, and the area’s fishing and tourism industries took massive financial hits. Our warm Southern waters — Florida’s freshwater Lake Okeechobee, for example — are particularly susceptible to becoming toxic cesspools. As one resident told Egan, “You don’t have to be an environmentalist to see that [things are] wrong and [need] to be solved.” But it would appear the agricultural industry continues to enjoy cart blanche, even though changing our farming methods could play the single biggest role in solving the threat the devil’s element poses to our watersheds. Can regulation and more improved farming practices — fine-tuned fertilization and vegetated barriers near water, as well as cover cropping, rotational grazing, and other methods that build soil health — save our public resources? Life began with phosphorus. We are now faced with the question: will life end with it? In the final part of the book, the author presents hope for the future. He re-emphasizes that a balanced phosphorus exchange existed for billions of years before humans corrupted this natural cycle, and highlights again how, like water, phosphorus exists in a delicate balance and can be both a giver and destroyer of life. Still, it is estimated that up to 80% of agriculturally applied phosphorous is wasted. Phosphorus, like water, Phosphorus, see page 33… The Land Stewardship Letter

…Phosphorus, from page 32 is a limited resource. “All we have is all we have,” Eagan writes. If we render it unusable, or waste it, we will run out, and poison ourselves in the process. For hope, consider Asian cultures, which have used closed-loop waste treatment systems for thousands of years: carting their grains, vegetables, and animals into the cities and then hauling back to the countryside the waste those cities generate. This “night soil” is considered valuable fertilizer to this day. Urine is even easier to convert from waste to gold. What began in Hamburg when alchemist Henning Brandt conjured the first nuggets of elemental phosphorus

Dodge County, Incorporated Big Ag & the Undoing of Rural America

By Sonja Trom Eayrs 344 pages University of Nebraska Press nebraskapress.unl.edu Reviewed by Brian DeVore

lenty has been written about the negative impacts that result when small and medium-sized, diversified farms are pushed out of a community by a corporate-controlled, industrialized form of agriculture. What sets Dodge County, Incorporated apart is that the author, Sonja Trom Eayrs, deftly weaves the big picture trends that have, for example, caused us to lose 70% of this country’s hog farmers since 1990 with her own story: how her family’s 760-acre farm in southeastern Minnesota’s Dodge County — “…our slice of heaven,” as she describes it — was, over the years, literally surrounded by a dozen concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), resulting in a stench so powerful that at times it was difficult for the Trom family to do field work without being sickened. It’s particularly troubling to read such descriptions after the author describes how her father, Lowell, created the “handmade” Trom operation piece-by-piece; with its good conservation practices and contributions to the community, it’s the kind of farm we should be doing everything possible to support. The book delivers on its subtitle: Big Ag and the Undoing of Rural America. Trom Eayrs is an attorney, and she convincingly makes the case that the takeover of communities like hers was no accident. It was a methodical, concerted effort on the part of Wall The Land Stewardship Letter

from human urine has come full circle. By 2029, “Hamburg will be coaxing from its own ashes a more sustainable food system and future,” writes Eagan. Let’s hope the rest of Western culture follows. The solution to the present phosphorous problem may not be as simple as removing it from a single product type (like detergents), but it is not hopeless. With limitation, filtration, and time we could repurpose and eliminate today’s phosphorus problem, too. For inspiration from an old source, Eagan quotes Victor Hugo, the French author and politician, who, as early as 1862, pointed out the absurdity of importing petrified animal poop from the far reaches of the globe while local sources of phosphorus were being

wasted. In Les Misérables, Hugo wrote: “… those heaps of excrement…are the meadow in flower…they are cattle…they are fragrant hay, golden wheat, they are bread on your table, they are warm blood in your veins, they are health, they are joy, they are life.” p

Street, meatpackers, and commodity groups to foist one way of producing pork on the country, no matter the consequences. She pulls no punches, naming names throughout the book — from local township officials who appear to take “bribes” in the form of manure allotments in exchange for favorable zoning rulings, to groups like the American Farm Bureau Federation that claim to represent farmers, but who in fact are helping livestock integrators create mini-empires built on destruction of land, markets, and communities. Fortunately, Trom Eayrs’ book is well-documented and citations, along with firsthand accounts, back up the darts she tosses at the industry. At the core of this tragedy is the role the “corporate state,” as Trom Eayrs calls it, plays in wrecking rural communities. And it’s all legal, with farmers who are raising the hogs themselves often victimized as much as their neighbors. Should we be surprised that a business model that is more beholding to shareholders than to the communities it’s extracting resources from puts profits over people? “Corporations, by law and definition, are antithetical to the values that the best versions of agricultural practice ideally embody,” Trom Eayrs writes. Such a model disconnects animals from the land, as well as neighbors from neighbors. The Trom family is not only exposed to air pollution, but to harassment in the form of a manure tanker driver nearly running the author and her husband off the road, trash dumped in the driveway, groundless

calls made to the sheriff, and bullet holes in a stop sign near where the Troms were doing field work. But I found the most troubling fallout from the Dodge County CAFO fight to be the subtle slights, like when Lowell is given the cold shoulder at the church that’s played such a pivotal role in his family’s community legacy. The author concedes that because she no longer lives in the community, she can avoid such heartbreaking moments on a daily basis — but seeing her family exposed to it doesn’t make it any easier. But the author has not given up. Through her fight, she’s connected with people, both within and outside the community, who aren’t willing to accept the CAFO system as rural America’s future. And she’s seen firsthand what can result when people get organized. For example, a mega-dairy proposed in Dodge County was defeated thanks to a group of committed citizens who were working with Land Stewardship Project organizers in the early 2000s. Trom Eayrs also sees hope in the regenerative ag movement, which provides an alternative way for food to be raised on the land in ways that improve communities and keep neighbors connected. In the end, the battle-hardened farm kid makes it clear that her family’s fight has broadened her perspective. She writes, “I first entered the CAFO wars for relatively narrow reasons: my family’s farm was at risk, and my hometown was harmed by Big Ag’s takeover. Recognizing the forced silence of many rural residents, standing on the sidelines was no longer an option.” p

Angela Anderson spent her 35-year career with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources preserving and restoring the state’s prairies, wetlands, and woodlands, and educating the public about these valuable spaces. In retirement, she actively stewards several scientific and natural areas in the Saint Croix River Valley.

Brian DeVore is the editor of the Land Stewardship Letter.

No. 2, 2024

Membership Update Why Do We Gather?

Reflections on the Twin Cities Cookout & Potluck Elizabeth Makarewicz

n the traditional last Thursday of July, 175 Land Stewardship Project members and supporters gathered for the 2024 Twin Cities Cookout & Potluck in the yard of our Minneapolis office. As the lead organizer of the Cookout since 2018, I understand that the goal of this event is to bring people together to enjoy tasty food, live music, and quirky fundraising activities, as well as to hear about LSP’s work and celebrate our accomplishments. But after reading Priya Parker’s The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters, I’m feeling challenged to get more specific. According to Parker, it isn’t enough to gather because “this is the way we’ve always done things.” In fact, for repeat events, honing our intention to gather is even more relevant to compelling guests to come and have a meaningful experience. This article is a retroactive attempt to sharpen our purpose in gathering.

To Mark the Passing of Time

remarked to me how much she sees the gathering as an opportunity to witness the developmental changes of LSP children who Strength for the Work Ahead tend to show up year-after-year. Cookout To quote Brandi Carlile, “You can dance developmental phases include: 1) trying to in a hurricane, but only if you’re standing get your mom’s attention while she coordinates the program by making silly faces, 2) heartbreak and tears over not winning a pie at the pie raffle, 3) running around with a pack of other children while avoiding adult supervision, and 4) stepping into a role of responsibility to receive and organize potluck dishes. We hope the familiar ritual of the Cookout will make an impression on these young guests as they become the next generation Good food is a key component of a community gathering that of farm and food system people return to year-after-year. (LSP Photo) leaders.

To Reinforce Circles of Interconnection

Five or six years ago, a family who was living across the street from LSP’s Minneapolis office stumbled upon the Cookout and decided to check it out. Over Tempeh Tantrum and Equal Exchange iced tea, they became acquainted with another family who had a son the same age as theirs. The two families bonded over their shared enthusiasm for small, local farms, and exchanged information. Now in addition to attending the Cookout each year, the two families join a small group Regular events like LSP’s Twin Cities Cookout & Potluck help of other parents with mark time and “reinforce circles of interconnection.” (LSP Photo) kids the same age as theirs for an annual

Repeat events such as the Cookout give us the opportunity to reflect on the passing of time. At this year’s event, a neighbor

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fall camping trip. The kids roam free in the woods while parents scheme about future farming endeavors, shared land dreams, and opportunities to learn and organize — all connections made stronger by an LSP gathering.

in the eye.” Amidst the chaos of our daily existence, it’s useful to pause, reflect, and enjoy each other’s company. To organize and agitate for the food and farming systems we want and need, these gatherings foster epiphanies, stoke creativity, and increase solidarity among LSP members. Check out our web calendar — landstewardshipproject. org/upcoming-events — for more opportunities to gather! p LSP member support specialist Elizabeth Makarewicz is already busy planning the 2025 Cookout & Potluck. She can be contacted at emakarewicz@ landstewardshipproject.org.

Get Current With

ign up for the LIVE-WIRE e-letter to get monthly updates from the Land Stewardship Project sent straight to your inbox. Details are at landstewardshipproject. org/live-wire-sign-up. p The Land Stewardship Letter

Planned Giving to LSP

he Land Stewardship Project’s work for stewardship of the land begins with people. As a membership organization, LSP relies on the engagement, leadership, and support of its members to advance longterm care of the land, thriving family farms, and healthy rural communities. Including LSP in your estate creates a lasting gift that will help keep the land and people together for years to come. Legacy gifts of land, bequests, stock shares, a donor-advised fund, individual retirement account (IRA) distributions, or other planned gifts have a direct impact on the work and provide a lasting tribute to your values. If you have questions about making a planned gift to LSP, contact Josh Journey-Heinz by calling 612-400-6347 or e-mailing jjourney-heinz@landstewardshipproject.org.

Membership Questions?

f you have questions about your Land Stewardship Project membership, contact Clara Sanders at 612-400-6340 or csanders@landstewardshipproject. org. To renew, mail in the envelope included in this Land Stewardship Letter, or see landstewardshipproject.org/join.

New Address?

as your address changed or do you anticipate moving in the next few months? Take a moment to update your address with LSP so that you can continue receiving the Land Stewardship Letter, event invitations, and other updates. To update your address, see landstewardshipproject.org/address. Make sure you use the same e-mail address you have on file with LSP so your data updates correctly.

Volunteer for LSP

t’s a stone cold fact: the Land Stewardship Project literally could not fulfill its mission without volunteers. Volunteers help us do everything from stuff envelopes and make telephone calls to enter data and set up logistics for meetings. Remote opportunities are available. To volunteer, fill out the form at landstewardshipproject.org/volunteer-for-lsp, or contact Clara Sanders at csanders@landstewardshipproject.org, 612-4006340.

Factory Farm Podcast In Memory & in Honor…

ow to Fight a Factory Farm is a four-part series about factory farms and the communities fighting them. The series describes how concentrated animal feeding operations took over the American agriculture system and what effect they’ve had on rural communities in the Midwest. It features farmers, advocates, and rural organizers who are fighting factory farms as part of the Campaign for Family Farms and the Environment (CFFE). CFFE, which the Land Stewardship Project belongs to, works against the use of public dollars and public policy to support factory farms and the multinational meatpacking giants they serve, and builds public support for reforms to level the playing field for family farm livestock producers. Other CFFE (fightfactoryfarms.org) members include the Missouri Rural Crisis Center, Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, Dakota Rural Action, Food & Water Watch, and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP). The podcast series was produced by IATP. It’s available at iatp.org/fight-factoryfarm-podcast-series and on various podcast platforms. p The Land Stewardship Letter

he Land Stewardship Project is grateful to have received the following gifts made to honor and remember loved ones and friends:

In Honor & Appreciation of LSP’s Members & Staff u Bonnie Haugen

In Honor of Dana Jackson u Sue & Wendell Fletcher

In Honor of Doug Nopar

u Joyce Belgum & John Gabbert

In Honor of Brian DeVore u Kriss Marion u Laura Jackson u Rod DeVore u Dana Jackson

In Memory of Dennis Johnson u Carole Johnson

In Honor of John & Mary Lindstrom

u Kathleen Mary Kiemen

In Honor of Darrel Hacklander u Lee Hacklander

In Memory of Jeff “Swampy” Thomsen u Brian DeVore

In Memory of Wally Simpson In Memory of Jean Morris Trumbauer & Don Simpson u Susan Hastings

u Anonymous

To donate to LSP in the name of someone, contact Clara Sanders at 612-400-6340 or csanders@ landstewardshipproject.org. Donations can be made online at landstewardshipproject.org/join. No. 2, 2024

LAND STEWARDSHIP PROJECT 821 E 35TH ST STE 200 MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55407-2102

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID ROCHESTER, MN PERMIT NO. 289

Address Service Requested

Your timely renewal saves paper and reduces the expense of sending out renewal notices. To renew, use the envelope inside or visit landstewardshipproject.org/join.

Stewardship Calendar ➔ JAN. 14 — 2025 Session of the Minnesota Legislature Begins (see page 10) ➔ JAN. 28 — LSP Small Grains Marketing Workshop, Albert Lea, Minn. (see page 21) ➔ JAN. 28 — LSP Winter Farm Transition Workshop: Goal Setting for Life & Land (see page 29) ➔ FEB. 1 — LSP “Land Access: Are You Ready?” Workshop, Inver Grove Heights, Minn. (see page 27) ➔ FEB. 4 — LSP Winter Farm Transition Workshop: Values & Why Farm Transition Planning is Needed (see page 29) ➔ FEB. 11 — LSP Winter Farm Transition Workshop: Financial Considerations (see page 29) ➔ FEB. 15 & 17— LSP Workshop on Values-Based Decision-Making Using Holistic Management, Maple Grove, Minn. (Feb. 15), and online (Feb. 17) (see page 26) ➔ FEB. 18 — LSP Winter Farm Transition Workshop: Legal Considerations (see page 29) ➔ FEB. 25 — LSP Winter Farm Transition Workshop: Working with Next Generation Farmers (see page 29) ➔ MARCH 4 — LSP Winter Farm Transition Workshop: Long Term Care Considerations (see page 29) ➔ MARCH 13 — 2025 LSP Family Farm Breakfast & Lobby Day at the Capitol, Saint Paul, Minn. (see page 11) ➔ MARCH 18 — LSP Winter Farm Transition Workshop: Resources & Planning, Next Steps & Presentations (see page 29) ➔ SUMMER — On-Farm Field Day Season Begins (see landstewardshipproject. org/upcoming-events) ➔ JULY 31 — LSP Twin Cities Cookout

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Latest LSP Events:

landstewardshipproject.org/ upcoming-events & Potluck, 5:30 p.m.-9 p.m., Minneapolis, Minn. Contact: Elizabeth Makarewicz, emakarewicz@landstewardshipproject.org ➔ AUG. 1 — Early Bird Registration Deadline for 2025-2026 LSP Farm Beginnings Class (see page 26) ➔ SEPT. 1 — Final Registration Deadline for 2025-2026 LSP Farm Beginnings Class (see page 26) ➔ NOVEMBER — First Session of 20252026 LSP Farm Beginnings Class Convenes (see page 26) ➔ MARCH— Last Session of 2025-2026 LSP Farm Beginnings Class (see page 26)

Support LSP’s Roots

he Land Stewardship Project’s ability to bring about a new farm and food system is rooted in our membership. For details on supporting our work, see page 35.

Go Public With Your LSP Support

here are numerous fun ways you can show your support publicly for the Land Stewardship Project. LSP has available for purchase t-shirts, caps, window decals, bandanas, tote bags, 8 x 10 metal barn signs, and the classic “Let’s Stop Treating Our Soil Like Dirt” bumper stickers. Order any of these items today at landstewardshipproject. org/shop or by calling LSP at 612-722-6377.

The Land Stewardship Letter