While recording a recent LSP podcast interview with southwest Minnesota farmer Carmen Fernholz, I was reminded of how important it is that farmers identify closely with the land they’re producing a livelihood from. As Fernholz put it: “If you’re a good farmer you can’t help but become attached to the land. And when you become… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Food and Sustainable Agriculture
First on the Agenda Thursday: Weaken Local Control
Well, that didn’t take long. Tomorrow, at the very first meeting of the Minnesota House Government Operations and Elections Committee, lawmakers will take up House File 389, which weakens township, county and city local control. This legislation needs to be stopped before it even gets out of the starting gate. For details on how to… Read more »
A Chance to Advance Urban Ag in Mpls. on Jan. 23
By Anna Cioffi, Land Stewardship Project On Monday, Jan. 23, there will be a public hearing of the Minneapolis Planning Commission to discuss proposed draft changes to the zoning code as it pertains to urban agriculture. LSP supports the passage of these draft changes as a first step. However, there are still improvements that could… Read more »
Eating Our Own Farm Financial Cooking
One winter evening in 1999 I was sitting in on a Farm Beginnings class being held in the southeast Minnesota community of Plainview when a local banker stood up and made a statement that about knocked me out of my chair. “We need to eat our own cooking,” said the banker, Dean Harrington. The statement… Read more »
Denying the Science, Derailing the Solutions
I talked to a Todd County farmer yesterday who uses 100 percent no-till and other conservation measures to raise his crops. Conserving soil is important to him, and so he’s quite upset at how mobile humus has been on neighboring farms this fall/early winter. “You know that little skiff of snow we got the other… Read more »
CSA Farmers: Deadline for 2012 Directory Listing is Jan. 17
If you are a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farmer who delivers to the Twin Cities, outstate Minnesota or western Wisconsin, you have until Tuesday, Jan. 17, to get listed in LSP’s 2012 CSA Directory. For details on getting listed, click here. Recommend on Facebook Share on google plus Tweet about it
Conversations with the Land
Many good arguments can be made for supporting a type of agriculture less reliant on energy, technology and Wall Street, and more on soil, communities and people: it’s better for the environment, produces good food and keeps more Main Street businesses open, to name a few. But after reading Jim Van Der Pol’s just-published collection… Read more »
Why ‘Middleman’ Doesn’t Have to be a Dirty Word for Farmers
At a time when we’re all scanning the dark horizon of recession land for any economic spark, local food systems look to be a flare-up that’s got some staying power. The past several weeks have been full of signs that both in Minnesota and nationally producing and consuming food in our own collective backyard isn’t… Read more »
Help Make Urban Ag a Vibrant Part of Our Community Next Week
By Anna Cioffi If implemented correctly, the proposed city zoning code text amendments recommended by the Urban Agriculture Policy Plan for Minneapolis could play a key role in supporting urban farms, community gardens, farmers’ markets, farm stands and other elements of a vibrant urban agriculture economy. But to create a good final plan, we need… Read more »
D.C. Takes a Dive on Livestock Market Reform
Happy 90th Birthday Packers and Stockyards Act. One present you won’t be getting is a new set of teeth. This week, decision makers in Washington let down family farmers, rural communities and the free market when the USDA announced it intends to publish only limited portions of the Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA)… Read more »