To understand why the Forever Green Initiative is so important to the future of Minnesota’s landscape, one has to consider this: there is a big difference between agricultural productivity and… Read more »
Posts Tagged: water quality
Prepping Prairie Strips for the Real World
Gary Van Ryswyk’s concern for how his farming methods impact the landscape is obvious. A practitioner of a no-till system that avoids disturbing a field’s surface as much as possible,… Read more »
Teaming With Soil Microbes (part 2)
Talking about the importance of feeding soil microbes is fine. Speaking with your feet is even better. “Take a closer look—anything you tramp down is just carbon in the soil,”… Read more »
Teaming with Soil Microbes (part 1)
On a crisp morning in September, North Dakota farmer Gabe Brown held two handfuls of soil and searched for signs of life—theoretically not a difficult task considering one teaspoon of… 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… Read more »
Restoring Watershed Health: Drop-by-Drop
Another rainy Friday: a good time to contemplate what trying to produce food on an industrial scale has done to our natural plumbing—and how it pays back the favor. Recommend… Read more »
The Local Bias of Biomass
In a recent LSP podcast (episode 84), James Barbour provided a nice explanation of why an energy system based on biomass has a lot to offer local economies. Recommend on… Read more »
When a Farmland Spring Gives Up its Secrets
I find springs—those places where groundwater exposes itself to the sunlight of its own accord—fascinating. There’s something special about seeing firsthand an entity that’s recently been lurking underground in dark… Read more »