It was already good news for our state’s water when the Legislature killed a proposal that would have exempted many of our largest factory farms from getting NPDES permits. But when the EPA announced this week that it was significantly changing its regulatory relationship with factory farms, it became clear not passing House File 2659 was good common sense as well, maybe even a little prescient. (more…)

By the time the 2010 session of the Minnesota Legislature convened Monday, proposals that would have weakened environmental standards for factory farms and undermined environmental review on the local level were dead. As a result of work on the part of members of LSP and other organizations, lawmakers got the message that factory farms already cost Minnesota’s communities too much in terms of pollution, displacement of family farms and lost property values, and environmental standards should be strengthened, not weakened. (more…)

The USDA announced this week that farmers have until June 11 to fill out an application for the latest round of Conservation Stewardship Program contracts. That’s a narrow window of opportunity at a time of year when time is precious in Farm Country. But if farmers do have the time, it’s worth stopping by their local NRCS office and checking out CSP, warts and all. Right now, it’s the best bet out there for federal policy that rewards environmentally-friendly practices on working farmland. (more…)

The USDA is drafting new meat testing regulations for small processors that could deal a serious blow to the local foods movement. If they go through, these regulations may force small meat processors to reduce the number of products they offer, increase prices for processing, discontinue processing under inspection, or worse, shut down altogether. Anyone who has bought meat directly from a local farmer knows how key of a link these state and federally-inspected small-town butchers form in the farm-to-consumer food chain. (more…)

Just in time for the Seward Co-op CSA Fair this weekend, LSP has revamped its interactive map of drop sites for CSA farms that deliver to the Twin Cities. Click here and figure out which farms deliver fresh food to your neighborhood or other convenient drop site. Around 10 of the farms listed in LSP’s 2010 CSA Directory are already sold out, so time’s- a-wasting.

The National Research Council’s announcement this week that “genetically engineered crops benefit many farmers” and is in general good for the environment came with a big fat caveat: overuse of GMO products like Roundup Ready corn and soybeans threatens to undermine any potential benefits while creating unforeseen problems. That’s why the scientists who authored the NRC’s report fell back on the tried-and-true “more research is needed” conclusion to cover themselves. It certainly is—just consider the recent news that the herbicide glyphosate (a linchpin in the Roundup Ready system) is threatening the soil’s ability to create a healthy growing medium for crops. That’s not just a regrettable side effect that puts a bit of a tarnish on a silver bullet—it’s a potential bombshell that changes everything farmers (and environmentalists) have been led to believe about this ubiquitous herbicide. (more…)

As we’ve said in this blog before, a conversation with Ken Meter of the Crossroads Resource Center is always an enlightening experience. His economic analyses of food and farming systems here in Minnesota and across the country have provided some real eye-opening insights into just how dysfunctional our corn-bean-feedlot machine is. Most recently, he’s taken his examination of our food and farming system one step further and looked at how it affects Minnesotans’ health. It turns out economics is a key element here as well. As he told me during a recent LSP podcast: “Healthy eating has economic implications, and is also limited by economics.” To see what Meter means, check out the podcast (episode 77) and his latest study.

While driving in southern Minnesota this week, I gazed upon acre-after-acre of  black fields—a sign that despite a wet fall, a lot of intense tillage took place before the snow flew a few months ago. Such tillage not only gives crop farmers a jump-start on the spring planting season, it also provides a nice cover for any pesky seasonal wetlands that may be lurking beneath the soil, according to the experts at Ag PhD TV. Check out this unbelievable episode from the program, which basically provides a step-by-step “how-to” for convincing the Natural Resources Conservation Service into believing a particular field isn’t good for anything but growing more corn and soybeans. (more…)

It’s refreshing when people in power pull the curtain aside, drop the feel-good rhetoric momentarily and offer a glimpse at what they are really thinking. It’s also a little frightening. After years of claiming he’s “size neutral” when it comes to agricultural policy, Rep. Al Juhnke (DFL-Willmar) announced during a March 11 House committee hearing that “smaller” livestock farms are “our biggest problems” when it comes to environmental pollution. (more…)

It’s as predictable as the spring thaw. The Minnesota Legislature is yet again trying to weaken environmental review of large developments such as factory farms. This time around, the excuse for making the ideas in  Senate File 2761 and House File 3079 into law is “greater efficiency.” Watch out. (more…)