LSP's Ear to the Ground

Mapping a rural region’s “community food assets” reveals isolated islands of opportunity in a sea of corn and soybeans. LSP’s Scott DeMuth says now is the time to connect the dots and create a new relationship between farmers, eaters, and the places they live in. For a transcript of this podcast, click here.More Information:LSP’s Community-Based Food Systems Web Page Report: Strengthening community food webs in the Upper Minnesota River ValleyEar to the Ground 335: Bumping ElbowsEar to the Ground 332: Real Food, Real ImpactEar to the Ground 331: Reality CheckEar to the Ground 322: Lunchroom StewardshipEar to the Ground 284: Hive of Healthy Activity

Elyssa Eull’s tiny farm is tucked between railroad tracks and an empty lot in the heart of a major metropolitan area, but its city soil is producing food on a commercial scale.More Information:LSP’s Farm Beginnings CourseCalifornia Street FarmTwin Cities Metro Growers NetworkUSDA Urban Agriculture Programs at a GlanceUSDA Urban Ag & Innovative Production GrantsEar to the Ground 339: Urban Ag’s Moment

Since taking over their family’s livestock operation, Parker and Sam Beard have added a few new twists. But one thing will never change: those hills will remain in grass.More Information:LSP’s Grazing & Soil Health Web Page LSP’s Farm Transitions Tools Web PageIowa Organic Association

By building soil biology via managed grazing, Langdon Collom is learning that expanding a farm’s capacity doesn’t always require horizontal expansion — sometimes you can simply go vertical.More Information:LSP’s Grazing & Soil Health Web Page Match Made in Heaven: Livestock + Crops Sustainable Farming Association Midwest Grazing Exchange Minnesota Cropland Grazing Exchange

At a time when rural residents are grappling with high food insecurity, an innovative Wisconsin program is connecting local farmers with local eaters.More Information:Wisconsin Local Food Purchase Assistance ProgramLSP’s Community-Based Food Systems Web PageLatino Economic Development CenterThreshing Table Farm

Soil conservationist Julie Reberg sees composting as a “very scientific art form” that can transform waste into biological bullion.More Information:LSP’s Soil Microbiology Web PageNRCS Manure Composting Fact SheetEar to the Ground 358: Low Input – High ReturnsEar to the Ground 352: Land of the LivingEar to the Ground 292: Working the Microbes

Alex Udermann and his family at Meadowbrook Dairy were tired of working harder and harder for less and less. So they invested in building the kind of healthy soil that pays off economically, environmentally, and from a quality of life point of view.More Information:LSP’s Soil Health Web PageMinnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program

As farmers from across the region haul corn past Allen and Kathleen Deutz’s farm to the local ethanol plant, they can’t help but notice fences, livestock, and a diversity of plants. What’s not as immediately evident is how this counter-intuitive way of farming is building long-term soil health and resilience.More Information:LSP’s Soil Health Web PageMatch Made in Heaven: Livestock + CropsRedwood River Farms

Thinking of applying for NRCS funds? First, advises vegetable and livestock farmer Klaus Zimmermann-Mayo, figure out what kind of farming you want to do and how you want to do it.More Information:Whetstone Farm Go Farm Connect NRCS Environmental Quality Incentives Program NRCS Service Center Locator

Father-son team Joe and Matthew Fitzgerald are quite willing to share their insights with other farmers on how to get started in organic crop production. First piece of advice: sell your fishing boat.More Information:• Fitzgerald Organic Mad Agriculture Video • Organic Agronomy Training Service • LSP Soil Health Web Page

When Jay Fuhrer first started talking to his conservation colleagues about a different approach to protecting and building soil, he ended up eating lunch alone. But eventually the Burleigh County Soil Health Team helped launch a movement that’s showing how farming, the environment, and local economies benefit when people stop accepting soil as a degraded resource.More Information:Ear to the Ground 353: 7 Years LaterLSP Soil Health Web Page Menoken Farm Web Site2012 LSL Article on Burleigh County Soil Health Team

Jon and Carin Stevens farm unforgiving land that leaves little room for mistakes. But thanks to a system based on no-till, cover cropping, and reintegrating livestock, a “victory year” has finally emerged from the ashes of failure.More Information:LSP Soil Health Web PageMaple Grove Farms YouTube Page

Soil health expert Stephanie McLain has found that once farmers start seeking life in the bottom of a red Solo cup, there’s no turning back.More InformationLSP Soil Health Web PageNRCS Soil Health Web Page

Jerry and Nancy Ackermann’s use of no-till and cover-cropping is building healthier soil, boosting beneficial bugs, and bolstering a positive financial bottom line.More Information:LSP’s No-till Web Page LSP’s Cover Crops Web Page Jerry Ackermann Video: Setting Up Your Equipment for Soil Health