Land Stewardship LIVE-WIRE, May 23, 2005
Hello:
This is the 23rd issue of "Land Stewardship LIVE-WIRE," the Land Stewardship Project's e-mail newsletter. We send this out periodically to provide an update on activities and information related to LSP's work. We hope you enjoy this service, and are looking for feedback. Please send your comments to Brian DeVore at bdevore@landstewardshipproject.org.
If you prefer not to receive this newsletter, please e-mail lspwbl@landstewardshipproject.org and write, "remove LIVE-WIRE" in the subject line.
IN THIS ISSUE
1) Legislature: Stop Last Minute Attempt to Weaken Local Control
2) Art Show Deadline June 1
3) Grazing Workshops in SE Minn.
4) CROP Walk June 15
5) SE Annual Meeting June 25
6) Farm Credit Workshop in July
7) Policy Open House July 14
8) Farm Beginnings Field Day July 16
9) Minnesota Cooks! Aug. 30 at Minn. State Fair
10) Check the Calendar
11) Coming to a Mailbox Near You…
12) Take a Listen to Frances
13) 2005 CSA Directory Available
14) Worth Repeating
15) Worth Repeating II
16) Join LSP
1) LEGISLATURE: STOP LAST MINUTE ATTEMPT TO WEAKEN LOCAL CONTROL
Today is the last day of the (official) Minnesota legislative session and local democracy is under fire right up until the end. Literally as you read this, Senator Steve Dille is trying to insert new language into the Omnibus Ag Finance bill that would gut the ability of townships to enact temporary moratoriums on feedlots. There are two important calls that need to be made TODAY to stop this
attempt to weaken local control:
— Call Governor Tim Pawlenty at 651-296-3391 or 800-657-3717. Tell him that Senator Dille, the Chief Author of the Governor’s Livestock Siting bill (Senate File 1629), is proposing new language that dramatically weakens local control by gutting the power of townships to enact temporary moratoriums on large feedlots. The Governor needs to let all the conferees on the Ag and Environment
Finance conference committee know that he does not support this language and that it should not be offered as an amendment. If it is offered, the Governor’s office must testify against it; to do otherwise would indicate support for Senator Dille’s language.
— Call conference committee member Senator Dennis Fredrickson at 651-296-8138. Tell him that as a member of the conference committee he should not agree to Senator Dille’s new language that guts township powers to enact temporary moratoriums on large feedlots. Encourage him to support the compromise drafted by Senator Gary Kubly.
If you have time, the other Senators on the Ag and Environment conference committee should get the same message. These are: Senator Dallas Sams, 651-297-8063; Senator Kubly, 651-296-5094; Senator Thomas Bakk, 651-296-8881; and Senator Ellen Anderson, 651-296-5537.
2) ART SHOW DEADLINE JUNE 1
The current "show" featured at LSP's Stewardship Art Gallery is "Abundant Harvest." Thanks to all who contributed to this show. The deadline for the spring 2005 show is June 1. The theme this time around is "New Life on the Farm." For information on entry submission, click here.
3) GRAZING WORKSHOPS IN SE MINN.
A series of grazing management workshops will take place in southeastern
Minnesota this summer with Howard Moechnig, state grazing specialist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service. “Profitable Livestock Production by Better Understanding of Pasture Management” will be covered in three-hour sessions either on a farm or at agriculture service center offices. The fee for each is $10. Pre-registration two weeks prior to each session is required because
space is limited.
For locations and to register, call Diana Strain, Hiawatha Valley Resource Conservation and Development, at 507-281-1959, ext. 4. For other information, contact Caroline van Schaik in LSP’s Lewiston office by calling 507-523-3366 or e-mailing caroline@landstewardshipproject.org.
The following workshops have been organized:
• June 6: Pasture Forage Plant Identification, 1 p.m.-4 p.m.
• June 13: Strategies for Maximizing Forage Production, 1 p.m.-4 p.m.
• June 13: Pasture Monitoring, 6 p.m.-9 p.m.
• June 20: Pasture Monitoring, 1 p.m.-4 p.m.
• July 11: Livestock Watering Systems, 1 p.m.-4 p.m
• July 18: Livestock Watering Systems, 6 p.m.-9 p.m.
• July 25: Strategies for Maximizing Forage Production, 6 p.m.-9 p.m.
• Aug. 1: Fencing for Livestock/ Sensitive Area Identification and Management, 6 p.m.-9 p.m.
• Aug. 8: Fencing for Livestock/ Sensitive Area Identification and Management, 1 p.m.-4 p.m.
4) CROP WALK JUNE 15
“Life is a Garden” is the theme of the 2005 Chippewa County (Minn.) CROP Walk on Wednesday, June 15, from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. As in past years, LSP’s western Minnesota office is helping put on this anti-hunger fundraiser. For more information, contact LSP's Amy Bacigalupo at 320-269-2105 or amyb@landstewardshipproject.org.
5) SE ANNUAL MEETING JUNE 25
Chef Chad Reilander will once again be doing the hog roasting honors as members and friends gather June 25 for a “Food, Family and Farming” LSP celebration in southeast Minnesota. The hog roast/potluck, silent auction, and farm tours will run from 4
p.m. to 9 p.m. at the family farm of Dale and Carmene Pangrac, active members and certified organic dairy farmers outside Lewiston. Everybody is welcome but please call to reserve your spot at the table. For LSP members, tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for kids and $30 for a family. For non-members, the prices are $20 for adults, $5 for kids, and $50 per family. Please call our Lewiston office
at 507-523-3366 to reserve your tickets and for directions.
6) FARM CREDIT WORKSHOP IN JULY
Smart farm credit will be the subject of a special LSP workshop being offered in July. The eight-hour training will take place Friday evening, July 8, and Saturday, July 9, in western Minnesota. The workshop will take place in southeast Minnesota on the following Friday and Saturday, July 15-16. LouAnne Kling, director of Granite Falls’ Neighbors United Resource Center and member of LSP’s
Board of Directors, will be the principle instructor.
The workshop stems from LSP’s Farmer/Lender survey work, which quantified the need for better record-keeping by farmers in need of credit click here for more on this work). This workshop will address aspects of both record keeping and loan applications, with a goal of better preparing farmers to manage their farming as a business and feeling
confident when they enter a bank. Priority for enrollment will be given to Farm Beginnings™ graduates, with the public welcome as space permits. Participants will be expected to work from their Farm Beginnings™ course business plans or case studies (to be provided), so that everyone has real numbers with which to practice.
For details, contact Caroline van Schaik in LSP’s Lewiston office at 507-523-3366 or caroline@landstewardshipproject.org.
7) POLICY OPEN HOUSE JULY 14
The fourth annual Policy Program Open House/Cookout will be Thursday, July 14, from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at 2919 42nd St. E. in Minneapolis. As in the past, there will be good company, good conversation and good food. There will also be a short program with a policy and organizing update and opportunities to take action for people and the land. For more information, call 612-722-6377 or e-mail
mcmahon@landstewardshipproject.org.
8) FARM BEGINNINGS™ FIELD DAY JULY 16
There will be a Farm Beginnings™ field day Saturday, July 16, at One Sun Farm near the southwest Wisconsin community of LaFarge, Wis. This field day, which is free and open to the public, will feature Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) production &
permaculture. For more information and directions, contact: Laura Borgendale at laurab@lanstewardshipproject.org or Cathy Twohig at cathyt@landstewardshipproject.org at 320-269-2105.
9) MINNESOTA COOKS! AUG. 30 AT MINN. STATE FAIR
The third annual Minnesota Cooks! event will be Tuesday, Aug. 30, at the Minnesota State Fair. It will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the State Fair’s Carousel Park (near the Grandstand). This event will showcase local farmers and feature Twin Cities chefs preparing Food Alliance-certified products. For more information, contact the Food Alliance at 651-265-3684.
10) CHECK THE CALENDAR
Whew! It’s going to be a busy summer. There are many other great events on tap during the next several weeks. For the latest on meetings, field days and other activities, check out the LSP calendar.
11) COMING TO A MAILBOX NEAR YOU...
After hearing France Moore Lappé speak in Winona this winter, we were inspired to think about the many ways that Land Stewardship Project embodies “living democracy.” The result was a special appeal letter that most of you should receive around the end of May that tells the story of ninth grader Kayla Koether’s trip to Washington, D.C., with her dad Greg and 12 other
farmers from Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois and Ohio. In addition to telling you more about the LSP-sponsored “fly-in” in March, the letter also highlights the other creative ways that our members and programs are strengthening democracy through citizen action (see our website for links to even more information about these exciting efforts). This very important work requires funds, however,
and so the letter also asks you to consider a special gift above your membership (or to renew or join, if you do not have a current membership). Make a donation right now on our secure website.
12) TAKE A LISTEN TO FRANCES
Speaking of Frances Moore Lappé, for an MP3 audio clip of her Winona talk click here. For more on Lappé's talk, see the January/February/March 2005 Land Stewardship Letter.
13) 2005 CSA DIRECTORY AVAILABLE
CSA deliveries will start soon but there are still a few farm membership spots available. The 2005 Twin Cities Area CSA Directory lists two dozen CSA operations that deliver fresh, sustainably-raised vegetables to the Twin Cities on a weekly basis during the growing season. For a free copy, click here. For information on getting a free paper copy, call
Louise Arbuckle at 651-653-0618 or e-mail her at lspwbl@landstewardshipproject.org.
14) WORTH REPEATING
“What is the main purpose of agriculture in this country? If it is to feed people and support rural communities, as we believe it is, then taking a serious look at funding cuts being proposed for the U.S. agricultural budget is critical.”— Food bank director Carla Johnson and LSP member-farmer Dave Serfling, writing in the Winona Daily
News.
15) WORTH REPEATING II
“Tension is created in a community as soon as a development's backers assume their particular proposal trumps the concerns of residents who have to live with it on a daily basis. When such tension emerges in a community, and preferably before that, as many people as possible, not just a few special interests with powerful friends, need to be involved in articulating visions for the future.
Such involvement is bound to make some uncomfortable, especially when the answers generated aren't what they want to hear.”— LSP Executive Director George Boody, writing in Agri News.
16) JOIN LSP
The work of LSP, including the LIVE-WIRE, is supported by the donations of people like you. To become a member, give a gift membership, or donate an extra gift above your membership, click here. If you have questions about membership, contact cathye@landstewardshipproject.org.
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