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Land Stewardship LIVE-WIRE, September 21, 2006 Hello: This is the 39th issue of "Land Stewardship LIVE-WIRE," the Land Stewardship Project's e-mail newsletter. 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) FARM BEGINNINGS CLASSES BEGIN IN OCTOBER There are still a few spots available in LSP’s Farm Beginnings course. Classes will begin in Winona Oct. 14 and in Hutchinson Oct. 28. For information on enrolling in Farm Beginnings or serving as a mentor, contact LSP’s southeast Minnesota office at 507-523-3366. In western Minnesota, call 320-269-2105. Details are at http://www.farmbeginnings.org. 2) ‘VOICES’ SHOWING SEPT. 23 IN MINNEAPOLIS “Voices of Minnesota Farm Women” will be shown on Saturday, Sept. 23, beginning at 7 p.m., at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Minneapolis. For details, call Carol Masters at 612-729-8358. 3) PRIDE OF THE PRAIRIE LOCAL FOOD DEADLINE SEPT. 25 Are you a western Minnesota farmer who markets your farm products directly to area residents, retailers or institutions? You have until Monday, Sept. 25, to get your farm and farm products listed in the second edition of the Pride of the Prairie's Local Food Guide. See http://www.landstewardshipproject.org/pr/06/newsr_060912.htm for more information. 4) PASTURES A’ PLENTY OPEN HOUSE SEPT. 30 IN WESTERN MINN. The VanDerPol family of Kerkhoven, Minn., will be showing off their new on-farm retail/office facilities during an open house on Saturday, Sept. 30, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The building is part of Pastures A’ Plenty’s further expansion into direct marketing of its sustainably raised pork products. The farm’s pork is certified by Food Alliance Midwest (http://www.landstewardshipproject.org/programs_mwfa.html) The Sept. 30 event will feature tours, hayrides and a raffle. For directions, call 866-290-2469. The open house is being held in conjunction with the third annual Upper Minnesota River Arts Meander Sept. 30 to Oct. 1. For details on the Arts Meander, contact LSP’s western Minnesota office at 320-269-2105 or lspwest@landstewardshipproject.org. 5) LOCAL FOODS BANQUET IN MINNEAPOLIS SEPT. 30 St. James Episcopal Church on the Parkway in South Minneapolis will be holding its second annual neighborhood local foods banquet Saturday, Sept. 30, starting at 5:30 p.m. It will feature locally produced music and food, as well as a talk on how to make local foods part of institutional meal programs. For more information, contact LSP member Susan Maas at scomaas@earthlink.net. 6) SEE A MAZE OF MAIZE SEPT. 30 Gilbertson Farms in Scandia, Minn., will be hosting a “Salute to Our Troops” fundraiser and corn maze grand opening on Saturday, Sept. 30, from 9 a.m. until dusk. The Gilbertsons are LSP members and their produce operation is certified by Food Alliance Midwest (http://www.landstewardshipproject.org/programs_mwfa.html). Besides the premiere of their corn maze, the Gilbertsons will feature roasted corn-on-the cob, a craft sale, pedal go-cart track, pedal tractor play area, duck races, a pick-your-own pumpkin patch and fresh produce. A portion of the proceeds from admissions will go to support the local Family Support Group for U.S. troops. For details, visit http://www.gilbertsonfarms.com, or call 651-433-2227. For more on the Gilbertsons, see the Oct/Nov/Dec Land Stewardship Letter (http://www.landstewardshipproject.org/news-lsl.html). 7) INDIA’S TOP RURAL JOURNALIST TO SPEAK OCT. 4 AT U of M Palagummi Sainath, one of India’s most respected journalists, will give a talk at the University of Minnesota on Wednesday, Oct. 4, called “Nero’s Guests: Globalization and the Age of Inequality.” The talk, which begins at 6:30 p.m., will be held in Room 425 of Blegen Hall on the West Bank of the campus (269 19th Ave. South). Admission is free. For more information, visit http://aidmn.org/sainath or call Dwiji at 612-803-0296. Over the years, Sainath has earned an international reputation for his coverage of a population that is often ignored by other journalists: the several hundred million poor farmers in India’s rural districts. He has written about agricultural subsidies, starvation deaths and the daily struggles of farmers who have suicide rates that are of epidemic proportions. Sainath’s work has led to key governmental reforms. For more on Sainath, see http://www.indiatogether.org/opinions/psainath/. The journalist will also be participating in a Green Routes tour of the Minnesota River Valley on Friday, Oct. 6. For details on the tour, call Renewing the Countryside at 866-378-0587, or visit http://www.greenroutes.org. 8) LSP ON-LINE AUCTION OCT. 26-NOV. 2 LSP’s on-line charity auction will be Oct. 26 to Nov. 2. Plan on getting an early start on your holiday shopping, finding unique handcrafted gifts and valuable services -- all from the comfort of your home. And here is the best part: 100 percent of your on-line purchases will benefit the programs of LSP. Details on how you can log in and participate in the auction will be available at http://www.landstewardshipproject.org in early October. For our on-line auction to be a success, we need your help. Do you have a lake cabin or a farm stay that you'd be willing to make available for a week or a weekend? Handcrafted or locally grown items you'd be willing to donate? Unique services like a nature tour or canoe trip (or even ordinary ones like oil changes or hair cuts) that you'd be willing to offer? Be creative. We welcome all gift ideas big or small. If you can donate an item or service yourself, if you know of individuals or businesses that might be willing to donate, or if you are interested in volunteering to help with the auction, contact Cathy Eberhart at 651-653-0618 or cathye@landstewardshipproject.org. 9) ‘VOICES’ SHOWING OCT. 29 IN MINNEAPOLIS There will be a “Voices of Minnesota Farm Women” showing on Sunday, Oct. 29, beginning at 10:30 a.m., during the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom annual meeting at Becketwood Co-op Housing on West River Road in Minneapolis. For more information, contact Leslie Reindl at 651-633-4410. 10) FLAG’S FARM FRESH BREAKFAST NOV. 17 IN ST. PAUL Farmers’ Legal Action Group (FLAG) will celebrate its 20th anniversary with a “Farm Fresh Breakfast” Friday, Nov. 17, from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul. For details, call 651-223-5400, or visit http://www.flaginc.org. 11) HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE IN MONTEVIDEO DEC. 14 LSP’s western Minnesota office will hold its holiday open house/silent auction fundraiser on Thursday, Dec. 14. For details, contact Michele Skogrand at 320-269-2105 or lspwest@landstewardshipproject.org. 12) CHECK THE CALENDAR See http://www.landstewardshipproject.org/index-calendar.html for the latest events. Details on events can also be found on our "Press Releases" page at http://www.landstewardshipproject.org/news-pr.html. 13) WHEN A FACTORY FARM COMES TO TOWN LSP has recently published an updated version of its popular township manual, “When a Factory Farm Comes to Town: Protecting Your Township From Unwanted Development.” First published in 1997, this resource has proven to be an invaluable guide for Minnesota townships that want to use planning and zoning to protect their communities. To learn how you can get a copy, see http://www.landstewardshipproject.org/pr/06/newsr_060921.htm. 14) STAR TRIBUNE: STOP PUNISHING STEWARDSHIP FARMERS The lead editorial in the Sept. 20 Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper describes how farmers like LSP members Dan and Cara Miller are punished for utilizing diverse farming systems that don’t rely exclusively on program crops such as corn and soybeans. The editorial, which is part of the Star Tribune’s “With Water in Mind” series, cites findings from a Multiple Benefits of Agriculture study LSP was involved in as proof that good water quality and profitable farming are not mutually exclusive. See http://www.startribune.com/561/story/687993.html for the editorial, which includes an interview/slideshow with Dan Miller. For more on LSP’s Multiple Benefits of Agriculture research, see http://www.landstewardshipproject.org/programs_mba.html. 15) RIPLEY TOWNSHIP WINS LEGAL BATTLE AGAINST MEGA-DAIRY A District Court Judge has ruled that a mega-dairy’s challenge of a southeast Minnesota township’s planning and zoning ordinance that bans the construction of livestock operations over 1,500 animal units was “without merit.” The judge ruled in favor of Dodge County’s Ripley Township. The township had been sued by Ripley Dairy LLP, which for over four years has been proposing a controversial 3,000-animal unit mega-dairy in the township. For details on the ruling, see http://www.landstewardshipproject.org/pr/06/newsr_060816.htm. The mega-dairy’s investors have also announced that they are dropping plans to pursue having a nearby town annex Ripley Township so that the project can go forward. More on that is at http://www.winonadailynews.com/articles/2006/09/12/news/00lead0912.txt. 16) GARDENS OF EAGAN DEFLECTS PIPELINE Minnesota Pipeline Company has agreed to not put a crude oil pipeline across the fields of Gardens of Eagan, a certified organic farm in Dakota County (see the April/May/June 2006 Land Stewardship Letter at http://www.landstewardshipproject.org/news-lsl.html). There are indications this has set a precedent for policy when it comes to developments that affect organic farmers. However, the pipeline could still have negative impacts on farms all along its proposed route. For more on this issue, see http://www.gardensofeagan.com and http://www.startribune.com/535/story/685979.html. 17) LSP MEMBERS NEED HELP In August, an F3 tornado hit the southern Minnesota farm of LSP members Dan and Terese Hall. Fortunately, no one was injured. However, their home and almost all of the buildings on their farmstead--including their fencing business--were destroyed. If you would like to help the Halls get their feet under them and begin rebuilding, you can send donations to: Hall Family Tornado Fund, First National Bank of St. James, 202 First Ave. South, St. James, MN 56081. 18) LSP LAUNCHES BLOG LSP has entered the “blogosphere.” We are writing a weekly “food and sustainable agriculture” blog for the Minnesota Environmental Partnership at http://looncommons.org/category/food-and-sustainable-agriculture. Check out our well-reasoned rants and give us your equally well-reasoned feedback. 19) PODCAST FEATURES KOETHER FAMILY LSP’s latest Ear to the Ground podcast features a field report from the Koether family farm in northeast Iowa’s karst region. The Koethers are utilizing grazing and other systems to produce livestock sustainably in an environmentally fragile area. Hear what Greg Koether has to say at http://www.thepodlounge.com/listfeed.php?feed=34810 (it’s Ear to the Ground No. 24). 20) WORTH REPEATING “There was no day dreaming allowed.” – LSP member and vegetable producer Carol Ford, quoted in the West Central Tribune about her Farm Beginnings experience (http://www.wctrib.com/articles/index.cfm?id=11154§ion=homepage) 21) WORTH REPEATING II “It’s great to realize that I’m the third generation here and there could be the fourth and fifth and they could do it, all the while building the farm, building the soil and not degrading the environment.” – LSP member and farmer Greg Koether, speaking on Ear to the Ground No. 24 (http://www.thepodlounge.com/listfeed.php?feed=34810). 22) WORTH REPEATING III “I think about the fact that what goes down that creek might end up in the Mississippi Delta.” – LSP member and farmer Dan Miller, talking about his stewardship ethic as part of the Star Tribune’s “With Water in Mind” editorial series (http://www.startribune.com/561/story/687993.html) 23) 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, see http://www.landstewardshipproject.org/index-joinus.html. If you have questions about membership, contact cathye@landstewardshipproject.org. LSP_LIVE-WIRE is the Land Stewardship Project's e-mail newsletter. To change your options or password, visit www.communityforum.net/mailman/listinfo/lsp_live-wire.
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