Farming alliance pushes for action

Lawmaking in Minnesota is moving rapidly this year, and Carlton County farmers are pushing to make their voice heard.

Several members of the Land Stewardship Project (LSP) met in Barnum on Feb. 17 and planned a call for area citizens to join in a Family Farm Breakfast and Lobby Day at the Capitol April 13. Affordable health care, expanded meat processing services, augmented farm-to-school programs, and soil enrichment are key issues.

The LSP is a statewide, private, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that recently celebrated 40 years of working to foster an ethic of stewardship for farmland, to promote sustainable agriculture, and to develop healthy communities. Members include farmers and consumers who share those goals.

Paula Williams, a rural landowner and advocate for affordable health insurance, stated that a measure now under consideration would expand MinnesotaCare to allow residents to buy in regardless of income and pay premiums on a sliding scale based on earnings. This would help certain farmers who heretofore have kept their earnings low in order to qualify for MinnesotaCare and others who forgo care because they can't afford the high deductibles on the individual market.

LSP organizer Laura Schreiber highlighted efforts to build out training programs and infrastructure that will make meat processing operations more widely available throughout the state. This will benefit meat growers, many of whom have to schedule processing a year in advance and transport livestock over long distances.

LSP's Emily Minge pointed to farm-to-school programs, which assist schools that prioritize local farmers when buying produce, have grown in number and build community.

Kelly Smith, a retired Carlton Soil and Water Conservation District technician, reported on a plan to develop a food hub in Duluth that would aggregate produce from local farmers and process it for large institutions in town.

John Fisher-Merritt, who founded the Food Farm and who mentors growers in the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, spoke about enriching soil health with regenerative practices such as cover cropping, composting, and low-till cultivating.

Timothy Soden-Groves, a writer and community organizer residing in Duluth, emphasized that many area LSP members live in cities or towns. As consumers, they prioritize locally grown produce and are strong supporters of LSP's mission to foster sustainable agriculture while developing healthy communities.

The working group will hold an open meeting at the Carlton County Transportation Center at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 30, to choose focus points for legislators to hear. All interested folks are invited to participate.

On April 13, the Family Farm Breakfast and Lobby Day will begin with a breakfast, after which Carlton County participants will go to the Capitol building and meet with House Representatives Nathan Nelson and Jeff Dotseth, and Sen. Jason Rarick. Accommodations for the night before can be arranged. Further information, including pre-registration, can be found at land stewardshipproject.org/tag/family-farm-breakfast or by calling LSP at 612-722-6377.

Establishing a relationship between constituents and legislators, regardless of party affiliation, can be effective in achieving goals that will benefit more people.

John Sanford "Sandy" Dugan lives in rural Wrenshall.