Land Stewardship Project

See schedule othe Land Stewardship Project's policy organizing starts from values - like Stewardship and justice - and then organizes people, resources, and ideas to build the power to make a difference. Lsp works at the local, state, and national levels to change corporate, governmental, and institutional policies and practices.to build on the $5 million in state funding for soil health lsp won in the 2021 legislative session, lsp is supporting the development of programs funded through that work. This year, lsp organized farmers to provide direct feedback to state agencies offering financial incentives to farmers who utilize soil health practices such as cover crops, no till, and rotational grazing. Based on this feedback, programs that initially focused on farmers utilizing soil health practices for the first time now also support farmers already committed to regenerative agriculture to expand their work, which is key to creating lasting change on the landscape over time. To support rural people working to stop the establishment of factory farms in their communities, lsp worked with residents of nine Minnesota counties to educate their neighbors and develop strategies to make their voices heard.lsp has a longstanding commitment in its theory of change and longrange plan to addressing racial justice. Lsp's unique role often involves working in partnerships as well as engaging rural people on issues of racial justice to identify interconnections between our issues and their own selfinterest. This year, lsp deepened relationships with black, indigenous, and people of color (bipoc)led organizations through collaborations including joining the heal food alliance policy working group and codeveloping and deploying a survey of more than 700 farmers with midwest farmers of color collective to inform shared policy priorities for the 2023 farm bill.

See schedule othe soil health program works with farmers, landowners, natural resource professionals, and scientists to promote agricultural systems that treat soil as a longterm investment that can result in a more resilient landscape, thriving farms, and vibrant communities. Lsp's farmerled model supports landscapelevel change by directly supporting the adoption of regenerative agricultural practices that reduce runoff, reduce emissions, improve soil fertility and farm viability, and increase the Land's resilience in the face of the existing impacts of climate change. Based on responses to a summer 2022 survey, lsp estimates that we have directly impacted the adoption of soil health practices on more than 48,000 acres to date.more than 659 farmers and landowners attended events including film screenings, field days, grazing and marketing workshops, and a speaking tour across southern Minnesota with Texas grazier alejandro carillo. Four groups of 10 farmers and grazers participated in lsp's soil hubs and grazing groups, peer learning groups that meet regularly to share best practices for building soil health, troubleshoot, and build relationships. Lsp held 130 onetoone meetings with farmers and rural people to understand their personal interest in building soil health. Additionally, lsp expanded its soil builders' network, a list of people who regularly receive invitations to events along with digital resources, by 1,000 people.lsp ran a billboard campaign to drive awareness of soil health practices and counter the corporate agricultural advertisements that inundate rural communities. The billboards generated conversation among local farmers as well as attention from local and agricultural press outlets.in february 2022, lsp's soil health team facilitated a 30person racial and economic justice workshop in stockton, Minnesota that built on farmers and rural community members' lived experiences to make key connections between the economic forces and racial inequities at play in rural communities.

See schedule omembership, outreach, and communications the advancement department houses lsp's membership and individual giving team, which conducts ongoing outreach, recruitment, renewal, fundraising, and engagement of lsp's members and supporters.during the year ending june 30, 2022, the team engaged 4,075 member households with lsp updates, membership appeals, action alerts, and organic and paid social media. The team communicated directly with more than 225,000 people about regenerative agriculture, state and federal policies, and healthy communities through mailed letters, emails, phone calls, text messages, personal visits, and social media. Lsp's communications department produced 3 issues of the Land Stewardship letter, which provided ongoing coverage of lsp's work and its role in the wider context of the movement. On average, 5,000 copies were printed and distributed for each issue. Lsp's enewsletter,livewire, was sent to 20,000 subscribers each month.lsp successfully transitioned its constituent relationship management (crm) tool to better support the growing needs of the organization. Lsp is now equipped with tools that allow it to engage its members, track the outcomes of its work, and evaluate the effectiveness of its efforts more effectively.

Lsp's farm beginnings program supports aspiring and new farmers to launch and sustain successful farm businesses through farmertofarmer training, support, and connection to lsp's broader farmer network. This work includes a nationallyrecognize beginning farmer course that over 25 years has trained more than 1,000 people, 70% of whom are still farming according to lsp's annual graduate surveys.ninetynine individuals (66 farm units) applied to the 20212022 farm beginnings class and 53 individuals (representing 37 farms) were accepted. Of those accepted, 17 identified as black, indigenous, people of color (bipoc) and 26 as women or nonbinary. Lsp awarded $10,150 in scholarships with $5,200 going to bipoc participants specifically.farm beginnings has received important feedback about our programming that is helping lsp make the class more inclusive and welcoming to beginning farmers of all backgrounds. Based on feedback from partners, paid consultants, and class participants, lsp made several changes in its 20212022 farm beginnings class including but not limited to bringing in more farmers of color as presenters, simplifying the class application and scholarship application processes, providing alternative options for application (video application, audio interview), increased time for small group discussions, asking farm service agency to address historic discrimination in lending, and increased time allotted in class for Land access discussion and resource sharing.

Lsp's work with retiring farmers transitioning their Land, previously referred to as the farm legacy initiative, is now known as Land access/land legacy (lall). This program serves retiring and beginning farmers seeking to build thriving rural communities based in Stewardship values by supporting both of these groups to prepare for their Land access/land transition process, actively creating opportunities for beginning and emerging farmers to access Land and addressing structural barriers to equitable Land access.lsp conducted 50 onetoone meetings with members, partners, and others in its broader network to center its Land return and Land access work in the needs of the people most impacted by these issues. Lsp intentionally focused on beginning farmers, new and aspiring farmers underrepresented in agriculture, retiring farmers, nonoperating landowners, professionals who are involved in the Land transition process, and allied organizations led by people of color.onetoone meetings also supported lsp's efforts to identify a steering committee to lead its Land return, Land access, and Land legacy work. In addition to onetoones, lsp invited staff, board, and members to forums on Land access, sought recommendations from allied partners, and drafted a volunteer role description for steering committee participation that was circulated via its networks. After a roughly 1year process, lsp recruited a 12member steering committee that is intentionally diverse in terms of age, class, race, experience in Land ownership/land access, experience in Land transition/return, and professional and personal experience. The steering committee met for the first time in march and is now meeting every other month to define and lead the strategy and development of the program.

Through storytelling and indepth journalism, lsp seeks to educate the public and targeted constituencies about environmental Stewardship, regenerative farming, rural issues, and social justice, and about its efforts to advance positive change in these areas.in 20212022, lsp's communications department produced 3 issues of the Land Stewardship letter, which provided ongoing coverage of lsp's work and its role in the wider context of the movement. On average, 5,000 copies were printed and distributed for each issue. Lsp's newsletter, livewire, was sent to 20,000 subscribers each month.lsp's awardwinning podcast, ear to the ground, produced 20 episodes, which averaged 8,000 listens per episode.through direct contact with reporters, editors, and producers, lsp's work and its members' voices reached regional, national, and international audiences via coverage in various media outlets including the star tribune, Minnesota public radio, agweek, agri view, the winona post, rochester post bulletin, the associated press, and civil eats.lsp launched a thoroughly redesigned website, which allows for more design flexibility and integrates with lsp's database, enhancing its ability to engage people via this tool.lsp produced a special series of soil health videos, including music videos highlighting the benefits of regenerative farming practices.

In 2021, lsp relaunched its community based food systems work with an emphasis on strengthening community connections and leveraging public and private funding to increase investment in rural food systems.in a series of four listening sessions, lsp heard from over 59 people from the communities of madison, appleton, montevideo, granite falls, and the upper sioux community about the needs and opportunities they see in the region related to developing a strong community food system.in the 2022 Minnesota legislative session, lsp and partners secured an additional $3 million for agri meat, poultry, egg, and milk processing grants. This will help to address meat processing bottlenecks impacting independent livestock producers throughout the state by providing funding for technical assistance providers that will help new processing businesses navigate the application process.in addition to these listening sessions, lsp also held onetoone conversations with farmers, lsp members, and allies about the local food system, particularly in identifying the opportunities, leverage points, and key narrative shifts to grow infrastructure to support food and farm businesses.

Other miscellaneous programmatic work.