REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE

The Nature Conservancy

Much of the last year’s efforts have focused on strengthening the partnership, aligning goals, seeking and leveraging additional resources, and refining the project’s approach.

• Established and convened a Farmer Advisory Council

• Contracted with two agronomic service providers

• Completed 26 baseline soil health assessments

• Developed soil health management plans on ~650 acres

• Recruited eight farmers implementing new practices in 2022

• Provided soil health toolkits and training to 30 mentors and farm advisors

• Coordinated year-one soil testing on participating fields

• Used remote sensing of practice adoption in the project area

• Partnered with USDA to adapt soil health assessment protocols and training for farm advisors

• Prepared and submitted two additional requests for project funding

• Expanded the network of supporting partners and agencies

Land Stewardship Project

Land Stewardship Project’s (LSP) Soil Health program supports farmers throughout Minnesota and neighboring states to adopt farming practices that rebuild organic matter in the soil, restore biodiversity, sequester carbon, and conserve and protect water.

Farmer Engagement and Education

3,899 people receive the bi-monthly Soil Health newsletter featuring LSP events, grant program information, current research links, farmer spotlights, and more.

Nearly 600 people attended 21 LSP events including field days, workshops and pasture walks.

Peer-to-Peer Learning

LSP convened new Soil Hubs for 15 farmers in Planview, Minnesota, and 17 farmers in Austin, Minnesota, in February 2023. These farmers will meet for three years, with the first year focused on relationship building and getting to know each other’s farm and land.

LSP is currently recruiting for two Grazing Groups in Southeast Minnesota. These groups are tailored to farmers practicing managed rotational grazing in hopes to get 10-12 in each group.

Communications

LSP’s Soil Health videos have continued to gain interest throughout the last year with YouTube views numbering 27,181 and Facebook views at 6,000. LSP also produced 21 episodes of the "Ear to Ground," its soil health podcast. Ear to Ground averages 8,000 listens per episode.

Various letter and newsletter communications reach 4,000 subscribers with topics covering soil health news, events and other updates.

LSP ran a billboard campaign in five small towns in southeast Iowa. The billboard was viewed at least 4.3 million times in three months.

Policy Work

LSP continues to build on past successes, such as the development of the Conservation Stewardship Program, now one of the most important federal conservation programs in agriculture, and the $5 million won for soil health funding in the 2021 legislative session.

Minnesota's soil health bill is becoming a model in other states. LSP staff have worked with legislators and partner organizations in Michigan, Illinois and North Dakota to support the creation of legislation that supports regenerative agriculture.