agriculture

Introducing the Forever Green Partnership

March 12, 2021

Farming is the backbone of Minnesota's economy, but agricultural pollution has posed an unsolvable puzzle for decades. Now, with viable alternative crops on the horizon, a new coalition aims to flip the script and make it more profitable to be green. >>

Legislation to support Forever Green clean-water crops advances

by Peter LaFontaine

March 8, 2021

The Forever Green Initiative is at an inflection point, making funding for progress on clean-water crops crucial this cycle. So far, legislation has advanced through key agricultural committees in both the House and Senate with bipartisan support. What's next? >>

Research roundup: Is cropland ag carbon sequestration as effective as we want it to be?

by Trevor Russell

February 9, 2021

Storing greenhouse gases in cropland soils is all the rage these days, as Fortune 500 companies, conservation initiatives and even the Biden administration seek to reward farmers for sequestering carbon beneath our feet. But how sound is this approach? We pulled together some of the latest news about no-till farming, cover crops and how effectively these practices sequester carbon. >>

Minnesota gets a bad report card for nitrate reduction (part two)

by Trevor Russell

January 13, 2021

How do we get a better grade for nitrate pollution reduction? We have to change the mix of what we grow. In this follow-up, we explain why it isn't feasible to rely on incentive payments to farmers alone to move the needle on our water quality problems. And we offer an exciting solution that could improve water quality by AND sustain farmers' livelihoods. >>

Support Soil & Water Conservation Districts

January 5, 2021

County-based Soil and Water Conservation Districts are Minnesota’s frontline conservation organizations, working hand in hand with local landowners to implement a variety of conservation projects that conserve soil, water and related natural resources on private land. But they're increasingly underfunded by our Legislature. We want a better funding strategy to sustain these vital organizations. >>

Which words work?

December 6, 2020

FMR has long worked for solutions to the Mississippi's agricultural pollution problem. But a common lexicon is yet to develop in this emerging arena. As an FMR member, we'd love to know what words work for you. >>

Nitrate fertilizer: Expensive, not just deadly

by Peter LaFontaine

December 4, 2020

Pollution from nitrate fertilizers causes severe health problems — for the river and for people — that cost us dearly, as detailed in a new report focused on Wisconsin water supplies. >>