Papers & Guides

• Continuous Living Cover (CLC) Technical Assistance Training Gap Analysis & Roadmap 6.1.2021

• Kernza® Management Guide

• Fact Sheet: Minnesota Projects to Protect Drinking Water with Kernza Perennial Grain – GLBW, Feb 2020
• Project Snapshot: VERDI, MN – Project to Protect Drinking Water with Kernza Perennial Grain – GLBW, Feb 2020
• Project Snapshot: COLD SPRING, MN – Project to Protect Drinking Water with Kernza Perennial Grain – GLBW, Feb 2020
• Paper: Policies and Programs Supporting Perennial Farming Systems to Protect Drinking Water in Minnesota – GLBW, Apr 2019

• See website for GLBW’s Midwest Perennial Forage Working Group

• Fact Sheet: Examples of NRCS program support for CLC farming – GLBW, Oct 2020
• Case Study: Using NRCS programs for CLC farming: Haase Farm – Blue Earth, MN – GLBW, Oct 2020
• Paper: Summary of the activities of the GLBW NRCS Continuous Living Cover Cohort, 2018-2020 – GLBW, Oct 2020
• Fact Sheet: NRCS and the Benefits of Agroforestry – Savanna Institute and WI NRCS, Nov 2019
• Paper: NRCS Opportunities for Increasing Continuous Living Cover Farming Systems – GLBW, Jun 2018
• Fact Sheet: Recommended Actions to include Continuous Living Cover Farming Systems in the Environmental Quality Incentives and Conservation Stewardship Programs – GLBW, May 2018

Erin Meier, Post Bulletin, Rochester, MN, Dec 9, 2020

Goodbye, USDA, Hello, Department of Food and Well-Being is the title of an opinion piece that ran in the New York Times on December 5 (section A, page 23 in print). https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/03/opinion/usda-agriculture-secretary-biden.html

It states that, “With just one cabinet appointment, President-elect Joe Biden could tackle economic inequality, the rural/urban divide, climate change, the growing mistrust of science, systemic racism and even the coronavirus.”

Many, even here in this agricultural state, do not realize the far reach and potential of the U.S. Department of Agriculture to do so much more on issues that affect all of us – simply by shifting the priorities of existing programs and funding.

The USDA has long been a playground for profiteers and so we have a deeply entrenched department and Farm Bill. It is an American value to want private industry to activate capitalism and realize profit in the private sector. Also, there is great opportunity in public-private partnerships and in our public sector encouraging entrepreneurship and business development. We do not want to lose that from our USDA.

But let’s use the USDA’s $146 billion per year to support proven approaches – regenerative agricultural practices for thriving farms, communities, environments, and people. With committed leadership reframing and retooling support programs, agriculture and rural communities and their nearby population centers can proactively mitigate climate change, eradicate food insecurity, improve nutrition, create wealth, respect and lift up farm/food labor, increase diversity and access, and be a welcoming place where all people can truly live and thrive.