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Lawmakers approve tougher enforcement, penalties for water permit violators

Lawmakers approve tougher enforcement, penalties for water permit violators

The bill gives state regulators stronger authority to crack down on violators who pump more water than they're permitted. Farmers worry they could face hefty fines if they overdraw to keep their crops alive during a drought.
by Kirsti Marohn

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New fund protects farmers when grain buyers fail

New fund protects farmers when grain buyers fail

A new Minnesota law will help protect farmers when they sell grain to a business that fails. The law creates a dedicated fund to reimburse farmers when a grain elevator goes bust and they don't get paid.
by Dan Gunderson

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Supreme Court backs California law for more space for pigs

Supreme Court backs California law for more space for pigs

While Californians consume 13 percent of the pork eaten in the United States, nearly 100 percent of it comes from hogs raised outside the state, including in Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana and North Carolina.
by The Associated Press

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Ag exports critical to Minnesota in a changing world

Ag exports critical to Minnesota in a changing world

Minnesota's agriculture industry had a record-breaking year for exports last year. The state is a leading producer of many farm commodities like soybeans and corn, and exports to other countries are a key part of the ag economy. A complex web of connections moves those crops around the world.
by Dan Gunderson

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Rare good news for butterflies — but pesticides still a big worry

Rare good news for butterflies — but pesticides still a big worry

A widely used class of insecticides is known to harm both native bees and honeybees. But a new University of Minnesota study finds the neonicotinoid insecticides have little effect on adult Monarch butterflies.
by Dan Gunderson

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Minnesota-made tofu is cleaner for the planet — and your palate

Minnesota-made tofu is cleaner for the planet — and your palate

MinnTofu is interrupting the industrial food system by turning soybeans into tofu locally instead of shipping them to California. And it has the added benefit of producing a cleaner-tasting tofu.
by Tom Crann and Megan Burks

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Backyard chickens are having their moment in the spotlight

Backyard chickens are having their moment in the spotlight

Backyard chickens are having a moment. Around Minnesota, many communities which once outlawed keeping a coop in the backyard are relaxing those regulations.
by Hannah Yang

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'Earth is our mother': Minnesota farm addresses climate change by reintroducing bison, Ojibwe horses

'Earth is our mother': Minnesota farm addresses climate change by reintroducing bison, Ojibwe horses

It’s a busy time of year for farmers like David Wise, who is juggling quite a few projects, including reintroducing bison and Ojibwe horses to his farm in Northern Minnesota. He is a descendant of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and the founder of Native Wise farm, which produces wild rice, maple syrup, CBD and vegetables.
by Cathy Wurzer and Alanna Elder

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Non-farming landlords control a significant amount of land. Some want to use it to help curb climate change

Non-farming landlords control a significant amount of land. Some want to use it to help curb climate change

Land use, including agriculture and forestry, has become Minnesota’s number two source of carbon emissions, after transportation. And one group you may not think of has some decision-making power to help reduce that pollution: non-farming landowners.
by Cathy Wurzer and Alanna Elder

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Off-farm landowners share their families' stories of transition

Off-farm landowners share their families' stories of transition

Approximately half of Minnesota’s land area is used for agriculture. A large chunk of the state’s farmland — about 35 percent — is rented from owners who do not farm. We talked farmland transitions and the roles of heirs and renters in Minnesota farm country.
by Cathy Wurzer and Alanna Elder

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