The Ag & Water Team

An entirely new approach to conservation incentives — one that we helped design and support — was passed by Congress in the 2002 Farm Bill. The Conservation Security Program will enable farmers to earn financial rewards for their excellence in care of the environment. Eleven million acres have been enrolled, with over half a billion dollars invested in the first three years of the program, plus future additional commitments totaling well over $1 billion. Clean water, healthy soils, and wildlife habitat are being produced by working farms. Now we are helping to set the stage for moving conservation into the center of the nation's farm policy in the 2007 farm bill.

With the help of our leadership, a strong sustainable agriculture movement is working locally, regionally, and nationally. The Minnesota Roundtable on the Conservation Security Program, the Midwest Sustainable Agriculture Working Group, the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, and the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture, and the Farm and Food Policy Project each benefit from our investment in collaboration.

Our conservation work on the ground in Minnesota is helping expand local conservation outreach to farmers, encourage higher enrollment in farm conservation programs, and train a whole new sector of conservation planning advisors to help farmers farm profitably while protecting the environment.

The Local Food Team

In 2003, the Minnesota Project convened the Food Working Group to develop a plan to source more local food through Sysco System’s distribution system. This group included the Experiment in Rural Cooperation, Food Alliance Midwest, Organic Valley, Regional Development Partnerships, Pride of the Prairie, the University of MN dining services and some food service customers.

In early 2004, the idea for the Heartland Food Network was presented at the Friends of James Beard benefit dinner at FireLake Grill House in Minneapolis. The Heartland Food Network will unite the efforts of chefs, farmers, food processors, food distributors, grocery retailers, non-profit organizations, and public institutions to increase the availability of high quality sustainably-produced local foods, expand consumer awareness of the value and quality of these foods, and generate pride in Minnesota cuisine.

In late 2004, a steering committee representing the farm, chef, distribution, government (MDA) and non-profit sectors was formed to advise the development of the Heartland Food Network. As of January 2006, the Heartland Food Network ’s Steering Committee members include: Jim Ennis, Food Alliance Midwest; Les Heen, MN Farmers Union; Paul Hugunin, MDA MN Grown Program; Jeff Larson, Sysco Minnesota; Karen Lehman, The Minnesota Project; and Chef Paul Lynch, FireLake Grill House.

From March 2005 to November 2005, the Heartland Food Network convened more than 170 people to explore ways to increase the amount of local, sustainably-produced food offered in food service venues: restaurants, schools, hospitals, museums, and others. At the first seven meetings, farmers, processors, chefs, distributors, university staff, state officials and non-profit professionals met in groups of eight around a chef’s table to discuss the parameters for the Heartland Food Network. The last two meetings focused on communication mechanisms to link farmers and chefs together.

The Renewable Energy Team

The Energy team consists of five staff and is supported by nearly two-thirds of the Minnesota Project’s annual budget. Since about 1994, the organization has taken its place with several collaborators to advance renewable energy, both on the ground and in our state’s policies.

With the Department of Commerce, we co-founded CERTS: Clean Energy Resource Teams around the state. CERTS helps individual communities match technical skills with local natural resources to move forward on renewable energy projects.

Another thread of the Minnesota Project’s energy work makes good use of our history and joint expertise in both energy and agriculture. We supported early research and implementation surrounding a prototype methane digester on a dairy farm and are now very close to piloting a smaller-scale version for a farm with 150 head. This joint energy/agriculture expertise is evident in our sponsoring of the Midwest Ag Energy Network and our growing involvement and interest in cellulosic biofuels.