Brian DeVore

About me

Brian DeVore (bdevore@landstewardshipproject.org) works for the Land Stewardship Project, edits the Land Stewardship Letter, and writes frequently in the Loon Commons blog.

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Why is James E. McWilliams ignoring the facts on sustainable agriculture?

By Brian DeVore, Loon Commons

History Professor James E. McWilliams’ recent doubled-barreled attack on sustainable livestock production and the local food movement in general is so contradictory and full of factual holes, it’s tough to know where to begin to pick it apart.MORE »

Crop insurance: A safety net becomes a threat

By Brian DeVore, Loon Commons

When it comes to the crop insurance sweepstakes, southwest Minnesota farmer Darwyn Bach is a winner.MORE »

We need to stop treating soil like dirt

By Brian DeVore, Loon Commons

Talk of how agriculture can improve soil quality seems to be popping up more frequently these days. Perhaps the most exciting recent mention was in an issue of Successful Farming magazine, which has produced an impressive package of stories called The Good Earth.MORE »

Local control and the Capitol's dangerous double standard

By Brian DeVore, Loon Commons

Nice irony: when a key committee passed House File 389 last Wednesday, it was by a 9 to 5 vote, which is less than the two-thirds majority the bill imposes on local governments that want to enact a temporary freeze on major development—the kind of development that can change a community forever.MORE »

Loving the land enough to let it go

By Brian DeVore, Loon Commons

While recording a recent LSP podcast interview with southwest Minnesota farmer Carmen Fernholz, I was reminded of how important it is that farmers identify closely with the land they’re producing a livelihood from.MORE »

First on the agenda Thursday: Weaken local control

By Brian DeVore, Loon Commons

Well, that didn’t take long. Tomorrow, at the very first meeting of the Minnesota House Government Operations and Elections Committee, lawmakers will take up House File 389, which weakens township, county and city local control.MORE »

Eating our own farm financial cooking

By Brian DeVore, Loon Commons

One winter evening in 1999 I was sitting in on a Farm Beginnings class being held in the southeast Minnesota community of Plainview when a local banker stood up and made a statement that about knocked me out of my chair.MORE »

Denying the science, derailing the solutions

By Brian DeVore, Loon Commons

I talked to a Todd County farmer yesterday who uses 100 percent no-till and other conservation measures to raise his crops. Conserving soil is important to him, and so he’s quite upset at how mobile humus has been on neighboring farms this fall/early winter. “You know that little skiff of snow we got the other day?MORE »

Conversations with the Land

By Brian DeVore, Loon Commons

Many good arguments can be made for supporting a type of agriculture less reliant on energy, technology and Wall Street, and more on soil, communities and people: it’s better for the environment, produces good food and keeps more Main Street businesses open, to name a few.MORE »

Why 'middleman' doesn't have to be a dirty word for farmers

By Brian DeVore, Loon Commons

At a time when we’re all scanning the dark horizon of recession land for any economic spark, local food systems look to be a flare-up that’s got some staying power. The past several weeks have been full of signs that both in Minnesota and nationally producing and consuming food in our own collective backyard isn’t just good for our palates — it’s good for the bottom line.MORE »