Our Farms, Our Future

For this episode, our guests discuss the importance of on-farm research. Dean Baas works for Michigan State University Extension, serves as SARE Coordinator for the state of Michigan, and is on the Midwest Cover Crops Council. He’ll be speaking with Allen Sundermeier from Ohio State Extension. Allen also has a history with SARE as a former co-coordinator for the Ohio program.

For this episode, two aquaponic experts discuss growing food indoors while saving water and minimizing waste. JP Knobloch and Tim Hydar are co-owners of Straw Hat Aquaponics in Ferguson, Missouri. They talk about the trials and tribulations of starting their business, and explain exciting innovations in the aquaponics industry today.

For this episode, our guests discuss implementing shifts in our food system to value the family farmer. Don Teske is a 5th-generation farmer in Northeastern Kansas, and he has seen the livelihood of the average family farmer steadily decrease throughout his career. He's not immune to those industry-wide losses, and has had to reimagine his land-based enterprise throughout the years. Don will be speaking with Laura Lengnick, a soil scientist by trade and the founder of a consulting firm that offers ecosystem-based climate risk management and planning services. Don and Laura both offer creative ideas for farmers to claim their rights to making a living off their land.  

For this episode, our guests discuss the role of native pollinators in agriculture. Eric Lee-Mäder is the Pollinator Conservation Co-Director at The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation in Seattle, WA. He’ll be speaking with Rachel Coventry, beekeeper at Curtis Orchard and Pumpkin Patch in Champagne, IL.

For this episode, two women in agriculture discuss their projects to create more access and support for women-identified farmers in the U.S. Jen Filipiak is Midwest Director of the American Farmland Trust, a national organization that seeks to protect farmland and promote sound farming practices. She’ll be speaking with Maud Powell, veggie farmer, Oregon State University extension agent, and coordinator of a Southern-Oregon based growing cooperative. 

For this episode, our guests discuss the benefits of connecting farmers to diverse metropolitan markets. Becca Jablonski is an Assistant Professor and Food Systems Extension Economist at Colorado State University. She’ll be speaking with Charlie Jackson, Executive Director of the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project, or ASAP, in North Carolina.

Our two guests on this episode are all about finding ways to connect to the land. From their perspective, that experience of connection is what keeps the sustainable agriculture movement alive.  Sami Tellatin is currently enrolled in an MBA program at Stanford and works part-time with SARE on soil health and cover crop research projects. Before Sami started grad school, she organized the Our Farms, Our Future conference and helped create this very podcast! She'll be speaking with Elizabeth Reaves, a Senior Program Director in the areas of agriculture and environment at The Sustainable Food Lab in Vermont. 

For this episode, two agriculture policy experts discuss the importance of local, grassroots organizing AND national lobbying when it comes to getting federal funding appropriated for sustainable agriculture programs.  Margaret Krome works as the Public Policy Program Director for the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute in East Troy, WI. She'll be speaking with Paul Wolfe, Policy Specialist at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC).   

For this week's show, our guests discuss the importance turning a profit in sustainable agriculture operations while also balancing efforts to give back to the land.  Wayne Martin is an Extension Agent at the University of Minnesota with a specialization in alternative livestock systems. He'll be speaking with Eric Klein of Hidden Stream Farm in Southeastern Minnesota. Eric raises grass-fed beef and deep bedded pork in addition to running a small local food distribution business in the Twin Cities. 

This time on the show, two farmers from different regions, one from Pennsylvania and the other from Wyoming, discuss how sustainable farming practices can impact small town environments and economies. Hannah Smith-Brubaker runs Village Acres Farm & Food Shed. She also serves as Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture, or PASA. She’ll be speaking with Jim Freeburne. He raises cattle on 200 acres and operates Triple Creek Hunts with his wife near Fort Laramie, WY .   

For this episode, our guests discuss breaking down barriers of entry for farmers of color. Savi Horne is the Executive Director of the Land Loss Prevention Project in North Carolina. Barbara Norman is a third-generation Michigan Blueberry Farmer. Both Barbara and Savi have dedicated their careers to helping limited resource farmers begin and sustain farming operations.

Our guests on this episode discuss opportunities in agriculture for United States Veterans. David Paulk started farming in 2011 after a long career in the military. He owns and operates Sassafras Creek Farm in Southern Maryland with his wife. He’ll be speaking with Margo Hale, a specialist for the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT). She helps plan and implement Armed to Farm, a weeklong workshop to prepare veterans to start farming enterprises.

For this episode, two soil specialists discuss how soil health came to be at the forefront of the sustainable ag conversation. Heather Darby is a life-long dairy farmer in Vermont and soil specialist with University of Vermont extension. She'll be speaking with Julia Gaskin, a soil scientist with University of Georgia and Georgia State SARE coordinator. 

This week's guests are committed to creating food systems that are accessible to all. They emphasize the importance of community organizing and political engagement in the sustainable ag movement. Karen Washington is co-founder of Rise & Root farm in Chester, New York. She splits her time between her farm and the Bronx, where she's known for her community gardening initiatives. Karen will be in conversation with Molly Rockamann, founder of EarthDance urban farm in Ferguson, MO, a suburb of St. Louis. 

Our guests on this week's show have spent years learning how to create livestock operations that give back to the land. Greg Brann runs grass-fed cattle and sheep on about 220 acres in Southern Kentucky. He’ll be in conversation with Robin Way, who raises cattle and poultry on her grass-based farm near the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland.

We begin this episode with a visit to the Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center at the University of Missouri. Education Program Coordinator Hannah Hemmelgarn gives us a brief tour of some of her team's current projects and explains their rootedness agroforestry principles. Then, Interim Director of the Center Mike Gold and silvopasture expert Chuck Talbott dive deeper into the field of agroforestry, analyzing various practices, discussing challenges, and addressing some of the latest field studies and research. 

For this episode, two academics discuss educating a new generation in sustainable agriculture.  Xiochi Ma, also known as Max, is a graduate student at Washington State University researching efficient irrigation systems for grapevine cultivation in drought-ridden areas. Krista Jacobsen is an agroecologist and professor at University of Kentucky focusing her work on nutrient cycling and soil fertility. For these guests, the university setting is an important one for sparking young people's dedication and passion for sustainable practices no matter what their major course of study might be.

For this episode, two agricultural engineers discuss adapting innovation on the farm. Trevor Hardy is manager of one of New England’s largest distributors of agricultural supplies at Brookdale Fruit Farm in Hollis, New Hampshire. Chris Callahan is an agricultural engineer with University of Vermont extension. Both guests say engineering plays a crucial role in synthesizing the newest research and technology with the diversity and complexity of farming practices on the ground.

For this episode, two farmers managing vastly different scales of production discuss staying grounded in sustainable principles while keeping their bottom line out of the red zone.  Jeanne Carver raises grass-fed cattle and sheep for wool at Imperial Stock Ranch in Oregon, a 5,000 acre land operation that's been in continued use for 150 years. She'll be in conversation with Hilary Corsun, a farmer in her fifth-year managing 87 acres in New York's Hudson Valley at Dog Wood Farm. She raises mushrooms, turkeys, grass-fed beef, and eggs for local markets.     

As the Quality of Life Rep for Southern SARE's Administrative Council and a professor of sociology, Doug Constance is constantly thinking about how current policies, cultural norms, and industry trends are affecting farmers and their communities. For this episode, he chats with Beth Nelson, Associate Professor of Biosystems Engineering at University of Minnesota and the Director of North Central SARE’s Research and Education Programs. They discuss extending sustainability beyond soil and crops to the people and communities most impacted by our country's agricultural practices.  

This episode, two rural sociologists dig into why they feel passionately about building connections among farming communities. Kim Niewolny is an Associate Professor of Agricultural Leadership and Community Education at Virginia Tech. Spencer Wood is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Kansas State University. They were both drawn to the field's emphasis on rural leadership and community-based education outside of the classroom and the research lab.

This week, we take a bird's-eye-view of the sustainable ag movement and the research initiatives that sustained it's beginnings.  Ferd Hoefner is a Senior Strategic Advisor for the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, (N-SAC). He has worked on national food and agriculture policy in Washington, DC for forty years. He helped create  the USDA-program that we now know as SARE, and has seen it grow and develop throughout the years. Andy Clark is National Communications Director for SARE, and began his involvement with sustainable ag in the late-1980s. When he was in graduate school, he received a research grant from LISA, the program precursor to SARE, for cover cropping no-till corn. Now, he's responsible for sharing the results of SARE grants and research with farmers and educators around the country. 

Our fifth episode features Nathan L'Etoile and Travis Krause. For this pair, farming runs in their blood. Nathan L'Etoile is, by best count, a fifteen-generation farmer. His family runs Four Star Farms in North Field, MA, a small grain and hops farm with a mill on-site. Like a lot of people in agriculture these days, Nathan works primarily off the farm. Still, he spends most of his evenings and weekends helping his wife, parents, and brother run the farm. Travis Krause owns and operates Parker Creek Ranch, a multi-species livestock operation, with his wife in D'Hanis, Texas. Travis is a seventh generation farmer, but didn't grow up thinking he'd manage the land that's been in his family since 1846.  

Our fourth episode features mother-daughter pair Hiu and Hana Newcomb.  Together with family members from three generations and a crew of dedicated farmhands, Hana and Hiu run Potomac Vegetable Farms in Vienna, Virginia. At a time when small family farmers often have to disconnect from their farms in order to make a living, Hiu and Hana have a lot of wisdom to offer about sustaining the land, strengthening family connections, and planning for the future while also running a successful farming enterprise. http://www.potomacvegetablefarms.com/

Our third episode features Amy Garrett and Ron Rosmann. Amy Garrett is an Assistant Professor for Oregon State University Extension Service Small Farms Program. Her work focuses on drought mitigation tools and strategies for growing with little or no irrigation. She leads the Dry Farming Project in the Pacific Northwest, which provides dry farming demonstrations and encourages participatory research for farmers sensitive to changes in water accessibility.  http://smallfarms.oregonstate.edu/south-valley/who-we-are   Ron Rosmann raises certified organic beef, pork, and vegetables in Shelby County, Iowa with his wife and sons. In 1985, he co-founded Practical Farmers of Iowa, a group devoted to profitable, environmentally sound farming practices. For much of Ron's farming career, he has dedicated time to on-farm research, land preservation, and farmer-to-farmer education.  http://rosmannfamilyfarms.com/   

Our second episode features Greg Judy and Adam Saunders. Greg Judy is based in Rucker, Missouri and raises livestock on grass pasture in balance with nature, using no antibiotics, hormone implants, or grain. He is known for his high density mob-grazing methods and has published two books: "No Risk Ranching" and "Comeback Farms: Rejuvenating Soils, Pastures and Profits with Livestock Grazing Management". http://www.greenpasturesfarm.net/ Adam Saunders lives nearby in Columbia, Missouri, where he is the development director for the Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture. As a co-founding member of the organization since 2009, Adam helps carry out their mission of connecting people to agriculture and the land by conducting outreach with local social groups, businesses, and potential partners. He also helps coordinate CCUA’s online presence, strategic planning, and fundraising efforts. http://columbiaurbanag.org/  

Our first episode features Dan Kuebler and Emily Wright. Dan Kuebler has been market gardening since 1990, providing a variety of organically grown vegetables and value-added products such as "Farmer Dan's Sauerkraut" for the mid-Missouri area. He is a fixture of the local agriculture scene, having served many years as a board member for both the Columbia Farmers Market and the Missouri Farmers Market Association, co-founder and board chair of Sustainable Farms and Communities, as well as president of the Mid-America Organic Association. http://columbiafarmersmarket.org/2017/01/03/the-salad-garden/ Emily Wright is co-owner and operator of Three Creeks farm in Ashland, Missouri. She and her partner grow a wide variety of vegetables, herbs, and flowers, and recently began incorporating agroforestry crops and pastured pork into their operation. In 2015, Emily was awarded an NCR-SARE Farmer/Rancher grant  for the project, “Assessing Productivity and Profitability of Vegetable Production in the Central Missouri River Bottomlands: Tools for Farm Transitions.” http://threecreeksmo.com/

Our Farms, Our Future is a new podcast by SARE, the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program. The purpose of this project is to foster community and connection, encourage conversation and share different perspectives within the sustainable agriculture community. Through this series of thought-provoking conversations between those involved in this community, we hope to capture a snapshot of the current state of sustainable ag, how we got here, and where we're headed. Our first episode will be released April 1, 2018. Episodes will be released twice a month.