The Savanna Institute Audio Archive

Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer, ecologist and author of "Braiding Sweetgrass" and "Gathering Moss", answers questions from the audience of our 2023 Perennial Farm Gathering. Moderated by author and Leopold scholar Curt Meine. 

Wisconsin Extension forestry specialist Tony Johnson discusses how maple syrup production can open doors for other agroforestry enterprises, and how Wisconsin woodland owners can get started. Plus, Scott Brainard and Eliza Greenman describe the benefits of persimmons as an agroforestry crop.  Show notes at www.savannainstitute.org/perennialaf

Goats, sheep, cattle, hogs, horses, and fowl all have different diets, behavior, and impacts on the land. Choosing the right type of livestock for you and your farm is key to success. Wisconsin farmer and researcher Cherrie Nolden discusses the strenghts, weaknesses, and needs of different types of livestock in this recording from the 2022 Perennial Farm Gathering.  Show notes: www.savannainstitute.org/perennialaf  

Host Jacob Grace and Eric Wolske of Canopy Farm Management join Will Fulwider and Michael Geissinger, hosts of the Field Notes podcast from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension, to answer questions that Wisconsin crop farmers might have about agroforestry.  Show notes at: https://www.savannainstitute.org/perennialaf Field Notes podcast: https://cropsandsoils.extension.wisc.edu/field-notes-podcast/ 

Jacob Marty reflects on how his relationship with his father has shaped the dynamics on their sixth generation family farm in southern Wisconsin in this recording from the 2017 Perennial Farm Gathering.  Show notes at https://www.savannainstitute.org/perennial-af-generational-dynamics-with-jacob-marty/

Scott Brainard, a plant breeding specialist working for the Savanna Institute, gives an overview of the institute's goals and strategies for breeding more productive and resilient tree crop varieties.  Show notes at https://www.savannainstitute.org/perennialaf/

In this recording from our 2021 Perennial Farm Gathering, farmer Dayna Burtness moderates an online panel conversation with cookbook author Beth Dooley, orchardist and historical horticulturist Eliza Greenman, and author and food justice advocate Anna Lappé.  Hear more at https://www.youtube.com/@SavannaInstitute

A recording of our July 27th, 2023 pasture walk at the Spring Green Campus with farm director Erik Hagan and farmer Michael Dolan. Erik and Michael share lessons learned and compare "silvopasture by addition" and "silvopasture by subtraction". Show notes at https://www.savannainstitute.org/perennialaf/

Austin Unruh, owner of Trees for Graziers and author of "The Grazier's Guide to Trees", tells the story of how he started his agroforestry business in southeastern Pennsylvania and shares the advice he wished he had gotten as a beginning agroforestry entrepreneur in this recording from our 2022 Perennial Farm Gathering.  You can learn more about Austin and his work at https://treesforgraziers.com/

Kathy Dice and Tom Wahl of Red Fern Farm in southeastern Iowa have been practicing agroforestry for decades. In July, podcast host Jacob Grace visited Red Fern Farm to ask Tom and Kathy what they see as the three biggest agroforestry mistakes people can make, learn what their most profitable tree crops are, and explore their established, profitable, and highy diverse agroforestry system.  Show notes and more at www.savannainstitute.org/perennialaf

This mini-episode features voices from our 2021 black currant tasting event: farmers Kevin Wolz and Erin Schneider and chefs Odessa Piper and Colton Schara. You can learn more about growing and marketing black currants at https://www.savannainstitute.org/blackcurrants/

Exerpts from Mark Krawczyk's presentation at the 2022 Perennial Farm Gathering, drawing from Mark's new book, "Coppice Agroforestry". Mark provides an overview of techniques and tree crops for coppicing, or "the ancient practice of resprout silviculture" - cutting off trees to make them resprout and regrow in useful ways. More at https://www.savannainstitute.org/perennialaf/.

Paul Dietmann, Senior Lending Officer for Compeer Financial's Emerging Markets program, talks with host Jacob Grace and with Steffen Mirsky from the UW-Madison Division of Extension's Emerging Crops program and co-host of The Cutting Edge Podcast. Paul has worked for many years helping farmers and landowners find ways to finance new crops or emerging practices like agroforestry.  Fearless Farm Finances, a book by Paul Dietmann and colleagues The Cutting Edge Podcast, hosted by UW-Madison Division of Extension's Emerging Crops Program

Excerpts from Dr. Samantha Bosco's presentation at the 2022 Perennial Farm Gathering, entitled "Thick as Thieves: A social ecology of nucivery in a more-than-human world". Dr. Bosco's presentation covers a wide range of topics, from the influence of foraging animals' personalities on forest composition to the non-binary nature of agroforestry and its connections to social justice and queerness in nature. You can hear the full presentation at https://www.savannainstitute.org/perennial-farm-gathering/

To commemorate the Savanna Institute's 10th anniversary this year, Kevin Wolz and Keefe Keeley recall the early days of the Savanna Institute, including Kevin's role as a founding member of the first board of directors and Keefe's role as the organization's first employee (and first executive director). More at https://www.savannainstitute.org/perennialaf/

Meghan Filbert discusses virtual fence technology in a recording from our most recent Perennial Farm Gathering, and staff member Bill Davison reads an essay he wrote about how the book "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron has influenced his thinking about farming and agroforestry.  Show notes at savannainstitute.org/perennialaf/

Aaron Steele is an Iowa farmer and entrepreneur, owner of Goats On The Go®, Sheep on the Go®, and host of the Farm Dog podcast. In this episode, Aaron describes why he started his business and his podcast, and discusses what he sees for the future of grazing on solar farms.  Show notes and links at https://www.savannainstitute.org/perennialaf Farm Dog podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/farm-dog/id1573646688 

An audio tour of agroforestry and perennial farming systems at New Forest Farm in southwestern Wisconsin with farmer Mark Shepard, author of "Restoration Agriculture". 

Savanna Institute Research Fellow Xinyuan Shi describes her time as an Agroforestry Apprentice and talks about her current research on silvopasture and multifunctional agroforestry buffers. We also share a teaser for the Agroforestry Podcast, hosted by the Center for Agroforestry.  Show notes: https://www.savannainstitute.org/perennialaf/

A recording of Dr. Ricardo Salvador's keynote presentation to the 2022 Perennial Farm Gathering, "Perennial Dreams and Realities", which draws on Dr. Salvador's decades of experience working with scientists, farmers, and policymakers. Dr. Salvador has spent much of his career working in Iowa, and now serves as the director of the Food and Environment Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. Show notes at https://www.savannainstitute.org/perennialaf/

Marie Raboin has developed a reputation as a well-meaning "dream crusher" for beginning farmers and landowners. In this episode, host Jacob Grace visits Marie to see how many of his farm dreams can withstand her scrutiny. 

This episode is a collaboration with The Climate Conversation podcast, which is produced by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI). Hosts Dan Bresette and Emma Johnson interviewed Keefe Keeley, Savanna Institute's executive director, and Tucker Gretebeck, an organic dairy farmer, about how they got into agroforestry and what they're hoping to see in this year's Farm Bill. You can learn more and listen to the full episode at EESI's website, www.eesi.org.

Agroforestry can be tough to do on your own. This episode features interviews from our "Partnering for Agroforestry" series about successful partnerships that have made agroforestry possible. As farmer Dayna Burtness says, “We don't all have to do it alone. That's the way of the past!” You can see the full video series at https://www.savannainstitute.org/partnering/

Greg Galbraith, a retired Wisconsin organic dairy farmer turned podcaster, answers questions from listeners and tells some stories about his time as a farmer. Show notes available at https://www.savannainstitute.org/perennialaf/

As we enter the holiday season, many of us begin thinking about food and cooking - and what to do with perennial crops as they go from farm to kitchen. In this recorded webinar from January 2022, we hear a conversation between cookbook author Beth Dooley, farmer Linda Hezel, chef Rick Mullins, and agroforestry apprentice Taylor Neff. We hope this episode will inspire you to “go get some really good food and cook!”

For a 2018 grant project focused on silvopasture, some of Savanna Institute's partnering farmers recorded themselves talking with experienced silvopasture practitioners about how they got started. For this episode, we dusted off recordings of conversations between Darren Bender-Beauregard of Brambleberry farm with Liz Brownlee of Nightfall Farm, and Nate Olive of Ridge to Reef Farm in the US Virgin Islands with Jacob Marty of Green Fire Farm. 

In this episode, Marie Raboin of Brix Cider, Jacob Marty of Green Fire Farm, and Thelma Heidel-Baker of Bossie Cow Farm answer some of Google's top questions about farmers and farming. You'll never think about overalls the same way again! Show notes at https://www.savannainstitute.org/perennialaf/

Keefe Keeley and Barbara Decré discuss agroforestry as a natural climate solution in a recorded webinar for the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters. 

Savanna Institute staff member Bill Davison answers questions from listeners and shares some of his favorite podcasts, books, and perspectives for succeeding with agroforestry.

This episode features voices from our Partnering for Agroforestry series: All Seasons Farm, Organic Compound, and Silverwood Park. Learn more about these partnerships on our YouTube channel and at https://www.savannainstitute.org/partnering/

Eliza Greenman is a farmer, "fruit explorer", and Savanna Institute staff member based in Virginia. In this episode, she answers questions from listeners, plays a round of agroforestry would-you-rathers, and talks about her latest agroforestry work. 

Eric Wolske is an experienced agroforestry researcher with a fondness for "booze crops" and an interest in modernizing agroforestry equipment and machinery. In this episode, Eric answers questions submitted by listeners and talks about his new role with Canopy Farm Management in Illinois. 

The Savanna Institute's newly rebranded podcast and blog about perennial agroforestry (AF) features interviews, questions from listeners, inside jokes, and more. Subscribe to Perennial AF to hear real AF conversations with some of the Midwest's top agroforesters and perennial farmers! More at https://www.savannainstitute.org/perennialAF

Jim Riddle has been an organic farmer, gardener, inspector, educator, policy analyst, author, and speaker for more than 35 years. Jim co-owns and operates Blue Fruit Farm near Winona, Minnesota, where he and his wife Joyce Ford grow blueberries, black currants, elderberries, aronia berries, honeyberries and more. Jim has a wealth of knowledge about organic berry production, and in this podcast episode, he shares his advice for growing and direct marketing fresh berries as well as processed fruit products. Episode links: Blue Fruit Farm: www.bluefruitfarm.com Savanna Institute: www.savannainstitute.org Grassland 2.0: www.grasslandag.org Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden - Lee Reich, 2004 Grow Fruit Naturally - Lee Reich, 2012 www.organicfruitgrowers.org Organic fruit grower's association honeyberryusa.com www.misa.umn.edu/publications/perennialfruit Perennial Fruit - new, unusual, and unique crops for northern climates

Matt Wilson, our Wisconsin agroforestry technical service provider, answers questions we've received online and plays a round of agroforestry would-you-rathers. 

Savanna Institute's Illinois Community Agroforester, Kaitie Adams, answers questions we've received online and plays a round of agroforestry would-you-rathers. 

Are you going to be grafting or pruning any trees this coming month? Lupe Rios, Vice President of Production at Forrest Keeling Nursery in Missouri, is a grafting master. Lupe sat down with us at the 2019 Perennial Farm Gathering to give us an introduction to grafting.

When you grow trees on a farm as a crop, what do you call it? Kathy Dice of Red Fern Farm has been doing that for decades. In this nutshell episode of the Savanna Institute Audio Archive, Kathy talks about what she calls her farming system - and how far she has to plan ahead.

Have you ever wondered how agroforestry farmers choose which crops to grow? In this nutshell episode of the Savanna Institute Audio Archive, Kathy Dice of Red Fern Farm talks about her strategy for choosing tree crops to plant.

Learn everything you ever wanted to know about elderberries in this episode! Featuring elderberry experts Terry Durham of River Hills Harvest and Chris Patton of the Midwest Elderberry Cooperative, this recorded conversation takes you through the benefits of elderberries and how to grow, harvest, process, and market them in the Midwest. Click here to learn more about Terry's work with River Hills Harvest and Chris's work with the Midwest Elderberry Cooperative.  This episode is supported by Grassland 2.0.

In this episode, we're trying a new format: three agroforestry experts on our staff provide answers to questions we've received about agroforestry. Featuring Kaitie Adams, Sven Pihl, and Matt Wilson, the episode delves into funding a food forest, removing brush without herbicides, and whether "agroforestry" is a confusing term. 

Greg Judy is a Missouri farmer, author, and role model for many aspiring agroforesters and livestock farmers. This episode features Greg's keynote presentation at our 2018 Perennial Farm Gathering, which includes a whirlwind tour of his farm operation, the story of how he became interested in agroforestry, and a glimpse into the mindset that led Greg to question many of the assumptions he once made about farming. You can learn more about Greg Judy and his work at http://greenpasturesfarm.net/ 

Eliza Greenman is an orchardist and fruit explorer who is enthusiastic about incorporating livestock into orchards. This episode features a recording of her presentation at the Savanna Institute's 2019 Perennial Farm Gathering, in which she describes how she became obsessed with managing orchards and finding rare tree varieties, her plans to haunt an orchard someday, and what it's like to own the oldest pig in the world.  You can learn more about Eliza's work at hogtree.com.

This episode features a complete recording of the 2020 Perennial Farm Gathering keynote panel, recorded online in December 2020. The panel features three women of agroforestry: Kathy Dice of Red Fern Farm, Olivia Watkins of Oliver's Agroforest, and Dr. Jifunza Wright-Carter, president and co-founder of the Black Oaks Center. The panel is hosted by Savanna Institute staff member Kaitie Adams. 

What is agroforestry? This introduction to our audio archive features the voices of some of our staff members.  You can learn more about the Savanna Institute at https://www.savannainstitute.org/