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.

Our Farms, Our Future

027 - Why On Farm Research Matters - Dean Baas and Alan Sundermeier

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. 

026 - Aquaponics - JP Knobloch and Tim Hydar

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.  

025 - Building Resilience - Laura Lengnick and Don Teske

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.

024 - Protecting Our Pollinators - Eric Lee-Mäder and Rachel Coventry

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. 

023 - Women In Agriculture - Jen Filipiak and Maud Powell

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.

022 - Bridging the Rural-Urban Divide - Becca Jablonski and Charlie Jackson

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. 

021 - Finding a Catalyst for Change in Agriculture - Sami Tellatin and Elizabeth Reaves

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).   

020 - Advocating for Sustainable Agriculture - Margaret Krome and Paul Wolfe

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. 

019 - Sustainability on the Farm - Eric Klein & Wayne Martin

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 .   

018 - Sustainable Agriculture: Nourishing Communities - Jim Freeburn and Hannah Smith-Brubaker

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.

017 - The Fight for Equal Rights in Agriculture - Barbara Norman and Savi Horne

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.

016 - Serving Our Land: Veterans in Agriculture - David Paulk and Margo Hale

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. 

015 - Soil: The Heart of Our Farms - Heather Darby and Julia Gaskin

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. 

014 - Accessible Food Systems - Molly Rockamann and Karen Washington

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.

013 - Production on Pasture - Greg Brann and Robin Way

Our Farms, Our Future brings together the sustainable agriculture community for thought-provoking conversations about the state of agriculture, how we got here, and where we're headed. The series is produced by the USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. Learn more at www.sare.org.

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Our Farms, Our Future

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