Agrarian Futures

On this show, we’ve talked a lot about how traditional banking and financial systems make it tough for new farmers or those without direct land ownership to get a fair shot. But those challenges run even deeper for agricultural producers in Indian Country.

Enter Skya Ducheneaux, who’s tackling these barriers head-on as the leader of Akiptan—the first Native CDFI dedicated to serving agricultural producers all across Indian Country. Skya brings fresh eyes to lending, challenging old-school banking practices that just don’t work for farmers without big land holdings or a long financial track record. Instead, Akiptan focuses on sweat equity, work ethic, hands-on support, and long-term solutions - and yield tremendous outcomes as a result.

In this episode, Skya shares:

• Her journey from growing up on a cattle ranch to leading a groundbreaking financial institution.
• Why extractive capital leads to extractive practices—and how patient, thoughtful capital can support regenerative agriculture.
• The unique ways Akiptan removes barriers and empowers Native ag producers.
• Remarkable success stories from the communities Akiptan serves.
• Why Native CDFIs have an opportunity to step up investment in agriculture.
• And how outside investors can better align with the long-term needs of Native farmers.
• And much more…

More about Skya and Akiptan:

Skya Ducheneaux is the Executive Director of Akiptan and is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. She spent her first 18 years of life on a cattle ranch on the CRST Reservation in South Dakota. She then pursued a Bachelors and Masters Degree in Business Administration while working at a county FSA office and buffalo meat processing plant. After returning home to work for the Intertribal Agriculture Council, she was tasked with creating the first Native CDFI dedicated to serving Native Agriculture producers all across Indian Country. Akiptan began lending in January of 2019 and has grown rapidly over the years.

In addition to Akiptan, Skya has served on many advisory committees and is currently the Board Chair of the Mountain Plains CDC. In her role as Executive Director, she is a part of several CDFI coalitions, advocates locally and federally and presents at conferences to share the mission of Akiptan.

Agrarian Futures is produced by Alexandre Miller, who also wrote our theme song. This episode was edited by Drew O’Doherty.

In the face of climate change and biodiversity loss, the solutions we hear the most are technological ones - many of which mirror the economic and philosophical approaches that precipitated these crises in the first place. But what if that vision is flawed? Chris Smaje, author of Saying NO to a Farm-Free Future, challenges the dominant eco-modernist philosophy head-on. He critiques its reliance on techno-fixes—not just on technological grounds, but also economic, political, and spiritual ones.

In this episode, Chris shares an alternative vision: a localist, agro-ecological approach to modern agriculture, rooted in self-provisioning for our basic needs and leveraging natural cycles instead of hyper-technological systems. It’s a vision that reconnects us to the land, promotes food sovereignty, and rethinks what a feasible and fulfilling future could look like.

In this episode, we dive into:

• Why he wrote Saying NO to a Farm-Free Future, inspired by a critique of prominent environmental and agricultural thinker George Monbiot.
• What our environmental crises reveal about the deeper flaws in our econmic systems.
• How industrial agriculture’s obsession with efficiency undermines ecological and social resilience.
• The ecological work of animals and why they’re vital to sustainable farming systems.
• The drive toward urbanism and the assumptions—often misguided—about its benefits for the planet.
• Reimagining quality of life beyond financial measures.
• And much more…

More about Chris:

Chris Smaje helps run a small farm in Somerset, England and has worked as a commercial vegetable grower and an academic social scientist. He’s recently published two books, A Small Farm Future (2020) and Saying NO to a Farm-Free Future (2023). He’s currently at work on a third – Lights for a Dark Age – all published by Chelsea Green.

Agrarian Futures is produced by Alexandre Miller, who also wrote our theme song. This episode was edited by Drew O’Doherty.

It’s easy to feel powerless in the face of climate change, but where can we find models for living in harmony with the planet—before it’s too late? Alexis Zeigler and the community at Living Energy Farm are doing just that: building a self-sustaining, non-extractive way of life and sharing their knowledge with others.

Alexis brings a unique blend of practical, technical expertise and a deep philosophical vision for restoring our spiritual connection to nature—and to one another. These themes are at the heart of this show. If you’re seeking grounded hope and a climate-resilient model for living, we think you’ll find this conversation inspiring.

In this episode, we cover:

• Living Energy Farm’s mission to live without reliance on fossil fuels or grid electricity and how that works in practice.
• The limitations of climate change mitigation strategies that rely on just converting consumer products into something more sustainable.
• The sacrifices they make to live self-sufficiently, and how its less than what you might think.
• The core tenets necessary to live this way.
• The benefits of living intentionally and in community vs a life focused on private property.
• And much more...

More about Alexis and Living Energy Farm:

Alexis Zeigler is an author, activist, designer and builder of renewable energy systems. He was raised on small, diversified farm in Georgia. He is the primary designer of Living Energy Farm, a community of 10 people that grows most of its food and provides all of its own domestic energy. Alexis has a passion for growing food on trees, and is particularly devoted to persimmons. His books include Integrated Activism, which discusses the links between ecological change and politics, as well as Empowering Communities, which describes how to build food and energy independent communities.

Agrarian Futures is produced by Alexandre Miller, who also wrote our theme song. This episode was edited by Keith J. Nelson, Alexandre Miller, and Drew O’Doherty.

Today’s guest is proving that financial models can prioritize the well-being of farmers and the resilience of our food systems—not just financial returns. Mark Watson, president and chief investment officer of Potlikker Capital, leads a fund dedicated to supporting BIPOC farmers in the U.S. who operate at the intersection of racial and climate justice.

Drawing from his extensive background in conventional finance, Mark sheds light on why our current economic systems fail small farmers—and how Potlikker is pioneering a blended approach to overcome these challenges.

How can rural BIPOC farmers thrive in an industrialized, consolidated food system? Mark is helping to chart the path forward.

In this episode, we cover:

• Mark’s journey from traditional finance to seeing the need for a new kind of financing for rural BIPOC farmers.
• Potlikker Capital’s strategy for building a networked, resilient food system with an emphasis on supporting farmers of color.
• The revolutionary power of de-centering financial returns from the investment process.
• How they’ve structured their organization to invest wisely.
• How to engage the broader investment community in food and racial justice work.
• And much more...

More about Mark and Potlikker Capital:

Mark Watson is the President and Chief Investment Officer of Potlikker Capital. Previously, his impactful tenure as Managing Director of the Fair Food Fund mobilized catalytic capital to enhance community access to healthy food and promote local ownership in food production and distribution, always with a focus on social equity.

In addition, Mark founded Keel Asset Management LLC, a pioneering financial advisory firm dedicated to providing socially responsible investment solutions to nonprofits and public and corporate pension plans. His career began in commercial banking at the First National Bank of Chicago (now JP Morgan Chase), where he amassed over 30 years of experience managing investment portfolios for foundations, endowments, and institutional pension funds.

Notably, Mark co-designed and launched the Boston Impact Initiative Fund, an integrated racial justice capital fund that successfully deployed capital to over 30 small businesses. He continues to contribute his expertise as an investment committee member for the Fund.

He serves as an advisory board member of MIT/Health Innovation Systems Inc., Director of Transition at The Institute of Educational Leadership, board president of Sustainable Cape, Inc., and was previously a board member of the Social Venture Network.

Agrarian Futures is produced by Alexandre Miller, who also wrote our theme song. This episode was edited by Drew O’Doherty.

Register for the Acres USA conference coming up on December 2-5, 2024. And if you can’t make those dates or its already passed, you can purchase the event recordings as well!

Can a digital bookstore and learning community reshape the world of farming? On our latest episode Taylor Henry, owner of Acres USA, makes a compelling case.  He takes us through his journey into regenerative agriculture, sparked by Acres USA's rich catalogue. Taylor shares how Acres USA is redefining what it means to learn the craft of farming, offering an education that could rival, and even surpass, the traditional university path.

We also dive into the upcoming Acres USA conference, where leaders and learners come together to inspire, innovate, and transform the future of agriculture. Taylor explains why it’s essential for farmers to see themselves as entrepreneurs and how Acres USA equips them to do just that.

In this episode, we cover:

• How Acres USA’s bookstore sparked Taylor’s journey into regenerative farming.
• The history of Acres USA and its role in pushing forward organic and regenerative ag.
• How they’re marrying archival and historical knowledge, with the latest thinking in regards to agriculture.
• Why Taylor believes the offerings of Acres USA can rival the traditional university system when it comes to learning the business of regenerative farming.
• Why farmers need to see themselves as entrepreneurs.
• What’s in store at the upcoming Acres USA conference where leaders in the field will be sharing insights and regenerative farmers can gather to learn from each other.
• Some exciting innovations that can showcase the health benefits of regeneratively grown beef.
• And much more...

Register for the Acres USA conference

More about Taylor, Acres USA, and the Acres USA Podcast:

Taylor Henry is the owner and CEO of Acres USA, which he acquired in 2023. He is also the visionary behind Henry Pastures, a regenerative farm in Wisconsin. Originally setting aside his farming dreams, Taylor’s journey began in law enforcement and later led him into entrepreneurship. Eventually, he returned to his passion by establishing Henry Pastures, a 200-acre regenerative farming operation dedicated to holistic land management and sustainable practices. Taylor also works in real estate, helping others pursue land ownership with a focus on regenerative agriculture.

Agrarian Futures is produced by Alexandre Miller of You Should Have a Podcast, who also wrote our theme song. This episode was edited by Keith J. Nelson.

“I believe there is something dangerous about our entire notion of what a solution to climate change even is. We’re trying to engineer our way out of an ecological crisis that we engineered ourselves into. Growing bigger and more complex might not help. We’re going to have to humble ourselves first.”

- Rex Weyler

In this episode, we were joined by the one and only Rex Weyler - activist, author, co-founder of Greenpeace, and a veteran of the ecology movement - to examine why the early momentum for ecological change slowed and how our obsession with controlling nature has led us astray. He offers a compelling critique of our collective fixation on technological fixes, arguing that it blinds us to a deeper truth: we’re part of nature, not separate from it.

Rex challenges us to rethink what living sustainably truly means and to question the myths of “green technology” and perpetual growth that define our modern world. Instead, he advocates for a life rooted in simplicity and intentional choices, where individual and community well-being align with the rhythms of the natural world. Join us as we explore Rex’s vision for a society that is rooted in an ecological lens, and learn how living simply might be the most radical—and effective—path forward.

In this episode, we cover:

• How Rex’s childhood in wild places shaped his appreciation for the natural world.
• The radical origins of Greenpeace and the famous intervention that launched “Save the Whales”
• An exploration of why the environmental movement has been - in Rex’s words - “mostly a failure.”
• Why Rex believes we lost an important concept in transitioning from an “ecological” movement to an “environmental” movement
• How our fixation on growth undermines efforts to halt climate change.
• Positive examples of communities living in harmony with nature
• The joy and restorative power of living simply
• And much more...

More about Rex:

Rex Weyler is a writer and ecologist. His books include Blood of the Land, a history of indigenous American nations, nominated for a Pulitzer Prize; Greenpeace: The Inside Story, an account of the first decade of the Greenpeace organization and a finalist for the Shaughnessy-Cohen Award for Political Writing; and The Jesus Sayings, a deconstruction of first century history and finalist for the BC Book Award. In the 1970s, Weyler was a cofounder of Greenpeace International and editor of the Greenpeace Chronicles, the organization's newsletter. In the 1980s, he founded the Hollyhock Learning Centre in BC, Canada. He currently works with the International Bateson Institute as an ecology researcher and teacher. He lives on Cortes Island in British Columbia, Canada.

Agrarian Futures is produced by Alexandre Miller, who also wrote our theme song. This episode was edited by Keith J. Nelson.

If most of us are honest—banking probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when we think about social and environmental change. But what if it could be?

In today’s episode, we talk with Charley Cummings, CEO of Walden Mutual, an innovative bank that’s restoring a community-driven model that has largely disappeared in the face of 50 years of banking consolidation.

Charley walks us through the recent history of US banking and how the fundamental thesis behind it has changed, leaving many behind. He explains how is own experience as the founder of Walden Local - a sustainable meats company - helped him see the lack of a local financing option that embodied his values. From there, Charley dives deep into their community driven model, showcasing what a relationship-driven, place-based banking model could mean for the future of local agriculture and our food systems at large.

In this episode, we cover:

• Charley’s political origins and how he came to see the need for a new model for community financing.
• The essential role that community banking played in building the American middle class.
• How shareholder primacy - which is taken as gospel now - is a societal construct that arose in the 1970s and has fundamentally reshaped our banking system.
• How they are restoring character based lending through a fusion of modern tools and a relationship driven approach.
• Financing local economic “ecosystems” in order to create mutually
• What a place-based banking model could mean for the future of food systems.
• And much more...

More about Charley:

Charley Cummings is the founder and CEO of Walden Mutual Bank, the first newly chartered mutual bank in the US in 50 years.  Walden Mutual lends to sustainable food and agriculture businesses in New England and New York, while offering impact driven online and mobile deposit accounts to businesses and consumers.  Charley previously founded and ran Walden Local, Inc., now the leading brand of locally produced pasture-based meat in the Northeast.  Previously he worked at various venture-backed clean technology companies and co-founded a non-profit advocacy organization formed in support of the country's first proposed offshore windfarm.  Charley began his career at Monitor Group (now part of Deloitte) and earned a BA from Brown University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.  He lives with his wife, three children and small flock of Kitahdin sheep in Hopkinton, New Hampshire.

Agrarian Futures is produced by Alexandre Miller of You Should Have a Podcast, who also wrote our theme song.

What does it take to leave the city behind and embrace the life as a cowboy? In this episode, we trace Tyler’s unique path from competitive running, to beekeeping and vegetable farming, to life as a regenerative cattle rancher. Tyler shares the transformative experience of building a relationship with the land, the day-to-day realities of cowboy life, and the complex dynamics of being a non-binary person of color in a traditionally conservative rural setting. We also dive into the myths surrounding the cowboy legend, exploring the true, multicultural history behind the iconic figure.

Tyler’s journey is one of both personal and professional evolution. As we discuss the social challenges of transitioning from an urban environment to a rural community, Tyler opens up about their experiences of belonging, identity, and ambition. This episode invites you to reimagine the past, present, and future of the cowboy.

In this episode, we cover:

- Tyler’s winding journey from beekeeping, to vegetable farming, to ranching in rural Montana

- The day to day lifestyle of a regenerative rancher

- How Tyler’s relationship to the land has evolved over their time as a cowboy

- Navigating the social dynamics as a city dweller moving to a rural community, and the added complexities of being a non-binary person of color in the rural West.

- The real history of the cowboy and how our popular culture mythos doesn’t capture the complex and multicultural history behind it.

- And much more...

More about Tyler:

Tyler is a long haired, tattooist and body modification enthusiast, Asian, non-binary agricultural labour who is working up to starting their own enterprise, dreams, and place in life. They grew up in the city life of Georgia and spent most of their formative years in San Jose California where they found their love for a career in the agricultural sphere. Tyler and their dog Sage the border collie are currently residing and working in Roundup Montana.

Agrarian Futures is produced by Alexandre Miller of You Should Have a Podcast, who also wrote our theme song.

For Cole Bush, life as a shepherd is more than a job—it’s a calling. As the founder of her own grazing business in Southern California, she's using livestock to help restore land, reduce wildfire risks, and promote better agricultural practices. At the same time, she’s using her knowledge to train the next generation of pastoral graziers through the Grazing School of the West.

We’ll dive into her journey, sharing the insights she gained along the way about the co-evolution of humans, animals, and our environment. Cole’s work is changing the way people think about grazing, and today, she’s here to share how livestock can be a powerful tool for healing the land.

In this episode, we cover:

- An introduction to prescribed grazing - using sheep and goats to benefit local ecosystems.

- The history of pastoralism in California and how plants, animals, and people have co-evolved.

- Pastoral strategies to build fire resilience.

- The importance of learning from ancient indigenous practices

- Training the next generation of graziers through the Grazing School of the West.

- And much more...

Learn more and get in touch with Cole at Sherpherdess Land and Livestock and the Grazing School of the West.

Follow her on Instagram:

@bcbshepherdess
@shepherdess.land.and.livestock
@shepherdesshides
@grazingschoolofthewest

More about Cole:

Cole Bush, known for bringing the practice and ancient vocation of shepherding to Southern California, is an entrepreneur, advocate, and creative liberator in the fields of climate-beneficial agriculture, land stewardship, and prescribed grazing. With over a decade of experience, Cole has developed and managed prescribed grazing projects on thousands of acres of private and public lands throughout California for ecological enhancement and fire hazard reduction. Guided by her drive for meaningful work Cole is passionate in supporting others to find vocational pathways for non-traditional agrarians.

She is the founder of Shepherdess Land and Livestock Co. - a prescribed grazing company based in Ojai, California, Shepherdess Holistic Hides - a purveyor of mindfully sourced sheep hides, and Grazing School of The West - a non-profit 501(c)3 multidisciplinary vocational training program for the next-generation of graziers.

Agrarian Futures is produced by Alexandre Miller of You Should Have a Podcast, who also wrote our theme song.

In the 1990s, the success of the US organic movement seemed undeniable. Demand for healthy, chemical-free produce skyrocketed amidst public health concerns and a growing environmental consciousness. As a consequence, many small organic farmers could make a real living selling healthy produce and restoring farmland in the process. 

In the decades since, however, the story has gotten much more complicated.

Corporate co-optation, lax government oversight, and splinters within the movement itself have created a new set of challenges for organic farmers and activists - challenges our guest today is helping lead the fight to overcome.

Dave Chapman is a lifelong organic farmer, and Co-Director and Board Chair of the Real Organic Project, an organization dedicated to reigniting and reconnecting the organic movement. In this episode, he takes us through the history of the organic movement, where it is today, the differences and similarities between organic and “regenerative”, and where the movement can go from here.

In this episode, we cover:

- The history of organic, tracing its roots from indigenous practices to modern day agriculture.

- The original definition of organic and the fight to maintain those core principles through the Real Organic Project.

- The longtime debate over certification and institutionalization.

- The organic boom, the entrance of Big Food into the marketplace, and the challenge of enforcement.

- “Regenerative,” and the risk of cooptation of any new label.

- The difference between building brands and building movements, and an insight into what that movement can look like.

- And much more...

Learn more about Dave and the Real Organic Podcast at the Real Organic Project.

More about Dave:

Dave Chapman is a lifelong organic farmer who runs Long Wind Farm in Vermont. They grow the best tasting organic tomatoes in the country in the fertile soil underneath a glass greenhouse. He is the Co-Director and Board Chair of the Real Organic Project, dedicated to reigniting and reconnecting the organic movement. He leads the  Real Organic Podcast, providing a platform for many organic farmers, eaters, scientists, authors, educators, activists, and chefs. He was a co-founder of Vermont Organic Farmers in 1985, and was among those first certified by the USDA’s National Organic Program in 2003. He served on the Policy Committee of the Organic Farmers Association for 6 years. He also served on the USDA Hydroponic Organic Taskforce.  He has worked for years as an advocate for reform of the National Organic Program. He has met with Secretary Vilsack seeking reform of the organic program. His latest project is the creation of the Tomato Masterclass, a training for farmers working to create a stronger economic base for their market gardens. In his spare time he practices tai chi to stay sane and healthy.

Agrarian Futures is produced by Alexandre Miller of You Should Have a Podcast, who also wrote our theme song.