agri-Culture

Send us Fan Mail

Jim Matheson, Executive Director of the National Bison Association, took a few moments to speak with us during the Buffalo and the Bison loadouts (No, we’re just being goofy – both are now accepted in common speech, as you’ll hear).  We don’t know if he knows Ted Turner, but he does know his marketing stuff, and is a great representative of this wild and wooly breed of livestock.  They might seem like the new kids on the block in the world of protein, but they’ve been on this continent longer than any of us newcomers.  The general human population is only now discovering the health and land-regenerative benefits of this awe-inspiring creature.  Join us for a conversation on the chilly grounds of the Event Center at the 2023 National Western Stock Show.  

 
Links:
https://bisoncentral.com/bison-perfected-by-nature/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_bison
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_bison#cite_note-10
https://www.tedturner.com/2017/07/bison-enthusiasts-gather-ted-turners-ranch/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_heaviest_land_mammals
https://www.explore.org/livecams/currently-live/plains-bison-grasslands-national-park-cam-1
https://www.explore.org/livecams/currently-live/plains-bison-grasslands-national-park-cam-3
https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=buffalo#B5544800
https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/news/its-bison-not-buffalo-and-other-american-bison-facts
www.nationaltoday.com (for bison month)
www.dakotabuffalo.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_bison

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

There were many exciting things at this year’s National Western Stock Show, but one of the highlights was the group meeting up on the side pens of the Event Center.  The Bison people were there in force, and the critters they came with stole the show, even if it was 25 degrees and snowing.  Especially since it was that cold, because in the frigid air the already impressive and feisty beasts were breathing out steam from their nostrils like something out of The Hobbit.  

Today, we’re sharing a conversation we had with Chad Kremer, President of the National Bison Association, Herd Manager for Custer State Park in South Dakota, long-time bison ranch owner, and title holder of the National Western’s Most Interesting Mustache.  He was also a super nice guy, and a true representative of All Things Good about South Dakota.  After speaking with him, it looks like another roundup might be in our filming future -- Buffalo style, so it looks like we’re going back.

Done with capitals yet?  Wild, Wooly, and Untamed.  With that, we’ll put our foot down (but gently)

(And as a side note – how many people can legitimately say they’re president of the NBA?  How cool is that?)

 Links:
www.kremerbuffalo.com
https://kremerbuffalo.com/blog/
https://www.nps.gov/articles/15-facts-about-bison.htm
https://gfp.sd.gov/parks/detail/custer-state-park/
https://gfp.sd.gov/buffalo-roundup/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_bison
https://www.fws.gov/about/region/mountain-prairie
https://bisoncentral.com/
https://www.nps.gov/articles/15-facts-about-bison.htm
https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Mammals/American-Bison
https://www.rei.com/blog/camp/yes-there-are-still-bison-in-america-heres-where-to-see-them

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

We’re back from the National Western Stock Show, and we thought we’d exit January with mules (no…backside-of-things jokes today, though it was tempting).  Mules are some of our favorite animals, and not just because they have names like “50 Shades of Foxy.”  The aptly-named Foxy and her owner Tabitha Holland of Signature Equine take a moment to bring 50% horse, 50% donkey and 120% of gorgeous muleness out of the stall to speak with us about the combinations that make life wonderful.  

We’ll be talking more about the glories of blending strengths this year, so stay tuned.  It’s gonna be an exciting year!

 Links:
www.signatureequine.com
https://nationalwesterncomplex.com/
https://nationalwestern.com/
https://www.resynergyfoundation.org/
https://americangoatfederation.org/
http://milkingdevons.org/
https://www.ctlc.org/
http://www.valaisblacknosesheepsociety.org/
https://www.savingsuffolks.com
https://sheepandwool.com

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

Today, we’re speaking with Christy, who is an old friend of mine. This podcast came into being, because last October, Christy and her son Luke met up with us in Rhinebeck for the New York State Sheep and Wool festival.  On one of the evenings when we lifted our tired feet off the floor, we had a conversation about taxes and accounting, as often happens, and it migrated into the joys of the Schedule F – Farm Income, and went from there. I hope today’s content is a little bit interesting even to those of you who do NOT actually file a farm return, because it turns out that climate issues, drought, and economic pricing unsurely are not the only challenges in agriculture. You have to deal with retirement issues in ways many others don’t.


Links:
https://www.irs.gov
https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs-search?search=F
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i990sf.pdf
https://www.halterproject.org

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

Thank you to all who tune into our podcast and for supporting us!

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

Well as you might know (or maybe not), Elara does let me get out on my own every once in a while. This past Fall, my brother and I went on a cross country road trip from San Diego, CA to Rhinebeck, NY.  We were headed back to New York to film the NY Sate Sheep and Wool Festival and I thought it would be great to do a brothers road trip. My brother has not gotten to see much of the west and so I wanted him to see some of this great country's sites. There are many that we visited from Yellowstone, Tetons, The Badlands, Mt. Rushmore, Deadwood, SD, and Devils Tower.  As we were driving through South Dakota we saw a sign for the World's Only Corn Palace, so we looked at each other and said we've got to check this place out.  It's located in Mitchell, SD and also happens to be the hometown of Senator George McGovern, who by the way was instrumental in the creation of the United Nations-run World Food Program. As we walked in to look around, I said to my brother that we need to get an interview about this place and find out its history. There we were connected to Doug Greenway, the director of the Corn Palace and he was gracious enough to give us a few minutes of his time and to give us brief run down of this buildings origin.

Links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corn_Palace
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_McGovern
https://cornpalace.com
https://sheepandwool.com

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

The New York State Sheep & Wool Festival was just last month, and it’s Thanksgiving already.  We’ve got a podcast for you from the wild and wooly, festive and colorful event. 

If you’re in a work truck or jeans ad with all of those good looking farm people tossing bales of hay around, you might get the impression that anyone who produces food or fiber in America is…well, pretty vanilla.  And considering how many of our ag products are an amalgamation of cultures and peoples throughout our history (corn, beans, pigs, horses, cattle, turkey, cranberries, squash…), maybe we’d be smart to stop and think about how diversity has made us strong.

The BIPOC booth at Rhinebeck represented a slice of an underrepresented category in most of the visible ag press these days, and we were glad these delightfully different took time out from the crowd questions to answer some of ours (the gorgeous combinations of fiber and an aqua-color to (hand) dye for were developing right there in their breed barn booth.  Delicious).  BIPOC is an acronym that stands for Black, Indigenous and People of Color, and though some might wonder if this podcast will be politically correct – not so.  We hope you hear it and do your own thinking about why representation is so important to agricultural diversity of all types.  Our strength in humanity is in our many shapes sizes, and colors, and we hope you celebrate them all with us.  

Links:
https://sheepandwool.com/
IG:        @theknottycat
IG:        @viva_acres
IG:        @anne.choi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Sisters_(agriculture)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayflower

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

We’re (almost) all back from the New York State Sheep & Wool Festival, aka “Rhinebeck,” to those in the fiber universe.  It was (largely) a success, as our Livestream event went (mostly) as planned.  You can watch the workshops, shows and other snippets for yourself on our YouTube channel if you missed the lively weekend, and see the fantastic Fall colors that were on display as a backdrop for the Camelid and sheep parades and cashmere goat judging (or was the cashmere goat jumping?  Nope – that was the llamas).  Equipment auction?  Got that, too.  We hope you tune in to see a little bit of all that for yourself.  

Want to volunteer for the 2023 show?  Follow the links to be included in the ranks of the brave, hardworking people that have kept this thing going since 1980.  

On the podcast today we have a conversation with one of the main movers and shakers of this undertaking. Claire Houlihan is President of the Board of Directors for the Dutchess County Sheep and Wool Growers Association, a fantastic nonprofit that focuses on education and promotion of all things fiber.  We think that there’s no better way to do that than the New York State Sheep & Wool Festival, and we hope to see you there in 2023.

(Minus the urgent care visit next time, though, if possible.)

Links:
https://www.dcswga.org/about
https://www.dcswga.org/
https://www.dcswga.org/volunteer-your-time
https://sheepandwool.com/
https://www.youtube.com/c/BackyardGreenFilms/featured
https://battenkillfibers.com/
https://www.cornwallyarnshop.com/
https://hvtextileproject.org/history/
https://www.nysenate.gov/senators/michelle-hinchey
https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-signs-new-york-textile-act-strengthen-new-yorks-manufacturing-industry#:~:text=Legislation%20%28S.8741A%2FA.9649A%29%2C%20named%20the%20New%20York%20Textile%20Act%2C,animal%20fibers%20that%20are%20grown%20in%20New%20York.

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

This past weekend we attended the NY State Sheep and Wool Festival, also known as Rhinebeck...which of course is in Rhinebeck, New York. It has become an annual pilgrimage for Rick and I.  We love coming back to the Hudson Valley this time of year, there's a brisk in the air, the fall colors are beautiful, and the sheep people are in town...not only the sheep people, but the goats, angora rabbits, llamas, musk oxen, and alpacas too.  It's just wonderful! 

Today's guest is Mary Badcock. Fiber artist, handspinner, and wool judge. She is an extraordinary person, who has traveled the world in the name of fiber, and has been attending Rhinebeck for over 35 years.

If you're not familiar with this event, here's a little information about it. The first festival was held in 1972 and it's been held every October since at the Dutchess County Fair grounds. It started out with just a few people wanting buy, trade, and sale there fiber products and animals and has grown to have an annual attendance of 35,000 plus people.

Links:
https://sheepandwool.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_State_Sheep_and_Wool_Festival
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiber_art
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_spinning

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

This month is the traditional time to celebrate Halloween, so we have a creepy crawly podcast for you this time around.  Maia Holmes from The Bug Zoo at Colorado State University sits down to talk turkey with us.  Oops – that’s next month.  Maia sits down with us to talk about all things insects, what the Bug Zoo does, and why these poor critters are completely undeserving of the reputation they have and the reaction they engender.  She reminds us that it’s not just the bees that can be a friend to man.  After all, if you think Halloween is scary, just try thinking about life would be like without little scavengers picking up all of our crumbs.  The Horror!

We would just like to note that for this one, we lasted an hour without visibly scratching in the little room of a thousand bugs. We hope you’re proud.

And thanks again, Franck.  You’re a prince among men.  And we're not even standing in the Weed Lab when we say that.

Links:
https://www.colostate.edu/
https://stem.colostate.edu/events/the-csu-bug-zoo/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelob
https://www.imdb.com/list/ls066408737/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starship_Troopers
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linnaean_taxonomy#:~:text=The%20Linnaean%20classes%20for%20plants%2C%20in%20the%20Sexual,8.%20Octandria%3A%20flowers%20with%208%20stamens%20More%20items
https://web.archive.org/web/20150801154338/http://iczn.org/
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Franck-Dayan
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00R5WBGBS?ref_=dbs_m_mng_rwt_calw_tkin_0&storeType=ebooks&qid=1665005969&sr=8-1
https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/which-crops-plants-are-pollinated-by-honey-bees.html#:~:text=Which%20Crops%20Are%20Pollinated%20By%20Honey%20Bees%3F%201,pollination.%20...%202%20Great%20...%203%20Modest%20

Support the show