This month we hear from the people of Turtle Island who have created a Slow Food Indigenous association that represents a collective of over 500 nations on one continent. We head to Java, to celebrate the fantastic diversity of Indonesian bananas. In North Dakota we learn about the ecological potential of regenerative farming, and how farms can (and should) boost their local economies. We end up in the UK, with an end-of-year update from our regular marketing garden reporter. Thanks to our supporters Rebel Kitchen, for making this episode possible!

Jonny Hansen of Jubilee Farm speaking to Tiziana O'Hara of Cooperative Alternatives, a the local cooperative enterprise agency supporting the farms share offer.

Jubilee Farm is Northern Ireland's first Community-Supported Agriculture scheme.

In this short we hear Jonny Hansen from Jubilee Farm in Northern Ireland with an introduction to political economy in relation to food and farming. He’s in discussion with Professor John Barry from Queens University Belfast.

Jubilee Farm is Northern Ireland's first Community-Supported Agriculture scheme.

This month we’ve gone a little grain mad at UK Grain Lab. We learn about grain populations and heritage grains, innovative projects that connect millers, bakers and farmers and we chat to bakers around the world experimenting with more diverse flours. Then we jump across the Pennines to hear from students embedding sustainable food into student life. Thanks to our supporters Rebel Kitchen for making this episode possible.

Leah Penniman is a farmer, author, activist and all-round inspiration who we were lucky enough to interview for this special show. Her book, ‘Farming While Black’, published by Chelsea Green Publishing, is a multi-layered journey with practical tips for beginner farmers, afro-indigenous recipes, leadership advice, the story of building a farm and serving a community. But at its heart, this is a call to action, empowering people of colour to reclaim traditions and cultures that have been suppressed by colonialism and slavery. Thanks to Chelsea Green Publishing for supporting this episode. Image: onion harvest at Soul Fire Farm, credit: Leah Penniman

This month, we’re full to the brim with small-scale farming heroines. We start with a super-inspiring farmer in New York State, who shares her top 3 tips for setting up a small-scale farm. We speak to female farmers on either side of the Atlantic about life and death, and what it means to raise and kill animals. And we end the show looking at the power of photography to share the stories of small-scale farmers around the world. Thanks to our supporters Rebel Kitchen for making this episode possible.

This month we are connected to the voices of farmers and fishers around the world at Terra Madre in Turin. There we bump into a rather well-known chef and sustainable food activist who celebrates small-scale farming. We also hear from an extraordinary young Palestinian farmer, with her story of making olive oil against all odds in conflicted lands. Back in the UK, we talk nationwide farmer-led intercropping trials, and in Northern Ireland we hear from an expert in community share offers.

Greg Judy is an enthusiastic mob grazer based in Missouri. He talks to us about getting animals back on the land and building biodiversity in grasslands, including the importance of cow pats... all with the goal of increasing the long-term viability of your farm. We spoke to Greg at the Groundswell Show 2018.

This month we start with some thoughts from one farmer about ways of resolving the inevitable tensions of family farming over different generations. Next, we hear from a Dorset farmer, with an update on the highs and lows of her compost tea trials on arable cropland. Moving on to Herefordshire, we discover the exciting potential benefits of agroforestry for disease prevention in apple orchards. And finally, we end up in the Netherlands, where we learn about an innovative business model that is being used to create farming communities!

Thanks to our supporters Rebel Kitchen for making this episode possible.

Thanks to the contribution this week from the Investing in regenerative Agriculture Podcast. More here: https://soundcloud.com/investinginregenerativeagriculture

In this short, we take a walk with Loredana. With her husband Roy, she runs Agriturismo Stallaini in the south east of Sicily. They prepare food for the guests all from within walking distance of the mine. Encounter lucid, vivid scents, smells, colours and be present in this ancient place.

This podcast was made by Jo, with Lizzie Ostrom, and was originally published on the Life in Scents, a podcast about smell.

http://www.agriturismostallaini.com/

https://www.acast.com/lifeinscents