Land Stewardship Project's Ear to the Ground Podcast

By Land Stewardship Project

What's Land Stewardship Project's Ear to the Ground Podcast about?

Land Stewardship Project's Ear to the Ground podcast features interviews and presentations related to the Land Stewardship Project's work on sustainable agriculture, local food systems, rural communities, beginning farmers, social justice and agricultural/environmental policy.

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Land Stewardship Project's Ear to the Ground Podcast episodes:

04.12.2024
Ear to the Ground 338: Microbial IRA
For Jerome Fulsaas, cover cropping and no-till are creating an individual retirement account based on a living soil bank, not dead dirt. More Information • LSP’s Bridge to Soil Health Web Page • LSP’s Soil Builders’ Network • Order Your...
04.11.2024
Ear to the Ground 337: ROI & Riding a Bike
Josh Nelson’s approach to farming means looking beyond the next corn crop and building the kind of soil that generates long-term return on investment. More Information • LSP’s Bridge to Soil Health Web Page • LSP’s Soil Builders’ Network You...
04.09.2024
Ear to the Ground 336: Biology Booster
Gary Zimmer says before a farm can be sustainable, it has to be regenerated — and that starts with the soil. More Information • LSP’s Bridge to Soil Health Web Page • LSP’s Microbiology & Soil Health Web Page •...
03.21.2024
Ear to the Ground 335: Bumping Elbows
From raising produce and working in a restaurant to teaching food safety and managing a farmers’ market, Sara George has experienced “farm-to-fork” from just about every angle possible. This has given her invaluable insights into the barriers, and opportunities, involved...
03.15.2024
Ear to the Ground 334: Youth Movement
Farm Beginnings grad Marcos Giossi started his food-raising career as a teenager tilling soil on an old soccer field. Now he’s helping young urban farmers utilize a values-based decision making strategy to kick-off better communities. More Information • LSP’s Farm Beginnings Course • Urban...
03.13.2024
Ear to the Ground 333: 2 Kinds of Power
When LSP farmer-members like Paul Sobocinski took on Big Pork, it showed the long-term impact grassroots organizing can have. More Information • Making Change from the Ground Up: 40 Stories for 40 Years of Land Stewardship Project • LSP’s Policy Campaigns Web...
03.11.2024
Ear to the Ground 332: Real Food, Real Impact
Beverly Dougherty’s Real Food Hub is out to prove that connecting local farmers and local eaters makes sense nutritionally and financially — and is just plain fun. More Information • Read Food Hub • Minnesota Farmers’ Market Hubs • LSP’s Community-Based Food...
03.06.2024
Ear to the Ground 331: Reality Check
Direct-marketing expert and farmer Ryan Pesch sees a lot of potential in the community/local food movement, but farmers hoping to enter that realm need to ask some key questions first. More Information • Ryan Pesch Contact Information • LSP’s Community-Based Food...
02.25.2024
Ear to the Ground 330: String Theory
Soil, cows, ecology, economics: to milk producer Derek Schmitz, they are all linked, and that feeds his optimism even as tough times cast a shadow over dairy farming. More Information • LSP’s Grazing & Soil Health Web Page • Soil Health Academy...
02.18.2024
Ear to the Ground 329: Weather Whiplash
Climate change may impact a vegetable producer and a livestock farmer in different ways, but the result is the same: uncertainty, stress…and a deeper desire to connect with community. More Information • Ear to the Ground 299: Road to Resilience • LSP’s...
12.21.2023
Ear to the Ground No. 328: Urban Ag Oasis
Farm Beginnings grad Queen Frye just wants to raise food — even if she doesn’t resemble a famous Scottish farmer. More Information • R. Roots Garden • LSP’s Farm Beginnings Course You can find LSP Ear to the Ground podcast episodes...
12.15.2023
Ear to the Ground No. 327: Side-by-Side Soil
A 30-farm study is comparing the impacts regenerative vs. conventional practices have on soil’s resiliency. Extreme drought has churned up some exciting results. More Information • Sand County Foundation Soil Health Initiative • LSP Soil Health Web Page • Ear to...
11.07.2023
Ear to the Ground 326: Rooting Out Nitrates
The Olmsted County Groundwater Protection and Soil Health Program could serve as a holistic model for supporting practices that are good for the farmer, the land, and water quality. More Information • Land Stewardship Letter article on Olmsted County Groundwater...
11.06.2023
Ear to the Ground 325: Return of the Fence
Matt and Seth Tentis of White Barn Acres are creating a soil-smart farm using a mix of livestock, continuous living cover, and experimentation — with a healthy dose of community support tossed in for good measure. More Information • White...
11.04.2023
Ear to the Ground 324: Good Grass Makes Good Neighbors
The landowners Jeremy and Jessica Holst rent from like to see a green landscape — no wonder the dairy farmers’ rotational grazing system is considered a neighborhood asset. More Information • LSP’s Soil Health & Grazing Web Page • LSP’s Conservation Leases...
11.03.2023
Ear to the Ground 323: Rainy Day Fund
With their dairy farm at the epicenter of the worst drought in over a century, the Vergin family adapts through diversification, flexibility, and making deposits in the soil bank. More Information • LSP’s Soil Health & Grazing Web Page • LSP’s...
11.01.2023
Ear to the Ground 322: Lunchroom Stewardship
Aimee Haag is proving that farm-to-school arrangements can benefit kids, communities, and farmers…one tomato at a time. More Information • MDA Farm-to-School & Early Care Grants • Minnesota Farm-to-School Program • LSP’s Community-Based Food Systems Web Page • LSP Blog: 2023 Minnesota...
10.29.2023
Ear to the Ground 321: Buried Knowledge
A town lost to erosion offers a critical lesson as Sandy and Lonny Dietz strive to develop a viable no-till organic vegetable production system. More Information • Whitewater Gardens Farm • Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SARE) • LSP’s Soil Health...
10.26.2023
Ear to the Ground 320: Season Stretcher
An innovative program for promoting soil health and extending the grazing season came at just the right time for farmer Alan Bedtka. More Information • Ear to the Ground No. 326: Rooting Out Nitrates • Land Stewardship Letter article on...
10.20.2023
Ear to the Ground 319: Right Place, Right Time
Scott Elkins talks about why he is excited to join LSP’s staff as its executive director, and why the organization is well-placed to make a positive difference in creating a farm and food system based on integrity. More Information • Release: LSP Names...
10.13.2023
Ear to the Ground 318: Great Expectations
Farmer Mike Seifert is realizing that building a solid soil house is not enough — he also has to stock its pantry. More Information • LSP’s Soil Microbiology Web Page • Ear to the Ground 297: Web of Willing Workers...
10.01.2023
Ear to the Ground 317: Policy on the Prairie
Adam Griebie’s agricultural stewardship ethic has been bolstered by federal farm policy, but there’s room for improvement. More Information • LSP’s 2023 Farm Bill Platform • LSP’s Federal Policy Web Page You can find LSP Ear to the Ground podcast episodes...
09.23.2023
Ear to the Ground 316: Passing on Purity
Agronomist David Kleinschmidt says dealing with extreme weather on the farm requires compromise, even when it means taking a temporary step back on soil health. More Information • LSP’s Soil Health Web Page • LSP’s 2023 Field Day Special Report:...
09.17.2023
Ear to the Ground 315: Healthcare’s Farm Failure
Dana Seifert sees the healthcare system as being in the midst of a major drought, and it’s bleeding dry farmers and the rural communities that rely on them. More Information • LSP’s Healthcare Web Page • Ear to the Ground...
08.31.2023
Ear to the Ground 314: Going for the Goat
Jordan and Rachelle Meyer are using goats to add value to marginal land…one thistle at a time. More Information • LSP’s Soil Health & Grazing Web Page • LSP’s 2023 Field Day Special Report: “A Long, Hot Summer” • Wholesome...
08.04.2023
Ear to the Ground 313: Walking & Talking
A pasture walk on the Nikki and Cody Meyer farm shows the value of farmer-to-farmer learning. More Information • LSP’s Soil Health & Grazing Web Page • LSP’s 2023 Field Day Special Report: “A Long, Hot Summer” • Nikki Meyer’s...
07.31.2023
Ear to the Ground 312: Testing in Nature’s Image
Dr. Liz Haney says a truly regenerative farming system starts with a regenerative way of measuring soil health. More Information • LSP’s Soil Health Web Page • LSP’s 2023 Field Day Special Report: “A Long, Hot Summer” • Soil Regen...
07.26.2023
Ear to the Ground 311: Mooching Means More
Humble Hands Harvest’s entry into agroforestry is being supported by its vegetable operation — setting the stage for a new approach to farming a rugged landscape long into the future. More Information • Humble Hands Harvest • Savanna Institute • Sustainable...
06.14.2023
Ear to the Ground 310: Healthy Farmers, Healthy Land
Paula Williams talks about why healthcare reform matters to LSP and its allies, and, after 15 years of hard work and organizing, what advances were made on the issue during a recent session of the Minnesota Legislature. More Information • LSP blog...
05.20.2023
Ear to the Ground 309: Stewards of the Land
Two Puerto Rican filmmakers talk about Stewards of the Land/Serán las dueñas de la tierra, which documents the stories of three beginning farmers as they build relationships and find creative ways to access land to grow food for their communities. June 4 Screening...
05.03.2023
Ear to the Ground 308: Is Your Farm a Business?
Dave Pratt says most farms and ranches are just a collection of expensive assets and low-paying jobs. But such a dysfunctional business model is not inevitable. More Information • Ranch Management Consultants • LSP’s Soil Health & Grazing Page • LSP’s Farm...
04.28.2023
Ear to the Ground 307: Listening to the Knees
Farm Beginnings and Journeyperson taught Melissa Driscoll that true sustainability starts not only with the soil, but with the person who’s stewarding it. More Information • LSP’s Farm Beginnings Course • LSP’s Journeyperson Course • Minnesota Farm Business Management Faculty...
04.19.2023
Ear to the Ground 306: Tough Choices
How Farm Beginnings helped Hannah Frank and Justin Thomas whittle their enterprise “wish list” down to a sustainable size. More Information • LSP’s Farm Beginnings Course • Rue de Bungaloo Farm You can find LSP Ear to the Ground podcast...
04.09.2023
Ear to the Ground 305: Farm Bill as a Public Good
LSP farmer-members talk about how the 2023 Farm Bill could benefit the land, people, and rural communities (2nd of 2 parts). More Information • Ear to the Ground 304: Policy for the People (1st installment in this series) • LSP’s...
04.05.2023
Ear to the Ground 304: Policy for the People
Perhaps no single piece of legislation has a more profound impact on what our landscape and rural communities look like. That’s why LSP’s members are working hard to influence the 2023 Farm Bill (1st of 2 parts). More Information •...
04.01.2023
Ear to the Ground 303: Silvo Savvy
Farmers like Tom Hunter are setting out to prove that trees and livestock can mix in a way that creates an ecological -economic equilibrium. More Information • Sustainable Farming Association Silvopasturing Resources • The Prairie Enthusiasts • Ear to the Ground...
03.21.2023
Ear to the Ground 302: Thinking Like a Tree
Beginning farmers Abbie Baldwin and Mitch Hawes are playing the long game when it comes to launching their permaculture operation. More Information • LSP’s Farm Beginnings Course • Ear to the Ground 262: A Silvo Secondary Enterprise • Midwest Permaculture You can...
03.14.2023
Ear to the Ground 301: Pipe Dreams
When a tiling company suggested burying more pipe to deal with drainage issues, Tom Finnegan opted instead to go to the root of the problem. More Information • LSP’s Cover Crops page • LSP’s Grazing page • LSP’s No-till page...
02.27.2023
Ear to the Ground 300: Diversity Trumps Adversity
Illinois farmer Dave Bishop says rural communities can’t “monoculture” their way out of the economic, ecological, and social challenges that plague them. But diversifying successfully isn’t just a numbers game. More Information • Dave Bishop’s PrairiErth Farm • LSP’s Community-Based...
02.09.2023
Ear to the Ground 299: Road to Resilience
Laura Lengnick believes that if farms are to survive (and thrive) in the age of climate change, we need to remember it’s not just about soil and water — it’s also about people. More Information • Resilient Agriculture: Cultivating Food Systems...
01.18.2023
Ear to the Ground 298: Strangers, Guests & LSP
Before there was the Land Stewardship Project, there were people like Sister Mary Tacheny helping farmers speak out and be heard. More Information • Strangers and Guests: Toward Community in the Heartland • LSP’s 40-Year Timeline • Ear to the...
01.03.2023
Ear to the Ground 297: Web of Willing Workers
Scientist Elaine Ingham believes minding the microbes makes farmers the masters of their own destiny. More Information • Microbiologist Elaine Ingham’s Soil Food Web page • LSP’s Soil Microbiology web page • Ear to the Ground No. 292: Interview with...
12.20.2022
Ear to the Ground 296: Stability is Sexy
Rick Clark’s no-till organic system is all about treating cover crops like cash crops — because they are. More Information • Rick Clark’s Farm Green website • LSP’s Soil Health web page • LSP Ear Dirt soil health podcast series...
11.13.2022
Ear to the Ground 295: Patchwork Quilt Stewardship
John Ledermann’s rental relationships are built on healthy soil. More Information • LSP’s Conservation Leases Toolkit • Land Stewardship Letter article on John Ledermann • LSP’s Soil Health web page • LSP’s Land Transition Tools You can find LSP Ear...
11.12.2022
Ear to the Ground 294: Rootless Regeneration
These beginning farmers are accessing land without owning it — one megawatt at a time. More Information • LSP’s Farm Beginnings Course • Farm Beginnings in other Regions: the Farm Beginnings Collaborative • Land Stewardship Letter article on Josie Trople & Arlo Hark...
11.11.2022
Ear to the Ground 293: Middle of Somewhere
Carrie Calvo’s 7,000-mile journey to the heart of farming and local food. More Information • LSP’s Farm Beginnings Course • Farm Beginnings in other Regions: the Farm Beginnings Collaborative • Land Stewardship Letter article on Owl Bluff Farm • Fresh...
11.11.2022
Ear to the Ground 292: Working the Microbes
David Johnson and Hui-Chun Su Johnson’s approach to composting may help farming reach the ultimate regenerative ag pinnacle: self-sufficient soil. More Information • LSP’s Microbiology web page • Managing a Johnson-Su Composting Bioreactor • Ear to the Ground podcast episode 271:...
11.10.2022
Ear to the Ground No. 291: Shovel Doesn’t Lie
What Allen Williams unearthed on the farm of Rachelle and Jordan Meyer. More Information • LSP’s Soil Health web page • Land Stewardship Letter: A Season of Knowledge Transfer • Allen Williams Ear to the Ground podcast series • Jordan...
11.09.2022
Ear to the Ground No. 290: Silt Suppression
How the Bergler family stopped “chasing their tails,” started fixing their farm’s damaged soils, and welcomed curious queries. More Information • LSP’s Soil Health web page • Land Stewardship Letter: A Season of Knowledge Transfer You can find LSP Ear to...
11.09.2022
Ear to the Ground 289: Reflections on a Revolution
Two decades after crop failures almost ended his farming career, soil health pioneer Gabe Brown reflects on how far the regenerative ag movement has come…and where it’s going. More Information • LSP’s Soil Health web page • Ear to the...

What's Land Stewardship Project's Ear to the Ground Podcast about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Land Stewardship Project's Ear to the Ground Podcast episodes:

Ear to the Ground 338: Microbial IRA

Ear to the Ground 337: ROI & Riding a Bike

Ear to the Ground 336: Biology Booster

Ear to the Ground 335: Bumping Elbows

Ear to the Ground 334: Youth Movement

Ear to the Ground 333: 2 Kinds of Power

Ear to the Ground 332: Real Food, Real Impact

Ear to the Ground 331: Reality Check

Ear to the Ground 330: String Theory

Ear to the Ground 329: Weather Whiplash

Ear to the Ground No. 328: Urban Ag Oasis

Ear to the Ground No. 327: Side-by-Side Soil

Ear to the Ground 326: Rooting Out Nitrates

Ear to the Ground 325: Return of the Fence

Ear to the Ground 324: Good Grass Makes Good Neighbors

Ear to the Ground 323: Rainy Day Fund

Ear to the Ground 322: Lunchroom Stewardship

Ear to the Ground 321: Buried Knowledge

Ear to the Ground 320: Season Stretcher

Ear to the Ground 319: Right Place, Right Time

Ear to the Ground 318: Great Expectations

Ear to the Ground 317: Policy on the Prairie

Ear to the Ground 316: Passing on Purity

Ear to the Ground 315: Healthcare’s Farm Failure

Ear to the Ground 314: Going for the Goat

Ear to the Ground 313: Walking & Talking

Ear to the Ground 312: Testing in Nature’s Image

Ear to the Ground 311: Mooching Means More

Ear to the Ground 310: Healthy Farmers, Healthy Land

Ear to the Ground 309: Stewards of the Land

Ear to the Ground 308: Is Your Farm a Business?

Ear to the Ground 307: Listening to the Knees

Ear to the Ground 306: Tough Choices

Ear to the Ground 305: Farm Bill as a Public Good

Ear to the Ground 304: Policy for the People

Ear to the Ground 303: Silvo Savvy

Ear to the Ground 302: Thinking Like a Tree

Ear to the Ground 301: Pipe Dreams

Ear to the Ground 300: Diversity Trumps Adversity

Ear to the Ground 299: Road to Resilience

Ear to the Ground 298: Strangers, Guests & LSP

Ear to the Ground 297: Web of Willing Workers

Ear to the Ground 296: Stability is Sexy

Ear to the Ground 295: Patchwork Quilt Stewardship

Ear to the Ground 294: Rootless Regeneration

Ear to the Ground 293: Middle of Somewhere

Ear to the Ground 292: Working the Microbes

Ear to the Ground No. 291: Shovel Doesn’t Lie

Ear to the Ground No. 290: Silt Suppression

Ear to the Ground 289: Reflections on a Revolution