Dick McGinnis, a black currant breeder based in British Columbia, began his career as a stockbroker before devoting many years to developing cold-hardy, blight-resistant black currant varieties. The Savanna Institute acquired Dick McGinnis’s breeding program in 2022. In this episode, Savanna Institute researcher Lily Hislop explains what’s next for the “McGinnis cultivars,” and we’ll hear from Dick McGinnis himself, who recorded a webinar with our staff last year. Show notes at www.SavannaInstitute.org/PerennialAF

In 2024, Savanna Institute began a bioacoustic monitoring program to record the sounds of birds and other wildlife each morning and evening at one of our research farms. Ecosystem scientist Nate Lawrence explains the initial results from this project and how we hope to expand our acoustic monitoring in the future to identify birds, amphibians, insects, and bats in agroforestry fields. Show notes at www.SavannaInstitute.org/PerennialAF

Host Jacob Grace reads from the first three chapters of Tree Crops: A Permanent Agriculture by J. Russell Smith, first published in 1929. This book, which is now in the public domain, has been extremely influential in the adoption of agroforestry in the United States, and in the origins of the Savanna Institute in particular. Show notes at www.SavannaInstitute.org/PerennialAF

Sallie Calhoun, founder of the #NoRegrets Initiative and owner of Paicines Ranch on California's central coast, talks with staff member Jenn Ripp about how she got started ranching, her experiences as a philanthropist, and the importance of shifting from an agriculture based on chemistry to an agriculture based on biology. Show notes at www.savannainstitute.org/PerennialAF

Farmer Josh Payne leads a tour of his farm in central Missouri and describes his management of beef cattle, sheep, and hogs in a rotational grazing silvopasture system with chestnuts and additional agroforestry crops.

Harry and Jackie Hoch describe their work establishing tropical agroforestry in Carmelita Gardens, Belize, and discuss what has happened with their farmland in Minnesota since the 2018 interview heard in the previous episode. Show notes at www.savannainstitute.org/PerennialAF

Hear an audio tour of Hoch Orchard and Gardens in southeastern Minnesota in this archival recording from 2018. Harry and Jackie Hoch describe their systems for organic apple and cider production, orchard management with multispecies grazing, integrated pest management, and more. More info at https://www.savannainstitute.org/minnesota/hoch-orchard/

Adam D’Angelo, Breeding Operations Manager for the Savanna Institute Tree Crop Improvement Program, leads a tour of a research farm at the Savanna Institute’s Spring Green Campus in Spring Green, Wisconsin. Learn about plant breeding efforts with hybrid hazelnuts, American persimmon, black currants, elderberry, and more. Show notes at www.SavannaInstitute.org/PerennialAF

Brett Chedzoy and Cherrie Nolden have decades of experience managing silvopasture on farms in New York, Argentina, and Wisconsin. In this recorded session from PFG 2024, Brett and Cherrie describe their experiences raising cattle, goats, and other species in silvopasture systems, share lessons they’ve learned, and answer questions from the audience. Show notes at www.SavannaInstitute.org/PerennialAF

Lupe Rios talks about grafting, Eliza Greenman talks about silvopasture and fruit exploring, and Paul Dietmann talks about farm loans and financing in these interviews from the 2019 Perennial Farm Gathering. Show notes at www.SavannaInstitute.org/PerennialAF