The Farm Report

Centralized, uber-efficient, industrialized agriculture is often presented as necessary to “feed the world.” In his new book, Perilous Bounty: The Looming Collapse of American Farming and How We Can Prevent It, veteran food, agriculture, and climate journalist Tom Philpott argues the opposite: that “industrial agriculture, as currently practiced, threatens the food security of everyone who now relies on it for sustenance.” In this episode, he talks to host Lisa Held about his reporting on the US’ resource-consuming systems—from a water crisis in California’s Central Valley to soil loss in the Midwest’s corn and soy fields—and what more resilient systems might look like.

Producing food requires land. As a result, forests are often razed to make space for crops or animals, creating environmental tradeoffs. But what if there were a middle ground between forest and farmland? In this episode, host Lisa Held explores the concept of agroforestry with Jacob Grace, a program manager at the Savanna Institute based in Madison, Wisconsin. They discuss varied agroforestry practices like alley cropping and silvopasture, potential environmental benefits such as carbon sequestration, and barriers that currently prevent more farmers from adopting the practices.

Vital Farms started on a Texas farm with 20 chickens. This year, the pasture-raised egg company went public. In between, the company bucked the typical model of scaling up in animal agriculture by building a network of small farms that all keep their hens outside on pasture, rather than building bigger, more concentrated, confined farms. In this episode, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco talks to host Lisa Held about what that approach looks like, from contract farming to “conscious capitalism.”

When it comes to election day, political pundits love to discuss which way “farmers” are going to vote. In the case of this election, the prevailing idea is that most farmers—especially commodity growers in the Midwest—will vote for President Trump. Many will. But farmers are a diverse group with diverse political opinions. In this episode, Ohio farmer and political organizer John Russell offers one unique perspective from the field. Russell is working with a super PAC called Rural Vote to promote Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as the right choice for farmers, a more resilient food system, and rural communities. He shares his observations and opinions with host Lisa Held.

This week The Farm Report is proud to present Jupiter's Almanac. On this inaugural episode, host Matthew Raiford introduces himself, along with his family history and the history of his farm. These lineages go hand in hand, dating back nearly 150 years ago when Matthew’s great-great-great grandfather, Jupiter Gilliard, bought Gilliard Farms. Matthew and his partner Jovan Sage share what the land is like today and discuss both how they care for it and keep its legacy alive. The second half of the show dives into the history of Coastal Georgia, Gullah Geechee culture, and the foodways Matthew has inherited. Plus Jovan shares a recipe for a delicious hibiscus spritzer.

Subscribe to Jupiter's Almanac wherever you get your podcasts.

Reverend Dr. Heber Brown, a Baltimore pastor, community organizer, and beginner farmer, started the Black Church Food Security Network in the wake of the city’s Freddie Gray uprisings in 2015. Since then, he’s been connecting farmers and faith communities in an effort to empower more Black communities to grow their own food on church-owned land. Five years later, in the midst of another pivotal moment in the movement for Black lives, host Lisa Held talks to him about what the network has accomplished so far and the importance and future of food sovereignty as it relates to racial justice.

J.I. Rodale wrote “healthy soil = healthy food = healthy people” on a blackboard in 1942, and that has been the mantra at the Rodale Institute, created in 1947, ever since. In this sitdown at Rodale’s research farm in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, host Lisa Held talks to CEO Jeff Moyer about how that history contributed to evolving ideas around organic and regenerative agriculture, the Institute’s most impactful research projects, and more. Think of it as a big picture check-in to assess if and why “organic” food and farming matters—now and for the future.

Despite challenges like shuttered farmers' markets and restaurants, a shortage of meat processors, and the scramble to move sales online, small and mid-size farmers have demonstrated real resilience during COVID-19, even as other parts of the food system shut down. In a recent online panel produced by the James Beard Foundation and Civil Eats, host Lisa Held spoke with farmers and leaders around the country to explore how the pandemic has affected regional food systems and what it all means for the future. The conversation features Cornelius Blanding, Executive Director of The Federation of Southern Cooperatives, Dena Leibman, Executive Director of Future Harvest, Lindsey Lusher Shute, CEO/Farmer/Co-Owner of Farm Generations and Hearty Roots Community Farm, and Wendy Johnson, Farmer/Co-Owner/Manager of Jóia Food Farm and Center View Farms. This panel was part of a James Beard Foundation webinar series to support the food and hospitality industry through COVID-19. To listen to additional conversations, visit https://www.jamesbeard.org/industry-support-webinars.

Jamila Norman had a vision to “just find green patches of land in the city and turn them into farms”—and she made it a reality. In this episode, Norman talks to host Lisa Held about how, today, she packs maximum vegetable production into Patchwork City Farms’ 1.2 acres in Atlanta, Georgia, how the farm has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and how the Black Lives Matter movement has led to greater visibility and support for Black farmers.

Chefs in Baltimore and Washington D.C. have always been Karma Farm’s best, and primary, customers. So what happens when restaurants shut down? In this episode, host Lisa Held talks to farmer Jon Shaw about how his diversified vegetable farm in Maryland has been affected by COVID-19 and about the farm’s other innovative attributes, like vegetables grown using organic practices in healthy soil outside, paired with hydroponic lettuces and herbs grown inside.