Who's Jason?
Jason Hansen spent 14 years with the NRCS watching conservation rules bend for bigger, better-connected operators, and running cost-share programs structurally set up to fail the farmers they were meant to help. In 2018, he left USDA and founded Yield Unlimited.

What is Yield Unlimited?
Yield Unlimited is Jason Hansen's nonprofit that pays farmers directly, long-term, to run five core conservation practices - crop rotation, no-till/strip-till, cover crops, nutrient management, and (for a higher payout) prescribed grazing.

The model:
- Farmers apply for a land rental contract (30-second application, Jason's goal)

- Up to $2,000/acre over 10-30 years, 50% paid upfront

- Funded by donations, not federal money - pitch is $5/person/month covers the country

- Treasury notes lock in and grow the later payouts (years 10 and 20)

Why it matters:
USDA cost-share caps at 5 years, right when farmers hit the yield dip during transition.Yield Unlimited's long-term contracts are built to carry them through this period.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Key Topics

• 14 years inside the NRCS, wetlands to DC headquarters
• Uneven enforcement of drainage rules for connected operators
• Why USDA's 5-year contracts fail farmers mid-transition
• The 2018 moment that led to founding Yield Unlimited
• The model: up to $2,000/acre, 10-30 year contracts
• Funding it outside the federal system

Timestamps 

• 00:00 — Intro
• 02:15 — Jason's background
• 08:40 — Certifying wetlands in ND
• 15:20 — Drainage enforcement issues
• 24:00 — Utah, then district conservationist
• 31:10 — The moment with his daughter
• 36:30 — Why the RCPP grant failed
• 44:15 — Hawaii, then DC headquarters
• 50:00 — Leaving USDA, founding Yield Unlimited
• 55:30 — How the model works
• 1:01:00 — Funding conservation nationwide
• 1:07:00 — Where to follow along

Connect with Jason

Website
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Linkedin

In this episode we cover why beef and dairy prices are climbing for reasons that go far beyond inflation, and what three decades of farm policy have cost rural America. 

JR Burdick runs Nourishing Family Farm in north-central Missouri, milking dairy cows and raising hogs, and has sold direct-to-consumer since 2023 after leaving conventional commodity markets and USDA subsidy programs in 2022. This is his third appearance on the show.

Key topics 

• Why beef and dairy prices reflect a 30-year supply crisis, not inflation
• How the 1994 Freedom to Farm Act shifted risk from government to farmers
• How Smithfield-style integrators used farmer equity to consolidate the hog industry
• The 2009 Dairy Depression and 2015 Holcomb fire's lasting effect on cattle herd confidence
• Why cheap fuel, money, and labor are gone — and what that means for small farms
• Direct-to-consumer dairy: correcting consumer misconceptions and building trust
• JR's shift to organic farming and leaving USDA subsidy programs

Timestamps

0:00 – Intro, reconnecting with JR

2:00 – Affordability crisis: inflation vs. supply

5:00 – 1994 Freedom to Farm Act and the shift to income-based policy

9:00 – Hog contracts and the Smithfield equity play

16:00 – Ethanol/biodiesel bankruptcies and the 2009 Dairy Depression

23:00 – BSE scare and the 2015 Holcomb fire's lasting impact on cattle herds

28:00 – Cheap fuel, cheap money, cheap labor — and why that era's over

33:00 – Selling direct to consumer: listening over convincing

37:00 – Consumer misconceptions: winter grass, family milk cows

45:00 – The dairy farm decline stat and JR's bullish case for small, local farms

58:00 – The lettuce recall, greenwashing, and knowing your farmer

62:00 – Leaving USDA payments, faith, and the calf-birth story that keeps it all grounded

Connect with JR Burdick / Nourishing Farms

Facebook
X
Website

JR's Previous Episosdes

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#93

Ep 120: Mike Callicrate

Mike Callicrate runs Ranch Foods Direct and Callicrate Beef out of Colorado Springs and St. Francis, Kansas. He built a fully vertically integrated operation involving raising cattle, slaughtering on-site, cutting, and selling direct to consumers. Our conversation follows his life story from his childhood on a small Colorado farm, a rodeo scholarship that led him into an animal science degree, and years running large-scale feedlots before he became one of ten ranchers who sued major meatpacker IBP in 1996 over market manipulation, a case that ended in a $1.28 billion jury verdict the judge later overturned.

We get into why that loss pushed him to stop selling livestock and start selling meat instead, how Ranch Foods Direct's on-site slaughter facility, composting system, and bone char/biochar production work together, and the economics that separate a small direct-to-consumer operation from an industrial one. 

Key topics

- From rodeo and animal science to building and later rejecting industrial feedlots
- The 1996 lawsuit against IBP, the overturned $1.28 billion verdict, and the Packers and Stockyards Act
- How producers' share of the consumer dollar collapsed since 1970
- Fraud, political influence, and market consolidation
What "pink slime" and lean finely textured beef actually are
- The grass-fed/grass-finished labelling problem 
- Declining Ogallala Aquifer levels and what it means for ranching's future
- Building local maker-owned marketplaces as an alternative to scaling up

Timestamps:
0:00 – Intro + backstory: rodeo, animal science degree, early feedlots
6:00 – Building industrial feedlots, growing concerned with market concentration
12:00 – Decision to sue IBP, being blackballed by buyers
18:00 – The lawsuit's path to trial and the $1.28B verdict
30:00 – The judge's reversal + Packers and Stockyards Act explained
36:00 – Shifting from selling livestock to selling meat direct
44:00 – Building the on-site slaughter facility and circular waste model
52:00 – The "story of the steer" and producers' lost share of the consumer dollar
1:02:00 – Scaling down vs. scaling up: why direct/local beats commodity
1:10:00 – COVID, empty shelves, and the case for local food resilience
1:18:00 – Batista brothers, JBS, and meatpacking consolidation
1:28:00 – What pink slime is and how it's made
1:38:00 – Grass-fed/grass-finished labeling and imported beef
1:46:00 – Ogallala Aquifer decline and water scarcity
1:52:00 – Vision for maker-owned marketplaces and local food hubs

Find out more: 
https://www.mikecallicrate.com/

The Regenaissance Podcast explores the people, farms, and ideas rebuilding our food system from the ground up.

Matthew runs Cottage Pastures on 26 acres in Switzerland County, Indiana, raising pigs, chickens, cattle, and sheep alongside garlic and herbs - everything sold under the name is raised on the farm itself. He and his wife bought the property in 2022 and built it up from a homesteading project into a full working farm. 

Our conversation centers on garlic: despite ideal growing conditions across the Midwest, most garlic sold in the U.S. is imported, and a soil-borne fungal disease can make land unable to grow garlic for 20 to 40 years once it takes hold. This is a risk Cottage Pastures is now soil-testing to get ahead of. We talk through how the farm accidentally ended up growing 20-plus garlic varieties, why the economics of commodity crops crowd out specialty ones like garlic, and what it costs to raise and ship chicken nationwide as a direct-to-consumer farm. 

Matthew also gets into why pre-orders rather than outside financing keep the farm's cash flow working, how he decides what to raise or cut as the operation grows, and what it looks like to raise kids alongside farm work without compelling them to help.

Key topics:
- Why most U.S. garlic and herbs are imported despite favorable growing conditions
- A soil-borne fungal disease that can end garlic production on a piece of land for decades
- How Cottage Pastures accidentally became a 20-plus variety garlic farm
- The real cost of raising and processing chicken for direct-to-consumer sale
- Grass-fed and grass-finished labeling: domestic vs. imported
- Deciding what to raise, expand, or cut as the farm scales
- Raising kids on the farm without compelling their help
- Plans for a 2027 regional farm-share model in Cincinnati/Louisville

Timestamps
0:00 – Intro + catch-up, farm rebrand to Cottage Pastures 
2:30 – Why the family moved to Switzerland County, Indiana 
15:00 – Daily schedule: full-time job plus farm work 
19:00 – Garlic harvest race against incoming rain 
27:00 – Cost of shipping meat nationwide 
31:00 – Why most U.S. herbs and garlic are imported 
44:00 – How the farm ended up with 20-plus garlic varieties 
48:00 – Fungal disease risk and soil testing plans 
58:00 – Real cost of raising and processing chicken 
1:07:00 – Grass-fed and grass-finished: domestic vs. imported 
1:12:00 – Deciding what to raise, expand, or cut 
1:16:00 – Plans for a 2027 regional farm-share program 
1:19:00 – Raising kids on the farm 
1:26:00 – Closing thoughts on local food and staying hopeful

Links:
https://cottagepastures.com/about/
https://www.instagram.com/cottagepastures/
https://www.facebook.com/CottagePastures/?ref=PROFILE_EDIT_xav_ig_profile_page_web#
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-6-interview-with-carissa-a-year-in-review/id1700604702?i=1000628016269

The Regenaissance Podcast explores the people, farms, and ideas rebuilding our food system from the ground up.

Joel Hollinsworth runs Smoke River Ranch in Oklahoma, where he's built a herd-share community of about 40 families co-owning cattle together - a model that's taken his herd from 15 animals to 425 in four years. But, this could all be taken away, as he's fighting two subpoenas from the Oklahoma Department of Securities on claims his shares are unregistered financial securities. In this episode, Joel breaks down exactly how that herd-share structure works economically, and then walks through the legal fight he's currently in.

He gets into why that claim doesn't hold up, who's helping him fight it (including USDA's Brooke Rollins' office and the American First Policy Institute), how they're fighting it, and what's at stake for other ranchers running similar models. Ultimately, this challenge threatens not only Joel's ranch, but the broader idea that people should be able to support and participate in local food systems without facing unnecessary regulatory burdens or government overreach.

We also talk through the broader pattern of regulatory overreach in agriculture, and close with Joel's advice for young people looking to get into ranching - namely, don't try to do it alone.

Key topics

• How the herd-share model works (co-ownership, calf splits, time horizons)
• The Oklahoma securities subpoenas and the case against them
• Legal support and path forward (Rollins' office, state legislation)
• Advice for young ranchers on doing this in community

Timestamps

0:00 – Intro + catch-up
2:00 – Herd-share model origins
5:00 – Scaling to 425 head + genetics program
13:00 – First subpoena
17:30 – Second subpoena, securities claim explained
21:30 – Why it's not a security
26:00 – Comparisons to other ag regulatory fights
31:00 – Legal support and path forward
47:30 – Herd-share financials + time horizons
58:30 – Advice for young ranchers + close

Connect with Joel

Support Joel's Gofundme
Smoke River Ranch Website
Herdshares
Apply for Herdshares
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Last episode 

Francine is a farmer, mom of four, and co-founder of the Mulberry Tree App - a farm-to-fork platform that lets consumers buy ingredients directly from local farms, with no listing fees, no middleman, and no data selling. She and her husband built it from scratch, self-funded, while navigating mold illness, alpha-gal syndrome in their family, and a bunch of scammers! They launched the app in January 2025.

We talk through how the app works, why convenience is the real barrier between consumers and local farms, and what it actually takes to build something like this without outside funding or corporate backing. Enjoy :)

What we talk about:

- How the Mulberry Tree App works - farm-to-fork recipes, local farmer discovery, 24/7 farmers market
- Why they don't charge farmers listing or marketing fees
- Facebook censorship of farm products during COVID and why it pushed them to build their own platform
- The grassroots marketing approach: vendor events, merchandise, one-on-one outreach
- Alpha-gal syndrome - what it is, how misinformation is hurting people, and why the app has 300+ alpha-gal-safe recipes
- Mold illness, raising four kids on a farm, and the tribulations behind building the business
- The case for food sovereignty and why 77 farms closing per day is a national problem

Timestamps:

0:00 — Intro
1:10 — What is the Mulberry Tree App?
6:45 — How it handles the convenience problem for consumers
12:00 — The origin story - a dream, a husband, and no coding experience
18:30 — Facebook censorship and why decentralization matters
26:00 — Grassroots marketing: vendor events, shirts, 400 downloads in two weeks
32:00 — Consumer patterns and what makes the app experience different
39:00 — The town square, courses, live animal listings, and cottage industry sellers
47:00 — Growing up on farms, moving to Arkansas, raising kids outside the system
54:00 — Mold illness, alpha-gal, and the year their son was on steroids
1:04:00 — Why most businesses fail and why they didn't
1:09:00 — Final thoughts: know your farmer, know your food

How to Support Francine:

Download the app via their website
Connect with her via X 

Ashley Armstrong is a first-generation regenerative farmer and co-founder of Strong Sistas, a health platform born out of her own autoimmune diagnosis. She built Angel Acres Farm in Southwest Michigan from the ground up, producing corn- and soy-free eggs, and went on to found Nourish Food Club - a cooperative network of small regenerative farms supplying clean, transparently raised food directly to families.

What We Cover

• How Ashley went from graduate school to building a regenerative farm from scratch
• Why conventional chicken and pork now have a fatty acid profile closer to seed oils than real meat
• The 100-year shift in dietary fats and what it's doing to human metabolism
• How Nourish Food Club is reviving the farm cooperative model to support small farmers
• The bureaucratic bullying small farms face daily - and why the system is designed against them

Timestamps

00:00 – Ashley's health crisis and path to farming

06:30 – Building Angel Acres from scratch

13:00 – Lessons from 12 years of competitive golf

18:45 – How Nourish Food Club works

26:00 – Why cheap and quality food can't coexist

33:30 – The 100-year shift away from saturated fat

42:00 – How corn and soy changed pork and chicken

49:30 – Phytonutrients in pasture-raised meat

56:00 – Why grocery labels are meaningless

01:03:00 – The problem with indoor farming

01:09:30 – Bureaucratic bullying and the jerky incident

01:17:00 – Why small farm costs are structurally higher

01:28:00 – Where consumers can start

Links

Website
Instagram
YouTube

Regenaissance YouTube Channel

About The Podcast: The Regenaissance Podcast explores the people, farms, and ideas rebuilding our food system from the ground up.

Baird Maple Syrup Farm in Vermont has been producing maple syrup for over a century. I visit with farm managers and sugar makers, Jacob and Jenna Baird. Jenna is the fifth generation of her family to work this land.

What We Cover

1. How maple syrup is made (and why most people have it wrong).
2. The modern sugar bush (100+ miles of tubing, vacuum systems, and leak-chasing).
3. Reading labels (how to spot fake or blended "maple" products at the grocery store).
4. The full production season why it's a 6-week sprint, what starts it, and what ends it).
5. Farm succession and conservation (how the Baird family is transitioning a 107-year-old farm to the next generation). 

Timestamps

00:00 — Welcome to Baird Farm: 107 years of maple and dairy history

02:00 — Why it's so hard to keep a farm across generations

08:00 — Sap vs. syrup: what you're actually pulling from the tree

09:00 — How to read a maple syrup label (and spot the fakes)

11:00 — How vacuum tubing works and why it doubles production

17:00 — How tapping actually works: drilling, spouts, and tree health

21:00 — The production season: a 6-week window from February to April

34:00 — Farm succession: leasing to own and navigating family transitions

43:00 — Reverse osmosis and the sugar house: how sap becomes syrup

47:00 — Sugar maple vs. red maple: how to tell them apart in the bush

Connect with Jason & Baird Farm:

Website
Instagram

Follow our Youtube Channel

Farmer Stories pulls the best conversations from The Regenaissance archive - real voices from American farmers on the systems, economics, and communities shaping food and land in the US.

Triple Oaks Farm is a family-run regenerative farm in Virginia, raising pastured pigs and other livestock with a focus on food sovereignty, stewardship, and community.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Biblical dominion and why he left USDA butchers 
06:00 – PSE meat explained: what stress does to pork quality 
09:00 – Electro stunning abuse and burn wounds on the meat 
16:00 – USDA butcher threatens to ice him out as a customer 
19:00 – The final straw: filthy shop, wrong pig returned, going full PMA

Connect With Bryson:

Website
Instagram

Follow the tour on YouTube

Tony Eash runs Triple E Farms in West Virginia with his brother Phil - a raw dairy and pasture-raised operation built from bare land, rooted in regenerative principles and faith in community.

Farmer Stories pulls the best conversations from The Regenaissance archive - real voices from American farmers on the systems, economics, and communities shaping food and land in the US.

Timestamps:

0:00 — Why farmers not making money is everyone's problem

1:00 — What on-farm milk testing actually costs

2:00 — Building a farm from scratch while working full-time

5:00 — Quitting time: 10:30pm. Wake up: 3:30am

6:30 — Why they walked away from pigs and chickens

8:00 — How the Amish moving in changed everything

Connect with Triple E

Website
Instagram
Watch full episode

Follow the tour on YouTube