Mitchell and Zach are trying to understand how Mitchell’s home county in Southeast Iowa developed such a strong conservation culture. Jim Frier, now 88, showed up to the interview with a box full of documentation of all the work he put into educating farmers: flyers from the twilight meetings and field days he organized, which could attract as many as 500 attendees, articles he penned promoting conservation tillage, including one that wondered, back in the 60s, whether traditional tillage systems were on their way out, and photos he took of equipment attachments folks were designing to make no-till work with their existing planters. To be sure, there were a lot of other key people who helped build a conservation movement in Washington County, but Jim Frier teaches us the value of cheerleaders.
Read more: Evening meetings helped launch a conservation culture
Video: Mr. Johnson Goes to Washington (County, That Is)

Twilight in Washington County

Hosted by two commercial row-crop farmers and a dairy farmer, Field Work is a podcast that provides space for frank, realistic discussions about the benefits and challenges of sustainable agriculture. Hosts Zach Johnson, Mitchell Hora, and Tara Vander Dussen (who joined the team in season four) explore the successes and challenges farmers experience as they adopt new practices, while still getting into the weeds on the difficulties.

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This is the big one. Five leaders of regenerative agriculture — Rick Clark, Ray Archuleta, Mitchell Hora, Loran Steinlage and of course, Dave Brandt — talk it up in Carroll, Ohio. At 2 hours and some change, this conversation is a long one, but worth your time on a long drive or tractor ride.

Big Talk at Dave Brandt's Field Day

Instead of talking it up at Dave Brandt’s Field Day, host Mitchell Hora listened. That resulted in big thoughts, which Mitchell shares with his co-hosts. Zach and Tara aren’t shy about chiming in with their own opinions in this lively episode. Plus: Tara says the big three words.

What Mitchell Learned in Ohio

After attending college in Bismarck, North Dakota, Ryan Bruski returned to his family’s ranch in Ekalaka, Montana, with big ideas. He wanted to graze cows a new way. Instead of letting cattle roam for weeks at a time, Ryan decided to move them more frequently in a regenerative agriculture practice known as “adaptive grazing.” Plus: our first live listener question!

Adaptive Grazing on the Bruski Ranch

Brad Buchanan didn't plan on owning a cattle ranch. He was a city guy who bought land a short drive from Denver, then bought some cows as "lawnmowers." Fifteen years later, he's the proud owner of the Flying B Bar ranch, a grass-fed cattle operation. In August 2021, Mitchell Hora chatted with Brad at his ranch.

The Accidental Rancher

As a college professor, Allen Williams had a fancy degree and tenure. In 2000, he quit that job-for-life to become a farmer. But he knew he couldn’t do it the conventional way. So Allen minimized inputs and focused on “net profit per acre,” which he says is more important than yield or “net profit per head.”

Twilight in Washington County

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