The wild adventures of a New Mexico hemp farmer
Down to Earth: The Planet to Plate Podcast
Release Date: 07/08/2024
Ducks, cows, and resilience
Down to Earth: The Planet to Plate Podcast
Since the 1930s, has been protecting habitat for ducks and other migrating waterfowl, and has conserved over 18 million acres of wetlands and bird habitat in North America and beyond. Founded by hunters, the organization originally focused on duck breeding habitat in Canadian prairie lands. Over the decades their conservation work expanded to including the US, Mexico, and other parts of Latin America, and embraces both public and private lands. We talk with Billy Gascoigne is DU's Director of Agriculture & Strategic Partnerships, and Ryan Taylor, Director Of Public Policy for...
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Animal welfare is good for everyone—including farmers
Down to Earth: The Planet to Plate Podcast
Adam Mason is Senior Manager of Farm Animal Welfare and Environmental Policy at the , the American Society of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. In our conversation he talks about their multi-pronged approach to getting animals out of buildings and into cruelty-free lives in which they can express their natural instincts and behaviors. Farmers who make the transition from industrial/conventional livestock practices to animal-friendly practices report better lives for the animals and the farmers themselves, with benefits for land and water health, and often more autonomy and greater...
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1000 Farms Initiative: A new paradigm of science in service of farmers
Down to Earth: The Planet to Plate Podcast
Entomologist, agroecologist, farmer, rancher, and beekeeper Dr. Jonathan Lundgren was a scientist with USDA Agricultural Research Service for 11 years. He left to undertake regenerative agriculture science studies that embraced a larger paradigm, looking at the interconnection of all the living beings on the farm and in the community, from the soil microbiome to the insects to the plants and animals — and the farmers. He's founder and director of the , and CEO of , which work as a partnership. The is producing extremely detailed agricultural data from farms across North America — and...
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Virtual fencing—new technology that benefits both ranching and land conservation
Down to Earth: The Planet to Plate Podcast
Virtual fencing is a new technology that employs GPS collars to keep animals in "virtual" pastures—so instead of using physical fences, the fence lines are drawn on a computer screen, and the collars direct the animals' movements through sound cues and mild electrical stimulation. This saves ranchers on labor and materials, allows more adaptive and flexible pasture management, and allows free range for wildlife. The Nature Conservancy, whose mission is to tackle climate change by protecting land and water and fostering a healthy food system, is partnering with ranches across the US to help...
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Regenerating a desert wetland oasis
Down to Earth: The Planet to Plate Podcast
spent a year on the in central New Mexico, photographing, living, and finding a deep connection to land, water, and animals—including the many migrating birds that live part-time in this magical desert wetland on the Rio Grande. Boyd connected with David and Hui-Chun Johnson, and together they are working with a small team to restore 38 acres on the refuge that have been degraded by "conventional" agricultural practices and invasive plant species. They have completed the first year of the five-year BEAM project (Biologically Enhanced Agricultural...
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The awe-inspiring beauty hidden in our food
Down to Earth: The Planet to Plate Podcast
Artist and science educator Robert Dash creates art from micro- and macroscopic photographs of food crops. His new book, Food Planet Future: The Art of Turning Food and Climate Perils into Possibilities, explores both the science of our food system and the role of art in finding a more healthy and loving way forward.
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Painterland Sisters Yogurt: Regeneration at every step from farmer to consumer
Down to Earth: The Planet to Plate Podcast
Hayley and Stephanie Painter grew up on a fourth-generation dairy farm in northern Pennsylvania, and while it was an idyllic childhood, the instability of milk prices continually threatened their family's livelihood. The sisters took it upon themselves to save the farm by creating a yogurt brand, , and in the space of two years have gotten their product into stores in all 50 states and are using milk not only from their own farm but from neighboring producers. Hayley Painter talks about the practices of regenerative agriculture from a multi-dimensional perspective––not only soil...
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Agave, mesquite, and a carbon drawdown game-changer
Down to Earth: The Planet to Plate Podcast
André Leu is co-founder and International Director of , an organization that promotes food, farming, and land use systems that regenerate and stabilize climate systems. He’s author of the books, Myths of Safe Pesticides and Poisoning our Children, and is co-author with Dr. Vandana Shiva of Biodiversity, Agroecology, and Regenerative Agriculture. He has a Doctorate of Science in agricultural and environmental systems and teaches at universities and speaks at numerous conferences and United Nations events. His new book is The Regenerative Agriculture Solution: A Revolutionary...
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Commerce, the destruction of nature, and the uphill path to sustainability
Down to Earth: The Planet to Plate Podcast
Environmental historian Sara Dant’s book Losing Eden traces the history of the American West from the time of elephants and camels to the near destruction of entire ecosystems—and the movement to bring nature and industry into balance.
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Colorado peaches: delicious for the eaters, fair for the workers
Down to Earth: The Planet to Plate Podcast
Gwen Cameron grew up on , her family's peach farm. She was pursuing a career in journalism when her father asked her if she wanted to come back and take over the farm. She agreed and never looked back; now she's running a farm that uses regenerative principles to keep the land healthy for their 40 acres of peaches, cherries, apricots, plums, and melons. Her Mexican field workers come through a visa program, and together they are building their participation in the , which ensures safe working conditions and fair wages.
info_outlineDoug Fine was an international journalist before he moved to New Mexico to start a polyculture farm and embrace a rural way of life. He's the author of six books, including four on hemp and cannabis, and his film American Hemp Farmer won Best New Mexico Documentary Feature at the 2024 Santa Fe Film Festival. He's a vociferous advocate for hemp as a source of nutrition, healing, clothing and industrial fiber, building material, energy source, and climate change solution.