agri-Culture

On today’s podcast, transport yourself to the lonely, glorious green pastures of the eastern side of Scotland. We have a lovely conversation with Jillian McEwen of Lunan Bay Farms, and among many of our topics, we spoke of the joys of farming on the shores of the North Sea, the differences between her Cashmere and Boer goats (two of her three varieties), some out-of-the-box ideas to diversify goat farming, and the ways goats can contribute to education. Never thought those words m...

9 Okt 202339min

Elara and I met Phil Pass last month on our travels in Scotland at the House of Tartan in Crieff. We struck up a conversation with him and noticed that they had a Go Fund Me campaign that said Keep Scottish Bonnets Alive in Scotland. He described what it was for and so we grabbed our camera and mics and said this is too important and you need to tell us all about this. THE STORY: We've just lost Scotland's last Bonnet production line. The one that's been making Traditional Scottish Headwear ...

25 Sep 202315min

As we continue the Tartan & Tweed tour in the United Kingdom, Elara follows up last week's interview with Barry's partner Chris Sander. Chris takes Elara on a tour of the farm and their prized rams and ewes. Chris discusses the different colors of the Leicester Longwool and his affinity for the black color. The group is getting ready for a couple of shows in Buck County and Dorset over the weekend. If you notice the picture of Chris, I believe they did fairly well. www.bbc.co.uk ...

12 Sep 202323min

We're excited to announce that we're in the midst of our Tartan and Tweed Tour 2023! The one stop we couldn't miss along the M-1 was a visit to Leicester, home of Robert Bakewell - the man who transformed agricultural practices as we know them today. Our conversation is with Barry Evans, custodian of a flock of one of the most famous examples of Robert Bakewell's efforts: The Leicester Longwool Sheep. Barry talks with us about the history of this breed and the organization ...

31 Aug 202340min

The big UK trip is almost here, and we’re prepping for the Edinburgh Castle Tattoo with a visit to the National Western Stock Show, and the Scottish Highland Cattle show. Those bagpipes and tartans get us every time, no matter what the event. In today’s podcast, we grabbed a moment in the cattle barns with Audra Hall of Clearwater Spring Highlands in Brighton, Colorado. Audra was somewhere between the fluff and fold cycle that goes on in a mad rush before the annual show and sale....

31 Jul 202323min

Today we have a (Elara-has-had-too-much-coffee-and-dirt) podcast interview with Andrew Conroy, B.S., M.S., PhD, who is a two-time Fulbright Scholar, professor at the University of New Hampshire, and man who can claim way too many other accomplishments to mention here. Dr. Conroy has wrote the book on oxen (Really. He wrote more than one, and you can follow the link below to buy them for yourself). On more than one continent, he is the guy that everyone mentions when someone...

13 Jul 202344min

So first...today you'll be hearing from Anne DeRousie, a board member of the breed organization known as Red Devon USA, who also happens to be the resident history buff. We love those. Our conversation took place on a beautiful balmy and slightly breezy day, straight from the lush green pastures of her Adventureland Farm, in the Fingerlakes region of New York State. You'll hear more from other members of Red Devon USA this year, and more about their Bowman Left, in terms of breeding se...

28 Jun 202339min

In all of the mad rushing about around the country, sometimes we forget that there are some really fantastic things close to home. This week’s podcast celebrates that with a trip to nearby Ramona for the Family Farm Expo, put on by the folks at Roobeez. As holds true to many of the critters you’ll find there, this event is a combination of things. Chicken meetup and poultry swap, sure, but also filled with little booths displaying lovelies like handcrafted soaps, fresh herbs...

11 Jun 202329min