Episode 242 Susan's Shire: The Joy of Handmade Gifts

We visited the frontier - or as close as we've been to it so far - for our visit with some of the organic farmers of Montana. Our visit with Doug Crabtree and Anna Jones Crabtree of Vilicus Farms was a kitchen table discussion about diversity, dryland farming, organic land management, and the deeper understanding of the possibilities of how to work with natural systems in our agricultural processes, instead of waging constant war against them. These are some of the last of the pio...

20 Maj 201939min

After visiting the Mother Earth News Fair in Kansas, we were lucky enough to take a walk through the fields of Prairie Turnip Farm and with Hank Will. Hank is an experienced agriculturalist, marketing specialist, soil preservationist, tractor aficionado, and to top it all off he is Editor-In-Chief at Mother Earth News Magazine. He has been involved with conservation of land and heritage breeds for years, and we were thrilled to "land" the interview. Elara had the time of her...

13 Maj 201931min

We were lucky enough to catch up with Adam in Albuquerque, New Mexico as he was teaching one of his many workshops. Adam Danforth is the James Beard award-winning author of two books, published by Storey Publishing, about slaughtering and butchering livestock. Adam trained at the professional meat processing program at SUNY Cobleskill, one of the only such programs in the United States, before going to work at Marlow and Daughters and Blue Hill at Stone Barns, both in New York. He leads exper...

6 Maj 201930min

We had the great pleasure to interview Dr. Cary Fowler at his Over the River Farm in upstate New York. Dr. Fowler is perhaps best known as the "father" of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, described by former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon as an "inspirational symbol of peace and food security for the entire humanity." The Seed Vault provides ultimate security for more than 850,000 unique crop varieties, the raw material for all future plant breeding and crop improvement efforts. He proposed ...

29 Apr 201934min

Elara and I traveled to Paonia, Colorado, which sits fairly close to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. Our interview is with Eugenia McGuire, otherwise known as "Oogie". She raises Black Welsh Mountain Sheep on her farm, which sits high above the town of Paonia. Oogie sells pretty much everything sheep, including mutton, horns, and wool in various forms like raw fleeces, roving, and yarn. She is a true steward of the land and these animals. Support the show

22 Apr 201935min

We recently had the great pleasure of traveling to New York to visit Isabella Rossellini at her farm on Long Island. She is an actress, activist, author, and scientist. She recently earned her Masters Degree in Animal Behavior from Hunter College. She is beautiful, witty and a very talented artist. Support the show

15 Apr 201933min

Stephen Monroe works for the Florida Department of Agriculture in Tallahassee, managing the Florida Cracker Cattle and Florida Cracker Horse herds. He is a learned historian, a witty conversationalist, and is know very rightly as "The Cowboy Poet." This was one of our most enjoyable and educational interviews, and we were sorry we had such a short time with him. We hope to go back again to visit him soon. Support the show

8 Apr 201931min

We visited Mat Devader and his son Mathew of Rocky Top Ranch in Holton, Kansas. They raise a little bit of almost everything on their farm including Katahdin Sheep, Hereford pigs, and a wide variety of poultry. They represent the the true spirit of the American farmer. Support the show

1 Apr 201934min