Deep Roots Radio

Twelve regenerative, small family farms are on the map for your self-guided tour of the Apple River Farm Tour , July 11, 2026, from 10AM to 4PM. Think mushrooms, sheep, lambs, furry Highland cattle, chickens, fresh veggies and fruit, and so much more. This Deep Roots Radio chat with tour director Debbie Elmer gives the details. "Bring your coolers, cash and cameras," stresses Debbie. The...

Sometimes you just can't predict when you'll bump into a thriving textile business. Black Cat Stitchery is one of those. Just 18 months in its new storefront, the small space is an expression of quality, creativity and warm welcome. While the store front boasts shelves of needlepoint and cross-stitch linens, original patterns, and must-have notions, the backroom is where owners Theresa Cur...

Connecting the dots between what we wear and environmental impact creates a scary picture. According to the EPA, billions of pounds of textiles ends up in landfills every year. Why? One of the reasons may be our culture's habit of hoping from one fashion trend to another every few weeks. That's Fast Fashion . Lots of people in the industry, and in your neighborhood, have taken note and are...

The day's are bright, the air fresh - perfect time to visit a nearby farm and learn about how our food is grown, how livestock are raised, and taste delicious local food. The 2026 farm visiting season kicks off with the May 9 River Road Farm Crawl in Osceola, Wisconsin. Visit their Facebook page for details -@River Road Community Collaborative - an interactive map, and descriptions of loads of...

When March hits, Wisconsin can be a roller-coaster of temperature and snow - nasty. Yet this is the time of year when new lambs decide to baaa their way into the world. At Curlee Acres , a small sheep farm near Centuria (north central Wisconsin), sheep herder/yarn producer Andrea Seifert is hoping for black lambs this year. It's a matter of minding the genetics of her Shetland flock, and some...

When you think "maple syrup" what comes to mind? Vermont? Canada? Nah, think Wisconsin. Z-Orchard in Amery, WI was recently featured in a syrupy article in the New York Times , and the recognition is well deserved. Z-Orchard's syrup is pure and delicious. In this Deep Roots Radio chat, Z-Orchard owner and beekeeper Bill Zager describes the steps involved in going from tree sap to map...

Many travel to France for the annual display of lavender: fields of purples ranging from dusky to intense. Luckily for us in the Upper Midwest, we need go no further than Kiel, Wisconsin to drink in the site and fragrance of acres of lavender at Country Lavender & Orchard . In this Deep Roots Radio chat, Sandy Buchholz describes how she and husband John tripped from farming into the cultivatio...

Wisconsin loses more than a farm a day because of the high costs and low incomes to farmers. Not a new story: WI lost 10% of its farms between 2017 and 2022. Yet, there is a clear way for farmers to increase their income: agricultural tourism. And it will not cost the taxpayer a dime. Despite this great way for farmers and rural businesses to boost income, Wisconsin legislators are sitting on bill...

Sheila Everhart, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Agricultural Tourism Association points visitors to on-farm fun all across Wisconsin. She also asks the public to help remove barriers to agricultural tourism opportunities. Hundreds of Wisconsin farmers are eager for you to visit their farms for adventures in eating, meeting animal farm babies, hiking/biking, taking classes, picking fruits and...

In this first of two Deep Roots Radio interviews, journalist Elspeth Hay introduces us to her fresh off the presses book, Feed Us With Trees: Nuts and the Future of Food. She describes what describes what agriculture looked like before Columbus, how European settlers forced change, and what we’ve lost in a cloud of myth and misinformation. Ms. Hay moves us through a re-examination of permaculture,...

Land Stewardship Project has been working for the health and growth of small family farms and practices that restore soil health, and extend the affordable access to land. In this Deep Roots Radio interview Laura Scheiber, LSP's Government Relations Director, describes the links between public policies and how food is grown and processed. She also argues that policy makers - our elected offici...

When we think of gauging the health of our soils and water, we usually imagine lab tests. When we say the word "farm," it's common for images of livestock and row crops to come to mind. However, just as the "canary" came to signal toxic air conditions in a coal mine, there are animals that can flag dramatic shifts on farm land and ground water. In this Deep Roots Radio inte...

It's spring: time to find and schedule on-farm adventures all across Wisconsin. One you don't want to miss is The Classic Green Reunion, June 12-14, 2025, West Bend, WI. In this Deep Roots Radio interview, Sheila Everhart, Exec Dir of the Wisconsin Agricultural Tourism Association (WATA), describes how the Classic Green Reunion combines the best of farm food, family-friendly activities, lo...

Who can resist a cuddly lamb or bouncing baby kid? It seems thousands of us love watching videos about them. Well we don't have to settle for virtual clips. Every Spring, Govin's Farm , in Menomonie, Wisconsin opens its barn to visitors so that they can experience the joy of farming as new life comes to the farm. Their Farm Babies event runs for five weeks in March and April. Visitors, you...

This episode originally aired in 2023.

We think we know honey. As kids, we drizzled it on toast, dolloped in into tea, and swirled it onto cereals. But now we can tap into its real power: as medicine, and especially wen combined with other helpful herbs and spices. This is nothing new, says Dawn Combs in this Deep Roots Radio interview. A sustainable beekeeper, ethnobotanist, herbalist and farmer, Dawn is author of Sweet Remedies: Heal...

Deep Roots Radio in-studio chat with Alondra Cano, the energy and collaborator behind the Engine Room , in downtown Amery, WI. The new cocktail bar is just off the blocks and gaining speed with expertly crafted cocktails and artisenal foods featuring the ingredients and flavors of the Upper St. Croix watershed. Cano describes the menu, as well as efforts to attract area chefs and creative business...

In this 5th Deep Roots Radio conversation, Anne Stobart describes major considerations when designing a medicinal forest garden of any size. In our chat, she talks about the steps she took - over several years - to establish and grow Holt Wood in Devon, England. Anne is an experienced and formally-trained clinical herbalist, permaculture practitioner and teacher, lecturer, and earned her Ph. D. th...

In this 5th Deep Roots Radio conversation, Anne Stobart describes key considerations when designing a medicinal forest garden of any size. In our chat, she talks about the steps she took - over several years - to establish and grow Holt Wood in Devon, England. Anne is an experienced and formally-trained clinical herbalist, permaculture practitioner and teacher, lecturer, and earned her PhD through...

Anne Stobart joined me for the third in a five-part series of Deep Roots Radio interviews about medicinal shrubs and trees that heal. A clinical herbalist, permaculture designer, and author, Anne holds a PhD from her extensive research into the history of medicine. This Deep Roots Radio conversation focused on how herbal medicines were used in 17th century England. Anne described the challenges of...

This is the second of five interviews with Anne Stobart: clinical herbalist, permaculture educator, author, and presenter. Chatting from Devon, England, in this episode, Anne reviewed some of the medicinal shrubs and trees of North America. This series was prompted by the publication of her latest book, Trees and Shrubs That Heal (January 2024). Her earlier books include: The Medicinal Forest Gard...

This is the first in a five-part series with Anne Stobart, educator, author, clinical herbalist, and developer of medicinal permaculture forests. In this episode, Anne looks back and describes how she became interested in and focused on medicinal herbalism. She also explains her commitment to regenerative agriculture and to helping students see the wealth of plant-based remedies all around us. Ann...

This Deep Roots Radio Face-to-Face interview with Anne Stobart. It's the 4th of a 5-part series based on her latest book, Trees and Shrubs That Heal (2024). Stobart is a clinical herbalist, scientist, historian and author. Her other books on medicinal herbs are Household Medicine in 17th Century England (2016), and the Medicinal Forest Garden Handbook (2020). She joined me from her home in Dev...

In this Deep Roots Radio audio podcast, Anne Stobart tells of her experience with the many English trees and shrubs with medicinal value. This is the fourth conversation in a series of five about medicinal shrubs and trees. Anne is an experienced and formally educated clinical herbalists, permaculture expert and teacher, lecturer and author. Her latest book, Trees and Shrubs that Heal, was release...

Did English peasants comb the woods for herbal remedies? Were physicians in the 1600s aware of the deadly impact of mercury and blood-letting? Anne Stobart gives us a glimpse into the use of herbal remedies as used in households and by apothecaries, physicians and surgeons. With a PhD from her extensive research into the history of medicine, Anne is the author of Household Medicine in 17th Century...