Ear to the Ground Podcast

Noreen Thomas got into organic crop farming almost three decades ago as a way to produce healthy food and survive economically. Today, she’s the mentor she never had. More Information • Register for LSP’s “Bringing Small Grains Back to Minnesota” Networking Meeting on Aug. 2, 2025, in Madison, Minn. • Doubting Thomas Farms • 2025…  Read More → Source

When Peter and Brittany Haugen sought to diversify their western Minnesota crop farm, they realized there was little infrastructure available to support small grains. So they forged their own link in the food chain by launching Sandhill Mill. More Information • Register for LSP’s “Bringing Small Grains Back to Minnesota” Networking Meeting on Aug. 2,…  Read More &#8594...

One farmer says he benefits from grazing publicly-managed wildlife habitat. But what does a natural resource professional think about bringing bovines into a natural biome?  More Information • Hoosier Ridge Ranch • LSP’s Grazing & Soil Health Web page • MN DNR Whitewater Wildlife Management Area You can find LSP Ear to the Ground podcast…  Read More → Source

From crunching the numbers to developing relationships with public and private landowners, Eric Heins of Hoosier Ridge Ranch isn’t afraid to question the status quo when it comes to grazing livestock. More Information • Hoosier Ridge Ranch • LSP’s Grazing & Soil Health Web page You can find LSP Ear to the Ground podcast episodes…  Read More → Source

LSP members and allies spoke out during the 2025 session of the Minnesota Legislature. It paid off in the form of support for local food markets, farmland access, and soil health. More Information • Blog: Wrap-up of 2025 Legislative Session • LSP’s State Policy Web Page You can find LSP Ear to the Ground podcast…  Read More → Source

These are tumultuous times for immigrants, but COPAL’s Ryan Perez sees hope in grassroots organizing and making basic, human-centered connections. More Information • COPAL-Minnesota • Radio Jornalera • LSP’s Justice & Stewardship Web Page • LSP’s Long Range Plan: 2025-2030 You can find LSP Ear to the Ground podcast episodes on Spotify, Pandora, iTunes, YouTube, and…&#16...

The Wild Farm Alliance is out to prove that thriving wildlife habitat and working farmland are not mutually exclusive — in fact, they can make great partners. More Information • Wild Farm Alliance • The Farm as Natural Habitat • LSP’s Ear to the Ground 371: Avian Award • LSP’s Ear to the Ground 370:…  Read More → Source

The owners of Keewaydin Farms see birds as not only a source of natural pest control but as a sign they are doing something right. More Information • Keewaydin Farms • Wild Farm Alliance • LSP’s Ear to the Ground 370: Bending the Bird Curve • LSP’s Ear to the Ground 275: Blurring the Bobolink…  Read More → Source

  The feathered residents of America’s grasslands are in big trouble, but Audubon ecologist Krysten Zummo sees regenerative grazing as a way for bovines to benefit birds. More Information • Audubon Conservation Ranching Program • Krysten Zummo Contact Information • LSP Grazing & Soil Health Page • The Monitoring Tool Box • Wild Farm Alliance…  Read More → Source

Ka Zoua Berry says supporting a future generation of farmers who don’t fit the traditional Midwestern stereotype isn’t just about building a resilient farm and food system. It’s also about building resilient communities. More Information • Big River Farms • Emerging Farmers Conference • Farmland Access Hub • LSP Farmland Clearinghouse You can find LSP…  Read More &#859...

An extractive economic system is decimating and dividing our rural communities. Now, more than ever, we need solidarity, says Cristina Ortiz. More Information • LSP’s Community-Based Food System Web Page • LSP’s Justice & Stewardship Web Page • LSP’s Policy Campaign Page You can find LSP Ear to the Ground podcast episodes on Spotify, Pandora, iTunes,…  Read More &#...

Mastering the market is no easy task for a cutting-edge perennial grain. What lessons have the staff at Forever Green learned from their work with Kernza? More Information • Forever Green Initiative • Blog: Don Wyse’s Land Grant Legacy • Ear to the Ground 365: Perennial Pivot • Ear to the Ground 229: Kernza’s Continuous…  Read More → Source

Wendy Johnson is experimenting with Kernza because she believes in the power of perennials. And livestock are helping make this cutting-edge crop a little less of a gamble. More Information • Jóia Food & Fiber Farm • Forever Green Initiative • Ear to the Ground 367: Disrupting the Food Chain • Ear to the Ground 365:…  Read More → Source

When Sogn Valley Farm transitioned out of intensive production of vegetable crops, it opened up opportunities to utilize a unique cousin of wheat as a way to steward the land. More Information • Sogn Valley Farm • Forever Green Initiative • Ear to the Ground 367: Disrupting the Food Chain • Ear to the Ground…  Read More → Source

Stephen Thomforde sees integrating trees, grass, and grazing animals as a way to support one of the most productive ecosystems in existence, and history backs up his argument. More Information • Stephen Thomforde Website • Land Stewardship Letter: Silvopasturing’s Silver Lining • Land Stewardship Letter: 2017 Feature on Mastodon Valley Farm • Sustainable Farming Association…  Read...

Landon Plagge’s experience growing oats has proven that this humble grain can play a big role in revitalizing soil health on corn-soybean farms. Can the milling facility he’s proposing do the same for rural communities? (Third in a three-part series on small grains and community-based foods.) More Information • Episode 2 in Ear to the Ground Small Grains Workshop…  Read More...

When Roy Pfaltzgraff returned to his family’s northeastern Colorado cropping operation in 2016, he was committed to making farming a fulltime endeavor that built resilient soil, supported the community, and produced healthy food. (Second in a three-part series on small grains and community-based foods.) More Information • Episode 3 in Ear to the Ground Small Grains Workshop Series: “Landon P...

Bob Quinn says regenerative farming and rural economic revitalization go hand-in-hand. For him, it all started with a handful of “King Tut’s wheat.” (First in a three-part series on small grains and community-based foods.) More Information • Episode 3 in Ear to the Ground Small Grains Workshop Series: “Landon Plagge — Small Grain-Big Opportunity” • Episode 2 in Ear…  R...

At a time when rural residents are grappling with high food insecurity, an innovative Wisconsin program is connecting local farmers with local eaters. More Information • Wisconsin Local Food Purchase Assistance Program • LSP’s Community-Based Food Systems Web Page • Latino Economic Development Center • Threshing Table Farm You can find LSP Ear to the Ground podcast…  Read More → S...

Soil conservationist Julie Reberg sees composting as a “very scientific art form” that can transform waste into biological bullion. More Information • LSP’s Soil Microbiology Web Page • NRCS Manure Composting Fact Sheet • Ear to the Ground 358: Low Input – High Returns • Ear to the Ground 352: Land of the Living • Ear to the…  Read More → Source

Alex Udermann and his family at Meadowbrook Dairy were tired of working harder and harder for less and less. So they invested in building the kind of healthy soil that pays off economically, environmentally, and from a quality of life point of view. More Information • LSP’s Soil Health Web Page • Minnesota Agricultural Water…  Read More → Source

As farmers from across the region haul corn past Allen and Kathleen Deutz’s farm to the local ethanol plant, they can’t help but notice fences, livestock, and a diversity of plants. What’s not as immediately evident is how this counter- intuitive way of farming is building long-term soil health and resilience. More Information • LSP’s Soil Health Web Page…  Read...

Thinking of applying for NRCS funds? First, advises vegetable and livestock farmer Klaus Zimmermann-Mayo, figure out what kind of farming you want to do and how you want to do it. More Information • Whetstone Farm • Go Farm Connect • NRCS Environmental Quality Incentives Program • NRCS Service Center Locator You can find LSP…  Read More → Source

Father-son team Joe and Matthew Fitzgerald are quite willing to share their insights with other farmers on how to get started in organic crop production. First piece of advice: sell your fishing boat. More Information • Fitzgerald Organic Mad Agriculture Video • Organic Agronomy Training Service • LSP Soil Health Web Page You can find LSP…  Read More → Source

When Jay Fuhrer first started talking to his conservation colleagues about a different approach to protecting and building soil, he ended up eating lunch alone. But eventually the Burleigh County Soil Health Team helped launch a movement that’s showing how farming, the environment, and local economies benefit when people stop accepting soil as a degraded resource. More…  Read More...