Fresh Growth

In this episode, Western SARE’s Stacie Clary talks with Anna Merriman of 4M Grain and Livestock in Malta Montana. Anna shares her family’s journey in starting an organic farming operation from the very beginning, by taking opportunities as the arise. She’s transparent about the learning curves along the way. The conversation also touches on farm business management, succession, and balancing multi...

In this in-depth interview, Jen Clark of Roots Farm shares her journey from homesteading to running a regenerative, no-till farm in Washington. She describes her innovative research projects on dry farming, composting, and soil fertility, emphasizing sustainable practices and community engagement.  Roots Farm is currently two acres producing diverse fruits and vegetables. They primarily market wit...

At first glance, agriculture in Wyoming and agriculture on Hawaii or Guam don’t have much in common. But growers in both the tropical Pacific and the northern prairie can benefit from enclosed production spaces, which is why Wyoming-developed domes will soon be popping up in the islands. In this episode, University of Wyoming Extension Specialist Jeff Edwards and Pepe Miranda, an agronomist with F...

In this conversation, Glenn Elzinga shares his family’s journey with Alderspring Ranch , detailing its beginnings, the motivations behind starting the ranch, their commitment to regenerative practices and healthy food, and the importance of building relationships within the community. He discusses the challenges faced, particularly with the increasing wolf population, and how they adapted their ca...

In this conversation, Maud Powell, Wolf Gulch Farm and Oregon State University shares her journey as a farmer and the challenges she faced due to a changing climate and lack of water. She and her husband Tom realized “we can’t really farm here anymore.”  The leaving of one piece of land and starting over on another led to her exploration of climate grief. She discusses the agrarian imperative (far...

Former Chicago science teacher, Rick Bieterman now farms in the Colorado High Desert, growing hay. Watershed Ranch has an annual precipitation of 11 inches and sits at 8,000 feet in elevation – providing about 90-100 frost free days per season. Add in poor soil quality, and farming becomes a challenge. Rick got involved in Colorado’s STAR program which focuses on soil health practices. When prices...

In this episode of Fresh Growth podcast, we have a special guest host – owner of Dirtworks Wyoming , Caitlin Youngquist. Caitlin is also a Western SARE Administrative Council member.  She speaks with first-generation Wyoming ranchers Mary Mills and Kate Brewster about their unique journeys into ranching, the challenges of generational transitions, and the innovative practices they are implementing...

Join us as we talk with Michael Lobato, Lobato Farms , and Holly Stanley, Mesa Conservation District on Colorado’s Western slope about their innovations with applying biochar in a no-till system.  Michael has worked to transform what was once part of a large sheep ranch into a thriving 5-acre farm. The 5 acres were split off from the sheep ranch with no infrastructure or irrigation and soil high i...

Sarah Stallard is a 7th generation farmer who came to work with her uncles on a new farm near Las Vegas Nevada raising hogs. The farm is in partnership with the local waste and recycling company Republic Services. They lease the land from Republic Services and use food waste to feed the hogs.  She says the partnership was formed “to help find a solution to organic waste." The family had alway...

Join us in this dynamic and wide-ranging conversation with Chris Eckhart about diversifying his farming operation, increasing organic matter, monitoring soil biology, and creating a work-family-life balance, all while remaining profitable. Eckhart Farms is a multi-generational family farm in the heart of Wild Rose Prairie in Washington that focuses on soil health and diversity. He is passionate ab...

In this episode, we talk with Kirk Pumphrey, owner of Westwind Farms in Woodland CA, and Sat Darshan Khalsa, Assistant Professional Researcher at the University of CA Davis about their work integrating almond shells and hulls as organic matter in orchards. As Kirk says, “it’s a learning experience for all of us.”  It’s a learning curve, but they are finding great success and working toward finding...

In today’s episode we speak with Jonah Sloven, from Sweet Hollow Farm , a diversified organic farm in Victor, Idaho. Sweet Hollow Farm serves the neighboring Teton Valley community through their CSA, farm stand, and farmer’s market. Jonah discusses how his travels from his environmental studies ultimately directed him to small-scale agriculture and its beneficial effect on communities. His ultimat...

In today’s episode, we talk with Sara Wood of Wyoming Heritage Grains and Wyoming High Desert Malt , near Ralston Wyoming. Sara is a fifth-generation regenerative farmer and the operator of the state’s only commercial flour mill. Located in the dry high mountain desert east of Yellowstone, Sara’s and her family’s operation has the distinction of being in one of the first large water projects in th...

Today’s guests are Tangy and Matt Bates who operate Blue Creek Livestock in Delta Junction Alaska. They aim to provide their community with fresh, natural meat – beef, lamb, and pork. Since the beginning, Blue Creek Cattle has been building soils and herds.  Tangy and Matt talk about the opportunities and challenges of farming in Alaska.  The opportunities are plentiful, providing farmers and ranc...

Dan Macon is a University of California Farm Adviser and also the operator of Flying Mule Farm in Auburn California. Ryan Mahoney is a fifth-generation sheep and cattle rancher who operates Emigh Livestock , in Rio Vista California. Dan and Ryan are also participating in a Western SARE project demonstrating and evaluating how information from both electronic identification tags and better understa...

In Episode 4, we talk with Zach Thode and Elizabeth Black. Zach manages a large cattle ranch in Livermore Colorado. Elizabeth is an artist in Colorado and manages a Christmas tree farm.  Elizabeth is also the project leader for The Citizen Science Soil Health Project, partially funded by a Western SARE grant and Zach is a producer participant in that project. The Citizen Science Soil Health Projec...

In this episode, we talk with Don McNamara and Donna Rae Faulkner from Oceanside Farms in Homer Alaska. They raise a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, berries, and chickens, ducks and turkeys. They grow all of their produce and nine varieties of Alaska Certified Seed Potatoes without the use of synthetically based chemicals, pesticides, fungicides, or fertilizers.  The farm serves their local ma...

Today’s episode features Bashira Muhammad, founder of Zoom Out Mycology as she talks about “Driving Sustainability with Fungi!” Zoom Out Mycology is a fungi farm based in Southern Oregon.   Their mission is to apply mycology towards a sustainable future. When asked “How does fungi save the planet,” Bashira lists “so many ways!”  She and her team focus on medicinal mushroom teas for holistic health...

Austin Allred, talking about his family's Royal Dairy in Washington,  proudly states that rather than contributing to climate change, Royal Dairy shows that farms like his can be an impactful part of the solution — in part by preventing the formation of greenhouse gases and boosting the capacity of his soil to draw down and sequester atmospheric carbon.   In this episode, Austin shares his pa...

 Western SARE completed our second season of Fresh Growth. Thank you for listening! As we are working toward Season 3, we are sharing some special podcasts created by Washington State University students. In this podcast, you'll hear from Shepherd's Grain  COO and Director of R&D Jeremy Bunch. He discusses what makes Shepherd's Grain unique and how they work with no-till wheat f...

 Western SARE completed our second season of Fresh Growth. Thank you for listening! As we are working toward Season 3, we are sharing some special podcasts by Washington State University students.  In this episode, you'll hear from 5th generation farmer Allen Druffel, Bar Star Farm, as he talks about their use of no-till practices since the 1990s. Student team:  Kayleigh Brown, Mathew Morse,...

Western SARE completed our second season of Fresh Growth. Thank you for listening! As we are working toward Season 3, we are sharing some special podcasts. These podcasts were created by students in the Washington State University’s Systems Skills for Agriculture and Food Systems class. The students interviewed producers on topics such as regenerative agriculture, permaculture, marketing, economic...

Western SARE completed our second season of Fresh Growth. Thank you for listening! As we are working toward Season 3, we are sharing some special podcasts. These podcasts were created by students in the Washington State University’s Systems Skills for Agriculture and Food Systems class. The students interviewed producers on topics such as regenerative agriculture, permaculture, marketing, economic...

Western SARE completed our second season of Fresh Growth. Thank you for listening! As we are working toward Season 3, we are sharing some special podcasts. These podcasts were created by students in the Washington State University’s Systems Skills for Agriculture and Food Systems class. The students interviewed producers on topics such as regenerative agriculture, permaculture, marketing, economic...

Today’s guest is Nathan Hodges, who along with his wife Sage Dilts, runs Barn Owl Bakery on Lopez Island, Washington. He discusses why they are farming and sourcing heritage grains and using them in their baked goods; how the grains are processed locally; how the community plays a big role in their success; the results of his Western SARE research project; and what “right livelihood” means to them...