Greener Pastures

Welcome to the final episode of Greener Pastures, a Midstory podcast on the future of farming in the Midwest. In this episode, we’re talking about eggs and the chickens that lay them, and how they have become one of the most resilient commodities within the agricultural industry. Profits and productivity are climbing even as other sectors struggle to stay afloat. How does the poultry industry stay...

Welcome to episode five of Greener Pastures, a Midstory podcast on the future of farming in the Midwest. In this episode, dive into Michigan’s fishery, an industry that put the state on the map, but has since begun to flounder. In response to rampant overfishing in the mid-20th century, the state’s Department of Natural Resources limited what commercial fishing operations could catch, and gave mor...

Welcome to episode four of Greener Pastures, a Midstory podcast on the future of farming in the Midwest. In this episode, we pay a visit to the Stateler farm to see what life and business looks like at a CAFO. Anthony Stateler believes that large-scale animal farms like his have been unfairly blamed for the water quality issues that have afflicted Lake Erie for the last decade. What he wants is fo...

Welcome to episode three of Greener Pastures, a Midstory podcast on the future of farming in the Midwest. In this episode, we approach the billion dollar industry of factory-farmed beef, the scrutiny surrounding its environmental and animal welfare concerns, and one Indiana cattle farmer’s vision for an alternative approach.

Welcome to episode two of Greener Pastures, a Midstory podcast on the future of farming in the Midwest. In this episode, we present farmers’ thoughts on two key cash crops — corn and soy — and their ideas surrounding monocropped soils, resilience, conservation strategies and meeting their bottom lines.

Welcome to episode one of Greener Pastures, a Midstory podcast retelling the story of Midwest agriculture. In this episode, we dive into the history of Big Ag and how scientific progress, federal policy and social pressure brought an end to the era of the family farm.

Welcome to Greener Pastures, a new Midstory podcast that takes you out into the fields to retell the story you thought you knew. Midwest farms are facing some big challenges, and the grass certainly looks greener on the far side of this crisis. But how do we get there? And what could the farm — and the farmer — of tomorrow look like?