Rural Routes to Climate Solutions

In this bonus episode of the SAP series, we sit down with two of our coordinators from our Siksikaitsitapi Agriculture Project (SAP): Riel Houle and Nathan Provost. Both are proud members of the Piikani First Nation and bring Blackfoot cultural knowledge and their own personal connections to the land and agriculture to their work.  This conversation explores what regenerative agriculture can look...

In this episode of the Rural Routes to Climate Solutions podcast, we’re reconnecting with an old friend of the podcast, Api’soomaahka (translation: Running Coyote). His English name is William Singer III. Api’soomaahka is an artist, land-based educator and founder of Naapi’s Garden and Katoyiss Seed Bank. He returns to the podcast to share updates on his powerful work around restoring native plant...

Welcome to Restoring the Margins, our brand new podcast series, in partnership with the Prairie Precision Sustainability Network (PPSN). This series explores how agriculture producers in the Prairies can take their marginal lands and turn them into something both more profitable and more beneficial for the environment. In this opening episode, we’re joined by Dr. Christy Morrissey, a professor at...

In this episode of the Siksikaitsitapi Agriculture Project (SAP) podcast series, Lance Tailfeathers sits down with Wolf Caller (Elliot Fox), a leader in land management and now a member of Kainai First Nation’s Council. They discuss the past, present and future of agriculture in Kainai First Nation in southern Alberta, exploring how Blackfoot ways of knowing can help to protect water systems again...

Wrapping up our Stories of Regeneration tour, we land in Ottawa at Just Food Community Farm, a 150-acre farmstead located in Ottawa’s Greenbelt that is championing small-scale, viable agriculture businesses and initiatives like Chi Garden and Urban Fresh Produce. Dedicated to cultivating a thriving local food economy and sustainable farming sector, Just Food integrates agroecology-based cons...

On the second-last stop in our Stories of Regeneration tour, we returned to Alberta, making a stop at Peony Farms in Lacombe. Facing his daughter’s health issues, rancher Craig Cameron and his family turned to regenerative farming to grow the healthiest food possible for her. Craig, alongside his father-in-law Peter DenOudsten, shifted their traditional beef farm to a regenerative model. The...

In these final three episodes of the series, we’ll be doing some light exploration into the relationship between society and regenerative agriculture and how one can help advance the other. But the real meat and potatoes of the last three episodes, just like in all the other episodes in this series, will be about getting to know and understand the boots on the ground folks who are leading the way...

For this very special French-language episode of the Rural Routes to Climate Solutions podcast, recorded in the late summer of 2023 during the Stories of Regeneration tour, Sara Maranda-Gauvin of Regeneration Canada talked with brothers Vincent and Simon-Pierre Bolduc of La Station: an organic farm and cheese factory in the Eastern Townships of Quebec. The Bolduc brothers are the 4th generation of...

If you are a lifelong learner, being an agricultural producer is almost the perfect profession for you.  Other economic sectors evolve and adapt over the years, but since nature doesn’t work off of blueprints, learning and adapting in agriculture can happen over days, even hours. You never know what Mother Nature is going to dish out, whether it is going to be the good, the bad or the ugly, so bei...

During the growing season of 2023 as summer turned into fall, the Rural Routes to Climate Solutions podcast and Regeneration Canada were on the final leg of the Stories of Regeneration tour. After covering most of the Prairies and most of central and eastern Canada in the summer, our months-long journey came to an end in Canada’s two most western provinces around harvest time. This next phase of o...

2023 was a challenging year for Canadian farmers and ranchers and for humanity in general. We had droughts, wildfires, floods, an affordability crisis and a number of armed conflicts. According to scientists working with the European Union, 2023 smashed temperature records globally. And yet, someone like Nova Scotia agricultural producer Rachel Lightfoot still finds ways of being optimistic even a...

Fifth generation farmer, Rébeka Frazer-Chiasson believes strongly in the practices of regenerative agriculture. Located in Rogersville, New Brunswick, her farm Ferme Terre Partagee currently operates as a coop based on common values and objectives including peasant agroecology and food sovereignty. Welcome to Stories of Regeneration, a podcast series brought to you by Rural Routes to Climate Solut...

Soil is very much alive. And hungry too. Some estimates go as far as saying that there is more life in a teaspoon of healthy soil than there are people on the planet. You just need a microscope to see the vast majority of it. Or you do what grain farmer Blake Vince did, and bury a pair of “tighty whities” (underwear) in the soil to produce proof of the existence of this vast and diverse soil micro...

During the growing season of 2023, Rural Routes to Climate Solutions teamed up with Regeneration Canada to connect with agricultural producers across Canada who are tackling the pressing social and environmental crises through the adoption of regenerative agriculture.  One such farm is Axten Farms, situated in Minton, Saskatchewan. With a steadfast commitment to growing healthy grains, Axten Farms...

If you’re still wondering how best to incorporate regenerative technologies into your daily operations then you might need a crash course, or at least a motivating podcast episode, that speaks to the business of bacteria. In this kick-off episode of the Siksikaitsitapi Agriculture Project podcast series, we sit down with Joshua Day Chief to discuss how growing good bacteria can recharge your soil,...

In the summer of 2023, a diverse group of storytellers, organizers, and strategists visited 10 farms and ranches in Canada. These farms and ranches were carefully chosen to represent different aspects of Canadian agriculture, including fruit, grains, beef, veggies, and even a vineyard. The purpose of this project, which included videos, articles, and a podcast series, was not solely focused on wha...

During the growing season of 2023, the Rural Routes to Climate Solutions podcast travelled to ten farms and ranches across Canada to find out how regenerative agriculture principles were being applied by agricultural producers involved in different types of agriculture production: grains, livestock, viticulture, vegetables and fruit. What we discovered is that despite their differences in producti...

Have you ever found yourself scratching your head trying to make sense of all those terms like polycultures, cocktail crops, intercropping, cover crops, companion cropping, and relay crops? It’s understandable! They all seem to be part of the vast landscape of good land stewardship practices, like sustainable agriculture, organic agriculture, agroecology, permaculture, and regenerative agric...

Welcome to the conclusion of the Getting Through Drought series, where we look at the best management practices cow-calf producers in Alberta can use to build up their resiliency against drought.   Our hope is that the series can help with the mental health issues the agriculture sector is grappling with right now. Farming and ranching are stressful businesses, but that’s brought to a wh...

Dugouts play an important role in cow-calf operations across Alberta. While some farmers have access to well water, most rely on these man-made reservoirs to provide the necessary water that their cattle need to thrive. However, building, repairing or expanding these dugouts can come at a high cost, which is why it’s smart for producers to seek advice and resources before breaking ground.&#1...

What do you do when grass, which is often considered a finite resource, is limited by drought and cold weather? In this episode, we discuss management practices that you can use to extend the growing season and avoid feeding expensive bales of hay earlier than necessary.  Ben Stuart, who runs two successful farming operations (one in Saskatchewan and the other in Hardisty, Alberta), uses stoc...

In a drought, you’re probably more focused on the lack of water falling from the sky than the water table beneath your feet. We’re talking about the groundwater that contributes to the wells and wetlands that have various uses on ranches, from watering cattle to creating critical habitats for wildlife to providing water to do the dishes with. Making sure that the groundwater gets a chance to...

Have you ever given any thought to what the perfect cow would be for the conditions we experience in Alberta? Between the punishing winter temperatures, frequent droughts and the occasional flood, perhaps the ideal cow would be a cross between a wooly mammoth and a camel with gills. All jokes aside, we know how stressful a drought can be for a producer. In this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Susan M...

Welcome back to the Rural Routes to Climate Solutions podcast’s Getting Through Drought series, which looks at the best management practices cow-calf producers in Alberta can use to build up the resiliency of their ranch against drought.   For the remainder of the series, we’ll mainly be focusing on grazing management and adjusting grazing during a drought. To start things off, ranchers...

Sometimes the public’s perception of agriculture doesn’t quite fit the reality. For many, when thinking about agriculture, the farmer is often tall, broad – and let’s be honest – masculine. With the number of female farm operators increasing, you’ve got to wonder if this outdated image is about to change.  You may be wondering why we’re doing an episode on women in agr...