Farm and Fiddle

Cedar Creek Therapeutic Riding Center was an early entry into the magic of horse therapy for people of all ages, with all kinds of needs. In this episode, founder Karen Grindler talks about CCTC's beginnings in 1989 with four horses and the present Center with 20 horses and hundreds of volunteers. The Center's work with autistic children, PTSD-stricken veterans, recent amputees and brain-injured persons is well-known nationally and has contributed to discoveries on the benefits of the

While Kentucky whiskeys are famous, they are made mostly with Missouri ingredients--corn, other grains, and aged in MIssouri-made barrels. Agronimist Gary Hinegardner spent a career studying heritage corn types--corn that tastes good even though it might not yield as high as commercial hybrids. Then, he went to work for the world's largest oak barrel maker, using wood sourced from Missouri forests. On retirement, he put his knowledge to work creating world-class, gold-medal whiskeys,

In this half hour podcast, Josh Stevens, forester, talks to Rhett Hartman about forest products--medicinal, food and wood--and how to manage them in Missouri forests. It turns out that, besides sourcing local foods, Missourians can source local lumber and wood products.

Susan Williams and Tena Potts are leaders in their Cooper County community. They have been fighting against corporate power that seeks to take over Cooper County's clean air, water and land to place a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) in their midst.  The outrage prompted passage of a Health Ordinance for the county which simply demands that CAFOs follow the same rules as ordinary farmers with small numbers of animals. It was a triumph when MIssouri's Clean Water Commission

This podcast continues the conversation with Steve Jeffery, and gives the early timeline of the fight in Cooper County, Missouri, which will soon be heard in the Supreme Court. Jeffery is keenly aware and articulate about the part that politics has played in fixing laws so that citizen voices are shut out.

Scott Dye has been active as an organizer for communities faced with the incursion of a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation, or CAFO. His own family farm, in northwest Missouri, is now surrounded by CAFOs owned by a Chinese firm that bought out Smithfield a few years ago. Being keenly aware of how factory farming takes over the market and destroys neighborhoods, Scott has dedicated his life to helping other communities resist. One of the states he works in, North Dakota, has been

While surrounding counties host thousands of CAFOs, Jefferson County has managed to keep the incursion to a minimum. Rosenberg credits constant vigilance and a community willing to work. Learn more at https://www.jfaniowa.org/

Attorney Steve Jeffery has been working with neighborhoods that fight the incursion of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations into their midst. Having begun his career as an environmental lawyer for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR), he knows the problems that occur when under-funded departments try to protect citizens with the few tools allowed by lawmakers. Nevertheless, Steve and his clients persevere, only to find their success thwarted by out-of-state corporations,