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PODCAST

Agrarian Futures

Agrarian Futures

Join hosts Emma Ractliffe and Austin Unruh as they explore what’s broken in our food system, and what it looks like to build something better.Visit agrarianfuturespod.com to join our email list for a heads up on upcoming episodes and bonus content.Agrarian Futures is produced by Alexandre Miller, who also wrote our theme song.Instagram: @agrarianfuturespodTwitter: @agrarianfuturesLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/103857304/

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All Episodes

59:28

Farming Against the Odds with Beth Hoffman

Agrarian Futures ·

2025/09/18

What happens when you leave behind a career in food journalism to take over a family farm in Iowa? For Beth Hoffman, it meant putting theory into practice - and learning firsthand just how difficult it is to make small and mid-sized farming work in today’s economy.In her book Bet the Farm and in her daily life raising grass-finished cattle and organic crops, Beth confronts the financial and cultural realities most farmers face: land that’s too expensive for beginners, markets that reward

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40:43

Restoring the Underwater Forests with Jon Dickson

Agrarian Futures ·

2025/08/13

Before industrial dredging, clear-cutting, and destructive fishing practices, our rivers and oceans were full of wood. Fallen trees, driftwood, and branches created underwater forests where fish and countless other creatures could thrive. That wood provided shelter, food, and the foundation for entire aquatic ecosystems. Today, much of it is gone, and so are the fish.Marine restoration expert Jon Dickson noticed this loss while working along Europe’s coasts and asked a deceptively simple question:

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46:06

How to Leave the Industrial System Behind with Will...

Agrarian Futures ·

2025/07/23

Years before regenerative ag and grass-fed beef hit the spotlight, Will Harris was figuring it out on his own land.At White Oak Pastures in Bluffton, Georgia, Will spent the last few decades unwinding everything industrial agriculture taught him: the chemicals, the confinement, the commodity mindset. In its place, he’s built a vertically integrated, closed-loop system that honors the land, the animals, the people who work it, and the rural town that depends on it.White Oak Pastures is now one of the

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65:50

Why Farmland Shouldn't Be a Commodity with Sarah Mock

Agrarian Futures ·

2025/06/30

We all need land to eat, but more and more, farmland has become a financial asset instead of a source of food, livelihood, and community. And when agriculture becomes just another investment, we risk losing something essential, not just for farmers, but for the health, resilience, and future of our entire society.Journalist and researcher Sarah Mock joins us to unpack the deep consequences of treating land like a commodity - from pricing out new farmers, to consolidating ownership, to weakening the

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58:15

Losing 10,000 Farms a Year — And How to Reverse It...

Agrarian Futures ·

2025/06/04

Are fewer, bigger farms putting our entire food system at risk?That’s the warning at the heart of Land Rich, Cash Poor, the latest book by Brian Reisinger. In it, he explores the forces—technological, political, and economic—that have hollowed out rural America and made it harder than ever to keep a family farm alive. Drawing from his own multigenerational farming roots in Wisconsin, Brian traces how policy choices and market consolidation have left farmers squeezed—sometimes literally sitting on

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59:12

Breaking the Beef Monopoly with Cole Mannix of Old...

Agrarian Futures ·

2025/05/21

What do we lose when our food comes from nowhere in particular?For Cole Mannix, that question is at the heart of his work. He’s part of Old Salt Co-op, a group of ranchers outside Helena, Montana working to unseat Big Beef—not with billion-dollar backing or slick marketing, but with community, collaboration, and a commitment to place.In today’s episode, we talk about what it means to break out of the commodity system, the power of cooperation in an industry dominated by consolidation, and how

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52:46

Lessons Learned Roadtripping Through a Divided...

Agrarian Futures ·

2025/04/03

It’s no secret our world is in upheaval right now—climate disasters, political unrest, economic uncertainty. But in the midst of it all, there are also stories of resilience, adaptation, and new ways forward.That’s a theme Anthony James, host of The Regen Narration Podcast, has explored deeply. From an extended road trip across the U.S., interviewing community leaders navigating climate adaptation, to studying how people respond to upheaval, Anthony has seen firsthand how crisis can be a catalyst

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32:02

Bringing Money Back Down to Earth with Claude Arpels

Agrarian Futures ·

2025/03/18

If we want regenerative farms and food businesses to thrive, we have to talk about money. How do we help them grow without forcing them to sell out their values?That’s exactly what Claude Arpels - and Slow Money NYC - is working to solve. Claude has spent years rethinking investment strategies to support regenerative food systems. After a first career in luxury fashion, he pivoted to impact investing, helping farms and food businesses secure the land and capital they need—without compromising their

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52:28

Financing Native Food Sovereignty with Skya Ducheneaux

Agrarian Futures ·

2025/01/14

On this show, we’ve talked a lot about how traditional banking and financial systems make it tough for new farmers or those without direct land ownership to get a fair shot. But those challenges run even deeper for agricultural producers in Indian Country.Enter Skya Ducheneaux, who’s tackling these barriers head-on as the leader of Akiptan—the first Native CDFI dedicated to serving agricultural producers all across Indian Country. Skya brings fresh eyes to lending, challenging old-school banking

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46:06

The Case Against Techno-Fixes with Chris Smaje

Agrarian Futures ·

2025/01/08

In the face of climate change and biodiversity loss, the solutions we hear the most are technological ones - many of which mirror the economic and philosophical approaches that precipitated these crises in the first place. But what if that vision is flawed? Chris Smaje, author of Saying NO to a Farm-Free Future, challenges the dominant eco-modernist philosophy head-on. He critiques its reliance on techno-fixes—not just on technological grounds, but also economic, political, and spiritual ones.In

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45:56

Living Without Fossil Fuels with Alexis Zeigler

Agrarian Futures ·

2024/12/17

It’s easy to feel powerless in the face of climate change, but where can we find models for living in harmony with the planet—before it’s too late? Alexis Zeigler and the community at Living Energy Farm are doing just that: building a self-sustaining, non-extractive way of life and sharing their knowledge with others.Alexis brings a unique blend of practical, technical expertise and a deep philosophical vision for restoring our spiritual connection to nature—and to one another. These themes are at

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51:42

Building Rural Resiliency and Food Justice with Mark...

Agrarian Futures ·

2024/12/04

Today’s guest is proving that financial models can prioritize the well-being of farmers and the resilience of our food systems—not just financial returns. Mark Watson, president and chief investment officer of Potlikker Capital, leads a fund dedicated to supporting BIPOC farmers in the U.S. who operate at the intersection of racial and climate justice.Drawing from his extensive background in conventional finance, Mark sheds light on why our current economic systems fail small farmers—and how

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39:07

Empowering Farmers with Regen Media with Taylor Henry

Agrarian Futures ·

2024/11/12

Register for the Acres USA conference coming up on December 2-5, 2024. And if you can’t make those dates or its already passed, you can purchase the event recordings as well!Can a digital bookstore and learning community reshape the world of farming? On our latest episode Taylor Henry, owner of Acres USA, makes a compelling case. He takes us through his journey into regenerative agriculture, sparked by Acres USA's rich catalogue. Taylor shares how Acres USA is redefining what it means to learn the

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44:00

Rex Weyler on "Solving" Climate Change and Living Simply

Agrarian Futures ·

2024/10/31

“I believe there is something dangerous about our entire notion of what a solution to climate change even is. We’re trying to engineer our way out of an ecological crisis that we engineered ourselves into. Growing bigger and more complex might not help. We’re going to have to humble ourselves first.”- Rex WeylerIn this episode, we were joined by the one and only Rex Weyler - activist, author, co-founder of Greenpeace, and a veteran of the ecology movement - to examine why the early momentum for

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40:48

Bringing Back the Community Bank with Charley Cummings

Agrarian Futures ·

2024/10/21

If most of us are honest—banking probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when we think about social and environmental change. But what if it could be?In today’s episode, we talk with Charley Cummings, CEO of Walden Mutual, an innovative bank that’s restoring a community-driven model that has largely disappeared in the face of 50 years of banking consolidation.Charley walks us through the recent history of US banking and how the fundamental thesis behind it has changed, leaving many behind

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21:11

Life on the Range with Tyler Lu

Agrarian Futures ·

2024/10/05

What does it take to leave the city behind and embrace the life as a cowboy? In this episode, we trace Tyler’s unique path from competitive running, to beekeeping and vegetable farming, to life as a regenerative cattle rancher. Tyler shares the transformative experience of building a relationship with the land, the day-to-day realities of cowboy life, and the complex dynamics of being a non-binary person of color in a traditionally conservative rural setting. We also dive into the myths surrounding

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35:23

The New American Shepherd with Cole Bush

Agrarian Futures ·

2024/09/17

For Cole Bush, life as a shepherd is more than a job—it’s a calling. As the founder of her own grazing business in Southern California, she's using livestock to help restore land, reduce wildfire risks, and promote better agricultural practices. At the same time, she’s using her knowledge to train the next generation of pastoral graziers through the Grazing School of the West.We’ll dive into her journey, sharing the insights she gained along the way about the co-evolution of humans, animals, and our

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44:24

How Big Food Stole Organic, and the Fight to Reclaim...

Agrarian Futures ·

2024/09/04

In the 1990s, the success of the US organic movement seemed undeniable. Demand for healthy, chemical-free produce skyrocketed amidst public health concerns and a growing environmental consciousness. As a consequence, many small organic farmers could make a real living selling healthy produce and restoring farmland in the process.In the decades since, however, the story has gotten much more complicated.Corporate co-optation, lax government oversight, and splinters within the movement itself have

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37:44

Healing Communities and Landscapes through Ranching...

Agrarian Futures ·

2024/08/20

Carlyle Stewart is living many of the core ideas behind Agrarian Futures. Like many of us, he grew up without a close connection to farming or our agricultural landscapes, but that didn’t stop him from taking a massive leap to move across the country and establish himself as a skilled cattle rancher. He fuses these skills with wise-beyond-his-years thoughtfulness about what it means to steward the land, lift up rural communities, and confront the complicated - and often violent - history of westward

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51:41

Lessons from Building a 600 Acre Chestnut Business...

Agrarian Futures ·

2024/08/12

Russell Wallack and team at Breadtree Farms are some of our favorite kind of people - the kind who not only imagine a different future for our communities and our planet, but put in the work to turn that vision into reality.In this wide-ranging conversation, Russell walks us through the history of the chestnut tree in North America, which once made up over a quarter of all trees in the eastern US, and how they are harnessing its potential as a keystone crop for regenerative farmers once more.In this

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28 results

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