Farm tour #8.
Isabelle and Garrett Heydt, of Rucker Farm in Virginia share their journey from vastly different childhoods to building a thriving regenerative farm and raising three young children. They discuss how they started with just a handful of chickens, grew into pigs and cattle, built community through barter events and markets, and navigated the challenges of balancing family life with the demands of farming. Their story highlights both the struggles and rewards of choosing a life close to the land.
Rucker Farm is a regenerative family farm in Virginia raising pastured beef, pork, and poultry with full transparency and care for the land. They rotate animals daily, avoid confinement, and even invite the public to their on-farm harvests to reconnect people with real food.
Key Topics
Timestamps
00:02:00 – Isabelle’s upbringing on Rucker Farm and her family’s farming background
00:07:00 – Garrett’s childhood in Baltimore and path into outdoor guiding
00:12:00 – Meeting in West Virginia, homesteading, and renovating their first house
00:20:00 – Moving back to Rucker Farm in 2020 during the pandemic
00:23:00 – Why they started with chickens and how it scaled into pigs and cattle
00:25:00 – Hosting barter tables and building community around food and farming
00:33:00 – Partnerships, land access, and support from American Farmland Trust
00:37:00 – Advice for new farmers on building relationships and opportunities
00:39:00 – Isabelle’s approach to marketing, storytelling, and authenticity
00:45:00 – The realities and challenges of farmers’ markets
00:55:00 – Educating consumers on cooking grass-finished beef
01:01:00 – Raising children on the farm and connecting them to nature
Connect with Rucker Farm
Farm tour #7.
Today we interview farmer Tony Eash, from Triple E farms.
Triple E Farms is a family-run raw dairy and livestock farm in West Virginia, operated by brothers Tony and Phil. Farming since childhood, they grew up raising animals on pasture and chose a regenerative path after the sudden loss of their father. Today they produce 100% grass-fed, pasture-raised, non-GMO beef, pork, poultry, and raw dairy, combining traditional practices with appropriate modern technology to provide pure, nutrient-dense food for their family and community.
Key topics
Timestamps
00:00:00 Challenging perceptions of farmers and profitability
00:01:00 From Amish roots to dairy farming in Virginia
00:03:00 Turning away from commercial chicken houses
00:04:00 Starting with broilers and expanding to pigs, beef, and dairy
00:08:00 Growing up on a small hobby farm and making hay
00:12:00 Losing his father and coping through work
00:14:00 Mennonite community support after tragedy
00:18:00 Building a raw milk customer base
00:20:00 Raw milk laws in West Virginia
00:26:00 Questions to ask when buying milk or visiting farms
00:28:00 Testing, cleanliness, and raw vs. pasteurized costs
00:32:00 Balancing full-time jobs with farm demands
Connect with Triple E
Farm tour #6.
On today’s episode, I speak with Ben and Hannah Yoder of Savage Mountain Farm. Drawing on their Amish–Mennonite heritage and a commitment to natural farming, they share how they’ve built a livelihood that prioritizes culture, family, and the small farm way of life.
Ben and Hannah Yoder run Savage Mountain Farm, a 150-acre diversified, full-diet CSA on the Pennsylvania–Maryland line, rooted in Amish–Mennonite heritage and natural methods, raising produce, mushrooms, and pastured livestock while blending regenerative farming with homeschooling, community engagement, and a family-centered lifestyle.
Key Topics:
Timestamps:
00:01:00 Ben’s discovery of his Amish–Mennonite farming roots
00:09:00 Early farming experiences, WWOOFing, and meeting Hannah
00:11:00 Starting their farm on rented land and the move to their current site
00:14:00 Designing a full-diet, full-choice CSA for a rural market
00:22:00 Preserving small farm culture over the capitalist mindset
00:26:00 Why they keep unprofitable crops for cultural and family reasons
00:27:00 Children’s role in daily farm life
00:35:00 Hannah’s path from urban gardening to sustainable agriculture
00:49:00 Homeschooling philosophy and keeping kids engaged with life and work
01:00:00 How farming builds autonomy, resilience, and life skills
Connect with Savage Mountain:
Farm tour #5 baby.
This one was really cool. Julie has great energy and speaks to some of most important issues surrounding regenerative farming. Enjoy!
Julie Friend is a first-generation farmer who left city life in Chicago to return to her family’s land in western Maryland and build a regenerative livestock operation from the ground up. Her journey began with a personal health shift and quickly evolved into a deep commitment to ecological farming and ethical animal care.
Wildom Farm raises grass-fed beef and lamb, forest-raised pork, pastured poultry, and produces small-batch lard-based skincare. Focused on land regeneration, nutrient-dense food, and whole-animal use, the farm serves its local community through direct sales, farm dinners, and hands-on education.
Key Topics:
Timestamps:
00:00:00 Why “normal” meat is expensive—and what feedlots distort
00:06:30 Discovering regenerative agriculture through Whole30
00:08:30 Leaving Chicago and returning to steward family land
00:17:00 First animal slaughter and why it never gets easier
00:21:00 Whole-animal use: skincare, hides, and broth
00:27:00 The slow economics of beef and forecasting challenges
00:35:00 How to talk to your local farmer and ask good questions
00:43:00 The cost of organic feed vs. conventional operations
00:52:00 Why lard is uniquely suited for skincare
01:04:00 Advice for women in agriculture or looking to join
01:08:00 The emotional toll of farming
Connect with Julie
Website
Lard
Regenerative Meat
Instagram
Follow the tour on YouTube
Farm tour #4. Hoo Rah!
We enjoyed this one - Michael is a 1st gen farmer and quite literally started his operation boots on the ground. We get into it...
Follow the tour on YouTube
Michael Greco is the founder of Little O Ranch & Livestock, based in Saugerties, New York. A first-generation livestock producer, he leads a regenerative, holistic sheep operation in Hudson Valley. We unpack his philosophy, practices, and why he believes small-scale, community-connected farming is the future.
Key Topics:
Timestamps:
00:00:00 Michael’s background and how he got into farming
00:07:10 Starting Little O Ranch and farming in Saugerties
00:14:22 Why he raises sheep and how he manages them holistically
00:22:40 Grazing strategy and avoiding grain, antibiotics, and chemicals
00:30:18 What regenerative means to him on a practical level
00:36:47 The business model: lamb shares, community dinners, selling direct
00:44:35 The emotional and philosophical side of land stewardship
00:50:10 Lessons from farming alone and the importance of observation
00:57:23 Long-term vision and thoughts on food systems
01:04:00 Final reflections on connection, trust, and land care
Connect with Michael:
Website
Instagram
Follow the tour on YouTube
Farm tour #3. Wow. This episode is a must, must listen. An incredible perspective on farming, legacy, and what it takes to keep a farm in today's day and age. Enjoy, and share with a friend if this impacted you as well.
Follow the tour on YouTube
Brad Wiley is a fifth-generation farmer at Otter Creek Farm in Pittstown, New York. He grew up working alongside his grandparents, parents, and sister, and today he stewards the land with a focus on diversification, sustainability, and family continuity. Brad is also a passionate local historian, with deep knowledge of his family’s roots and the surrounding region.
Otter Creek Farm is a 440-acre multigenerational farm in Pittstown, NY, with 200 tillable acres, 100 pasture acres, and 140 woodland acres. A former dairy farm (1937–2018), it now raises pastured poultry, pigs, grass-fed cattle, and turkeys, and hosts a 20-acre chestnut orchard run by Breadtree Farms.
Key Topics:
Timestamps:
00:00:00 Brad’s roots: five generations on Otter Creek
00:06:15 The end of dairy and what came after
00:11:45 Transitioning to diversified livestock and pasture
00:17:30 Navigating family dynamics and succession
00:31:40 Balancing conviction with economic reality
00:37:00 What stewardship means in practice
00:47:30 What drives him to keep farming
00:54:20 The daily grind: routine, rhythm, and responsibility
01:01:10 Supporting the next generation without control
01:10:40 Climate, weather, and shifting environmental patterns
01:18:30 What “regeneration” means—and doesn’t mean—to Brad
01:50:40 Final thoughts: continuity, hope, and what endures
Connect with Brad:
Website
Follow the tour on YouTube
Elizabeth Collins is a first-generation farmer co-running Otter Creek Farm with Brad Wiley. Originally from Cincinnati, she moved from Lexington, KY, and now leads the farm’s livestock, regenerative operations, and Graceful Acres Farmstay.
Otter Creek Farm is a 440-acre multigenerational farm in Pittstown, NY, with 200 tillable acres, 100 pasture acres, and 140 woodland acres. A former dairy farm (1937–2018), it now raises pastured poultry, pigs, grass-fed cattle, and turkeys, and hosts a 20-acre chestnut orchard run by Breadtree Farms.
Alrighty, ranch 3!
Today we speak to Elizabeth Collins. Elizabeth has an amazing story of how she battled the odds to become a farmer at age 40. We discuss:
Timestamps
00:00:00 Why Elizabeth rejects USDA slaughter and does on-farm kills
00:00:30 Her awakening to food, fat, and the broken health narrative
00:11:15 Selling a business and moving north: the midlife pivot
00:15:30 Lessons from a failed co-op and how the system is broken
00:19:40 The visceral moment she knew she needed to farm
00:26:15 Interning at 40 and what the 22-year-olds taught her
00:40:30 Grants as a lifeline for regenerative farms—and why they're vanishing
00:45:00 Legal barriers and values behind her small-scale slaughter model
00:50:40 Temple Grandin and the redesign of humane slaughter
01:09:00 'Cowspiracy' and why it's irrelevant to regenerative farming
01:20:30 Why she can’t legally sell her own meat in her farm store
01:26:15 What regenerative ranching truly means to Elizabeth
Connect with Elizabeth!
Website
Come Stay At Otter Creek...
Instagram
Follow the tour on YouTube
Ranch tour #3.
Onto the 2nd ranch of our U.S Ranch and Farm Tour, where we are on a on a 6-month tour across America, we're visiting regenerative farms to podcast with ranchers, tour their land, document their work, and shake the hand that feeds us. Today's episode is with Maple Syrup rancher, Jacob Powsner. Jacob is great value. He absolutely loves maple syrup, which just makes the conversation that much better. He's living his dream. Alas, we do a total expose on everything Maple Syrup - super fascinating stuff.
Enjoy!
Jacob Baird is part of the fourth generation running Baird Farm, a 560-acre maple syrup operation in Vermont. In this episode, Jacob and Ryan dive into the full story behind maple syrup—how it’s made, what separates the real from the fake, and why so many food labels today are built on confusion. From the misuse of terms like “natural” and “regenerative,” to the nutritional power of real syrup and the policies shaping food transparency, this is a candid conversation about what honest food really takes.
Key topics:
- How real maple syrup is made—from forest to sugarhouse
- The difference between real and fake maple products
- Why “natural,” “organic,” and “regenerative” labels often mislead
- The nutritional and environmental case for real maple syrup
- Small farms vs big food: marketing, policy, and system capture
Timestamps:
00:00:00 “When you eat good food, you connect to the land”
00:03:30 The 100-year family history of Baird Farm and the shift from dairy to maple
00:06:00 How 15,000 trees are tapped and managed across the Vermont woods
00:09:00 What makes real maple syrup: process, purity, and organic practices
00:12:30 The truth about fake syrup, flavoring loopholes, and deceptive labels
00:16:00 The “natural flavors” problem and how big food co-opts language
00:19:00 Why regenerative is at risk of being greenwashed
00:22:00 Health benefits of real maple syrup: minerals, glycemic load, and antioxidants
00:25:00 Why maple syrup protects land from development and deforestation
00:28:00 How big players are consolidating the maple industry and what’s at stake
00:31:00 Jacob’s vision for small, intentional growth and honest food systems
Connect with Jason & Baird Farm:
Website
Instagram
Follow the tour on YouTube
We thought it would be silly whilst on Gunthorp Farms to not interview Greg's son, Evan, who is not only carrying the torch when it comes to regenerative farming for the next generation, he's driving the fire truck, saving the babies from balconies, and putting out the fires that conventional meat processing (meat arsonists) create every day.
Evan's incredibly smart and I learnt a tonne in this hour. If you want to hear from one of the bright young ranchers thinking clearly on how to sustain & grow a regenerative farming culture in America, and the good bad and the ugly that comes with that mission, I couldn't recommend this pod enough.
Evan Gunthorp is the son of Greg Gunthorp and part of the next generation stewarding the legacy of Gunthorp Farms—an independent, pasture-based livestock operation in Indiana. In this episode, Evan shares his firsthand experience growing up immersed in regenerative agriculture, from raising thousands of chickens as a child to managing their USDA-inspected processing plant and pioneering solar grazing operations. This is a candid look at what it takes to sustain a farm across generations, the realities of small-scale meat production, and the cultural forces shaping our food future.
We cover:
- Growing up on a regenerative farm: chickens, responsibility, and early exposure to death and food
- Running a USDA processing plant and the emotional, ethical, and logistical complexities of meat production
- The labor crisis in farming and processing: challenges, insights, and systemic reflections
- Solar grazing as an ecological and economic solution for land-locked farmers
- What keeps Evan going despite the industrialization of agriculture and cultural disconnection from food
Timestamps:
00:00:00 Growing up Gunthorp: childhood on a working farm
00:04:30 Killing animals young: what that teaches about food and respect
00:10:00 Early responsibility: raising 3,000 chickens at age 7
00:14:30 Running a USDA processing plant as a teenager
00:20:00 Why most Americans shouldn’t be allowed to eat meat
00:25:30 Labor, dignity & depression inside meat processing
00:32:00 The promise and pitfalls of solar grazing
00:39:30 Can pasture-raised pigs scale across the U.S.?
00:45:00 Pork, parasites & why store-bought meat makes people sick
00:50:00 What keeps Evan going in a system stacked against him
And the tour begins. Farm tour #1.
Regenaissance community! It's been a month since our last episode, and we apologize for the absence. The reason for our pending silence we can finally share... we have have just embarked on a 6-month tour across America, we're visiting regenerative farms to podcast with ranchers, tour their land, document their work, and shake the hand that feeds us.
So, starting from today's episode, we'll be recording and dropping episodes live as we're travelling through each farm. The cadence will be loose (as we go essentially) and the focus will be on telling the stories of these farmers and doing our best to connect our community with them. We're so pumped to begin this journey - so please if you enjoy the content, share it with a friend and let them know about this tour. As far as we know, we don't think a farm podcast tour has been done on this scale before!
The tour begins in northeast Indiana at Gunthorp Farms—a vertically integrated, pasture-based livestock farm run by Greg Gunthorp and his family. Greg has been raising pigs for over four generations, and he’s seen firsthand how industrialization decimated independent hog farming. In this episode, Greg contrasts his approach to animal husbandry and food ethics with the commodified logic of Big Pork. From breed selection to federal corruption, this is a deep dive into the systems behind your food—and what it takes to build something better.
Key Topics Discussed:
Timestamps:
00:00:00 Intro to the tour & visiting Gunthorp Farms
00:04:00 Greg's breeding philosophy vs industrial pig genetics
00:10:00 How vertical integration wiped out small hog farms
00:16:00 Why 96% of pork runs through 37 plants
00:20:00 What Prop 12 changed—and didn’t
00:26:00 The illusion of ethical meat at the supermarket
00:30:00 True costs of pasture-raised pork
00:35:00 Corruption inside USDA and meat inspection
00:45:00 How Greg fought back—with help from Thomas Massie
00:55:00 Final reflections on reform, resilience, and local food
Connect w Greg & Gunthorp Farms:
Ann & Weldon Warren are regenerative ranchers and founders of Holy Cow Beef, a Texas-based operation producing 100% grass-fed, grass-finished beef with a focus on clean food, animal welfare, and soil health.
They share their powerful journey from suburban Dallas and high-stress finance to a regenerative ranching life rooted in clean food, community, and faith. After a health crisis forced them to reevaluate everything, the Warrens rebuilt their life around ancestral practices—raising grass-finished cattle, stewarding land, and helping others reconnect with where their food comes from.
Key topics:
Radius Butcher & Grocery is one of the most ambitious grocery experiments in America—blending beauty, transparency, and ethical sourcing into a bold new model for local food systems.
Kevin, the founder of Radius, joins me today to discuss transforming the grocery store experience by combining the abundance of farmers markets with everyday convenience. Radius sources locally from Texas farms, prioritizing nutrient-rich, flavorful, and sustainably produced foods.
I loved this episode, and learned a heap. Hope you all do to.
We discuss on the podcast:
Daniel Spitzbergen of Sustainable Natural Foods joins me today to debunk myths around Wagyu beef, share the reality of ranch life, and reflect on faith, fatherhood, and food sovereignty. Based in Oregon, Sustainable Natural Foods is a family ranch raising full-blood Wagyu with a focus on land stewardship, animal welfare, and world-class genetics.
Key Topics:
Trevor Gibbs is a hunter, cook, and founder of Man Bar—a slow-fermented, high-fat meat stick made from regenerative bison and beef. In this episode, we unpack what hunting really is—beyond the stereotypes—and why it matters for food, land, and culture. Trevor shares how his views evolved from being vegan to harvesting his own meat, and what hunting taught him about responsibility, respect, and community.
Key Topics:
- Trevor’s first hunting experience and what went wrong
- The emotional weight of taking a life and doing it with respect
- How hunting ties into regenerative agriculture and land care
- The wild hog problem in Texas and why lethal control is necessary
- Building Man Bar, a high-fat, fermented bison and beef stick made for real nourishment
I sat down with cattle rancher Shad Sullivan to unpack the Maud family case—an explosive story of generational ranchers wrongly charged with land theft. Shad walks me through the full timeline, the grassroots fight to overturn it, and the deeper threat facing landowners, food freedom, and liberty across the West.
Key Topics:
A healthy nation is dependent upon healthy soil. This is what Eric and his family believe, a legacy that lives through Eric's work at Deep Roots Living Soil. From horse bedding to worm castings, Eric explains how thermophilic composting revives microbial life and how soil can be a tool for healing, sovereignty, and regeneration.
Key Topics:
Casey is a fifth-generation rancher in Northern Arizona whose family has worked the same land for over 120 years. In this conversation, he explains how large-scale solar projects are threatening local ranchers and reshaping the landscape. He shares stories from his family’s history, the role of trading posts with the Navajo and Hopi, and what it takes to keep ranching alive in tough country.
Key Topics:
JR Burdick tells the story of how his family lost their dairy farm during the 1980s farm crisis—and how they eventually got back on the land. He shares what it was like growing up in the barn, watching his dad rebuild from nothing, and later taking over the operation himself. This episode dives into the realities of co-ops, milk pricing, and the shift from conventional to regenerative dairy.
Key Topics:
Nourishing Family Farms Website
Nourishing Family Farms Facebook
Jr Burdick's X
Agronomist Joe Ailts dives deep into the secrets of soil biology and regenerative practices that could revolutionize crop production, reduce chemical inputs, and restore land health.
Key topics discussed:
Ailts Agronomy X
Ailts Agronomy Website
Ailts Agronomy Facebook
In this episode, I sit down with regenerative farmer Jason Mauck to explore how nature—not tech—is the true path to solving modern crises, reclaiming food, land, and life through design, experimentation, and reconnection.
Key topics discussed:
