Rows of corn, red barns, men in overalls. This is definitely part of the story of food and farming in the Midwest, but it’s not the whole story. The Taproot Project digs deeper. In each episode, you’ll hear about people across the Midwest who are reclaiming farming as a connector— to the land, to ancestors, and to a sense of purpose.
We talk with farmers, brewers, ranchers, conservationists, and historians about land, legacy, and what sustains their work.
The Taproot Project is an initiative of the Midwest Transition to Organic Partnership Program, a project funded by the USDA National Organic Program to support transitioning and organic producers with mentorship and technical assistance, and to grow the greater organic community. Learn more at organictransition.org [https://www.organictransition.org/].
Hosted and produced by Kate Cowie-Haskell.
Podcast art by Geri Shonka.
All content for The Taproot Project is the property of Midwest Transition to Organic Partnership Program and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
Rows of corn, red barns, men in overalls. This is definitely part of the story of food and farming in the Midwest, but it’s not the whole story. The Taproot Project digs deeper. In each episode, you’ll hear about people across the Midwest who are reclaiming farming as a connector— to the land, to ancestors, and to a sense of purpose.
We talk with farmers, brewers, ranchers, conservationists, and historians about land, legacy, and what sustains their work.
The Taproot Project is an initiative of the Midwest Transition to Organic Partnership Program, a project funded by the USDA National Organic Program to support transitioning and organic producers with mentorship and technical assistance, and to grow the greater organic community. Learn more at organictransition.org [https://www.organictransition.org/].
Hosted and produced by Kate Cowie-Haskell.
Podcast art by Geri Shonka.
Right tree, right place, right time. That's one way to think about agroforestry, a farming methodology and movement that advocates for intentionally incorporating trees into farm operations as a way to support farm businesses and community health. Kate speaks with Kaitie Adams of the Savanna Institute and Liz and Nate Brownlee of Nightfall Farm about why trees are a critical part of the Midwest's farming future.
The Taproot Podcast is an initiative of the Midwest Transition to Organic Partnership Program, a project funded by the USDA National Organic Program to support transitioning and organic producers with mentorship and technical assistance and to grow the greater organic community. Learn more at organictransition.org [http://organictransition.org/].
Follow and listen wherever you get your podcasts.
Guest Bios
Liz and Nate Brownlee are livestock farmers in southeast Indiana. Together, they run Nightfall Farm, on Liz's family's land. They've converted fifty acres of corn and soybean land to silvopasture, where they rotationally graze meat chickens, laying hens, turkeys, pigs, and sheep. Their grazing practices sequester carbon and raise animals with care – which turns into very tasty meat and eggs. Find Nightfall goods via their CSA, at local restaurants and independent groceries, and farmers markets. All of this work is motivated by a love for the natural world, a desire to fight climate change, and a belief that food can bring people together.
Kaitie Adams leads the Demonstration and On-Farm Education Team at the Savanna Institute. Based in flat lands of East-Central Illinois, her work focuses on creative ways to connect people, build abundance, and create new futures on landscapes and in communities through perennial cropping systems. Her background in anthropology (M.A., 2015, SIUC) helps illuminate the deep ecological and social connections created through agriculture and informs her work on the ground. Adams is drawn to agroforestry for its powerful reimagining of a future that is abundant, perennial, and beautiful. Adams also teaches community classes on seasonal cooking, fermentation, and canning when not rambling around with her veggie-farming husband and rambunctious daughter.
Helpful Links
* Savanna Institute [https://www.savannainstitute.org/about-us/]
* Nightfall Farm [https://www.nightfallfarm.com/]
* Agroforestry Could Transform Farming in the Midwest [https://www.earth.com/news/agroforestry-could-transform-farming-in-the-midwest/]
* In This World ~Wendell Berry [http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/wendell_berry/poems/133#google_vignette]
Credits
This work was funded and supported by the USDA National Organic Program, Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP) [https://www.organictransition.org/]
Hosted and produced by Kate Cowie-Haskell [https://airmedia.org/talent/kate-cowie-haskell]
Podcast art by Geri Shonka
Music:
* Chiado by Jahzzar, Free Music Archive, CC BY-SA
* Poor Man's Groove by Mr. Smith, Free Music Archive, CC0 1.0 Universal License
The Taproot Project
Rows of corn, red barns, men in overalls. This is definitely part of the story of food and farming in the Midwest, but it’s not the whole story. The Taproot Project digs deeper. In each episode, you’ll hear about people across the Midwest who are reclaiming farming as a connector— to the land, to ancestors, and to a sense of purpose.
We talk with farmers, brewers, ranchers, conservationists, and historians about land, legacy, and what sustains their work.
The Taproot Project is an initiative of the Midwest Transition to Organic Partnership Program, a project funded by the USDA National Organic Program to support transitioning and organic producers with mentorship and technical assistance, and to grow the greater organic community. Learn more at organictransition.org [https://www.organictransition.org/].
Hosted and produced by Kate Cowie-Haskell.
Podcast art by Geri Shonka.
