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.
Meet Hannah - A queer farmer thriving in rural Iowa
The Taproot Project
46 minutes
3 months ago
Meet Hannah - A queer farmer thriving in rural Iowa
Hannah Breckbill joins us for this episode of the Taproot Project to explore the networks that support queer farmers in the rural Midwest. Hannah founded Humble Hands Harvest in Decorah, Iowa, in 2016 – a worker-owned organic farm cooperative that produces about 30 types of vegetables, fruit, nuts and grass-finished lamb on 22 acres. She talks with Kate about what's helped her thrive in her life as a farmer, why so many queer people want to farm, and the importance of community.
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/].
You can find new episodes from The Taproot Project wherever you get your podcasts.
Guest Bio
Hannah Breckbill [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Xx1MW-Jqk-b38i1f1AkISIzRE9QWxOrT/view?usp=drive_link](she/they) loves to show up, to go deep, and to channel the power of relationships into right-sized action. She dedicates her community involvement to developing ever-better alternatives to conventional systems. She is a worker-owner at Humble Hands Harvest, a diversified direct-market farm in rural northeast Iowa, and is grateful for rain.
Helpful Links
* Humble Hands Harvest [https://humblehandsharvest.com/]
* Queer Farmer Network [https://www.queerfarmernetwork.org/]
* Wildcrafting Our Queerness Project: Metronormativity blog [https://maxwellcloe.com/education/wildcrafting/metronormativity]
* Greater Minnesota Two-Spirit & LGBTQIA+ History Map [https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/ff9c23776f1d4b729caac2d034f2a09f]
* Surveying queer farmers: How heteropatriarchy affects farm viability and farmer well-being in U.S. agriculture [https://www.foodsystemsjournal.org/index.php/fsj/article/view/1155/1127]
* Mennonite Church USA [https://www.mennoniteusa.org/who-are-mennonites/faq-about-mennonites/]
* Transition to Organic Partnership Program [https://www.organictransition.org/] (TOPP)
Credits
Music for this episode includes Chasin It by Jason Shaw, Tunez by HoliznaCC0, and Ghost Solos by Lucas Gonze– all from the Free music Archive.
Hosted and produced by Kate Cowie-Haskell.
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.
