Carrie Jennings has spent her career piecing together how our landscapes came to be—and what’s happening to them now. A geologist by training and now Research and Policy Director at Freshwater, she’s spent decades mapping Minnesota’s glacial past, teaching at the University of Minnesota, and turning science into action to protect our rivers and groundwater.
In this episode, Carrie takes us deep into the story of the Minnesota River Basin. We start with the glaciers that carved it out thousands of years ago and then fast forward to today, where farming practices, drained wetlands, and tiled fields have transformed it into what she calls “an agricultural drainage ditch.” The result? Rivers running brown, biodiversity wiped out, sediment loads ten times higher than historical levels, and small towns struggling to keep up as floodwaters rise and infrastructure strains.
Carrie helps us connect these dots—how the choices we’ve made on the land ripple through everything from water quality and fish habitat to the cost of raising highways and dredging navigation channels. And she shares how her work has pushed past research into real change: new state programs to hold more water on the land, restore wetlands, and rebuild soil health; support for perennial crops that keep living roots in the ground year-round; and a growing recognition that this is a “Dust Bowl moment” for Minnesota, one that demands systemic change.
This isn’t just a conversation about rivers—it’s about how we live on the land, how federal farm policy shapes our choices, and what it will take for Minnesota to chart a different path. Carrie’s perspective brings both deep time (glaciers and plate tectonics) and an urgency grounded in the present: if we don’t act, we risk doubling down on the very patterns—corn, soy, and now biofuels—that are driving the problem.
Join the conversation:
Live Event (Aug 28): Sign up here
Website: theyoungike.org
Instagram: @theyoungike
Contact us: info@theyoungike.org
Support our partner: Minnesota Valley IWLA
Call to Action:
If you enjoyed this episode, please add the show to your library, download it, share it with a friend, and leave a review. It’s a small step that helps us grow and keep these conversations going.
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Carrie Jennings has spent her career piecing together how our landscapes came to be—and what’s happening to them now. A geologist by training and now Research and Policy Director at Freshwater, she’s spent decades mapping Minnesota’s glacial past, teaching at the University of Minnesota, and turning science into action to protect our rivers and groundwater.
In this episode, Carrie takes us deep into the story of the Minnesota River Basin. We start with the glaciers that carved it out thousands of years ago and then fast forward to today, where farming practices, drained wetlands, and tiled fields have transformed it into what she calls “an agricultural drainage ditch.” The result? Rivers running brown, biodiversity wiped out, sediment loads ten times higher than historical levels, and small towns struggling to keep up as floodwaters rise and infrastructure strains.
Carrie helps us connect these dots—how the choices we’ve made on the land ripple through everything from water quality and fish habitat to the cost of raising highways and dredging navigation channels. And she shares how her work has pushed past research into real change: new state programs to hold more water on the land, restore wetlands, and rebuild soil health; support for perennial crops that keep living roots in the ground year-round; and a growing recognition that this is a “Dust Bowl moment” for Minnesota, one that demands systemic change.
This isn’t just a conversation about rivers—it’s about how we live on the land, how federal farm policy shapes our choices, and what it will take for Minnesota to chart a different path. Carrie’s perspective brings both deep time (glaciers and plate tectonics) and an urgency grounded in the present: if we don’t act, we risk doubling down on the very patterns—corn, soy, and now biofuels—that are driving the problem.
Join the conversation:
Live Event (Aug 28): Sign up here
Website: theyoungike.org
Instagram: @theyoungike
Contact us: info@theyoungike.org
Support our partner: Minnesota Valley IWLA
Call to Action:
If you enjoyed this episode, please add the show to your library, download it, share it with a friend, and leave a review. It’s a small step that helps us grow and keep these conversations going.
Kathy Zeman: Building the Local Foodshed and Supporting Actual Food Farmers
The Young IKE
44 minutes 42 seconds
3 months ago
Kathy Zeman: Building the Local Foodshed and Supporting Actual Food Farmers
Kathy Zeman has seen agriculture from every angle: growing up on a dairy farm, working in animal genetics and feed, and now running Simple Harvest Farm, her 20-acre certified organic, direct-to-consumer farm in Minnesota. Today, she also leads the Minnesota Farmers’ Market Association, representing more than 10,000 local food vendors across the state.
In this episode, Kathy helps us unravel the tangled web of industrial farming, policy, and local food. We talk about how agricultural policy—from crop insurance to the Farm Bill—has systematically favored Big Ag and commodity crops while leaving local food farmers underfunded and unsupported. Kathy shares how these inequities ripple through our food system, shaping not only what we eat but also how we treat our soil, our water, and our rural communities.
Kathy lays out her vision for building resilient local food systems through practical, unglamorous solutions: commercial kitchens in town halls, shared food storage and transport, micro-insurance programs for small farmers, and policies that level the playing field between industrial agriculture and the “little ag” food farmers.
In this episode, Kathy helps us unravel the tangled web of industrial farming, policy, and local food. We talk about how agricultural policy—from crop insurance to the Farm Bill—has systematically favored Big Ag and commodity crops while leaving local food farmers underfunded and unsupported. Kathy shares how these inequities ripple through our food system, shaping not only what we eat but also how we treat our soil, our water, and our rural communities.
Kathy lays out her vision for building resilient local food systems through practical, unglamorous solutions: commercial kitchens in town halls, shared food storage and transport, micro-insurance programs for small farmers, and policies that level the playing field between industrial agriculture and direct-market farms. Along the way, we explore how local food sheds can reconnect people to their food, empower communities, and help heal both our land and our politics.
The Young IKE
Carrie Jennings has spent her career piecing together how our landscapes came to be—and what’s happening to them now. A geologist by training and now Research and Policy Director at Freshwater, she’s spent decades mapping Minnesota’s glacial past, teaching at the University of Minnesota, and turning science into action to protect our rivers and groundwater.
In this episode, Carrie takes us deep into the story of the Minnesota River Basin. We start with the glaciers that carved it out thousands of years ago and then fast forward to today, where farming practices, drained wetlands, and tiled fields have transformed it into what she calls “an agricultural drainage ditch.” The result? Rivers running brown, biodiversity wiped out, sediment loads ten times higher than historical levels, and small towns struggling to keep up as floodwaters rise and infrastructure strains.
Carrie helps us connect these dots—how the choices we’ve made on the land ripple through everything from water quality and fish habitat to the cost of raising highways and dredging navigation channels. And she shares how her work has pushed past research into real change: new state programs to hold more water on the land, restore wetlands, and rebuild soil health; support for perennial crops that keep living roots in the ground year-round; and a growing recognition that this is a “Dust Bowl moment” for Minnesota, one that demands systemic change.
This isn’t just a conversation about rivers—it’s about how we live on the land, how federal farm policy shapes our choices, and what it will take for Minnesota to chart a different path. Carrie’s perspective brings both deep time (glaciers and plate tectonics) and an urgency grounded in the present: if we don’t act, we risk doubling down on the very patterns—corn, soy, and now biofuels—that are driving the problem.
Join the conversation:
Live Event (Aug 28): Sign up here
Website: theyoungike.org
Instagram: @theyoungike
Contact us: info@theyoungike.org
Support our partner: Minnesota Valley IWLA
Call to Action:
If you enjoyed this episode, please add the show to your library, download it, share it with a friend, and leave a review. It’s a small step that helps us grow and keep these conversations going.
