Tag Archives: sustainable farming

Agrilliance – global website for local food independence and data sharing

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Deep Roots Radio
Deep Roots Radio
Agrilliance - global website for local food independence and data sharing
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In this Deep Roots Radio interview, engineer and social-justice advocate Julien Roberge describes the 2015 launch and future direction of Agrilliance, a global web platform and project of Sustainability Innovation & Strategy, an organization he co-founded in Quebec, Canada.
According to its website, Agrilliance aims to transform “the landscape of food supply and demand by making it local – globally.
“We are developing a range of solutions with that intent and our first initiative comes in the form of a web platform that facilitates connections between consumers and food producers. By building trust between customers and suppliers, we aim to strengthen local quality food access.

Agrilliance website

Agrilliance website

“Much more than a farmer-to-consumer directory, Roberge says the aim is to develop a rich resource for access to increased biodiversity in crops and livestock, climate data and producer networking. The focus is on good healthful foods produced locally: revived food independence, food security.
I hope you enjoy this interview.
Sylvia
This and other Deep Roots Radio podcasts can be found on my website and on iTunes.

Fermentation Fest 2015 – the Wisconsin terroir of chocolate, wine, yogurt, music, kimchi, bread, farm art and lots more

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Deep Roots Radio
Deep Roots Radio
Fermentation Fest 2015 - the Wisconsin terroir of chocolate, wine, yogurt, music, kimchi, bread, farm art and lots more
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Fermentation Fest 2015: A Live Culture Convergence is about lots more than hands-on classes and taste samplings of outstanding beers and wines, kimchi and yogurt. It’s about the terroir of local Wisconsin foods and the culture – social, agricultural and artistic – that springs from the land, water and people of Reedsburg, Wisconsin.
In this Deep Roots Radio conversation, event organizer Jay Salinas describes the arts, food and music of this 10-day event and why it’s bring more and more people together every year.
Fermentation Fest is the major annual celebration of the Wormfarm Institute, in Reedsburg.
I hope you’ll enjoy this Deep Roots Radio interview, and take in the music, classes, farm-art instillations and conversations of this unique event.
Sylvia

Deep Roots Radio, 91.3FM and www.wpcaradio.org

Deep Roots Radio, 91.3FM and www.wpcaradio.org

Missed a recent Deep Roots Radio show? Download/listen here or on iTunes.

100% grass-fed beef – grown for flavor, nutrition and environmental stewardship – is at the core of our farm, Bull Brook Keep. We breed our herd, raise the cows, and finish our beef with the land, animals and customers in mind. We’re committed to farming with a tiny carbon hoofprint (c).
We’re also dedicated to exchanging ideas and information. It’s why we encourage visitors to walk our pastures with us. It’s also why I produce and co-host a Saturday morning show called Deep Roots Radio.
Every food dollar we spend supports the production system behind it. Are we paying for chemicals and poverty-level wages? Are we importing instead of growing food here? Are we buying locally-grown foods?
In the past five years, Deep Roots Radio guests have helped us connect the dots between what we eat and how it’s grown. They’ve included farmers and ranchers, scientists and policy makers, educators and chefs, film makers and investigative reporters.
Here’s an archive of recent shows. Download/listen here, or find on iTunes. Enjoy.
Sylvia


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Connecting the dots between what we eat and how it’s grown


Saturday mornings, 9:00-9:30AM Central Time. Broadcast and streamed live from the studios of WPCA Radio, 93.1FM and on the Internet at www.wpcaradio.org.

Feeling Laura Ingalls

My husband Dave likes to joke that when I was a kid growing up in New York City, I read Little House on the Prairie and decided to become a farmer.
While I love tales about clever people creating new communities (whether in the past or in some distant future), the truth is I knew next to nothing about Laura until I was in my 30’s. I became acquainted with her and Ma and Pa as I read to my children in our South Minneapolis home. I was captivated by the resourcefulness and skills demanded by the times. I was drawn to the self-reliance and community inter-dependence described in those children’s books. (And yes, we made the pilgrimage to her home and bought the stiff-brimmed bonnets.)
Fast forward a whole lotta years and here I am, a baby boomer from the Bronx raising beef cattle on Bull Brook Keep, our northwestern Wisconsin farm. (A far cry from a full career in business suits and awful commuter traffic.) This morning’s chores included moving our beef cattle to new pasture, feeding and watering the chickens, exercising the dogs, and meeting with a customer to deliver cuts of beef equaling 1/4 steer.* And of course, I went through the early emails and reviewed my digital photo files for possible uploads to my website.

Cabbage fermenting to sauerkraut

Cabbage fermenting to sauerkraut

Later in the day, Dave and I enjoyed a dinner of home-grown, grass-fed beef Bourguignon. And in the evening I sliced, brined and packed cabbage into half-gallon jars. In a couple of weeks, it’ll ferment to sauerkraut.
French sourdough boules

French sourdough boules

It’s late, and I just pulled a couple of French sourdough loaves from the oven – a weekly demand and a much-anticipated ritual.

It is very, very late and I’m tired. The tomatoes, peppers and onions on the kitchen counter will have to become salsa on another day. I’m ready for this day to be done.

Yes, I’m feeling Laura Ingalls Wilder…like a bad ass Laura with Internet coverage and in-floor heating.
Sylvia

*We offer our 100% grass-fed beef in variety packages (ground beef, roasts and steaks) in a range of sizes starting at just 25-30 lb. Reserving an order is easy online. We deliver to drop sites in Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN.

Sat., Aug. 15, 9-9:30AM CT, Deep Roots Radio – the health & eco-benefits of bison

What: Deep Roots Radio chat with Mary Graese of North Star Bison about the environmental and human health benefits of bison.
When: Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015, 9:00-9:30AM Central
Where: Broadcast and streamed live from the studios of WPCA Radio, 93.1FM, and www.wpcaradio.org
Why: Millions of bison roamed America, grazing as they moved. Their grass-only diet, combined with the weight and hoof action of the huge herds, helped create the deep and fertile top-soil that was, once upon a time, six feet deep across significant portions of our continent. Today, many ranchers are capitalizing on the best qualities of bison to restore grasslands while producing excellent meat products.
Join us tomorrow morning, as co-host Dave Corbett and I chat with Mary Graese about the Wisconsin-based bison ranch she runs with her husband Lee and family.
I hope you’ll tune in.
Sylvia
About-Us-Bison-History

Connecting the dots between what we eat and how its grown

Connecting the dots between what we eat and how its grown

How to find your local farmer – July 4, 9-9:30AM CT, Deep Roots Radio

What: Deep Roots Radio interview with Julien Roberge, co-founder of Agrilliance, a website that quickly helps consumers find their local, sustainable farmers.

When: Saturday, July 4th, 9:00-9:30AM Central Time

Where: WPCA Radio, 93.1FM and streamed live at www.wpcaradio.org

Why: The demand for high-quality, sustainably-grown foods continues to grow in the US and worldwide. Consumers are concerned about herbicides, pesticides, GMOs, sugar, salts, and processing chemicals in their foods. Food lovers are also increasingly interested in the systems behind their foods: the environmental impacts, use of energy, antibiotics used in industrial livestock operations, and fair wages on the farm.
Agrilliance also sees these local markets as strong and viable ways to meet the needs of a growing world population, the challenges of climate change, and the political pressures felt around the globe.
Agrilliance is a new effort, web-based, to make it easier for thoughtful farmers and consumers to find their local markets. The idea is to build local connections in every community – worldwide.
I hope you’ll tune in.
Sylvia

Connecting the dots between what we eat and how it's grown

Connecting the dots between what we eat and how it’s grown

Video: moving cows to fresh pasture. Great beef starts with the soil and grass.

My husband Dave and I are committed to a handful of values: living in thanksgiving to God, nurturing our marriage and family, producing delicious and nutritious beef, using agricultural practices that regenerate soil and pastures, improving our financial sustainability, and contributing to a thriving local community.
These core principles matter to us, to our neighbors and to our customers.
Moving our cattle from paddock (small field) to paddock is one of the things we do to regenerate soil, reinvigorate our grasses, and promote the health and growth of our BueLingo beef cattle. This practice, called rotational grazing, accomplishes several things at the same time: it puts fresh, sweet grass under the noses of the cattle; their hoof action churns up the soil and exposes dormant seeds to sun and rain, thereby increasing the diversity of plants in the field; the herd deposits fertilizer as the move; and it avoid spending money and fuel to move feed to the cattle and to remove waste from a barn. At the same time, the cows move as a herd across open fields. This is important because cows are social creatures – they are most calm and healthiest when they are with their herd. Because they are on pasture, the herd is also in open sunshine and moving on springy grass and soil. This promotes strong bodies.
I hope you enjoy this very short video of moving the herd from one paddock to the next. Although it takes time and effort for me to set up the electric fences for the temporary paddocks, moving the herd is easy because they’re always eager for fresh grass.

Siggy meets the chickens

An ongoing adventure story for children of all ages.

Today’s the day, thought Sylvia. Today, Siggy, her little Corgi puppy, would meet the chickens on Bull Brook Keep.

Chickens spend the night in their safe and snug coop.

Chickens spend the night in their safe and snug coop.

The chickens live in a chicken coop not far from the farm house. David, Sylvia’s husband, built the chicken coop so that the birds would stay safe from foxes and raccoon, weasels and snakes, and wandering dogs.
The chickens on the farm are now a year old. The hens weigh about eight pounds and the rooster weighs more than 12 pounds. He’s very big indeed. And to think, they started out as tiny little yellow chicks that could fit in your hand.

Taking a look before stepping out into the new day

Taking a look before stepping out into the new day

The rooster was not only big, he was very protective of the hens. He guarded them from anyone or any animal that might come near. He would do this by jumping up and trying to scratch with his back claws, or talons. He could also peck and hurt your hand. Despite this, the chickens were very useful on the farm. They provided eggs, and meat, and they ate insects that would bother people and cattle. They would eat ticks!
Next year, if he learned his lessons well, Siggy would be in charge of the chickens. Sylvia would give him a command – “Round them up, Siggy” – and Siggy would herd the chickens into their coop area. But right now, Siggy is a little puppy with a lot to learn.
So today, Siggy took a first step.

Siggy surveys the birds

Siggy surveys the birds


Sylvia stood close by as Siggy met the chickens for the first time. Sylvia stayed near because the rooster might want to peck at the little puppy.
When Siggy got near the chickens, he did not bark. That’s good because Sylvia and David don’t want their herding dog to scare the animals they have to work with.
It was a good first meeting.
Soon, Siggy will meet the biggest animals on the farm – the BueLingo beef cows.

For earlier Siggy stories, click here.

Seed swapping and seed libraries – illegal? SELC’s Neil Thapar and freeing the seeds.

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Deep Roots Radio
Deep Roots Radio
Seed swapping and seed libraries - illegal? SELC's Neil Thapar and freeing the seeds.
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In this Deep Roots Radio interview, attorney Neil Thapar describes the technical glitch that makes it illegal to organize seed libraries or trade seeds with fellow gardeners.
Thapar practices with the Sustainable Economies Legal Center (SELC), Oakland, California. Its mission is to provide legal expertise needed to move communities, governments and organizations from destructive economic systems to innovative, cooperative alternatives. the nonprofit works to create a new legal landscape that supports community resilience and grassroots economic empowerment. SELC provides legal tools – education, research, advise and advocacy – so that communities can develop their own sustainable sources of food, housing, energy, jobs and other assets that promote thriving communities.
To find out more about its Save Seed Sharing Campaign, visit www.theselc.org/save_seed_sharing.

Sylvia

Harvey Ussery: Natural, wholistic chicken management (podcast)

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Deep Roots Radio
Deep Roots Radio
Harvey Ussery: Natural, wholistic chicken management (podcast)
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Download or listen online
In this Deep Roots Radio interview, chicken guru Harvey Ussery describes ways the small flockster (chicken keeper) can start chicks off right, use natural feed and manure management approaches, and consider improving the breeds.
Ussery’s focus in the small-scale livestock producer – keeper of the small flock for the homestead and market. Based on over 30 years experience, Ussery continues conducting on-farm research and adding to the insights and lessons he shares in talks and workshops across the country. His book and blog “The Small-Scale Poultry Flock” are full, up-to-date resources for the new and experienced poultry keeper.