Tractor Time Episode #69: Croatan Institute’s Lauren Manning on Regenerative Finance

In this episode ... and this is quite the invitation … we’re going to make you a bit uncomfortable. We’re going to talk about a lot of things going on in eco-agriculture and regenerative agriculture, but we’re not going to talk about soil health. In fact, we’re going to talk about money. We’re going to talk about the challenges built into the booming interest in the regenerative ag industry, what pieces are missing, and how the investors lining up at the gate can help – or they can hurt.
To explore these topics, we’ll be talking with Lauren Manning, the owner of Ozark Pasture Beef and senior associate at Croatan Institute, an independent, nonprofit research and action institute whose mission is to build social equity and ecological resilience by leveraging finance to create pathways to a just economy. She talked to us from her farm in Arkansas, where it had just snowed for a little November surprise – or shock – but she still found a moment to talk.
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Thank you for listening. You can learn more about Acres U.S.A. at www.AcresUSA.com.

Tractor Time Episode #67: Anne Biklé and David Montgomery on What Your Food Ate

On this episode we welcome Anne Biklé and David Montgomery, as well as co-host Sarah Day Levesque, to the program.
Anne and David recently published What Your Food Ate, a deep dive into the research around regenerative agriculture tactics. They read hundreds of research papers, talked with dozens of practitioners and ended up … hopeful. Listen in as they talk about their book, how they see us building a more resilient human being through changing our food supply to focus on nutrient density, microbiology and plain old common sense.
49 minutes. Hosted by Ryan Slabaugh. Listen to the episode to find a way to save 10% on their new book at Bookstore.AcresUSA.com.

Tractor Time #64: Defending Beef, with Nicolette Hahn Niman

On this episode we welcome Nicolette Hahn Niman.
The name might sound familiar to some of you. She’s married to the pioneering California rancher Bill Niman, for one, but you might also know her as the author of two seminal works on ethical meat production, Righteous Porkchop and Defending Beef.
Over the years, the former vegetarian and environmental attorney has become a passionate and outspoken advocate for sustainable food production and improved animal welfare. She’s published pieces on those topics in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, HuffPost, and The Atlantic.
And Chelsea Green has just published a new and expanded edition of Defending Beef: The Ecological and Nutritional Case for Meat. A lot has happened since the first edition of the book was published back in 2007. Since then, cattle have become nearly synonymous with human-caused climate change and environmental destruction. But are cattle inherently bad? Or … is there another side to the argument?
In this conversation, you’ll hear why she believes cattle, and other grazing animals, can be used as tools for restoring both human health and ecological balance. Beef, Niman argues, doesn’t have to remain an environmental villain. She believes that wisely managed livestock can help repair ecosystems, fight climate change and improve human health — all at the same time.
 
 

Tractor Time #62: André Leu, Vandana Shiva and Ronnie Cummins

On this episode we’re listening in on a recent virtual event for André Leu’s new book, Growing Life: Regenerating Farming and Ranching. And he’s getting a little help from his friends, Vandana Shiva and Ronnie Cummins. Leu, Shiva and Cummins go way back and co-founded Regeneration International back in 2015. The organization promotes food, farming and land-use systems that regenerate and stabilize climate systems, the health of the planet and people. In addition to being the international director for that group, Leu is also a farmer in Australia and the author of The Myths of Safe Pesticides and Poisoning Our Children. We here at Acres U.S.A. are proud to be the publisher of all of his books. I should also mention that he’s speaking at our Eco-Ag Conference in Columbus Ohio in December. Go to ecoag.acresusa.com for more information on that.
Vandana Shiva is a world-renowned environmental thinker, activist, feminist, philosopher of science, writer and science policy advocate. She is the founder of Navdanya Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology in India and President of Navdanya International. She is a prolific writer, speaker and author, and recipient of numerous awards. Find her books Food, Farming & Health and Oneness vs the 1% in the Acres U.S.A. bookstore.
Ronnie Cummins is co-founder and International Director of the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) and its Mexico affiliate, Via Organica. Cummins has been active as a writer and activist since the 1960s. Over the past two decades he has served as director of US and international campaigns dealing with sustainable agriculture issues including food safety, genetic engineering, factory farming, and global warming. You can find his book, Grassroots Rising: A Call to Action on Climate, Farming, Food and Green New Deal in the acresusa.com bookstore.

Tractor Time #61:Indigenous Agriculture (w/ Kelsey Ducheneux-Scott)

On this episode of Tractor Time we welcome fourth generation South Dakota rancher Kelsey Ducheneaux-Scott. Kelsey is the director of programs for the Intertribal Agriculture Council, which seeks to build and restore indigenous foodways in Native American communities. She’s also a co-owner of DX Beef, a direct-to-consumer grassfed beef operation on the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation. That’s where she grew up and that’s where she ranches today with her family.
She’s passionate about soil health, land stewardship, education and bringing nutritious food to her community. She received a bachelor’s in Rangeland Management from South Dakota State University, a master’s of agriculture in Integrated Resource Management from Colorado State University, and she’s currently closing in on a doctorate in education at Northcentral University.
Even though she’s still only in her 20s, she’s emerged as an important voice within the regenerative agriculture.
For more information about Kelsey, visit dxbeef.com.