Ear to the Ground Podcast

Here you will find LSP’s 20-year collection of podcasts featuring farmers, scientists, and others telling stories from the land. You can find LSP Ear to the Ground podcast episodes on SpotifyPandora, iTunes, YouTube, and other podcast platforms.

Ear to the Ground 386: A Farm to School Taste Test

How a small, rural school district is taking a trial run at sourcing food from local farmers. More Information • MDA Farm to School & Early Care Programs & Grants • Report: Building the Farm to School Network in West Central Minnesota • LSP’s Community-Based Food Systems Web Page • Ear to the Ground 385:…  Read More

Ear to the Ground 385: A Longer Local Lunch Season

Jeanine Bowman believes having locally produced food on her school’s menu shouldn’t be a special occasion — it should be a daily part of nourishing kids while supporting the farm economy. More Information • MDA Farm to School & Early Care Programs & Grants • Report: Building the Farm to School Network in West Central…  Read More

Ear to the Ground 384: Power Play

Ag antitrust expert Austin Frerick sees the current food system as a mechanism for modern robber barons to treat rural communities as mere “extraction colonies.” But, he argues, changing how we eat isn’t enough —  we need to disrupt how power is distributed all along the food chain (2 of 2 parts). More Information •…  Read More

Ear to the Ground 383: Corporate Vs. Community

Sonja Trom Eayrs started out writing about her own family’s fight against factory farms. She ended up telling a larger story of corporate capture of rural communities (1 of 2 parts). More Information • Sonja Trom Eayrs’s website  • Nov. 4, 2025 — Register for LSP Event Featuring Sonja Trom Eayrs & Austin Frerich: “Big…  Read More

Ear to the Ground 382: No Offseason

LSP’s Local Democracy Challenge is a reminder that we can’t allow democracy to grow dormant between elections. More Information • LSP’s Local Democracy Challenge Web Page • Land Stewardship Action • Ear to the Ground Podcast 341 Featuring Land Stewardship Action You can find LSP Ear to the Ground podcast episodes on Spotify, Pandora, iTunes, YouTube,…  Read More

Ear to the Ground 381: A Key Ingredient

Chris MacLeod came to Mill City hoping to source local grain while pursuing his passion for baking. When confronted with the reality of the export-driven commodity system, he doubled down on connecting with local farmers.  More Information • Laune Bread • Baker’s Field Flour & Bread • LSP’s Small Grains Web Page • Ear to…  Read More

Ear to the Ground 380: Thinking Like a Prairie

Amy Rager wasn’t thrilled about moving from the North Woods to the land of grass. But three decades later, she’s an impassioned advocate for this treeless biome.  More Information • Minnesota Master Naturalist Program • Land Stewardship Letter review of Sea of Grass • Ear to the Ground episode 258: Prairie’s Horizontal Grandeur • LSP Soil…  Read More

Ear to the Ground 379: Proclaim Your Grain

Ear to the Ground 378: Dumping the Doubts

Noreen Thomas got into organic crop farming almost three decades ago as a way to produce healthy food and survive economically. Today, she’s the mentor she never had. More Information • Register for LSP’s “Bringing Small Grains Back to Minnesota” Networking Meeting on Aug. 2, 2025, in Madison, Minn. • Doubting Thomas Farms • 2025…  Read More

Ear to the Ground 377: Flour Power

When Peter and Brittany Haugen sought to diversify their western Minnesota crop farm, they realized there was little infrastructure available to support small grains. So they forged their own link in the food chain by launching Sandhill Mill. More Information • Register for LSP’s “Bringing Small Grains Back to Minnesota” Networking Meeting on Aug. 2,…  Read More