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 Pandora, iTunes, and other podcast platforms.

Ear to the Ground No. 257: The House that Biology Built

Tillage can do a lot of things, but building soil isn’t one of them. Soil expert Steve Lawler and Minnesota farmer Jon Jovaag talk about the importance of using nature as a guide when preparing a seed bed and bolstering the soil’s structure. • For more information on how to build soil health profitably, check…  Read More

Ear to the Ground No. 256: From Sugar High to Soil Health

Soil health cheerleader Ray Archuleta and Iowa farmer Mervin Beachy talk about taking agroecological innovations from the “excitement stage” to the “action stage”…and the importance of aha moments. • For more information on how to build soil health profitably, check out LSP’s Soil Builders’ Network page. • Check out this LSP blog on Red Rooster…  Read More

Ear to the Ground No. 255: Embracing the Weed

What happened when beginning farmers Rachelle and Jordan Meyer started listening to the land and turned livestock loose on a “bacterial farm.” • Check out this LSP video on how Rachelle and Jordan Meyer are using “cell grazing” to build soil and produce livestock. • More information on Wholesome Family Farms is here. • For…  Read More

Ear to the Ground No. 254: Mastering an Evolutionary Monster

Farmer Tom Frantzen talks about hybrid rye, ecological resiliency, and why being uncomfortable isn’t always a bad thing. • To read the Civil Eats article on hybrid rye — “Hybrid Rye is Helping Farmers Fight ‘Superweeds’ Without Herbicide” — click here. • To read the Land Stewardship Letter article on hybrid rye — “A Grain…  Read More

Ear to the Ground No. 253: The Power of Local Meat Processing

Livestock producer Eric Klein of Hidden Stream Farm describes why and how his family launched its own meat processing business. It’s been a financial and logistical challenge, but a few years down the road it’s already producing benefits for their farm as well as the local community. If you’re thinking of getting into small-scale meat…  Read More

Ear to the Ground No. 252: Stewardship as Measure

Beginning dairy farmer Carrie Redden talks about how she sees successful land stewardship and successful farming as deeply intertwined, and why more non-farmers need to make that connection as well. Carrie Redden was interviewed as part of the We Are Water initiative, which documented the stories of several farmers in the upper reaches of the…  Read More

Ear to the Ground No. 251: An Agrarian Changemaker

Ear to the Ground No. 250: Letting Water Call the Shots

When Mark Erickson’s combine got stuck in the muck, he knew he needed to unearth a different relationship with the land. Mark Erickson was interviewed as part of the We Are Water initiative, which documented the stories of several farmers in the upper reaches of the Minnesota River watershed who are using innovative production methods…  Read More

Ear to the Ground No. 249: It’s Not Lost, it Just Went to Sleep

Ella Robertson and Eric Wana of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate in northeastern South Dakota talk about reawakening their people’s connections to farming, the land, and water. Ella Robertson and Eric Wana were interviewed as part of the We Are Water initiative, which documented the stories of several farmers in the upper reaches of the Minnesota…  Read More

Ear to the Ground No. 248: Giving a Damn About the Future of Ag

Over the past two decades, LSP’s Farm Beginnings course has developed into a nationally-recognized program for launching the next generation of innovative farmers. Karen Stettler and Amy Bacigalupo talk about how Farm Beginnings got started, the community-centered philosophy it’s based on, and where it’s headed. More on Farm Beginnings • For more on LSP’s Farm Beginnings…  Read More