“Go big or get out!” That was the advice of Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz to farmers in the 1970s. For today’s episode, Patty is joined in the studio by law professor Peter Carstensen and Wisconsin Farmers Union member Oren Jakobson to discuss the role of monopolies and anti-trust law in family farming and the […]
The Revival of Industrial Hemp in Wisconsin
This year marked the first year that hemp became legal to grow in Wisconsin in over half a century. The Wisconsin legislature passed a law creating a pilot program allowing farmers to grow hemp plants legally. This fall, just a few weeks ago, about 100 farmers across the state harvested their first crop. For today’s […]
A Wisconsin Hemp Harvest
A bill passed in 2017 allowed Wisconsin farmers the opportunity to grow hemp for the first time in nearly fifty years. The first round of hemp farmers have finished harvesting their crops, including Whilden Hughes of Hughes Farms in Rock County. He’s just one of two farmers in Rock County, and one of only 184 […]
Food from the Radical Center with Gary Nabhan
On today’s pledge drive edition, Patty previews Fermentation Fest by talking with this year’s Featured Fermenter, Gary Paul Nabhan. They discuss Nabhan’s two new books, Food from the Radical Center and Mesquite, and reflect on family history, farming, food cultures, and the unique landscapes of the American Midwest and Southwest. Gary Paul Nabhan is an agricultural ecologist, ethnobotanist, […]
Women in Farming, featuring the Soil Sisters
Kick off Women in Sustainable and Organic Agriculture Week with the Soil Sisters! Patty is joined in the studio by Dela Ends, Bethany Storm, and Erica Roth of Soil Sisters, a Wisconsin-based collective of female farmers focused on sustainable agriculture. They talk about their upcoming three-day event, the unique challenges of homesteading, the changing tide of […]
America the Bountiful: Fisherpeople, Family Farmers, and Food
On today’s show, we hear about the shared issues of community-based fisherpeople and family farmers, including the 2018 farm bill, climate change, local impact on the environment, and international trade policies regulating labeling. Patty and our guests discuss both Alaskan and Great Lakes fishing in relation to farming and advocate for the economic empowerment of […]