Cover Crops for Improved Soil and Water

Congress takes up a new Farm Bill every five years. It’s an opportunity to shape the future of American farming and food policy and it’s up for renewal this year. 

In this episode of No Farms No Future, we talk with Don Stuart, author of “No Farms, No Food: Uniting Farmers and Environmentalists to transform American Agriculture” (2022). A former director for American Farmland Trust’s Pacific Northwest Regional Office, Don takes us back to AFT’s early role in building alliances between farmers and environmentalists in Farm Bills past. John Piotti, president of American Farmland Trust, looks to a future that recognizes the essential environmental services that farmers provide – and Farm Bills that further enhance sustainable practices on the land.

No Farms No Future is a podcast created through a collaboration between Heritage Radio Network, American Farmland Trust, and The Food Voice.

Resources:

Stuart, Don. “No Farms, No Food: Uniting Farmers and Environmentalists to Transform American Agriculture.” Washington DC: Island Press, 2022. 

American Farmland Trust, Soil Conservation in America: What Do We Have to Lose? 1984.

American Farmland Trust, Farms Under Threat 2040 full report 

Farmland Information Center

To learn more about American Farmland Trust go to farmland.org. 

Episode photo by Marla Smith Photography.

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Regenerative Agriculture is a relatively new term for a concept as old as farming – establishing good soil and sound farming practices. A global pandemic and extremes of weather are creating new incentives for farmers to try new ways to enhance soil and sustain a reliable water supply. For new farmers, especially, learning from others is an essential resource. A commitment to regenerative practices takes time and capital. Many are finding that the investment in resilience is worth it.

In this episode of No Farms No Future, we talk with Cherilyn Yazzie, who found help transforming dust to rich soil in the Navajo Nation. You’ll also meet Ashley Brucker, who directs the Brighter Future Fund grant program for American Farmland Trust, helping new farmers adopt sustainable farming practices.

No Farms No Future is a podcast created through a collaboration between Heritage Radio Network, American Farmland Trust, and The Food Voice.

Photo courtesy of Coffee Pot Farms.

Resources:

• American Farmland Trust, Promoting Sound Farming Practices
• American Farmland Trust, Brighter Future grants
• Coffee Pot Farms on their website and on Facebook.
• USDA, Community Supported Agriculture
• American Farmland Trust Farmland Information Center
• Stuart, Don. “No Farms, No Food: Uniting Farmers and Environmentalists to Transform American Agriculture.” Washington DC: Island Press, 2022. 

To learn more about American Farmland Trust go to farmland.org. 

No Farms No Future is powered by Simplecast.

The United States is on track to lose at least 18 million acres of farmland and ranchland by 2040, threatening not only our long-term food supply, but also the environment. American Farmland Trust has been tracking the loss of farmland and ranchland since its founding in 1980. Its latest study, Farms Under Threat 2040, projects these trends into the future as a resource for citizens to ask better questions of government officials and help choose a more abundant future. 

In this episode of No Farms No Future, we talk with Josh Sorrells, a fourth-generation farmer in Canton, North Carolina – a state that ranks second in projected loss of farmland, after Texas. You’ll also meet Mitch Hunter, who directed the Farms Under Threat 2040 report for American Farmland Trust, and Ryan Manning, Farmland Preservation Coordinator for the Hayward Soil and Water Conservation District, who works with county farmers to sustain a presence on the land.

No Farms No Future is a podcast created through a collaboration between Heritage Radio Network, American Farmland Trust, and The Food Voice.

Resources:

Farms Under Threat 2040 full report 
Farms Under Threat 2040 interactive maps
Farms Under Threat; A New England Perspective
Farmland Information Center
Cold Mountain Nursery 

Stuart, Don. “No Farms, No Food: Uniting Farmers and Environmentalists to Transform American Agriculture.” Washington DC: Island Press, 2022. 

To learn more about American Farmland Trust go to farmland.org. 

Episode photo by Tracey Sorrells.

No Farms No Future is powered by Simplecast. 

Farmers across much of the American West are living through the second historic drought in a decade. The snowmelt never came this year, depleting reservoirs and forcing farmers back to their own wells and groundwater. Protecting California’s capacity to grow food has long been a top priority of American Farmland Trust. AFT opened its first field office in California, where it protects farmland, helps keep farmers on the land, and encourages environmentally sound farming practices.

In this episode of No Farms No Future, we talk with Bruce Rominger, a fifth-generation farmer in California’s Sacramento Valley. Rominger Brothers Farms is nationally recognized as a model of sustainable farming practices, but it is experiencing the same challenges caused by severe reductions in water for irrigation that other farms face. You’ll also meet Kara Heckert, a native Californian and AFT’s resilient agriculture west advisor, and Greg Plotkin, AFT's director of digital communications, who are working to help farmers adapt to climate change and drought.

No Farms No Future is a podcast created through a collaboration between Heritage Radio Network, American Farmland Trust, and The Food Voice.

Resources:

Rominger Brothers Farm website
Rominger Brothers blog
California Production Statistics
Drought in California
California Water Watch
California State Water Resources Control Board

To learn more about American Farmland Trust go to farmland.org. 

Episode photo by Rominger Brothers Farms.

No Farms No Future is powered by Simplecast.

Developers have purchased millions of acres of U.S. farmland and ranchland, a trend that increasingly threatens a future of sustainable agriculture and food systems. And the challenge isn’t going away. Nearly 40 percent of this land is in the hands of farmers, ranchers, and landowners who are 65 or older. In response, American Farmland Trust (AFT) has for years helped new farmers gain access to land that might otherwise transition away from the agricultural industry, at the local to national scale. 

In this episode of No Farms No Future, two young farmers in New York state tell the story of how the AFT-led partnership, Farmland for a New Generation New York, played a role in them partnering with non-farming landowners who owned acres of rural land and wanted to find someone to farm it. You’ll also meet Erica Goodman, national director of Farms for a New Generation, who has a personal history that intersects with her AFT work.

No Farms No Future is a podcast created through a collaboration between Heritage Radio Network, American Farmland Trust, and The Food Voice.

Resources:

Nimble Roots Farm website

Nimble Roots Farm on Instagram

Farmland for a New Generation New York

New York Farmland Finder

Farms for a New Generation

To learn more about American Farmland Trust go to farmland.org. 

Episode photo by Shawn Linehan

No Farms No Future is powered by Simplecast.

In some ways, Illinois farmers have it good. Much of the state boasts rich, dark soil that helps rank its production of corn and soybeans among the highest in the nation. Because the Prairie State is receiving frequent and more intense rainfall, it is increasingly important that farmers adopt conservation practices to keep soil nutrients in place. One of the best ways to combat this trend is to plant cover crops, which provide a natural way of protecting the soil and improving water quality. Thanks to American Farmland Trust’s support for the Illinois Department of Agriculture’s Fall Covers for Spring Savings program, more Illinois farmers are using cover crops, saving cash, and engaging in sound conservation practices. 

In this episode of No Farms No Future, we’ll introduce you to 26-year-old farmer Frank Rademacher and AFT’s Midwest Director Kris Reynolds. Both are experienced Illinois farmers, and have been working with and promoting the use of cover crops for years. 

No Farms No Future is a podcast created through a collaboration between Heritage Radio Network, American Farmland Trust, and The Food Voice.

Resources:

Rademacher Farms

Fall Covers for Spring Savings Crop Premium Discount Program

AFT Midwest District

Illinois Corn Growers Association

Illinois Dept. of Agriculture (Cover Crops page)

To learn more about American Farmland Trust go to farmland.org. 

Episode photo by Shawn Linehan

No Farms No Future is powered by Simplecast. 

When the U.S. outlawed alcohol during Prohibition, Kentucky farmers stopped growing rye, a key ingredient in one of Kentucky’s most iconic products—bourbon. As agricultural research compelled farmers to explore the benefits of cover crops, American Farmland Trust (AFT) detected an opportunity to revive rye. AFT launched the Kentucky Commercial Rye Cover Crop Initiative to capitalize on the synergy between Kentucky farmers, the state’s bourbon industry, and the quest to slow the impact of climate change.  

This episode of No Farms No Future will introduce you to farmer Sam Halcomb and AFT’s Billy Van Pelt and Scott Franklin. They are three of the many collaborators in the Bluegrass State—including leaders from the distilling industry, University of Kentucky, and many other farmers—who are powering the effort to put Kentucky rye back into the world’s best bourbon.   

No Farms No Future is a podcast created through a collaboration between Heritage Radio Network, American Farmland Trust, and The Food Voice.

Resources:

Walnut Grove Farms

AFT’s Kentucky Rye Project

Brown-Forman Corp.

Woodford Reserve

DendriFund

University Kentucky Department of Plant and Soil Sciences

Kentucky Grain Growers Association

To learn more about American Farmland Trust go to farmland.org. 

Episode photo by Shawn Linehan

No Farms No Future is powered by Simplecast. 

Meet John Piotti, the president and CEO of American Farmland Trust (AFT) and host of No Farms No Future, a new podcast from AFT and HRN.  In this episode, which originally aired on HRN's Let's Talk About Food, we learn how a kid growing up on Nantucket Island, hoping to design sailboats, ended up in Maine and became laser focused on preserving rural life and the livelihood of America’s farmers.

For more than 40 years, American Farmland Trust (AFT) has fought to protect farmland, promote sound farming practices, and keep farmers on their land. At a time when farmers and ranchers face ever-increasing financial and climate challenges, AFT works nationwide with them to help create innovative solutions for a sustainable food system.

No Farms No Future is a new podcast created through a collaboration between Heritage Radio Network, American Farmland Trust, and The Food Voice.

To learn more about American Farmland Trust go to farmland.org. 

No Farms No Future is powered by Simplecast. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us found bare shelves at the grocery store. In this episode, you’ll hear farmers, ranchers, and retailers talk about how choked food supply chains have compelled them to innovate new ways of ensuring their products reach the American consumer. Whether you’re growing the food or shopping for it, you’ll learn more about supply challenges and solutions and implications for the future of farming.

No Farms No Future is a new podcast created through a collaboration between Heritage Radio Network, American Farmland Trust, and The Food Voice.

 Resources:

Ebersole Cattle Company  

Tahoe Food Hub

To learn more about American Farmland Trust go to farmland.org. 

No Farms No Future is powered by Simplecast. 

No Farms No Future gets to the heart of America’s food system. Each episode will illuminate a pressing issue faced by farmers and ranchers: How can we protect farmland against threats like development? How can we promote equitable access to farmland, especially for BIPOC, queer, and female farmers? And why is farmland a solution to the climate crisis, but only if we get farming right?  

Hear from farmers and ranchers as they make the tough decisions that will shape their future—and ours.

Tune in for monthly episodes, created in collaboration with American Farmland Trust and Heritage Radio Network. 

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