Small Farms Radio

Episode 10 - Wisdom of the Elders with New Leaf Farm

Welcome to the first episode of Wisdom of the Elders, a new series featuring conversations with pioneering farmers whose lives and work have shaped sustainable agriculture. In this episode, our director, Anu Rangarajan, travels to Maine to reconnect with Dave and Chris Colson of New Leaf Farm, where she worked in the early 2000s. Farming just four acres, the Colsons became early innovators in bringing fresh salad greens to the East Coast and helped influence a generation of small-scale growers. Together, they reflect on decades in agriculture: the risks they took, the values that guided them, what truly mattered in the end, and what simply didn’t. There is always something to learn from listening to your elders.

Episode 9 - Pee is for Plants

Cornell professor Rebecca Nelson joins us to discuss circular economies in agriculture—and the surprising potential of human urine as a low-cost fertilizer for small farms.

Episode 8 - The power of trees: Yellowbud Farm

We begin by examining the value of a tree and high-quality nursery work. Then our agroforestry specialist Connor Youngerman goes to Yellowbud Farm to talk with co-founder Jesse Marksohn about their approach to selecting, breeding, and propagating trees for agroforestry.

Episode 7 - Hidden Pearls: Contemplating Healing in Ag

What does it look like for farms to be healing spaces? Join us as we talk with Brett Grant about how he is creating space for education, healing, and collaboration at his farm in upstate, New York.

Episode 6 - Fungi on the Farm

What does it take to grow mushrooms indoors? To answer this question, our agroforestry and mushroom specialist, Connor Youngerman, takes podcast listeners on a tour of Queens, venturing into nondescript buildings and ducking into basement hatches to discover the innovative world of indoor mushroom production. In this episode Youngerman learns how some growers in the big city are producing mushrooms from “spore-to-table” and every step in between.