Family Farm Defenders Podcast

Land Access in Sustainable Agriculture

What are the current barriers to land access for farmers in the United States? Can models like specific types of land tenure and collective governance offer alternatives? In the next decade 400,000 acres of farmland is estimated to transition from current ownership. With forces like land speculation and gentrification, what will the fate of this farmland be? In this conversation, Annette Hiatt (Land Loss Prevention Project) and Nathan Galaviz (Agrarian Trust) speak with Stephen Bartlett (Sustainable Agriculture of Louisville) about the current landscape and possible solutions and alternatives for this perennial problem. We know we can't beat a hedge fund with a CSA - but what needs to change for there to be a future for sustainable agriculture? Facilitator and Panelist Bios: Nathan M. Galaviz is Commons Manager at Agrarian Trust, a national farmland trust focused on community-led, non-extractive models of land tenure. He supports Agrarian Commons projects across the country with strategic guidance on real estate, governance, conservation, and capital structure, integrating blended finance tools with long-term stewardship. Rooted in land stewardship and ecological agriculture, Nathan also manages a pastured sheep farm in western North Carolina, where he is working to restore riparian habitat. A licensed commercial real estate broker specializing in farm and ranch properties, he works to sustain creative pathways for farmland transition and secure tenure for the next generation. Nathan brings to NFFC both practical farming experience and deep expertise in land access, advancing strategies that center community control, ecological resilience, and rematriation. Annette Hiatt is a Senior Staff Attorney with the Land Loss Prevention Project. She enjoys working one on one with clients to retain and preserve the connection of family to the ownership and retention of land. Ms. Hiatt received her Bachelor of Social Work from UNC-Charlotte and her J.D. from Case Western Reserve University. She is a North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission Certified Superior Court mediator, achieving that status in 2015. Ms. Hiatt is a legal fellow with the Sustainable Economies Law Center, a member of the North Carolina Local Food Council and the mother to two kiddos who lead her on many adventures.

Winners and Losers in Agricultural Trade

"These agreements are explicitly set up for trade – not to promote sustainable development. That’s the starting premise, and that’s why we get these results.” - Karen Hansen-Kuhn Jim Goodman (President of the National Family Farm Coalition) and Karen Hansen-Kuhn (Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy) sit down with Raj Patel (UT Austin’s LBJ School of Public Affairs) to talk about the current state of agricultural trade. They discuss some of the structural issues underlying how profitability skews trade to benefit large agribusiness over the small farmer, go into detail about China and the soybean market (15:00 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLl3FnsTccE&t=900s]), and the USMCA deal (21:00 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLl3FnsTccE&t=1260s]), and talk about the many possibilities that exist for creating a fairer, more transparent system.

How Federal Funding Cuts are Undermining the Future of Farming

Anna Obregón (Alianza Nacional de Campesinas) and Anna Pesek (Over the Moon Farm) sit down with Sarah Lloyd to discuss how federal funding cuts will affect supporting farmworkers and small scale farmers, respectively. This conversation speaks to the broad ways that funding cuts have hurt the hope for progress toward fairer, more just and resilient food systems. Less support for farmworkers and small scale farmers are steps in the wrong direction. Both panelists speak on how federal funding uplifted their work, and what their plans are for surviving in this new administration. Facilitator and Panelist Bios: Sarah Lloyd farms with her husband Nels Nelson in Wisconsin Dells. They are currently in transition from a multi-family dairy farm to new agricultural enterprise and conservation pursuits on their land. She works off-farm as a Supply Chain Specialist for the UMN Forever Green Initiative and the UW-Madison Grassland 2.0 Project. She also does development work with the Wisconsin Food Hub Cooperative. Sarah has a PhD in Rural Sociology from UW-Madison and a Masters in Rural Development from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Sarah is active in the Wisconsin Farmers Union, serving as President of her local county chapter. She is also the President of the Board of the Wormfarm Institute. Anna Obregón, National Programs Supervisor with Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, Inc. is a third-generation migrant farmworker and survivor whose unwavering dedication is transforming the movement to end gender-based violence. With over two decades of frontline and leadership experience in sexual assault crisis response, Anna has worked tirelessly to uplift communities through trauma-informed, culturally responsive care. Her deep commitment to holistic healing, economic justice, and policy change has made her a trusted voice and strategic leader in building survivor-centered, adequate support systems. Anna Pesek co-owns Over the Moon Farm, a direct to consumer farm business located in rural Delaware County, Iowa. Anna and Shae Pesek raise farrow to finish berkshire hogs, pasture raised chicken, turkey and duck, and partner with other farmers to offer their customers grass-fed beef and lamb. Relevant to the Family Farm Defenders, we were the 2024 recipients of the John Kinsman Beginning Farmer Food Sovereignty Prize.

#1: Voices from Farmer Protests of the 80s & 90s

“It all could not have happened had we not been working together.” – Ben Burkett Anthony Pahnke (FFD vice president) sits down with Denise O’Brien and Ben Burkett to discuss their experiences in farm activism and protests nationally and internationally over the decades. They reflect on their life-long experiences being part of these movements, fighting corporate agriculture, offering perspective on current times as well. Ben Burkett is a vegetable and soy farmer, active in the Indian Springer farm cooperative, and an active farmer during the 1980s farm crisis. He recalls protests during the Pigford v. Glickman Trials, at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, in Brussels with European farmers, among many others. Ben is the former state coordinator of Mississippi Association of Co-ops, a member of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives, and former president of the National Family Farm Coalition state. Denise O’Brien is a organic farmer of 50 years, also began protesting in the 1980s farm crisis. She recalls protests from Miami’s GATT, Seattle’s WTO , in Beijing with Chinese farmers, among many others. Denise is the founder of Prairie Fire Rural Action, Farm Unity Coalition, Women, Food and Agriculture Network, and Nishnabotna Water Defenders. She is also a former president of the National Family Farm Coalition.