The Farmer-Labor Podcast

Episode 5: Mary Dougherty: Stop Saying "Vote With Your Fork"

In this episode, we interview Mary Dougherty, a Bayfield resident near Lake Superior. Mary talks about how organizing in rural communities takes many deep conversations and finding common ground to bring people together. We discuss how Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) affect the community and the environment. She explains how these facilities externalize costs to the community and internalize profits for corporate monopolies. Mary also discusses the potential threats to local water resources, especially Lake Superior, and the efforts made by various groups, including local businesses, tribes, and educational institutions, to protect their home, natural resources, and livelihoods. Mary Dougherty is an author, artist, and environmental activist based in Bayfield, Wisconsin. Her deep love and appreciation for Lake Superior inspired her to begin a project that captured her community’s relationship with water. Mary works as a community organizer at the Socially Responsible Agriculture Project. She has also been a county board supervisor in her community and a founder of the Nonprofit organization Farms, Not Factories.

Episode 4: Rodrigo Cala and Christine Neumann-Ortiz: Pitted Against Each Other

In this episode, we discuss the impact of immigration on rural communities and the systemic issues that have led workers to leave their homes. We hear from Rodrigo Cala, an immigrant, farmer, and former farmworker, as he shares his experiences moving to a new country and the challenges faced by immigrant laborers. We also speak with Christine Neumann-Ortiz, the Executive director of Voces de la Frontera. She sheds light on the systematic factors driving worker migration and issues affecting farmworkers and immigrants in Wisconsin.  Rodrigo Cala is a farmer advocate and farmer, a member of the Shared Ground and Agua Gorda farm cooperatives, a farm consultant for the Latino Economic Development Center, and a Mexican immigrant. He and his brother moved to Minnesota in the early 90s and started their farm as a way to get fresh produce that they wanted to have from back home in Mexico.  Christine Neumann-Ortiz is the founding Executive Director of Voces de la Frontera and Voces de la Frontera Action. Ms. Neumann-Ortiz is recognized as a national leader in the immigrant rights movement. Ms. Neumann-Ortiz serves on the board of the Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM).FIRM is a national coalition that includes 47 grassroots organizations in 35 states fighting for immigrant rights at local, state, and federal levels.

Episode 3: Kristy Allen: Rebuilding our Local Food Systems

In this episode, we talk with Kristy Allen, a beekeeper in Western Wisconsin. She sheds light on the impact of agricultural consolidation on bees, family farms, and rural communities. Kristy shares her firsthand experiences with beekeeping, including the challenges posed by land use, pesticides, and the need for diversity in forage. The conversation details the interconnectedness of bees' wellbeing and the way we treat our land to grow food.   Kristy Allen lives in Grantsburg, Wisconsin, and is a full-time beekeeper, educator, and activist. She is President of her local Farmers Union chapter in Polk-Burnett and helped create the St. Croix Valley Food Alliance, which aims to strengthen and promote a thriving, resilient, and equitable local food economy in the St. Croix River Valley. Kristy has also been an advocate addressing an Iowa-based hog operation seeking to move 26,000 hogs to the St. Croix area.

Episode 2: Ed Gorell: It's the Health Insurance, Stupid

In this episode, Ed Gorell, a lifelong farmer and member of Wisconsin Farmers Union's board, shares his insights into the transformation of farming in Wisconsin, particularly in the wake of trade agreements like NAFTA. He discusses how family farms and small agricultural operations have been increasingly overshadowed by large-scale industrial farming. Ed's personal journey, from growing up on a farm to venturing into the poultry industry, provides a firsthand account of the challenges and changes faced by rural America.   Ed and his wife Kristi have operated their farm in Eau Claire County since 1983. They started with a 320-head veal barn and a 50,000 bird broiler facility which they have converted to transition steers onto feedlots. 2018 Ed & Kristi retired from full time farming- Ed is now a part time milk hauler. Ed has received Farmers Union awards for membership and chapter building, chaired several WFU committees, and formerly served as the Eau Claire County Farmers Union President and Vice President.

Episode 1: Brittany Olson: The Ghost of Earl Butz

Welcome to Season 2 of the Farmer-Labor Podcast! In this episode, host Zoe Sullivan will be speaking with Brittany Olson. Brittany is a fifth-generation dairy farmer from Barron County, Wisconsin. They discuss the challenges farmers face, including mental health struggles faced by farm youth, the impact of financial pressures and razor-thin profit margins on farmers' wellbeing, and more.