Best Quivira Coalition Podcasts (2025)

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Landscape restoration: letting nature do the work 48:37

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about a year ago48:37

48:37

Bill Zeedyk restores landscapes—streams, wetlands, even rural roads—by using simple, low-tech tools and letting nature do most of the work. The result is healthy, lush desert ecosystems. Filmmaker Renea Roberts' recently released a five-part documentary series about his work, Thinking Like Water.By Radio Cafe, Quivira Coalition

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Ducks, cows, and resilience 52:34

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about a year ago52:34

52:34

Since the 1930s, Ducks Unlimited has been protecting habitat for ducks and other migrating waterfowl, and has conserved over 18 million acres of wetlands and bird habitat in North America and beyond. Founded by hunters, the organization originally focused on duck breeding habitat in Canadian prairie lands. Over the decades their conservation work e…

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Life after dead pool with Zak Podmore 1:03:46

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about a year ago1:03:46

1:03:46

Today we dive into an illuminating conversation between Morgan Wagoner, Western Landowners Alliance's Western Water Program Director, and Zak Podmore, author of Life After Deadpool: Lake Powell's Last Days and the Rebirth of the Colorado River. Together, they explore topics like the Colorado River’s massive silt deposits, mud volcanoes and ever-res…

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Animal welfare is good for everyone—including farmers 51:55

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about a year ago51:55

51:55

Adam Mason is Senior Manager of Farm Animal Welfare and Environmental Policy at the ASPCA, the American Society of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. In our conversation he talks about their multi-pronged approach to getting animals out of buildings and into cruelty-free lives in which they can express their natural instincts and behaviors. Farm…

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1000 Farms Initiative: A new paradigm of science in service of farmers 48:56

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about a year ago48:56

48:56

Entomologist, agroecologist, farmer, rancher, and beekeeper Dr. Jonathan Lundgren was a scientist with USDA Agricultural Research Service for 11 years. He left to undertake regenerative agriculture science studies that embraced a larger paradigm, looking at the interconnection of all the living beings on the farm and in the community, from the soil…

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Funding agriculture businesses on a mission with Dan Miller of Steward 49:43

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about a year ago49:43

49:43

Today we sit down with Dan Miller, the founder and CEO of Steward, a regenerative agriculture finance firm. Dan founded Steward to combine his background in finance, real estate, and technology with his passion for agriculture, which stems from his maternal family who have been farming on the eastern shore of Maryland since the 1880s. Find the show…

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Virtual fencing—new technology that benefits both ranching and land conservation 46:22

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about a year ago46:22

46:22

Virtual fencing is a new technology that employs GPS collars to keep animals in "virtual" pastures—so instead of using physical fences, the fence lines are drawn on a computer screen, and the collars direct the animals' movements through sound cues and mild electrical stimulation. This saves ranchers on labor and materials, allows more adaptive and…

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Regenerating a desert wetland oasis 44:48

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about a year ago44:48

44:48

Don Boyd spent a year on the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in central New Mexico, photographing, living, and finding a deep connection to land, water, and animals—including the many migrating birds that live part-time in this magical desert wetland on the Rio Grande. Boyd connected with David and Hui-Chun Johnson, and together they are…

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The awe-inspiring beauty hidden in our food 46:16

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about a year ago46:16

46:16

Artist and science educator Robert Dash creates art from micro- and macroscopic photographs of food crops. His new book, Food Planet Future: The Art of Turning Food and Climate Perils into Possibilities, explores both the science of our food system and the role of art in finding a more healthy and loving way forward.…

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Painterland Sisters Yogurt: Regeneration at every step from farmer to consumer 48:12

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about a year ago48:12

48:12

Hayley and Stephanie Painter grew up on a fourth-generation dairy farm in northern Pennsylvania, and while it was an idyllic childhood, the instability of milk prices continually threatened their family's livelihood. The sisters took it upon themselves to save the farm by creating a yogurt brand, Painterland Sisters, and in the space of two years h…

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Sheepish Solutions to Water Conservation with Linda Poole 48:58

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about a year ago48:58

48:58

Today we sit down with Linda Poole, a rancher and working lands director at Western Landowners Alliance. Linda and her border collies and livestock guardian dogs care for colored finewool sheep, laying hens and sometimes cattle on a prairie homestead south of Malta, Montana. In 2023 Linda was awarded a Field Work Project grant from the LOR Foundati…

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Agave, mesquite, and a carbon drawdown game-changer 47:32

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about a year ago47:32

47:32

André Leu is co-founder and International Director of Regeneration International, an organization that promotes food, farming, and land use systems that regenerate and stabilize climate systems. He’s author of the books, Myths of Safe Pesticides and Poisoning our Children, and is co-author with Dr. Vandana Shiva of Biodiversity, Agroecology, and Re…

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Commerce, the destruction of nature, and the uphill path to sustainability 1:01:30

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about a year ago1:01:30

1:01:30

Environmental historian Sara Dant’s book Losing Eden traces the history of the American West from the time of elephants and camels to the near destruction of entire ecosystems—and the movement to bring nature and industry into balance.By Radio Cafe, Quivira Coalition

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Conserving Soundscapes with Sensory Ecologist Jesse Barber 38:04

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about a year ago38:04

38:04

How does human-related sound impact wildlife around us? From trails to roads to cities, this question propels Dr. Jesse Barber, a leader in the emerging field of sensory ecology. Jesse Barber is a professor of biological sciences at Boise State University. He was recently appointed as the chief conservation curator and chief conservation scientist …

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Watershed-Scale Stewardship with Chrissy McFarren of Badger Creek Ranch 39:43

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about a year ago39:43

39:43

In this episode of the On Land Podcast, we sit down with Chrissy McFarren, the owner of Badger Creek Ranch in Cañon City, Colorado. Chrissy shares her journey from a first-generation rancher, originally from California, to becoming a dedicated land steward in the American West. We explore the challenges and triumphs of managing a 6,500-acre ranch, …

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Colorado peaches: delicious for the eaters, fair for the workers 41:48

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about a year ago41:48

41:48

Gwen Cameron grew up on Rancho Durazno, her family's peach farm. She was pursuing a career in journalism when her father asked her if she wanted to come back and take over the farm. She agreed and never looked back; now she's running a farm that uses regenerative principles to keep the land healthy for their 40 acres of peaches, cherries, apricots,…

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Black farmers regenerating land in the face of historical and current racism 53:44

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about a year ago53:44

53:44

P. Wade Ross's great grandfather was a runaway slave who bought land in Texas. His descendants founded Texas Small Farmers and Ranchers Community Based Organization, a non-profit that helps Black farmers and ranchers to succeed in regenerative agriculture in the face the barriers of structural racism, trauma, imposter syndrome, and the many challen…

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Western Landowners Policy Talk | #1 | Jason Fearneyhough and Lesli Allison 54:21

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about a year ago54:21

54:21

The first Western Landowners Policy Talk, a special monthly edition of the On Land Podcast, hosted by Louis Wertz of the Western Landowners Alliance, featured Jason Fearneyhough, chief policy officer with WLA, and WLA CEO Lesli Allison. Jason joined WLA as chief policy officer in February 2024, after stints as the deputy commissioner of agriculture…

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Empowering women in agriculture 52:00

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about a year ago52:00

52:00

Women have been invisible in agriculture for too long: not counted in the census, not taken seriously for their work and management achievements, excluded from access to capital and credit––and even farm equipment is not made for their bodies. We talk to Jules Salinas of Women Food and Agriculture Network, which is addressing these issues in ways r…

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The wild adventures of a New Mexico hemp farmer 55:53

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about a year ago55:53

55:53

Doug Fine was an international journalist before he moved to New Mexico to start a polyculture farm and embrace a rural way of life. He's the author of six books, including four on hemp and cannabis, and his film American Hemp Farmer won Best New Mexico Documentary Feature at the 2024 Santa Fe Film Festival. He's a vociferous advocate for hemp as a…

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Sarah Wentzel-Fisher on working lands, community, science, and more 51:58

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about a year ago51:58

51:58

Sarah Wentzel-Fisher is executive director of Quivira Coalition. A native of South Dakota, she came to her work in agriculture and leadership via a circuitous path that included the creative arts, writing, community and regional planning, collective problem-solving. In this podcast we discuss everything from the purpose of scientific inquiry in reg…

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Pueblo values + engineering expertise = resilient landscapes 1:03:08

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about a year ago1:03:08

1:03:08

Phoebe Suina grew up on Cochiti and San Felipe Pueblos in New Mexico, where she learned about land, water, and cultural values and practices from her extended family and community. With advanced degrees in engineering and management from the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College, she returned to New Mexico to found High Water Mark, a Na…

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Documentary digs deep into grazing science — and society 46:50

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about a year ago46:50

46:50

A decade ago, filmmaker Peter Byck assembled a group of scientists who were looking at agriculture from a whole-system perspective to study regenerative and conventional grazing side by side. The result is an extraordinary new documentary, Roots So Deep You Can See the Devil Down There. It's a fascinating and enormously entertaining journey into th…

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Saving seeds, saving ecosystems 40:12

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about a year ago40:12

40:12

Seed Savers Exchange is a small non-profit that's making a big difference. For a half century, they've been saving seeds, getting them out into gardens, telling their stories––and cultivating biodiversity that has been badly diminished with the rise of corporate agriculture and seed production. Located in Decorah, Iowa, Seed Savers has a large farm…

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Investing in regenerative ag 45:06

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about a year ago45:06

45:06

Dirt Capital Partners takes a "slow money" perspective on investing, helping farmers get land access and regenerate not only the soil but also their communities. Their goal is to not only transform how agriculture is done in the US, but how investing itself is done, by focusing on the real impact of investment, and the good––or harm––that it does t…

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From suburban Chicago to rural Montana: the journey of a bison rancher 47:33

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about a year ago47:33

47:33

Matt Skoglund grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, went to law school, and for ten years worked for the Natural Resources Defense Council doing policy work to protect bison in Yellowstone. Always happy in the outdoors and with an interest in both hunting and conservation, he started a bison ranch in 2018 near Bozeman, Montana. North Bridger Bisonis a…

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A matter of conscience 1:00:41

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about a year ago1:00:41

1:00:41

Will Harris's ranch, White Oak Pastures in Bluffton, Georgia, has been in the Harris family for over 150 years. His ancestors had a polyculture farm, but when industrial tools came to ranching, his father, and then Will, went all in––corporate ranching allowed their family to make a good living. But one day, in a life-changing moment of clarity, Ha…

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The robber barons of today's food corporations 1:07:07

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about a year ago1:07:07

1:07:07

Austin Frerick grew up in Iowa, which in his youth had a robust regional food system that offered abundant produce and meat from family farms. But because of one "baron"––that's the name Frerick calls the men whose monopolistic corporations profoundly reshape markets and communities––rural areas were hollowed out, farmers were driven off their farm…

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Farm Aid: Food, festivity, and fighting for farmers 43:58

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about a year ago43:58

43:58

In 1985 Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, and Neil Young organized a concert to benefit farmers and spread awareness of the crisis U.S. farmers were facing. The concert raised $7 million and spread awareness across the country. Since then Farm Aid has become a force advocating for farmers, promoting healthy, farm-grown food, providing a hotline and r…

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Healthy fish snacks––what cod be better? 48:30

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about a year ago48:30

48:30

Nick Mendoza grew up in a cattle ranching family in New Mexico, but when he moved to San Diego he fell in love with the ocean and got hooked on fish and marine science. Taking the lessons from regenerative cattle production to the oceans, he studied Environmental and Marine Resources at Stanford University, and earned a graduate degree in graduate …

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The Carbon Credit Conundrum 36:43

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about a year ago36:43

36:43

Carbon credits were designed as a market mechanism to incentivize projects that sequester carbon and reduce carbon emissions. The idea is to pay people who are doing climate friendly projects, and sell credits to emitters. But do they work? Is there independent verification that carbon is really being sequestered? What does it mean when people are …

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At The Table: Chefs advocating for a better food system 43:11

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about a year ago43:11

43:11

Katherine Miller, author of At The Table: The Chef's Guide To Advocacy, began her work toward a healthier food system with a deep background in political advocacy. She trains chefs to use their position as influencers to make change on issues like healthy and regenerative food sourcing, food waste, sustainability, fair wages, anti-sexism and -racis…

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The six-legged livestock: Bees 31:58

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about a year ago31:58

31:58

Beehives take up little space on the land, but, like other livestock, bees need space to roam, and they need a varied diet. Beekeeper Melanie Kirby is a "landless farmer," who sets up her beehives on farms and ranches, where the bees can thrive and the agrarians can take advantage of their pollination services. In fact pollination services have bec…

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Bonus episode: Ask Me Anything! 55:30

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about a year ago55:30

55:30

Anica Wong is Quivira Coalition's communications director and she had the idea for an "ask me anything" episode with Down to Earth host Mary-Charlotte Domandi ... and here it is! Listeners asked questions and we answered as best we could, in a wide-ranging discussion about everything from to Anica's urban farm to our favorite podcasts to Plato's Re…

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Photographing grasslands: beauty, community, life 43:56

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about a year ago43:56

43:56

Photographer Sally Thomson's gorgeous new book of photographs and texts, Homeground, is a deep exploration of rangelands in the Southwest––landscapes, livestock, water, wildlife, and the stewards who keep the land thriving. With her deep background in landscape architecture, conservation, and land use planning, Thomson photographs in ways that reve…

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Land, sheep, and the inefficiency of being too efficient 1:01:39

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about a year ago1:01:39

1:01:39

Elena Miller Ter-Kuile is a sixth-generation farmer living in southern Colorado. At Cactus Hill Farm she and her father raise sheep for wool, grass-fed meat and organic grain and hay, and are in the process of restoring their family’s damaged land.By Radio Cafe, Quivira Coalition

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Transforming 40 million acres of lawns into thriving ecosystems 48:18

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about a year ago48:18

48:18

Erik Ohlsen author of The Regenerative Landscaper, is helping people, municipalities, companies, and farms create thriving landscapes at every scale––and cultivate native plants, wildlife, and food. His new book, The Regenerative Landscaper: Design and Build Landscapes That Repair the Environment, deeply explores the theory and hands-on practice of…

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Sarah Wentzel-Fischer, Quivira Coalition director, on Regenerate 2023 36:49

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about a year ago36:49

36:49

Sarah Wentzel-Fischer is a farmer, a writer, a connector, an advocate. Officially, she wears several hats. She is the Executive Director of the Quivira Coalition, an organization focused on building soil, biodiversity, and resilience on western working landscapes. Sarah raises pigs and makes compost with her partner on Polk's Folly Farm in northern…

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Sheep and goats for healthy land, thriving businesses, and fire reduction 46:37

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about a year ago46:37

46:37

Cole Bush is a shepherdess, entrepreneur, and educator. Founder of Shepherdess Land & Livestock and Grazing School of the West, she uses a "flerd" (flock-herd) of sheep and goats to restore landscapes and prevent fire. She's also bringing along a generation of new shepherds, and is cultivating entrepreneurial businesses that spring from this work, …

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Words of wisdom from a holistic veterinarian and regenerative dairy farmer 51:11

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about a year ago51:11

51:11

Dr. Hubert Karreman started out as a soil scientist and then fell in love with dairy cows. He became a veterinarian and a regenerative dairy farmer, following a path of respect and reverence for life. He specializes in holistic and organic methods including homeopathy and plant medicine. He and his wife Suzanne own Reverence Farms, a pasture-based,…

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Funneling federal ag money to the people who most need it 49:00

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about a year ago49:00

49:00

The Biden administration has made a great commitment to building sustainable and healthy food systems. But how to get the money from the government to folks on the land who need it but aren't skilled bureaucrats? Dave Carter Director of Regional Technical Assistance Coordination for the Flower Hill Institute, explains.…

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Martha Williams, USFWS director, reflects on the ESA at 50 21:21

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about a year ago21:21

21:21

Martha Williams is the director of the United State Fish and Wildlife Service, the agency responsible for implementing the Endangered Species Act (along with NOAA’s fisheries division). She grew up on a farm in Maryland and studied law at the University of Montana. From 1988 to 2011, she served as legal counsel for the Montana Department of Fish, W…

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How to have family business meetings that are productive––and short 49:31

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about a year ago49:31

49:31

Joe and Jenn Wheeling talk about how to avoid the pitfalls of a family ranch business––ego, speechifying, wasted time––and arrive at consensus decisions with the full support of each family member.By Radio Cafe, Quivira Coalition

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Weathering global change on an Oregon sheep ranch 1:09:25

2 years ago1:09:25

1:09:25

When wool processing suddenly moved overseas, Jeanne Carver and her family were left without a market for their products. Through determination and creativity, she turned a setback into a regenerative success story. They pivoted their business to a local/regional model, selling lamb to restaurants and developing an artisan-based apparel and yarn bu…

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From mountaintops to farm fields: Landscape scale restoration 1:08:56

2 years ago1:08:56

1:08:56

How do you restore an entire forest, or mountain, or watershed? The key is...collaboration. Jan-Willem Jansens has been restoring landscapes in New Mexico for three decades. Owner of Ecotone Landscape Planning, he is part of a network that works to restore land that has been damaged by generations of mismanagement. Using low-tech methods, they rest…

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Bonus: The Modern West from Wyoming Public Media 28:18

2 years ago28:18

28:18

In this bonus episode, we're sharing an episode from our friends at The Modern West from Wyoming Public Media. The Modern West, hosted by Melodie Edwards, is a podcast documenting the evolving identity of the American West. The Rolling Stone: The Great Individualist Part 1. The cowboy roaming horseback across the American West is nearly inextricabl…

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A food forest on an eighth of an acre 58:44

2 years ago58:44

58:44

Roxanne Swentzell was a young mother on a small piece of land at Santa Clara Pueblo when she was introduced to permaculture design principles––which dovetailed with indigenous patters of thinking and land use. She turned her yard from hard, sun-scorched earth into an agroforest that provides food, wood, fiber and habitat. She founded the Flowering …

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From corporation to regeneration––a family's journey 51:20

2 years ago51:20

51:20

Lorenzo Dominguez was a successful marketing and corporate communications executive in New York City. But during the pandemic he and his wife made the decision to change their lives in order to find a more nature-based and connected way of life. They bought 350 acres in northern New Mexico, called it Chelenzo Farms, and are working to restore the l…

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Healing the trauma of Black land loss through regenerative rice production 42:52

2 years ago42:52

42:52

Konda Mason is co-founder and president of Jubilee Justice, a non-profit dedicated to regenerative agriculture, racial justice, cooperative practices, and healing the wounds of Black American land loss and racism. They are in the fourth year of a rice-growing program, the system of rice intensification (SRI), a dry-land technique for growing rice t…

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Cultivating oysters for ocean health, human health, and economic development 53:27

2 years ago53:27

53:27

Oysters are delicious and nutritious. They are also a keystone species and an ecosystem engineer, which means that they provide habitat for all kinds of other species, and they filter and clean the water around them, cycle nutrients, and even remove pollutants. Native to many parts of the world, Atlantic oysters are a species found from Louisiana t…

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Quivira Coalition Podcasts

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