LSP's Ear to the Ground
LSP's Ear to the Ground features in-the-field interviews with farmers, scientists, activists, and others involved with creating a regenerative, sustainable farm and food system. It is the official podcast of the Land Stewardship Project.
- Update frequency
- every 3 days
- Average duration
- 30 minutes
- Episodes
- 41
- Years Active
- 2024 - 2025
Ear to the Ground 341: Seeds of Local Democracy
LSP’s political action partner, the Land Stewardship Action Fund, is working to show that vibrant rural communities require local people participating in decision-making — one vote at a time.
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Ear to the Ground 342: Ignoring the Red Dress
Wholesome Family Farms is known for juggling enough enterprises to overwhelm even the most ambitious farmer. But Rachelle Meyer says a “three-legged stool” strategy keeps them balanced. (First episod…
Ear to the Ground 343: Healthy Soil Vs. Plastic Worms
Clifford Johnson calls himself an “honest regenerative hypocrite,” which says a lot about his approach to building soil health on his family’s crop and livestock farm. (Second episode in a series on…
Ear to the Ground 344: Flerd is the Word
Poor soil, short growing seasons, and little infrastructure: beginning farmer George Heller is proving that a successful grazing operation doesn’t require optimal conditions. (Third episode in a seri…
Ear to the Ground 345: Grazing's Generational Jump
Rick Matt was flat on his back when it became evident how he and his son, Damien, could build an intergenerational farming operation based on soil health, diversity, and grazing. (Fourth episode in …
Ear to the Ground 346: Pasture Pixie Dust
The NRCS’s Jeff Duchene has set up grazing plans in 50 Minnesota counties, and has yet to find that proverbial “magic grass.” But he’s more convinced than ever that good management and good planning …
Ear to the Ground 347: Bite-by-Bite
Mapping a rural region’s “community food assets” reveals isolated islands of opportunity in a sea of corn and soybeans. LSP’s Scott DeMuth says now is the time to connect the dots and create a new re…
Ear to the Ground 348: Urban Agrarian
Elyssa Eull’s tiny farm is tucked between railroad tracks and an empty lot in the heart of a major metropolitan area, but its city soil is producing food on a commercial scale.
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Ear to the Ground 349: Family, Farming & Forages
Since taking over their family’s livestock operation, Parker and Sam Beard have added a few new twists. But one thing will never change: those hills will remain in grass.
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Ear to the Ground 350: Cranking Up Capacity
By building soil biology via managed grazing, Langdon Collom is learning that expanding a farm’s capacity doesn’t always require horizontal expansion — sometimes you can simply go vertical.
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Ear to the Ground 360: Food Bank Booster
At a time when rural residents are grappling with high food insecurity, an innovative Wisconsin program is connecting local farmers with local eaters.
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Ear to the Ground 359: Trash to Treasure
Soil conservationist Julie Reberg sees composting as a “very scientific art form” that can transform waste into biological bullion.
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Ear to the Ground 358: Low Input - High Returns
Alex Udermann and his family at Meadowbrook Dairy were tired of working harder and harder for less and less. So they invested in building the kind of healthy soil that pays off economically, environm…
Ear to the Ground 357: Against the Grain
As farmers from across the region haul corn past Allen and Kathleen Deutz’s farm to the local ethanol plant, they can’t help but notice fences, livestock, and a diversity of plants. What’s not as imm…
Ear to the Ground 356: First Things First
Thinking of applying for NRCS funds? First, advises vegetable and livestock farmer Klaus Zimmermann-Mayo, figure out what kind of farming you want to do and how you want to do it.
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Ear to the Ground 355: Silver Buckshot
Father-son team Joe and Matthew Fitzgerald are quite willing to share their insights with other farmers on how to get started in organic crop production. First piece of advice: sell your fishing boat…
Ear to the Ground 354: Great Expectations
When Jay Fuhrer first started talking to his conservation colleagues about a different approach to protecting and building soil, he ended up eating lunch alone. But eventually the Burleigh County Soi…
Ear to the Ground 353: 7 Years Later
Jon and Carin Stevens farm unforgiving land that leaves little room for mistakes. But thanks to a system based on no-till, cover cropping, and reintegrating livestock, a “victory year” has finally em…
Ear to the Ground 352: Land of the Living
Soil health expert Stephanie McLain has found that once farmers start seeking life in the bottom of a red Solo cup, there’s no turning back.
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