Does it take a disaster for a community to find value in local agriculture and food sovereignty? In this episode, Jade Chihara of Maui discusses ‘the politics of home’ regarding indigenous water rights, post-fire disaster relief, and access to food for all.

At the tender age of 16, Xinlan Tanner’s journey is one of determination, passion, and a love for her flock of sheep. Xinlan's story begins in Kenai, Alaska. Mentored by her mother in STEM and Abby Ala in farming, she is committed to learning, and growing and has become a local success story. Her efforts caught the attention of local food advocates and her farm work was highlighted in the documentary, Nourishing the Kenai, shining a spotlight on her story of determination and success.

In this episode, Audra welcomes Judy Sanchez, an experienced communicator with a deep connection to agriculture. Judy shares her childhood experiences on her family farms, highlighting the magical and educational moments spent helping her grandparents. The conversation explores Judy's path to agricultural communications, her endeavors in advocating for farming, and her efforts to connect farmers with the broader public, all underscored by the vital role farmers play in supplying essential resources for the nation.

In conversation with Ku'uipo Garrido of Na Mea Kupono Farm and Learning Center on the north shore of Oahu in Hawaii. Our discussion centers on the preservation and nurturing of the unique culture, heritage, and legacy of growing Kalo and connecting with the land. 

From Two Decades in the Military to First-Generation Farming in Rural Utah. Meet Annette Allan of Wild Red Clover Ranch and Fiber Mill, who now raises alpacas, wool sheep, and operates one of the nation's rare fiber mills. Explore the intriguing history of wool in the Americas and the journey of a beginning farmer with us.

Farmer and U.S. Congresswoman Chellie Pingree joins us to provide the latest developments on the 2023 Farm Bill and shed light on the USDA Discrimination Financial Assistance Program, a vital initiative aimed at rectifying historical loan discrimination within the agricultural sector. Representative Pingree passionately advocates for gender equality in agriculture, recognizing the pivotal role women play in the field. She shares her personal journey, transitioning from farming to a career in politics, and inspires women to consider running for public office as a means to drive positive change and champion important causes.

Can we balance the books of American Agriculture? Beth Hoffman an agricultural journalist, university professor, and Iowa farmer joins the podcast to discuss her new book, “Bet the Farm: The Dollars and Sense of Growing Food in America”. Our wide-ranging conversation centers around dispelling the myths about America’s farms and farmers, and the reality of the punishing economics of modern farming.

First-generation Farmer Lexi shares what her first year of farming looked like and how pumpkins, potatoes and pizza played a big role in her journey.

Why do we love the idea of small family farms? Our guest, Sarah K Mock says it’s because we’ve been told the stories about family farms from an early age through nursery rhymes and picture books. But does that bucolic ideal exist? Sarah provides an agriculture insider’s critique of the romantic agrarian ideal of the small family farm. She lays bare the shortcomings of that narrative — not all is as virtuous as it seems. In this thought-provoking conversation, Mock challenges the many conceptions about farming and farmers and asks the hard questions about the viability of the current systems.

Have you ever wondered about how cranberries get harvested for your holiday table? Farmer Amber Bristow shares her journey as a 5th generation cranberry farmer and demystifies the cranberry growing and harvesting process for farmer-owned Ocean Spray. Spoiler - it's so cool!

The common media representation of agriculture is one sentimentality — of bucolic green fields with grazing livestock or amber grain fields being harvested with synchronous combines. In our conversation with Cynthia Ryan we dig deeper. She is a woman who wears many hats; farmer, university professor, caregiver, wife, writer, mother, daughter. Cynthia eschews the sentimentality and strips the varnish off and gives us a true look into the battle to save the family farm.

Farmer Katey Evans had a challenge - extra, farm-fresh produce that couldn’t be sold to her large grocery customer because of imperfections. She turned those misfit fruits into profits by turning them into sorbet, and frobert™. Her Frozen Farmer products can be found on shelves nationwide and her journey is as inspirational as it is aspirational.

Women in Ag and AgTech are creating solutions to agricultures’ biggest challenges. AgTech is an emerging category with potential to impact those challenges. Yet women founders remain underfunded and underrepresented. How do we challenge the status quo and the structural bias? Our guest Amy Wu tackles that issue by storytelling through her project, From Farms to Incubators.

We welcome Dr Jennifer Wells, an agronomist with Land O Lakes, Truterra to the podcast in honor of Soil Health Day. Together, we examine the impact of soil health on the way we produce food and how we can leverage technology to measure and improve soil health for a food system that is more resilient to climate change. We also discuss the gender gap in science, tech, and agriculture -- and her advice to young women who are considering ag science as a career.

Mary Mooney of Mooney Farms is the 3rd generation of a family and woman-owned farm. She is a powerhouse entrepreneur and pioneer who took the farm from near bankruptcy during the 1980s farming crisis to a $6million company in five years. Owner of the popular Bella San Lucci Sun Dried Tomato Brand — Mary has learned many lessons in business and life that she shares in this conversation with Audra. Mooney talks about raising $30k in 30 days to save the farm, how she created many unique and delicious food products, what she's learned from being a woman-owned business, and how it's that much more difficult to raise money as a female entrepreneur and farmer.

Female Farmers can suffer from isolation, hard physical labor, numerous things that are out of their control like markets, weather and a global pandemic. For many women – there is also the invisible unpaid labor that often comes in the shape of domestic duties and mothering. In this conversation with psychotherapist, licensed clinical social worker, and farmer Alana DiPesa we tackle the shame and stigma around mental health for farmers and farmworkers. Alana shares resources, best practices and her specific knowledge about mental health issues for those who work in agriculture.

In this conversation with Karen Washington, we unpack the narrative of Africa’s descendants and their agricultural past. We also tackle the biggest misconceptions that the public has about food access in communities of color. We talk about the racial inequities in the food system, and how food apartheid is an economic and power issue. We also learn about the new Black Farmer Fund and the work they are doing to create social capital and communal wealth in Black communities.

The Vegan turned Farmer, Butcher, Author, and Educator Meredith Leigh joins us to discuss her new book, Ethical Meat. As a deep systems thinker, Meredith shares her thoughts on morality, power, privilege, and race in the context of our food system. We also dig into the COVID accelerated change we saw in 2020 and making space for women’s voices.

This is part two of our live recorded episodes from the AAAS where examine the impact of emerging technologies on the way we produce food and how we can leverage that technology to build a better and more resilient food system. Michelle Canfield is a farmer and an electrical engineer in the medical device industry by day and in her free time does education and outreach around quantitative genetics for seedstock selection.