The Tractor Time podcast is published at least monthly and features in-depth interviews with newsmakers and trendsetters in the ecology and agriculture industries.
Hosted by Acres U.S.A. Subscribe to our channel on YouTube, iTunes or anywhere podcasts are available. Also, find us on www.acresusa.com, here on www.ecofarmingdaily.com, and don’t forget to subscribe to our monthly magazine. Interested in buying a book by a Tractor Time guest? Check out our Tractor Time Author Collection at the Acres U.S.A. Bookstore.
Current episode:
Tractor Time Episode 69: Croatan Institute’s Lauren Manning on Regenerative Finance
On this episode, we’re going to talk about the challenges built into the booming interest in the regenerative ag industry, what pieces are missing, and how the investors lining up at the gate can help – or they can hurt. To explore these topics, we’ll be talking with Lauren Manning, the owner of Ozark Pasture Beef and senior associate at Croatan Institute, an independent, nonprofit research and action institute whose mission is to build social equity and ecological resilience by leveraging finance to create pathways to a just economy.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 68: Dr. James White, Jeff Lowenfels and Laura Decker on Soil Microbiology
On this episode we welcome Laura Decker, the owner and operator of microBIOMETER, Dr. James White, a professor of plant biology at Rutgers, and Jeff Lowenfels, the author of several books, including a new one, Teaming with Bacteria.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 67: Anne Biklé and David Montgomery
On this episode we welcome Anne Biklé and David Montgomery, as well as co-host Sarah Day Levesque, to the program. Anne and David recently published What Your Food Ate, a deep dive into the research around regenerative agriculture tactics.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 66: Louis Bromfield and the Most Famous Farm in the World
On this episode we welcome Anneliese Abbott. Her name may be familiar to Acres U.S.A. readers. She writes a monthly column called History of Organic Agriculture in America. It’s a must read that’s always full of surprises — and so is her first book, Malabar Farm: Louis Bromfield, Friends of the Land, and the Rise of Sustainable Agriculture.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 65: Rick Clark on Soil Health, Cover Crops and No-Till Techniques
Rick Clark is a fifth-generation farmer based in Warren County, Indiana, but he’s been spreading the no-till, organic gospel far and wide for the last few years. He gave a keynote address at the Acres U.S.A. Healthy Soil Summit back in the summer. And just this month he was a featured speaker at the Acres U.S.A. Eco-Ag Conference in Columbus, Ohio. And if you’ve ever heard Rick speak, you know how much of an evangelist he is for soil health and ecological farming. His enthusiasm is infectious. He’s definitely not hiding his light under a bushel.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 64: Nicolette Hahn Niman, author of ‘Defending Beef’
Niman has just published a new and expanded edition of Defending Beef: The Ecological and Nutritional Case for Meat. A lot has happened since the first edition of the book was published back in 2007. Since then, cattle have become nearly synonymous with human-caused climate change and environmental destruction. But are cattle inherently bad? Or … is there another side to the argument?
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 63: Beth Hoffman, author of ‘Bet the Farm’
For 20 years, Beth Hoffman worked as a food and agriculture journalist on the West Coast. Just a few years ago, she decided to move with her husband to his family’s rural Iowa farm and try her hand at regenerative agriculture. Hoffman tells that story in her new book, Bet the Farm: The Dollars and Sense of Growing Food in America.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 62: André Leu, Vandana Shiva and Ronnie Cummins
On this episode we’re listening in on a recent virtual event for André Leu’s new book, Growing Life: Regenerating Farming and Ranching. And he’s getting a little help from his friends, Vandana Shiva and Ronnie Cummins. Leu, Shiva and Cummins go way back and co-founded Regeneration International back in 2015.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 61: Indigenous Systems of Agriculture (w/ Kelsey Ducheneux)
On this episode we welcome fourth generation South Dakota rancher Kelsey Ducheneaux-Scott. Kelsey is the director of programs for the Intertribal Agriculture Council, which seeks to build and restore indigenous foodways in Native American communities. She’s also a co-owner of DX Beef, a direct-to-consumer grassfed beef operation on the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation. That’s where she grew up and that’s where she ranches today with her family.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 60: Talking Plants, Smart Insects and a New Farm Language
Although entomologist Dr. Joe Lewis has published papers in many academic and scientific journals, he’s just published his first book for Acres U.S.A. It’s call A New Farm Language: How a Sharecropper’s Son Discovered a World of Talking Plants, Smart Insects, and Natural Solutions, and it explores the fascinating world of plant-insect communication and what that has to teach us about a more ecological agriculture.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 59: Gary Paul Nabhan on ‘Jesus for Farmers and Fishers’
On this episode we welcome Gary Paul Nabhan. An agricultural ecologist, an ethnobotanist, a MacArthus “genius grant” winner, a professor and an Ecumenical Franciscan Brother, Nabhan is a true polymath. He’s also the author of an almost countless number of books, including his most recent book, Jesus for Farmers and Fishers: Justice for All Those Marginalized by Our Food System.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 58: A Higher Standard for Cannabis
In this episode we’re joined by Andrew Black, the executive director of Sun+Earth Certified, a beyond-organic standard for cannabis and hemp, and Josh Gulliver, a regenerative hemp and herb farmer based in Oregon, to talk about the challenges and opportunities on the horizon for cannabis growers.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 57: Jesse Frost on No-Till Farming and Creating Living Soil
Jesse Frost is a no-till farmer based in Kentucky. He hosts a popular podcast called the No-Till Market Garden Podcast. He’s also the author of a new book called The Living Soil Handbook: The No-Till Grower’s Guide to Ecological Market Gardening.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 56: Carey Gillam on the Monsanto Lawsuits
Investigative journalist Carey Gillam talks about her latest book, The Monsanto Papers: Deadly Secrets, Corporate Corruption, and One Man’s Search for Justice.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 55: Mark Bittman on ‘Animal, Vegetable, Junk’
Mark Bittman, the New York Times food columnist and author of How to Cook Everything, talks about his new book, Animal, Vegetable, Junk: A History of Food, from Sustainable to Suicidal.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 54: The Fungi Underground (w/ Doug Bierend)
Doug Bierend is the author of a new book called In Search of Mycotopia: Citizen Science, Fungi Fanatics, and the Untapped Potential of Mushrooms.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 53: Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps and Regenerative Supply Chains
Gero Leson, the head of Special Operations at Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, has a new book out called Honor Thy Label: Dr. Bronner’s Unconventional Journey to a Clean, Green, and Ethical Supply Chain.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 52: The Business of Botanicals (w/ Ann Armbrecht)
Ann Armbrecht is the author of a new book called The Business of Botanicals: Exploring the Healing Promise of Plant Medicines in a Global Industry.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 51: Journalist Tom Philpott on Our Perilous Food System
Tom Philpott, the food and ag correspondent for Mother Jones, has a new book out called Perilous Bounty: The Looming Collapse of American Farming and How We Can Prevent It.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 50: Dr. Vandana Shiva on the Toxic Cartels
A fearless advocate for peasant farmers throughout the world, Dr. Shiva is one of the most outspoken critics of industrial agriculture and its dire environmental and spiritual consequences.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 49: Chris Smaje on Our Peasant Farmer Future
Chris Smaje is the author of A Small Farm Future: Making the Case For a Society Built Around Local Economies, Self-Provisioning, Agricultural Diversity and a Shared Earth.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 48: Doug Fine, American Hemp Farmer
Doug Fine is the author of American Hemp Farmer: Adventures and Misadventures in the Cannabis Trade.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 47: Rodale CEO Jeff Moyer Talks No-Till
Jeff Moyer, CEO of the Rodale Institute, has authored a new book on no-till organic agriculture called Roller/Crimper No-Till: Advancing No-Till Agriculture.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 46: Ken Roseboro on GMOs
Ken Roseboro, editor and publisher of The Organic and Non-GMO Report, gives an update on the state of genetically altered foods.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 45: Agroecologist Nicole Masters on Her Love of Soil
Agroecologist Nicole Masters on her new book, For the Love of Soil.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 44: In Defense of Okra (with Chris Smith)
Chris Smith talks about his James Beard Award-winning book, The Whole Okra: A Seed to Stem Celebration.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 43: Rebecca Burgess on the Farm to Closet Movement
Rebecca Burgess talks about her new book, Fibershed: Growing a Movement of Farmers, Fashion Activists, and Makers for a New Textile Economy.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 42: Gerry Gillespie on Renewing Soils with ‘Waste’
Gerry Gillespie sees an untapped agricultural resource in the kitchen scraps and other organic materials we throw away every day.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 41: Darby Simpson on Finding Opportunity During a Pandemic
Darby Simpson is the host of the Grassfed Life podcast and a farmer raising pastured livestock in Indiana. Despite unprecedented challenges, the COVID-19 pandemic could present an opportunity for small farmers.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 40: Marty Travis on Farming in a Time of Pandemic
Marty Travis and his farmer co-op didn’t panic in the face of the coronavirus pandemic — they pivoted.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 39: Sherri Dugger and Judith McGeary
Sherri Dugger and Judith McGeary talk about their activist work on behalf of farmers and the hope of a Green New Deal.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 38: Mimi Casteel and Regenerative Wine
Mimi Casteel, a wine maker in Oregon’s Eola-Amity Hills, is fast becoming one of the leading voices in the regenerative agriculture movement.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 37: Dr. Zach Bush on Glyphosate, Farming and Human Health
Dr. Zach Bush says regenerative agriculture free of glyphosate is the solution to reversing climate change and restoring our health.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 36: Kathleen Merrigan on the Future of Organic Food
The former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture is still passionate about organic farming and food.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 35: Marty Travis, Farmer to Top Chefs
Marty Travis supplies Chicago’s top chefs and bakers with organic produce. But more than that, he is a master at building relationships.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 34: Paul Dorrance, from Top Gun to Top Grazier
Paul Dorrance is a former Air Force pilot who now raises pastured livestock at Pastured Providence Farmstead in Chillicothe, Ohio. He writes frequently for Acres U.S.A. magazine.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 33: Doug Fine, author, Hemp Bound
Investigative journalist Doug Fine is a true believer when it comes to hemp. And what he believes is this: Hemp will ignite an agricultural revolution and even help combat the effects of climate change.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 32: Bob Quinn, Liz Carlisle, authors, Grain by Grain
From the authors of Grain by Grain, Bob Quinn and Liz Carlisle energize and inform our audience about the future of ancient, native grains and how they can help us with our own health, while restoring the environment.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 31: Rodale Institute Pigs & Cathy Payne, Author
We’re going hog-wild with this episode. From the pig operation at Rodale Institute to an interview with Cathy Payne, author of Saving the Guinea Hog, it’s all about healthy pigs and new ideas for your farm.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 30: Carey Gillam, Environmental Journalist, Author
Carey Gillam, is a veteran reporter who has been covering corporate America for 25 years, including Monsanto and most recently, Bayer.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 29: Glen Rabenberg, Soil Expert
Glen Rabenberg is the founder and owner of Soil Works LLC. Glen continues to search for new ways to restore the soil and aid in the production of quality food. He aims to “bring soil back to the way nature intended.”
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 28: Dr. Paul Dettloff, V.M.D., Author, Livestock Specialist (from 2007)
The legendary Dr. Paul Dettloff has spent 50 years in large animal veterinary practice, working with farmers all over the world to help them think differently.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 27: Jodi Helmer, Author, Protecting Pollinators
Jodi Helmer is a journalist, gardener and author of six books, who with Island Press is releasing a new book, Protecting Pollinators (available in the Acres U.S.A. bookstore.)
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 26: Will Winter, Matt Maier, Thousand Hills Beef Cattle in Minnesota
Guests are Matt Maier, with Thousand Hills Cattle in Minnesota, and Will Winter, a teacher of holistic animal medicine and founder of the American Holistic Livestock Association.
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Tractor Time Episode 25: Fred Provenza, Author & Animal Behavior Expert
Fred Provenza is professor emeritus in the Department of Wildland Resources at Utah State University and an animal behavior specialist. He is also the author of Nourishment.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 24: Jeff Moyer, Rodale Institute, 2018 Eco-Ag Award Winner
Jeff Moyer, is a longtime organic farmer, author and lecturer. His work with Rodale Institute, both in hands-on farming and as executive director, is advancing the state of the art of organic agriculture and building bridges to bring these methods to mainstream, conventional farmers.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 23: The 2018 Eco-Ag Preview Special
A preview of the 43rd annual Eco-Ag Conference & Trade show in Louisville, Kentucky.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 22: On Assignment, the Tropical Agriculture Conference in Belize
We are broadcasting from Belize, specifically, Belmopan, Belize, at the inaugural Tropical Agriculture Festival.
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Tractor Time Episode 21: Daniela Ibarra-Howell, CEO of The Savory Institute
Daniela Ibarra-Howell is a native Argentinian, an agronomist by profession and has more than 25 years of ranching experience. In 2009, she helped start The Savory Institute, headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, and became its CEO in 2011.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 20: David Montgomery & Anne Biklé, Authors & Scientists
Our two guests both live together in Seattle, and are writers, advocates and change agents and, it should be noted, both are quite brilliant as well – biologist Anne Biklé and geologist David Montgomery.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 19: Judith McGeary, Founder of Farm & Ranch Freedom Alliance
Judith McGeary is the founder and leader of the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance, which represents about 1,000 ranchers and farmers in Texas who help advocate for government to better represent all of its constituents.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 18: Charles Walters, Then, Today and Tomorrow (from 2006)
Charles Walters, the founder of Acres U.S.A., speaks in 2006: “Then, Today & Tomorrow.” You will find it’s still relevant today.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 17: Brendon Rockey, Potato Farmer, Speaker
Brendon Rockey runs Rockey Farms in Colorado, where he grows a wildly diverse field of potatoes. He explains his system in this podcast.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 16: Douglass DeCandia, Farmer and Advocate Against Food Apartheid
Douglass DeCandia is a young farmer from New York. He grows food using natural methods, but he does so with an even greater purpose – to serve those who are forgotten by our food system.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 15: Dr. Nasha Winters, Author and Health Consultant
Dr. Nasha Winters wrote her book, The Metabolic Approach to Cancer, which quickly became a hit with our audience of farmers and good food advocates.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 14: Neal Kinsey, Hands-On Agronomy
Agronomist Neal Kinsey talks about the details in his book, Hands on Agronomy.
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Tractor Time Episode 13: 2017 Conference Highlights — Dr. Vandana Shiva, André Leu and Ronnie Cummings
Highlights from the 2017 Eco-Ag Conference & Trade Show in Columbus, Ohio.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 12: Edwin Blosser, Farmer & Founder of Midwest Bio-Systems
Edwin Blosser is a longtime instructor in the art of crafting and utilizing high-quality compost in production-scale agriculture.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 11: John Kempf, Founder of Advancing Eco Agriculture
John Kempf is the founder of Advancing Eco Agriculture, a crop consulting company, and is an expert in the field of biological and regenerative farming.
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Tractor Time Episode 10: Mark Shepard, Water Control on the Farm
Mark Shepard’s talk from the 2016 Eco-Ag annual conference in Omaha, Nebraska, where he spoke to a very full hall on his sustainable water practices he uses on his farms.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 9: Ben Hartman, How to Make a Living on One Acre
Ben Hartman spoke for more than an hour about a little miracle he and his wife, Rachel Hershberger, created in southern Michigan.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 8: Andre Leu, Author of The Myths of Safe Pesticides
André Leu has written for our magazine for years. He published The Myth of Safe Pesticides in 2014. He has spoken on the dangers of pesticides several times at our annual conference, and will join us again this year.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 7: John Slack and Soils from a Geological Perspective
John Slack does not call himself a geologist or a farmer. He calls himself a prospector. “We went out and looked for calcium,” he says in his talk.
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Tractor Time Episode 6: Joel Salatin, the Most Famous Farmer in the World
Joel Salatin is known around most agricultural circles as the most famous farmer in the world. He calls himself a Christian libertarian environmentalist capitalist lunatic farmer, which is a mouthful, both in words and in meaning.
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 5: Jerry Brunetti and Soil as a ‘SuperOrganism‘
Jerry Brunetti, rest in peace, was a fearless advocate for soil management and gave a presentation then called “Soil as a SuperOrganism.”
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 4: Susan Sink and the American Farmland Trust
Susan Sink is vice president of development and external relations at American Farmland Trust, a nonprofit organization who collaborates with farmers around the world to help save farmland from development.
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Tractor Time Episode 3: Charles Walters and A Return to Intellectualism
As Charles Walters, founder of Acres U.S.A., said in his talk in this week’s podcast, if he had asked his father in 1945, “Are you an organic farmer?” he would have said ‘What’s that?'”
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Tractor Time Episode 2: Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin, The Story of the Green Man
Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin’s story is not only inspirational, but transcends genres. “Knowledge without wisdom is a more dangerous weapon than the most dangerous weapons we use in wars,” Haslett-Marroquin said in the podcast. “Why? They are the silent killers.”
Read the full episode article.
Tractor Time Episode 1: Abbey Smith and Charles Walters
In our inaugural episode, we interview Abbey Smith with the Savory Institute about her travels, sustainable grazing methods, and how she manages her own ranch in Northern California.