GrassCast

Environmental benefits of rotational grazing & future trends in Wisconsin - Adam Abel

Grassland 2.0's final Digital Dialogue webinar of 2021 featured NRCS state grazing lands specialist Adam Abel. In this recording, Adam discussing his experiences with managed grazing and his plans for boosting support for grazing throughout the state. 

The many benefits of grazing to birds, bees, family and farm - Thelma Heidel-Baker

 In Part Three of Grassland 2.0's Digital Dialogue Series, Thelma Heidel-Baker, an entomologist and organic dairy farmer in eastern Wisconsin, discusses the benefits of managed grazing for beneficial insects, other wildlife, and the farmers themselves. 

Understanding the Linkages between Animal and Human Health - Dr. Stephan van Vliet

In Part Two of Grassland 2.0's Digital Dialogue Series, Dr. Stephan van Vliet, nutrition scientist and metabolomics expert at the Center for Human Nutrition Studies at Utah State University, discusses the link between animal and human health.

Broken Ground: The Changing Culture of America’s Dairyland - Dan Smith

This episode features the first of Grassland 2.0's Digital Dialogue series, with a presentation by Dan Smith, President and CEO of the Cooperative Network. Dan discusses the changes dairying has experienced over the last 50 years and explore the economic, social and cultural impacts these changes have had through poem.

Measuring perennial agriculture’s impact on water quailty - Research by Jacob Henden

Every couple of weeks, Grassland 2.0 participants meet on Zoom for a project-wide lab meeting. This episode features an edited recording of one of these meetings, in which UW-Madison graduate student Jacob Henden presents his research design and responds to comments from attendees. We'll hear how tricky it is to separate the influence of perennial groundcover from other related factors, and why making promises about improving water quality could backfire in the short-term.GrassCast is supported by the Grassland 2.0 project.  This project is made possible thanks to a Sustainable Agricultural Systems Coordinated Agriculture grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.  

”I’m big on farmer dates” - Marie Raboin on the importance of farmer networks

Marie Raboin is a Conservation Specialist for Dane County, Wisconsin. In this episode, you'll hear about Marie’s work with a new farmer network called the BFFs (Biological Farming Friends), why she’s big on farmer dates, and why you maybe shouldn’t invite everyone to the meeting. You can see more from this conversation on the Grassland 2.0 YouTube channel.Stories on Pasture is supported by the Grassland 2.0 project.  This project is made possible thanks to a Sustainable Agricultural Systems Coordinated Agriculture grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. 

”What are these hairy beasts?” - Kevin Oppermann shares his most common questions from customers

Kevin Oppermann is a beef farmer south of Madison, Wisconsin. In this episode, Kevin describes how he started farming after growing up in the suburbs, how selling at farmers markets has made him a better cook, and how managed grazing made his farming dreams possible. You can see more from this conversation on the Grassland 2.0 YouTube channel!Stories on Pasture is supported by the Grassland 2.0 project.  This project is made possible thanks to a Sustainable Agricultural Systems Coordinated Agriculture grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Bees decline as crop diversity declines: New research by Claudio Gratton and Jeremy Hemberger

Claudio Gratton's entomology research focuses on how our agricultural landscapes influence the lives of beneficial insects. In this podcast, Claudio sits down for a conversation with a former student of his, Dr. Jeremy Hemberger. Hemberger, Gratton, and their colleague Michael Crossley have just released a paper showing that it is not necessarily the amount of land in agriculture, but the diversity (or lack thereof) of agricultural crops that has the greatest impact on bumblebees. Their research supports the idea that agriculture can provide ecological benefits and support beneficial insects as long as it mimics the biological diversity of healthy grasslands. To learn more about this research, or to see the excellent illustrations developed for the project, you can visit the Gratton lab website at https://gratton.entomology.wisc.edu/ This research was recently featured at https://news.wisc.edu/midwest-bumble-bees-declined-with-more-farmed-land-less-diverse-crops-since-1870/This podcast is made possible thanks to a Sustainable Agricultural Systems Coordinated Agriculture grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. 

Historias sobre la Pastura: Edgar Navarro comparte sobre los beneficios de pastoreo para el trabajador agrícola

**This episode is also available in English. You can find it in the podcast feed or here.**Edgar Navarro es un trabajador agrícola con mucha experiencia en granjas lecheras. Él empezó ayudando a su madre y padrastro en su finca como adolescente, y ha trabajado la mayoría de los 10 años pasados en diferentes granjas lecheras cerca de Dodgville. En 2015, él conoció a Scott Mericka, el dueño de Green Dairy and Uplands Cheese, lo cual fue la primera granja de pastoreo que había visto. Él ha sido un empleado allá desde entonces! En nuestra conversación, Edgar compartió sobre su experiencia trabajando en la granja de pastoreo de Scott, y cómo se mide contra la granjas convencionales donde él comenzó. Su testimonio es un recordatorio poderoso de que nuestros sistemas agrícolas afectan a las personas en todos niveles.Si a usted le interesa Edgar y su historia, con gusto tratamos de conectarles. Que nos manden un correo pidiendo una introducción a grassland2.0podcast@gmail.com.La banda de sonora de este episodio es Donder por  Blue Dot Sessions.Historias Sobre la Pasura se base en entrevistas del metodología historia oral realizado como parte del proyecto Grassland 2.0. Entrevistamos a Edgar en Octubre de 2020.Este podcast es posible gracias a una subvención de Agricultura Coordinada en Sistemas Agrícolas Sostenibles del Instituto Nacional de Alimentos y Agricultura del USDA.

Stories on Pasture: Edgar Navarro shares about the benefits of grazing from the farm worker perspective

**Este episodio esta disponible también en español. Lo encontraras en el feed o aqui.**Edgar Navarro is a farm worker with lots of experience working on dairy operations. He started helping his mother and stepfather with their small farm as a teenager, and has spent most of the last decade as an employee at dairy farms in the Dodgville area. In 2015, he found his way to Scott Mericka at Green Dairy and Uplands Cheese, the first dairy grazing farm he’d ever seen. And, he’s been there ever since! In our conversation, Edgar shares about his experience of working at Scott’s dairy grazing farm and how it measures up against the conventional operations where he got his start. His testimony is a powerful reminder that our farming systems effect people at all levels of the operation.If you’re interested in Edgar and his story, we’re happy to try to put you in touch—just give us a shout at grassland2.0podcast@gmail.com.The Interpreters Cooperative of Madison helped with translation of Edgar's original interview. And, you're hearing the voice of Giosue Alagna, who read Edgar's words.This episode's soundtrack is Donder by Blue Dot Sessions.Stories on Pasture is based on oral history interviews conducted as a part of the Grassland 2.0 project. Edgar was interviewed via phone call in October of 2020.This podcast is made possible thanks to a Sustainable Agricultural Systems Coordinated Agriculture grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.