The Ruminant: Audio Candy for Farmers, Gardeners and Food Lovers

In the summer of 2023, Bruce Lanphear, Professor of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University, resigned his position as co-chair of a recently formed Science Advisory Committee of the PMRA, which regulates pesticide use in Canada. Dr. Lanphear felt he could no longer lend his credibility to the agency following disagreement about the Terms of Reference provided to Lanphear and seven other scientists comprising the committee. Lanphear has been critical of aspects of Canada's pesticide oversight regime. I invited him on the show to discuss the topic. You can read about Bruce's resignation here and here, or check out this google search.

The Ruminant's first ever holiday special! Fellow Canadians, don't @ me. The original version of this piece was produced for Canadian Thanksgiving, for radio.

The US chicken industry is dominated by just a few very large, vertically integrated companies. They directly control every stage of chicken production from hatching to distribution, except that they outsource the riskiest stage--raising the birds from chick to mature bird--to independent farmers. In this episode, guest Patti Anderson of the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future describes this system, explains how it traps many farmers in debt, and tells us about the most recent effort to make the system more just for farmers.After that: the farmer questionnaire!Some links related to the chicken conversation and the proposed rule changes:Patti suggests this blog post for a summary of the rule changesA recent op-ed in Civil Eats about the tournament systemHere's an official summary of the proposed rule-changes

This ep: we introduce a new segment called Farm Sounds. This time: when the tradeoff that comes with a gain in efficiency on the farm doesn't feel worth it. Plus another installment of The Farmer Questionnaire.

This episode I speak with Dr. Patrick Byrne, Professor Emeritus of Plant Breeding and Genetics at Colorado State University. Our topic: crop wild relatives, the forebears to all of the agricultural crops we love and depend on. Patrick helps us understand the relationship between, say, Teosinte and modern corn, and why the conservation of these wild relatives is crucial to the improvement of our crop cultivars. Links: Grin-U.org: a great repository for online learning materials on plant genetic resources conservation and use.Free Ebook: Crop Wild Relatives & Their Use in Plant BreedingOr some related videos insteadOur guest on the Farmer Questionnaire in this episode was Tracy Robertson of Stony Mountain Farm in BC's Cariboo Region.

This episode: to mark the release of an update (sort of?) to Netflix's big, farmy 2018 hit The Biggest Little Farm, herein we review both the original documentary (Netflix) and an update, called The Return of the Biggest Little Farm, which dropped on Disney+ on Earth Day. Also: another installment of The Farmer Questionnaire!This episode was produced by Jordan Marr & Philippa Mennell.

This episode, three farmers who slaughter animals reflect on the experience of encountering hate, vitriol and worse from animal rights activists. This episode was produced by Jordan Marr & Philippa Mennell.

This episode: Rebecca Kneen, a BC-based organic farmer & brewer, whose roots and activism in the organic sector go back decades, on the evolution of organic standards and oversight over time, some aspects of which she has misgivings about. Rebecca put her thoughts down in an open letter that was the basis for this coversation; you can download a PDF of that letter here.Also: Jessica Bell of Split Creek Farm Grade A Goat Dairy in South Carolina answers our first ever Farmer Questionnaire!

Hey everyone! This is Jordan with some bonus listening for you. As you may know, I’m the producer and host of The Organic BC Podcast, and over there, I’ve been busy producing a miniseries about whether GAP certification is a viable option for small-scale farmers who want to gain, preserve, or expand access to wholesale marketing channels. You’re about to hear episode one of that series, exactly as it dropped on The Organic BC podcast feed. If you like it, you can go find the organic BC podcast and listen to episode two right now, and episodes three through five will drop over the next few weeks. One quick additional note is that I produced this series about GAP certification under a paid contract, but I was not paid to cross-post what you’re about to hear on my other two podcasts, Farming in British Columbia and The Ruminant. I’m posting episode one of the series here because I think it’s good and because the topic is relevant to a lot of my listeners.

Hey there, Ruminant Listeners! These days, I'm mostly podcasting over at Farming in British Columbia, and I wanted to share a popular episode on a topic that matters wherever you're farming! If you like this, come and join the party. A good number of the episodes will hold interest for those outside of BC...search for 'Farming in British Columbia' wherever you listen to podcasts.

The interview we planned to record yesterday and release today was postponed, so I dug up the very first episode of the show, from way back in 2012, until now never released on the newer podcast feed. It's an interview with Jason Beam about potting blocks, you lucky ducks. We'll be back with a new episode in two weeks, promise.

Hi Everyone! Herein: four audio segments I think you'll enjoy. Each comes from a 25-episode podcast series I'm in the middle of producing for my province's annual organic conference.  So yeah, this is a teaser for the conference, but be assured that each segment in this episode stands alone as an interesting piece of audio on its own merits.  More info on the conference here: https://bcorganic2021.eventbrite.ca

I've had it with trying to produce a show during the farming season so I cut out a lot of production & administrative BS by just cold-calling people to see what they have to say. Episode 3. 

Episode two of driving around and cold-calling people. Mainly farmers and extension specialists. A good mix of strangers and friends. Mostly to talk about the pandemic, but really to talk about anything food or farming related.

In which your host catches you up on things as quickly as possible, and then makes some calls.

Tristan Banwell, BC-based rancher and occasional co-host of the show, recorded this interview with Sarah Flack, author of The Art and Science of Grazing: How Grass Farmers Can Create Sustainable Systems for Healthy Animals and Farm Ecosystems. From Sarah’s website: Sarah Flack is an author and consultant specializing in providing practical information on grass based and organic livestock production to farmers, organizations, institutions and individuals. She has a diverse background in sustainable agriculture, which includes both on-farm and academic experience. She is nationally known for her public speaking, workshops, books and numerous articles on a range of agricultural topics.

This ep: my interview with Alex Lyon, a UBC Postdoctoral Fellow focused on seed systems and plant breeding for diverse farm environments. Alex is involved in a number of projects that recruit commercial farmers to assist in the development of better seeds, and she joins me on the show to talk about them.  Show sponsor: The Small-Scale Meat Producers Association of BC

This ep: a few perspectives from members of the LGBTQ community who farm   This ep: a few perspectives from members of the LGBTQ community who farm Show sponsors: BCS America BC Small-Scale Meat Producers Association

In which your host tells you all about his experiences sourcing certain farm equipment using Alibaba, the massive, China-based gathering place for buyers and manufacturers. He'll take you through all the steps, from confusion to suspicion to curiousity to impulsivity, before cruising through anxiety and ending up at ambivalent satisfaction.  Plenty of tips in here! All the Alibaba tips! The specific supplier mentioned in this episode is Shijiazhuang Daoliangmou Trade Co., and my contact there is Ada Guo. Show sponsors: BCS America and Dubois Agrinovation

My guest this ep is Stefan Morales, producer of the Working Together podcast. Stefan and I both care about food and farming. I brought my passions to farming; he took his into the non-profit and government sphere. We compare notes, things get mildly awkward, and a farmer's heart grows by a couple of sizes. Or: a guy with good insights about the workings of bureaucracy offers advice for reformers about how to engage with it. Episode Sponsor: Dubois Agrinovation