Hosted by @Regenaisanceman with the mission of reconnecting us back to where our food is grown & exposing everything that is wrong with our broken food system. We are more disconnected from our food than we ever have been. I sit down with ranchers and farmers to give them a voice and hear their stories, helping paint a picture of what it really looks like to support humanity with food. I also will be talking to others involved in the agriculture space as there is a lot that goes into it all. My hope is that from hearing this podcast you will begin to question what you eat and where from.
Ep 120: Mike Callicrate Mike Callicrate runs Ranch Foods Direct and Callicrate Beef out of Colorado Springs and St. Francis, Kansas. He built a fully vertically integrated operation involving raising cattle, slaughtering on-site, cutting, and selling direct to consumers. Our conversation follows his life story from his childhood on a small Colorado farm, a rodeo scholarship that led him into an animal science degree, and years running large-scale feedlots before he became one of ten ranchers who sued major meatpacker IBP in 1996 over market manipulation, a case that ended in a $1.28 billion jury verdict the judge later overturned. We get into why that loss pushed him to stop selling livestock and start selling meat instead, how Ranch Foods Direct's on-site slaughter facility, composting system, and bone char/biochar production work together, and the economics that separate a small direct-to-consumer operation from an industrial one. Key topics - From rodeo and animal science to building and later rejecting industrial feedlots - The 1996 lawsuit against IBP, the overturned $1.28 billion verdict, and the Packers and Stockyards Act - How producers' share of the consumer dollar collapsed since 1970 - Fraud, political influence, and market consolidation What "pink slime" and lean finely textured beef actually are - The grass-fed/grass-finished labelling problem - Declining Ogallala Aquifer levels and what it means for ranching's future - Building local maker-owned marketplaces as an alternative to scaling up Timestamps: 0:00 – Intro + backstory: rodeo, animal science degree, early feedlots 6:00 – Building industrial feedlots, growing concerned with market concentration 12:00 – Decision to sue IBP, being blackballed by buyers 18:00 – The lawsuit's path to trial and the $1.28B verdict 30:00 – The judge's reversal + Packers and Stockyards Act explained 36:00 – Shifting from selling livestock to selling meat direct 44:00 – Building the on-site slaughter facility and circular waste model 52:00 – The "story of the steer" and producers' lost share of the consumer dollar 1:02:00 – Scaling down vs. scaling up: why direct/local beats commodity 1:10:00 – COVID, empty shelves, and the case for local food resilience 1:18:00 – Batista brothers, JBS, and meatpacking consolidation 1:28:00 – What pink slime is and how it's made 1:38:00 – Grass-fed/grass-finished labeling and imported beef 1:46:00 – Ogallala Aquifer decline and water scarcity 1:52:00 – Vision for maker-owned marketplaces and local food hubs Find out more: https://www.mikecallicrate.com/ The Regenaissance Podcast explores the people, farms, and ideas rebuilding our food system from the ground up.
Matthew runs Cottage Pastures on 26 acres in Switzerland County, Indiana, raising pigs, chickens, cattle, and sheep alongside garlic and herbs - everything sold under the name is raised on the farm itself. He and his wife bought the property in 2022 and built it up from a homesteading project into a full working farm. Our conversation centers on garlic: despite ideal growing conditions across the Midwest, most garlic sold in the U.S. is imported, and a soil-borne fungal disease can make land unable to grow garlic for 20 to 40 years once it takes hold. This is a risk Cottage Pastures is now soil-testing to get ahead of. We talk through how the farm accidentally ended up growing 20-plus garlic varieties, why the economics of commodity crops crowd out specialty ones like garlic, and what it costs to raise and ship chicken nationwide as a direct-to-consumer farm. Matthew also gets into why pre-orders rather than outside financing keep the farm's cash flow working, how he decides what to raise or cut as the operation grows, and what it looks like to raise kids alongside farm work without compelling them to help. Key topics: - Why most U.S. garlic and herbs are imported despite favorable growing conditions - A soil-borne fungal disease that can end garlic production on a piece of land for decades - How Cottage Pastures accidentally became a 20-plus variety garlic farm - The real cost of raising and processing chicken for direct-to-consumer sale - Grass-fed and grass-finished labeling: domestic vs. imported - Deciding what to raise, expand, or cut as the farm scales - Raising kids on the farm without compelling their help - Plans for a 2027 regional farm-share model in Cincinnati/Louisville Timestamps 0:00 – Intro + catch-up, farm rebrand to Cottage Pastures 2:30 – Why the family moved to Switzerland County, Indiana 15:00 – Daily schedule: full-time job plus farm work 19:00 – Garlic harvest race against incoming rain 27:00 – Cost of shipping meat nationwide 31:00 – Why most U.S. herbs and garlic are imported 44:00 – How the farm ended up with 20-plus garlic varieties 48:00 – Fungal disease risk and soil testing plans 58:00 – Real cost of raising and processing chicken 1:07:00 – Grass-fed and grass-finished: domestic vs. imported 1:12:00 – Deciding what to raise, expand, or cut 1:16:00 – Plans for a 2027 regional farm-share program 1:19:00 – Raising kids on the farm 1:26:00 – Closing thoughts on local food and staying hopeful Links: https://cottagepastures.com/about/ https://www.instagram.com/cottagepastures/ https://www.facebook.com/CottagePastures/?ref=PROFILE_EDIT_xav_ig_profile_page_web# https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-6-interview-with-carissa-a-year-in-review/id1700604702?i=1000628016269 The Regenaissance Podcast explores the people, farms, and ideas rebuilding our food system from the ground up.
Joel Hollinsworth runs Smoke River Ranch in Oklahoma, where he's built a herd-share community of about 40 families co-owning cattle together - a model that's taken his herd from 15 animals to 425 in four years. But, this could all be taken away, as he's fighting two subpoenas from the Oklahoma Department of Securities on claims his shares are unregistered financial securities. In this episode, Joel breaks down exactly how that herd-share structure works economically, and then walks through the legal fight he's currently in. He gets into why that claim doesn't hold up, who's helping him fight it (including USDA's Brooke Rollins' office and the American First Policy Institute), how they're fighting it, and what's at stake for other ranchers running similar models. Ultimately, this challenge threatens not only Joel's ranch, but the broader idea that people should be able to support and participate in local food systems without facing unnecessary regulatory burdens or government overreach. We also talk through the broader pattern of regulatory overreach in agriculture, and close with Joel's advice for young people looking to get into ranching - namely, don't try to do it alone. Key topics How the herd-share model works (co-ownership, calf splits, time horizons) The Oklahoma securities subpoenas and the case against them Legal support and path forward (Rollins' office, state legislation) Advice for young ranchers on doing this in community Timestamps 0:00 – Intro + catch-up 2:00 – Herd-share model origins 5:00 – Scaling to 425 head + genetics program 13:00 – First subpoena 17:30 – Second subpoena, securities claim explained 21:30 – Why it's not a security 26:00 – Comparisons to other ag regulatory fights 31:00 – Legal support and path forward 47:30 – Herd-share financials + time horizons 58:30 – Advice for young ranchers + close Connect with Joel Support Joel's Gofundme Smoke River Ranch Website Herdshares Apply for Herdshares X Last episode
Francine is a farmer, mom of four, and co-founder of the Mulberry Tree App - a farm-to-fork platform that lets consumers buy ingredients directly from local farms, with no listing fees, no middleman, and no data selling. She and her husband built it from scratch, self-funded, while navigating mold illness, alpha-gal syndrome in their family, and a bunch of scammers! They launched the app in January 2025. We talk through how the app works, why convenience is the real barrier between consumers and local farms, and what it actually takes to build something like this without outside funding or corporate backing. Enjoy :) What we talk about: - How the Mulberry Tree App works - farm-to-fork recipes, local farmer discovery, 24/7 farmers market - Why they don't charge farmers listing or marketing fees - Facebook censorship of farm products during COVID and why it pushed them to build their own platform - The grassroots marketing approach: vendor events, merchandise, one-on-one outreach - Alpha-gal syndrome - what it is, how misinformation is hurting people, and why the app has 300+ alpha-gal-safe recipes - Mold illness, raising four kids on a farm, and the tribulations behind building the business - The case for food sovereignty and why 77 farms closing per day is a national problem Timestamps: 0:00 — Intro 1:10 — What is the Mulberry Tree App? 6:45 — How it handles the convenience problem for consumers 12:00 — The origin story - a dream, a husband, and no coding experience 18:30 — Facebook censorship and why decentralization matters 26:00 — Grassroots marketing: vendor events, shirts, 400 downloads in two weeks 32:00 — Consumer patterns and what makes the app experience different 39:00 — The town square, courses, live animal listings, and cottage industry sellers 47:00 — Growing up on farms, moving to Arkansas, raising kids outside the system 54:00 — Mold illness, alpha-gal, and the year their son was on steroids 1:04:00 — Why most businesses fail and why they didn't 1:09:00 — Final thoughts: know your farmer, know your food How to Support Francine: Download the app via their website Connect with her via X
Ashley Armstrong is a first-generation regenerative farmer and co-founder of Strong Sistas, a health platform born out of her own autoimmune diagnosis. She built Angel Acres Farm in Southwest Michigan from the ground up, producing corn- and soy-free eggs, and went on to found Nourish Food Club - a cooperative network of small regenerative farms supplying clean, transparently raised food directly to families. What We Cover How Ashley went from graduate school to building a regenerative farm from scratch Why conventional chicken and pork now have a fatty acid profile closer to seed oils than real meat The 100-year shift in dietary fats and what it's doing to human metabolism How Nourish Food Club is reviving the farm cooperative model to support small farmers The bureaucratic bullying small farms face daily - and why the system is designed against them Timestamps 00:00 – Ashley's health crisis and path to farming 06:30 – Building Angel Acres from scratch 13:00 – Lessons from 12 years of competitive golf 18:45 – How Nourish Food Club works 26:00 – Why cheap and quality food can't coexist 33:30 – The 100-year shift away from saturated fat 42:00 – How corn and soy changed pork and chicken 49:30 – Phytonutrients in pasture-raised meat 56:00 – Why grocery labels are meaningless 01:03:00 – The problem with indoor farming 01:09:30 – Bureaucratic bullying and the jerky incident 01:17:00 – Why small farm costs are structurally higher 01:28:00 – Where consumers can start Links Website Instagram YouTube Regenaissance YouTube Channel About The Podcast: The Regenaissance Podcast explores the people, farms, and ideas rebuilding our food system from the ground up.
Baird Maple Syrup Farm in Vermont has been producing maple syrup for over a century. I visit with farm managers and sugar makers, Jacob and Jenna Baird. Jenna is the fifth generation of her family to work this land. What We Cover How maple syrup is made (and why most people have it wrong). The modern sugar bush (100+ miles of tubing, vacuum systems, and leak-chasing). Reading labels (how to spot fake or blended "maple" products at the grocery store). The full production season why it's a 6-week sprint, what starts it, and what ends it). Farm succession and conservation (how the Baird family is transitioning a 107-year-old farm to the next generation). Timestamps 00:00 — Welcome to Baird Farm: 107 years of maple and dairy history 02:00 — Why it's so hard to keep a farm across generations 08:00 — Sap vs. syrup: what you're actually pulling from the tree 09:00 — How to read a maple syrup label (and spot the fakes) 11:00 — How vacuum tubing works and why it doubles production 17:00 — How tapping actually works: drilling, spouts, and tree health 21:00 — The production season: a 6-week window from February to April 34:00 — Farm succession: leasing to own and navigating family transitions 43:00 — Reverse osmosis and the sugar house: how sap becomes syrup 47:00 — Sugar maple vs. red maple: how to tell them apart in the bush Connect with Jason & Baird Farm: Website Instagram Follow our Youtube Channel
Farmer Stories pulls the best conversations from The Regenaissance archive - real voices from American farmers on the systems, economics, and communities shaping food and land in the US. Triple Oaks Farm is a family-run regenerative farm in Virginia, raising pastured pigs and other livestock with a focus on food sovereignty, stewardship, and community. Timestamps: 00:00 – Biblical dominion and why he left USDA butchers 06:00 – PSE meat explained: what stress does to pork quality 09:00 – Electro stunning abuse and burn wounds on the meat 16:00 – USDA butcher threatens to ice him out as a customer 19:00 – The final straw: filthy shop, wrong pig returned, going full PMA Connect With Bryson: Website Instagram Follow the tour on YouTube
Tony Eash runs Triple E Farms in West Virginia with his brother Phil - a raw dairy and pasture-raised operation built from bare land, rooted in regenerative principles and faith in community. Farmer Stories pulls the best conversations from The Regenaissance archive - real voices from American farmers on the systems, economics, and communities shaping food and land in the US. Timestamps: 0:00 — Why farmers not making money is everyone's problem 1:00 — What on-farm milk testing actually costs 2:00 — Building a farm from scratch while working full-time 5:00 — Quitting time: 10:30pm. Wake up: 3:30am 6:30 — Why they walked away from pigs and chickens 8:00 — How the Amish moving in changed everything Connect with Triple E Website Instagram Watch full episode Follow the tour on YouTube
Ørsted, a Danish renewable energy giant, is trying to lease 4,000 acres of Casey's state grazing land in Arizona to build an industrial solar array - land that he depends on for winter range, without which the ranch isn't viable. Casey believes productive grazing land shouldn't be touched when there's no shortage of barren desert, parking lots, and brownfields that could take solar instead - and the companies could do it if they wanted to, they just won't because it's cheaper and easier to go after open range. Casey Murph is a fifth-generation cattle rancher in northeastern Arizona. This episode covers that fight, and what's at stake for generational ranching in America. 5 Key Topics: How Ørsted is attempting to take Casey's winter range for industrial solar Why solar should go on parking lots and brownfields, not productive grazing land Ørsted's existing Arizona install powers a Meta data centre, not homes The collapse of independent beef operations and what it's done to supply and price Casey's strategy: state land pressure, political allies, and buying time Timestamps: 00:00 - Casey intro 02:00 - The Ørsted solar threat 05:00 - Foreign-owned conglomerates 09:00 - Urban disconnection from food 11:00 - Where solar should go instead 18:00 - Political strategy and allies 19:00 - Ørsted's Pinal County install: homes promised, Meta data centre delivered 28:00 - Beef supply consolidation 31:00 - Feedlots and grass-finishing 36:00 - Approval timeline and how to help Connect with Casey: X
Ben and Hannah Yoder run Savage Mountain Farm, a 150-acre diversified, full-diet CSA on the Pennsylvania–Maryland line, rooted in Amish–Mennonite heritage and natural methods, raising produce, mushrooms, and pastured livestock while blending regenerative farming with homeschooling, community engagement, and a family-centered lifestyle. Farmer Stories pulls the best conversations from The Regenaissance archive - real voices from American farmers on the systems, economics, and communities shaping food and land in the US. Timestamps 00:00:00 Why they homeschool 00:01:30 School as fear, not learning 00:03:00 Preserving curiosity over teaching content 00:05:30 Disconnection from food as root cause 00:06:30 Age segregation & lost intergenerational culture 00:08:00 No screens - kids who can entertain themselves 00:10:00 Modeling self-sovereignty on the farm 00:11:30 Owning your day - the case for farming Connect with Savage Mountain: Website Instagram Follow the tour on YouTube
Patrick Samuels is the founder of Sunnyside Egg Co., a Kentucky-based regenerative egg operation built on mobile coops and Amish/Mennonite farming partnerships. A former US Army Special Forces officer with no agricultural background, Patrick stumbled into farming through pandemic-era homesteading, worked inside one of the largest pasture-raised egg brands, and launched Sunnyside in December 2024 to scale what he calls the only truly regenerative egg operation in the country. 5 Key Topics The pasture-raised label scam Mobile coops as the real standard Scaling regen without selling out The corn/soy-free feed debate Transparency over certification Timestamps [00:00] Intro & egg price controversy [01:30] Patrick's military-to-farming path [04:00] Inside a "pasture-raised" barn [07:00] Why certifiers are grifters [11:00] The Vital Farms breakdown [18:00] Retail vs. decentralisation debate [27:00] Corn & soy-free feed complexity [37:00] Regenerative certification loopholes [44:00] Sunnyside's growth timeline [01:01:00] On-farm operations & rotation Links Website Instagram
Brad Wiley's family has farmed the same land since 1790. In this episode on our Farmer Stories series, he share shis wonder at the invisible web beneath his fields - and what it means to carry 200 years of family memory on a single piece of ground. Farmer Stories pulls the best conversations from The Regenaissance archive - real voices from American farmers on the systems, economics, and communities shaping food and land in the US. Timestamps 00:00 — The biological web that makes Tesla look simple 01:00 — Locust trees feeding cover crops across an entire field 03:30 — Cover crops and grazing replace the lime truck 05:30 — The moment Brad walked away from $30k in cash rent 07:30 — The manure spreader sinks into dead soybean soil 11:00 — 200 years of family memory on one piece of ground 22:30 — Life is designed to be a struggle Link to the full episode: Spotify Apple YouTube Connect with Brad: Otter Creek Farm Follow the tour on YouTube
Joel Hollingsworth runs Smoke River Ranch in northeast Oklahoma. This conversation from our Farmer Stories Series talks about why Joel believes we need to keep manufcaturing in America & why Oklahoma's culture of self-governance is a cultural model the country can build around. Farmer Stories pulls the best conversations from The Regenaissance archive - real voices from American farmers on the systems, economics, and communities shaping food and land in the US. Timestamps 0:00 — Why build in America, not abroad 1:30 — The federalist structure and America's creation story 4:00 — Oklahoma's culture of self-governance 6:30 — Regen ag as a churn factory 7:30 — Triffin dilemma and hollowing out of domestic production 9:00 — How crop insurance locks out new farmers 11:00 — Foreign cattle and the 30% currency gap 12:30 — Land as money, not farmland 14:00 — Farm credit weaponized (Dustin Kittle story) 15:30 — Average rancher age 58.5 17:00 — What rural collapse looks like 18:30 — Sovereign debt and centralizing risk Links: Full podcast episode: - YouTube - Spotify - Apple Connect with Joel: - Smoke River Ranch Website - X
Gunthorp Farms is a 3rd generation pork and poultry operation in northern Indiana with on-farm USDA-inspected processing. This tour covers the full farm from farrowing paddocks to kill floor, smokehouse, and wastewater treatment. Watch alongside the full podcast episode for the full story. Key Topics Adaptive multi-paddock grazing in practice 50-paddock farrowing system and piglet management Building and running a USDA-inspected on-farm processing facility USDA enforcement: how small and large plants are treated differently Constructed wetland wastewater treatment What You'll Learn How paddock size and recovery time shift by season What to ask when you visit a pig farm What it costs to build on-farm processing and where permitting breaks down How HACCP regulation actually gives small plants flexibility if you understand it Why scale changes food safety risk in ways inspection policy doesn't reflect Connect w Greg & Gunthorp Farms Website X Instagram Linkedin Full podcast interview Follow the tour on YouTube Timestamps 00:00:00 Adaptive multi-paddock grazing explained 00:03:00 Pig health, thermoregulation, and antibiotic-free management 00:05:00 What consumers should ask when visiting a pig farm 00:15:00 Energy-free waterers and farrowing paddock design 00:27:00 Kill floor overview and processing plant history 00:36:00 Permitting, wastewater, and navigating USDA regulation 00:45:00 Food safety: small vs large plant accountability 00:51:00 USDA enforcement disparities and advocacy 01:02:00 Packaging equipment walkthrough 01:13:00 Smokehouse construction and constructed wetland wastewater system
Charles and Heather Maude are 5th generation ranchers in South Dakota running a direct-to-consumer beef and pork operation built on land their family has worked for over 115 years. This tour covers the full operation - cattle, hogs, grain storage, equipment, and the irrigated river bottom at the center of a federal land dispute that drew national attention. Watch this alongside the full-length podcast episode for the complete story behind what you're seeing on the ground. Key Topics Direct-to-consumer beef and pork - how it actually works Cattle finishing and feeder calf production Farrowing crates - the honest case for and against Why feed quality determines meat quality in hogs Grain storage, forage systems, and matching stocking rate to grass The disputed river bottom and the federal land dispute What You'll Learn How a small ranch runs multiple livestock enterprises on limited acres Why weaning date is a range management decision, not just an animal one What farrowing crates are actually for and why a skeptic changed her mind How monogastric and ruminant digestion produce fundamentally different meat What 115 years of private land management looks like - and what happens when it's challenged Why boundary disputes in the rural West are common, and criminal indictments are not Connect with Charles & Heather Website Instagram Facebook Timestamps 00:00:00 — Introduction and context 00:02:00 — Cattle paddock: finished beef and this year's steer calves 00:04:00 — Weaning early — a drought and range management decision 00:06:00 — Grain bins: what they store and how they work 00:08:00 — Farrowing facility: why the crates exist 00:13:00 — Hog nutrition: simple stomach vs. ruminant digestion 00:15:00 — Pasture-raised pork: why quality and finish time differ 00:18:00 — Legacy equipment: grandfather's tractors and the 1948 truck 00:24:00 — The fence line: terrain, flooding, and where fences actually go 00:25:00 — The Forest Service dispute begins 00:27:00 — No written violation, no due process, criminal charges 00:28:00 — Working toward resolution: the Small Tracks Act 00:30:00 — Secretary Rollins, the temporary use agreement, and what changed 00:33:00 — The survey stakes, the crop damage, and the escalation 00:37:00 — What the land trade proposal was and why it was rejected 00:39:00 — What this case means for ranchers and private landowners 00:41:00 — Final reflections
Joel Hollingsowrth has spent years doing something most people wouldn't dare try - building a regenerative cattle ranch from scratch, with no money, no inherited land, and no roadmap. And yet, it has become one of the pioneering regenerative farms in the nation. Joel is joined by David, who left an Ivy League PhD program to ranch in rural Mexico before landing here, and Daniel, the herd manager responsible for translating Joel's system into daily practice. Together they walk us through mob grazing at extreme stocking densities, a heritage genetics breeding program built for a world without antibiotics, virtual fencing technology, and a community ownership model designed to solve the financing problem that stops most regenerative farmers before they start. This is a conversation about what it really takes (the stubbornness, the financial creativity, the ecological thinking, and the human community) to build something lasting and that works. KEY TOPICS Ultra-high-density mob grazing and how it mimics bison impact to restore soil and seed banks Heritage breed genetics (Piney Woods, composite bulls) and building "zombie apocalypse" cattle Virtual fencing technology and its potential to transform daily ranch labour The herd share financial model and how community capital makes regenerative ranching viable Reviving rural community through food sovereignty, nutrient density, and local economic energy WHAT YOU'LL LEARN Why stocking density, not just rotation, is the key lever in regenerative grazing How cows' hooves act as seed planters and why "weeds" like thistles are actually healing the soil What rumen fill and manure consistency tell a herd manager about animal health and forage quality Why cattle genetics matter as much as grazing method, and what "adapting to the system" looks like How Joel financed his ranch with no money down, and why the herd share model is a blueprint others could follow CONNECT WITH JOEL Smoke River Ranch Website X TIMESTAMPS 00:00 – Welcome to Oklahoma: Joel, David & the Smoke River story 08:00 – What's broken in rural America and what Smoke River is rebuilding 12:00 – Fresh Rx Oklahoma: food as medicine and local supply chains 15:00 – How Joel got started: a $1/year lease, no capital, and a Twitter DM 19:00 – Virtual fencing: digital paddocks and 60 hours of saved labour per week 21:00 – Heritage breeds: Piney Woods cows, composite bulls, and the genetics program 25:00 – Mob grazing explained: why five moves a day and what stocking density actually means 31:00 – Herd management with Daniel: rumen fill, manure scoring, and daily cattle metrics 36:00 – Sick cow protocols and building a self-selecting genetics program 45:00 – Weeds as healers: thistles, pioneer species, and soil succession
Fascinating episode, touring a regenerative bison and pecan farm! A first for me. A bit about the ranch & tour... TLC ranch is located in Souther Oklahoma. It's ran by Cindy Sheffield (who tours us today) and her husband Tread and their two daughters and husbands, where they raise bison and manage a large organic pecan orchard. The ranch began in 1997 when the family purchased land that many others had passed on, seeing potential where others did not. What started as weekend trips for hunting and time outdoors gradually turned into a long-term commitment to steward the land. Over the years the family developed ponds, trails, and eventually planted thousands of pecan trees, which are now grown using organic and regenerative practices. More recently they fulfilled a long-standing goal of bringing bison back to the property. Today the ranch combines pecan production with bison grazing, reflecting the family’s focus on building a working farm that supports both the land and the people who depend on it. What we cover: Starting a bison ranch after decades of owning land Managing parasites and animal health on pasture Rotational grazing and integrating chickens behind bison The economics and risks of pecan farming Floods, disease, and the unpredictable realities of agriculture Connect with the farm: Website Facebook Instagram Regenaissance Youtube Channel Timestamps: 00:00:00 Regulations and differences between bison and cattle 00:02:20 How TLC Ranch began and why the family chose bison 00:03:40 Flooding, parasites, and losing animals in the herd 00:05:00 Transitioning to rotational grazing for parasite control 00:06:30 Plans to integrate meat chickens behind the bison 00:08:00 How bison grazing behavior differs from cattle 00:12:50 Handling bison and working animals through the chute system 00:17:00 Field harvesting a bison and the reality of on-farm slaughter 00:19:30 The challenge of finding truly clean food and produce 00:24:00 Managing a pecan orchard and harvesting the crop 00:27:00 Weather risks, floods, and the economics of farming 00:29:00 Why consumers need to understand the realities farmers face
Caden and Patrick run Cable Family Farm in Piedmont, North Carolina, where they manage a small 80 bed no-till market garden along with pasture-raised eggs and chickens. Caden started the farm at 18, and then a few years later was able to convince Patrick to join him. Their main concern starting the farm was how would they make money? This tour shows how they produce their crops and animals in a healthy, sustainable way, along with their marketing and production approach to creating a viable small-scale farm production. It was fascinating and productive to hear from these young farmers how they approach farming, why their not organic, the systems they run to stay viable and efficient, and understanding why they chose this career path over everything else (hint, farming food can be incredibly meaningful). Key Topics Building an 80 bed no-till market garden from grass Tools and systems for small-scale vegetable farming Pasture-raised eggs and chickens Organic practices without certification Economics and tradeoffs on small farms Connect with Caden & Patrick: Instagram Youtube Other links Timestamps 00:00:00 Introduction to Cable Family Farm 00:01:00 Building a no-till market garden 00:06:00 Broadforking and minimal soil disturbance 00:10:00 Weather risks and crop failures 00:14:00 Time and cost of starting a garden 00:19:00 Organic practices vs certification 00:23:00 Simple greenhouse and seed starting 00:27:00 Egg layers and rotational grazing 00:32:00 Raising pasture-raised chickens 00:35:00 Why chickens are healthier on pasture
About Rehoboth & Josh & Jessica: This was a really fun tour. The farm has an interesting backstory. It was initially just a backyard chicken hobbyist farm, and then after feeding themselves and friends, they saw the health impact and the localized food impact - then began trading meat for land access. Josh spent years during 2015-18 waiting for the right property top open up, with multiple failed attempts, before securing the current farm in 2018. They launched full-time in 2019, saw rapid growth during 2020 with that demand spike, and then developed the farm into what it is today, a regenerative grazing operation and direct-to-consumer product platform. Neither Joss or Jessica grew up farming, but health concerns, lack of localized food option and expense of quality food triggered their shift to farming. They have a faith-driven vision for the farm, and “Rehoboth” means “God made room”. Jessica leads customer engagement, and Josh leads the systems and operations on the farm. You can connect to Josh and Jessica via the links below: Website Instagram Key topics & Timestamps: 00:00:00 Tractor use and cutting pasture for regrowth 00:01:00 Turkey shipping losses and hatchery challenges 00:03:00 Why turkey poults are fragile in the brooder 00:04:00 Thanksgiving turkey pickup on farm 00:05:00 Broiler setup and water system improvements 00:08:30 Compost piles and feeding pumpkins to livestock 00:10:30 Rotating pigs and natural mineral foraging 00:14:00 Outdoor pig genetics vs confinement genetics 00:22:00 Moving broilers to build soil nitrogen 00:24:00 Multi-species grazing and parasite management
Our farm tour of Tony Eash's pasture raised pork, chicken and beef farm. Tony grew up farming alongside his brother Phil in West Virginia, learning animal care and haymaking at a young age. After the sudden loss of their father, the brothers leaned on their Mennonite community for support and chose to continue farming. Tony tours us through his farm, his way of life, and you're able to see how much he cares about farming, the land and animals, and the importance of delivering quality food to consumers. He's had a few battles with the government to get us his great food! All is shared in the farm tour. Enjoy. Link to our full podcast episode with Tony as well: Spotify Apple Key Topics Direct-to-consumer raw milk and nationwide shipping Soil temperature, grass recovery, and grazing management Farm economics, burnout, and scaling sustainably Regulation, labeling, and transparency challenges Genetics, pasture diversity, and animal health decisions What You’ll Learn Why covered soil stays cooler and supports biology The difference between grass recovery and true rest How raw milk is tested, bottled, and shipped Why many dairies fail despite high production How farmers adapt systems to survive long-term Connect with Triple E Website Instagram Follow the tour on YouTube Timestamps 00:00 — Why direct-to-consumer food systems matter 06:40 — Shipping meat and milk across the U.S. 14:30 — Raw milk testing, bottling, and sanitation 23:10 — Regulation, labeling, and legal pressure 31:40 — Dairy economics and why production fails farmers 41:20 — Genetics, grass-fed transitions, and herd losses 50:30 — Soil temperature, grazing height, and cooling livestock 54:10 — Rest vs recovery and pasture decision-making
