Contact: Jamie Johnson
Stories for Change – The Diversity, Hope, and Resilience of Our Food System
Small Farms Radio is a monthly podcast by the Cornell Small Farms Program, that serves as a hub of conversation for New York farmers and provides a window into the state’s small-scale agricultural world for the broader public. We center stories of the diversity, hope, and resilience of our farmers and food system.
For more than two decades, the Cornell Small Farms Program has supported small farms across New York State and beyond. We have seen how farmers work tirelessly to keep their farms viable in a system that was not built for them. We have seen an increasingly diverse group of people who dream of farming try to navigate land access. There are so many stories scattered across our state, just waiting to be told. Through our Small Farms Radio, we share the stories our farmers: why they do this work, what they struggle with, and their visions for the future.
We highlight stories of hope and resilience around climate change, food sovereignty, and building diversity in our local food systems. Our podcast episodes convene farmers, ag educators, and others in the food system to share their thoughts about where they think the future of agriculture should be heading and what they’re doing to move it in the right direction.
Small Farms Radio is produced by the Cornell Small Farms Program, with contributions from farmers, educators within Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE), faculty and researchers with the Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), and other service providers across the Northeast. The podcast is supported by a Rural Humanities Grant, which focuses on learning from rural New York’s histories, cultures, challenges, and futures.
We welcome anyone who has a story to share.
News and Updates
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Head, Hands and Heart: Hidden Pearls Farm & Healing Center
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I was so grateful to spend a summer afternoon sitting with Brett Grant in his farmhouse kitchen, learning about the spectacular emergence of his dream, and to share his story with all of you. Brett Grant first heard whisperings of a calling toward growing food, community and healing back in his childhood on a trip…
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Fungi on the Farm: Small Farms Radio Explores Indoor Mushroom Production
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What does it take to grow mushrooms indoors? To answer this question, our agroforestry and mushroom specialist, Connor Youngerman, takes podcast listeners on a tour of Queens, venturing into nondescript buildings and ducking into basement hatches to discover the innovative world of indoor mushroom production. On the most recent episode of Small Farms Radio, Youngerman…
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Fungi in the City: Small Farms Radio Talks Urban Mushroom Life Cycle
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How does a mushroom move through the city? On the most recent episode of the Small Farms Radio podcast, our agroforestry and mushroom specialist Connor Youngerman learned that it’s compost collection vans — not subways or taxi cabs — that shape the journeys of urban mushrooms. With the help of farmers, chefs, and business owners,…
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Farm Transitions and Transformations: Small Farms Radio in Conversation with Northland Sheep Dairy
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Starting a farm is difficult. But what do you do when you want to retire from one? In the newest episode of our Small Farms Radio podcast, our Associate Director of Distance Learning Erica Frenay discussed farm transitions and retirement with Maryrose Livingston and Donn Hewes of Northland Sheep Dairy. Through their story of farm…
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Founding the Commons: Small Farms Radio Dives into West Branch Land Access Project
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The last episode of the Small Farms Radio podcast spotlighted West Branch Commons, an innovative land access project that allows beginning farmers to lease affordable farmland with built-in market logistics support. We heard from Tom Hutson, whose family owned the West Branch land for four generations, and why he chose to stop dairy farming and…
Contact Small Farms Radio
For more information about Small Farms Radio, contact our multimedia producer, Jamie Johnson, at jpj46@cornell.edu.
Calling Into the Podcast
Small Farms Radio invites listeners to call in and share their stories, reactions to episodes, and answers to the questions we pose. If you are interested in sharing your voice, and potentially being included in a future episode, email Jamie.
Join the Small Farms Newsletter
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