agri-Culture

Any time you put the word “summit” in something, it mentally becomes bigger than you previously thought.  A conference on steroids, in most people’s minds.  And when you do an ag-related summit in California, that notion of grandeur can be well deserved, even when you take away the size of the state itself.  The sheer amount of agricultural exports that the producers in California send to other parts of the U.S. and the world is st...

In what started out as a May Day date (that’s a truckload of compost in Rick and Elara’s world), a visit to San Pasqual Valley Soils struck black gold (again, compost).  

In one of the most fortuitous spontaneous Backyard Green Films conversations yet, an extremely knowledgeable dirt farmer by the name of Craig Kolodge, PhD (“Dr. K.” to pretty much everyone) gave an impromptu interview, surrounded by towers of amendment and beeping ...

On today's podcast we meet up with Brook Sarson from CatchingH2O.  We followed Brook as she took a passel of learners and UCSD's Director of the Bioregional Center, Keith Pezzoli, PhD, on a tour of a greywater and rain catchment project that her company had recently installed. 

Water management is a favorite topic for us here at Backyard Green Films.  With efforts like these, even if April brings few showers, we still have...

We’ve been hunkering down for the last few months now on the traveling side of our Backyard Green Films universe.  2024 was a doozy of a year for us in many respects, so we had to take a few moments to catch our breath this winter. 

Enrique Guerra, also known as “Kiko,” is our guest today, and he’s pretty much royalty in Texas Longhorn Cattle circles.  Kiko is the son of another Enrique Guerra – who was always known as Enrique, and ...

Now, if you hear me talk about Rhinebeck, you might think today's guest is going to focus on wool. Nope! Not really. Sheep, yes, hair yes, but mostly wool, no. Our podcast guest today is a lovely man named Brent Zimmerman, and as I introduce him I'm kind of hard pressed to call him one thing, though you could definitely call him a sheep farmer.

Links:
https://www.facebook.com/limekilnfarmNY
https://sheepa...

Most people commemorate Thanksgiving today, and all things associated with this holiday.  There will be some celebrating family, some marking the day with food, and some praying at the altar of football.  Some will be remembering the Pilgrims, and the earliest arrival of Europeans bringing colonists and their livestock to North America.  NOT!

Stephen Monroe schools us on a common misconception about the domestic animals that were tr...

We were in the mood for something sweet, so we thought it was time for a visit to the sugar shack. We packed up our gear and headed back east to Westbrook, CT to our friends John and Bonnie Hall at Maple Breeze Farm. There we saw the whole process of making that sweet maple syrup.  Just in time for the maple glazed ham at Thanksgiving.

Links:
https://www.facebook.com/p/Maple-Breeze-Farm-100064517539226

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October is not only a great time to celebrate fiber (what with the Lambtown and Rhinebeck festivals, just to name a few), but it’s also Breast Cancer Awareness month.  How do we get both things in one podcast?  Knitted Knockers!

Barbara Demorest is the Feisty Lady with Fortitude who took a horrible event in life and made it into something that has helped millions to cope with the ravages of breast cancer.  We hope you tune in to see...

Every once in a while you meet a person you’ve read about in a book.  It might not be the actual person, but is the personification of a character that is so accurate, it might as well have jumped out straight from the pages.  Today, our podcast guest is one of those.  

James Metcalfe lives on Hardenclough Farm, “in the heart of the beautiful Peak District [with a] flock of pedigree Cheviots & Luing cattle grazing under the shad...

We’re back from the North American Hill Sheep Show in Escanaba, Michigan.  This inaugural event showcased some British Hill Breed Sheep and some not-quite-Hill Breed Sheep, of course, but there was more to see, hear and smell.  Lovely vendor booths with soft woolens and fragrant soaps in abundance, sheepdog trials with panting puppies, food trucks (with some mighty fine brisket, thank you sir), and ice cream that is famous across a...

Where do we go for fun?  Well, all kinds of places, but fish hatcheries, farm shows, and livestock auctions are on the list.  

Today, we’re taking you back to jolly old England (almost Scotland, actually), to a little town called Hexham.  It lies at the foot of Northumberland National Park and a stone’s throw (literally) from Hadrian’s Wall.  This is as charming a hamlet as you might ever imagine.  It has lovely bridges, excellent t...

Located in the southern portion of Scotland, Lanark might be best known in agricultural circles for those big guys from the area around the River Clyde, and to history buffs as the first place local resident William Wallace drew his sword in earnest.  We love heavy horses with a passion, but the sheep need to have their day, too.  

Last September, Lanark Agricultural Centre saw Shetland Sheep and members of all sizes and colors comi...

In life, there are talkers and doers.  Of the doers, many of them have a characteristic known as “True Grit,” and today’s podcast guests are in that category.

Millie and Stacy Bradshaw own Dry Creek Livestock, and a few hours north of Salt Lake City, these two intrepid souls are building a place to call home on the windswept plains and low hills of Utah.  On their ranch you’ll find a range of critters, including goats (for meat and ...

It’s time for Horse Progress Days!  It’s one of our favorite events of the year, and this July it was held in Lancaster County, PA - just in time for the height of a national heatwave.  Everyone soldiered on through, though, with nary a complaint to be found from this stoic bunch.  

It was a good thing everyone pushed through the heat until the close of the day, because the HPD organizers saved some of the best for last (o...

It’s time for a talk – a Shepherd’s Talk, that is.  Every year, the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival has this popular segment available for shepherds, wannabe shepherds, ecologists, historians, and people who are just plain interested in fiber production from the ground up.  Today’s talk is with Erin Bradt, of Helder Herdwyck Farm, where she talks about not just these fantastic little primitive sheep, but also about importati...

On this podcast episode Bruce Farr of Farrview South Farm, American Milking Devon Cattle breeder (and a teamster!), sits down with John Hall, the President of the American Milking Devon Cattle Association. They discuss the history of the breed, characteristics they appreciate, and some non-traditional ideas for a very traditional breed.

If you want to see the man himself (and the twinkle in his eye), head on over to our Yo...

This week, we’re speaking with Theresa Walker of Great Bay Wool Works and her lovely natural-colored ovine assistant Hazel (okay, so hubby Patrick did a little bit of modeling, too.).  We learn about natural-colored sheep, geography in New England, a bit of why New England and Old England feel familiar to each other, and much more. 

This is one of those where Rick had to keep saying, “Stop patting the sheep, Elara.”  We t...

We’re going down memory lane, and back to the beginning of all things for today’s podcast.  In this case, it means the start of something that has grown into a behemoth in the world of Agriculture.  Originally from the shores of Scotland near Aberdeen, the cattle breed known as “Angus” has become the powerhouse breed by which all things are measured.  

 Today we’re going back to the roots of the breed that has become synonymous with...