Welcome to the final installment of our podcast series recorded in Louisiana. In this episode, we speak to two farming families, reflect on the highlights of our trip, and discuss regenerative agriculture, black bears, the environmental benefits of cotton tighty-whities, and more. Join us as we visit a multi-crop farm near the Mississippi River in Morganza which has recently opened its doors to tourists. Matt and Marty Frey and their families grow soybeans, rice, and sugarcane, raise cattle, produce hay, and harvest crawfish. We chat with them about what it takes to run a 365-day-a-year operat ..read more

12-minute listen   Louisiana’s coastal wetlands, which cover approximately 11% of the state, are under threat. Natural and manmade factors have already claimed vast swathes of the coastline, and scientific models predict that even a moderate land loss scenario over the next 50 years could put an additional 2,250 square miles at risk.   The good news is that work is already underway to adapt and preserve Louisiana’s coast in the face of future environmental change. In the latest episode of This is U.S. Sustainability, we travel to the Center for River Studies in Baton Rouge ..read more

Louisiana is famous for many things – its Creole cuisine, bayous, alligators, and jazz scene are legendary. But, unbeknown to many, the state is also an agricultural powerhouse, the premier gateway for U.S. exports, and a hub for research and innovation. In this, the first of four episodes recorded on location, we share the story of sustainable Louisiana agriculture and trade, from the cotton fields and sugarcane rows to the crawfish ponds and the mighty Mississippi. To set the scene, we chat with Dr. Mike Strain, Commissioner of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, about the ..read more

In the United States, around 98 percent of farms are family owned and operated. And many of these farmers want to continue their family tradition by handing down their operation in better shape to the next generation. That takes hard work, dedication, and a continuous focus on doing what’s best for the land and the business. In the latest episode of This is U.S. Sustainability, we hear from two multi-generational farmers – an eleventh-generation grains farmer from Maryland and the owner of a centennial cattle farm in Louisiana – about how they have moved with the times while staying ..read more

When it comes to capturing and storing carbon, there is nothing better on land than forests, says Professor Tony D’Amato, a silviculture expert from the University of Vermont and guest on This is U.S. Sustainability. The challenge is ensuring that forests stay as forests, he adds.   According to Paul Catanzaro, a professor and state extension forester from the University of Massachusetts, the issue is compounded by an aging demographic of private landowners who own around 70% of forests in New England.  “The decisions that these current landowners make about what will happen to their ..read more

Did you know that if food waste were a country, it would be the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, or that a significant amount of food is lost before it leaves the farm? In this episode, we take a closer look at how the U.S. food supply chain is reducing, upcycling, re-using, and eliminating food and farm waste. We speak to Dr. Josette Lewis, Chief Scientific Officer at the Almond Board of California about the almond industry's research into new, productive uses for those parts of the plant that might otherwise be thrown away, such as the hulls, the shells, and ..read more

What is soil heath? Why is it important? And how can it be improved? Tune in to the latest episode of This is U.S. Sustainability to find out. We speak to Professor Michelle Wander, a soil scientist at the University of Illinois whose entire career has been dedicated to understanding soil stewardship, and we hear from two award-winning farmers: Cotton farmer Barry Evans, Field to Market’s Farmer of the Year A fourth-generation cotton grower in the Texas panhandle, the heart of America’s historic Dust Bowl, Barry has experienced the dangers of blowing topsoil first hand. He shares his resilient ..read more

In this episode, we take a deep dive into the issue of water conservation. We travel from Weiner, Arkansas to the central valley of California to find out how some of America’s farmers and producers are rising to the challenge of climate change and extreme weather by implementing water efficiency measures on their land. We speak to an Arkansas rice farmer who describes his approach to irrigation as a giant mathematical equation and hear from a California almond grower who says that the biggest dilemma that she faces is how to harness the rain when it comes. Tune in now to hear more about the i ..read more

Technology and innovation go under the microscope as we consider the differing approaches between the U.S. and Europe and how technology could play a major role in sustainable food production. We talk GMOs, the cost benefits of variable rate technologies and how farmers everywhere want access to the best tools but sometimes politics stand in the way. Tune in now to hear from guests including: ·        Monte Petersen, a soybean farmer from North Dakota and a strong advocate for GMOs ·        Peter Hvidsten, a wheat farmer from Northwest Minnesota who uses ..read more

Just because the U.S. does things differently doesn’t mean that its animal care practices aren’t as robust as more regulated countries, as our experts explain.  We also feature a real-life example of animal care in action, from a cattle barn that offers the ultimate in cow comfort – from waterbed mattresses to a milking robot. Tune in for expert views and on-the-ground experiences from: Tina Hinchley, a dairy farmer from Cambridge, Wisconsin Cheyenne McEndaffer from the U.S. Meat Export Federation, and a former food safety animal welfare officer Tiffany Lee, Director of Animal Care and C ..read more