The Good Dirt: Sustainability Explained

This episode initially aired on June 19th, 2021We have a special bonus episode for you this week in celebration of our newest national holiday-- Juneteenth! Mary and Emma reunite with author, historian and farmer Tony Cohen for an exploration into the history of Juneteenth and the holiday’s complex folklore and origins. Tony takes us back in time to examine how this monumental declaration of freedom spread in a variety of ways depending on the geographic, economic and social landscape of the time.Mary, Emma and Tony pause to reflect upon what freedom means and looks like in the modern era and why society continues to resist a hard look at injustice. Tony points to how altering behavior can feel like giving up our own freedoms and comforts and reminds us that the fair trade movement has deeply historic roots. He also reflects upon the transition from enslavement to the tenant farming system and points to how that system affects us still today. The trio grapples with some hard truths about freedom itself and acknowledges the work still left to be done. Tony shares how he celebrates Juneteenth at Button Farm and rejoices in community as he reflects upon the precious ability to gather and take new found enthusiasm into the world.  Let’s get into the episode:1:30 - Emma introduces this week’s special episode3:00 - Tony Cohen on the history of Juneteenth15:00 - The transition into freedom20:00 - The shift to “waged” labor and the evolution of slavery28:00 - Fair trade31:00 - Local emancipation41:00 - Celebrating Juneteenth42:30 - The happenings at Button Farm48:00 - Creating Community Things Mentioned: Button FarmOprah’s visit The Menare FoundationHipCamp - Camp at Button Farm Anthony CohenThe Good Dirt - Episode 31 The AG Reserve - Montgomery County The Underground railroad in Montgomery County, Maryland: A history and driving guideJuneteenth becomes a federal holiday Lift Every Voice and SingDC Emancipation Day Montgomery County Historical Society 13th Amendment 14th Amendment15th AmendmentStay in touch & keep the conversation going:Have thoughts on this episode? A question for Mary and Emma? We'd love to hear from you — send us a message at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at 443-459-1950. Tell us what the good dirt means to you.And stay tuned — Jill and Mary and Emma have so much more to explore together. Part Two is coming.🌻 About Lady Farmer:Subscribe to The ALMANAC, a Lady Farmer Newsletter & CommunityVisit Our WebsiteFollow @weareladyfarmer on InstagramEmail us at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail! Call 443-459-1950 and ask a question or share what the good dirt means to you!Original music by John Kingsley. Editing and podcast production by Lady Farmer. The Good Dirt podcast is proudly part of the Connectd Podcasts network.🌿 The Good Dirt Producers:Wendy GrayAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Jill Demers is the founder of ReWild Ranch in Montana, a one-of-a-kind regenerative farm, wellness destination, and educational space, rooted in the one question she's been asking for over two decades: Why are Americans so disconnected from their food — and at what cost? As a regenerative farmer and certified nutrition therapy practitioner, Jill has built ReWild as an answer to that question — a place where the farm is the center point, and guests leave changed in ways that they will never forget.This conversation is rich, wide-ranging, and deeply resonant with everything Lady Farmer stands for. It's also the kind of talk that makes you want to go outside and put your hands in the dirt.In this episode, you'll hear about:Mary's return to growing her own vegetables — tomatoes, seeds, and all — as she and Emma transition away from their longtime CSAEmma's reflections on joining a new CSA and what food rhythms look like in a young familyJill's origin story: childhood memories of fresh-shucked corn, a lifelong obsession with food and ecology, and graduate school research on the Dust BowlWhat ReWild Ranch is — a regenerative farm, glamping destination, and women's retreat space in the Bitterroot Valley of MontanaThe three ways guests can experience ReWild, from passive glamping to immersive hands-on workshops and women's retreatsHow Jill's son Alder's autism diagnosis became the catalyst for her deep dive into nutrition therapy — and how dietary and lifestyle changes led to the eventual loss of his clinical diagnosisThe Dust Bowl: what caused it, what it revealed about soil health and industrial agriculture, and why Jill argues we may be living through something even more catastrophic todayGlyphosate, the gut microbiome, and the parallel between soil health and human healthThe "60 harvests" statistic — where it comes from and what it means for the future of foodWhy Jill believes feeding the world is not America's job — and what a "checkerboard" model of small-scale agriculture could look like insteadThe concept of "accidental education" and why ReWild is designed to connect people to food, nature, and each other in ways they can't unlearnWendell Berry, John Steinbeck, and the long literary tradition of writing about humanity's relationship with the landThe genuine constraints of local, seasonal eating vs the cultural reality of a food system that allows almost limitless food choices — and how to navigate that without guilt or rigidityResources & Links Mentioned:ReWild Ranch — Jill's regenerative farm, glamping, and retreat space in MontanaKiss the Ground — documentary film on regenerative agriculture and soil healthThe Nature-Embedded Mind by Julia Plevin — mentioned by Mary; a psychotherapist's exploration of humanity's innate connection to natureZach Bush, MD — physician and researcher who speaks extensively on the shikimate pathway and glyphosate's effects on the microbiomeWendell Berry — essayist and farmer whose writing on agriculture and community Mary has been revisitingThe Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck — Jill's graduate thesis subject; discussed as an early work of ecological criticismMy Story as Told by Water by David James Duncan — mentioned by Jill as a formative readStay in touch & keep the conversation going:Have thoughts on this episode? A question for Mary and Emma? We'd love to hear from you — send us a message at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at 443-459-1950. Tell us what the good dirt means to you.And stay tuned — Jill and Mary and Emma have so much more to explore together. Part Two is coming.🌻 About Lady Farmer:Subscribe to The ALMANAC, a Lady Farmer Newsletter & CommunityVisit Our WebsiteFollow @weareladyfarmer on InstagramEmail us at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail! Call 443-459-1950 and ask a question or share what the good dirt means to you!Original music by John Kingsley. Editing and podcast production by Lady Farmer. The Good Dirt podcast is proudly part of the Connectd Podcasts network.🌿 The Good Dirt Producers:Wendy GrayAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week, in honor of International Compost Awareness Week, we're joined by Ben Parry, CEO of Compost Crew — a small but mighty business in the DC metropolitan area helping thousands of households and businesses turn their food waste into something good for the soil. Ben's story is a quiet revolution in itself: a journey from renewable energy to regenerative soil, from powering the grid to feeding the ground beneath our feet.In this conversation, we dig into how composting is transforming what we throw away into a vital resource, the very real challenges of scaling community-based systems, and what it takes at the household, neighborhood, and policy level to shift our cultural relationship with food waste. Ben shares Compost Crew's growth from a small food-scrap hauler with a handful of customers to a regional force serving thousands of homes, the partnerships with local farms that bring composting full circle, and his vision for a future where dropping your food scraps into a compost bin is as ordinary as not littering on the highway.It's a hopeful, grounded conversation about the patient work of building better systems one bucket, one alley, one farm at a time.Main topics covered:The evolution of composting in the Washington, DC metro areaThe role of systemic infrastructure and community engagement in waste recyclingStrategies to overcome perceived barriers to food scrap compostingThe importance of local, transparent food systems and grassroots momentumFuture developments in composting technology and policyIn this episode:Ben introduces Compost Crew and its mission to keep food waste out of the landfillThe story of DC's curbside composting pilot and the ambitious plans to expand it citywideWhy systemic infrastructure and visibility matter when it comes to building participationHow social perception, education, and regulation shape compost adoptionThe Compost Outpost model — bringing composting to local farms like One Acre Farm in Dickerson, MDThe ripple effects of crises like COVID-19 and global conflicts on recycling supply chains and the case for local self-relianceThe cultural shift needed to treat composting as everyday normalcy — much like the "Don't Be a Litterbug" campaigns of decades pastFuture opportunities: composting in schools, hospitals, and wedding venuesResources & Links Mentioned:Compost Crew — Ben's company, serving the DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia regionCompost Outpost at One Acre Farm — The farm partnership model bringing composting full circleBPI (Biodegradable Products Institute) — How to identify certified compostable bags and packagingThe Energy Switch by Peter Kelly-Detwiler — The book that shaped Ben's understanding of energy and resource transformationMontgomery County Food Scraps Recycling — Local food scraps recycling programs and resourcesKeep America Beautiful & "Don't Be a Litterbug" — The cultural campaign Ben references as a model for shifting normsConnect with Compost Crew:@_compostcrewListen, Subscribe & ShareIf this episode stirred something in you, share it with a friend who's curious about composting — or who's still on the fence about that bucket on the counter. We'd love to hear your own composting story: email us at [email protected] or call our voicemail line at 443-459-1950 and tell us what the good dirt means to you. Your voice might just end up on a future episode.🌻 About Lady Farmer:Subscribe to The ALMANAC, a Lady Farmer Newsletter & CommunityVisit Our WebsiteFollow @weareladyfarmer on InstagramEmail us at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail! Call 443-459-1950 and ask a question or share what the good dirt means to you!Original music by John Kingsley. Editing and podcast production by Lady Farmer. The Good Dirt podcast is proudly part of the Connectd Podcasts network.🌿 The Good Dirt Producers:Wendy GrayAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy