The Ruminant: Audio Candy for Farmers, Gardeners and Food Lovers

Sep 10 2024 109 ep. 40 mins 384

The Ruminant: Audio Candy for Farmers, Gardeners and Food Lovers Podcast artwork

For people passionate about farming, gardening, food politics, food security, and the intersections among these topics. Jordan Marr, a certified organic farmer in British Columbia, interviews farmers, gardeners, academics, and journalists about stuff farmers and food system nerds care about. If where and how your food is produced matters to you, this podcast is produced for you!

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Family Feud: which forecast is best for farmers?

Sep 10 2024 65 mins

Hey there, Ruminant Listeners! These days, I'm mostly podcasting over at Farming in British Columbia, and I wanted to share a popular episode on a topic that matters wherever you're farming! If you like this, come and join the party. A good number of the episodes will hold interest for those outside of BC...search for 'Farming in British Columbia' wherever you listen to podcasts.

A Critique of Canada's Pesticide Oversight

Sep 10 2023 68 mins

In the summer of 2023, Bruce Lanphear, Professor of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University, resigned his position as co-chair of a recently formed Science Advisory Committee of the PMRA, which regulates pesticide use in Canada. Dr. Lanphear felt he could no longer lend his credibility to the agency following disagreement about the Terms of Reference provided to Lanphear and sev

I Threw Out The Turkey You Sold Me.

Nov 22 2022 14 mins

The Ruminant's first ever holiday special! Fellow Canadians, don't @ me. The original version of this piece was produced for Canadian Thanksgiving, for radio.

Big Chicken, Indebted Farmers

Sep 17 2022 47 mins

The US chicken industry is dominated by just a few very large, vertically integrated companies. They directly control every stage of chicken production from hatching to distribution, except that they outsource the riskiest stage--raising the birds from chick to mature bird--to independent farmers. In this episode, guest Patti Anderson of the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Futur

The Case for Slower

Jul 09 2022 23 mins

This ep: we introduce a new segment called Farm Sounds. This time: when the tradeoff that comes with a gain in efficiency on the farm doesn't feel worth it. Plus another installment of The Farmer Questionnaire.

Crop Wild Relatives in Plant Breeding

Jun 02 2022 53 mins

This episode I speak with Dr. Patrick Byrne, Professor Emeritus of Plant Breeding and Genetics at Colorado State University. Our topic: crop wild relatives, the forebears to all of the agricultural crops we love and depend on. Patrick helps us understand the relationship between, say, Teosinte and modern corn, and why the conservation of these wild relatives is crucial to the impro

The Very First One. It's about potting blocks!

May 19 2022 66 mins

The interview we planned to record yesterday and release today was postponed, so I dug up the very first episode of the show, from way back in 2012, until now never released on the newer podcast feed. It's an interview with Jason Beam about potting blocks, you lucky ducks. We'll be back with a new episode in two weeks, promise.

The Biggest Little Disappointment

May 05 2022 42 mins

This episode: to mark the release of an update (sort of?) to Netflix's big, farmy 2018 hit The Biggest Little Farm, herein we review both the original documentary (Netflix) and an update, called The Return of the Biggest Little Farm, which dropped on Disney+ on Earth Day. Also: another installment of The Farmer Questionnaire!This episode was produced by Jordan Marr & Philippa M

I Hope You Die: Livestock Farmers on the Threats They Receive

Apr 21 2022 47 mins

This episode, three farmers who slaughter animals reflect on the experience of encountering hate, vitriol and worse from animal rights activists. This episode was produced by Jordan Marr & Philippa Mennell.

Did Certified Organic Pay a Price for its Success?

Apr 07 2022 60 mins

This episode: Rebecca Kneen, a BC-based organic farmer & brewer, whose roots and activism in the organic sector go back decades, on the evolution of organic standards and oversight over time, some aspects of which she has misgivings about. Rebecca put her thoughts down in an open letter that was the basis for this coversation; you can download a PDF of that letter here.Also: Je