Big Team Farms––a new economic model?
New Down to Earth episode! If you’re a regular listener to this show you probably know the problems with industrial agriculture, like overuse of toxic chemicals, inhumane treatment of animals, destruction of soil, labor and public health issues. Journalist Sarah Mock offers us another model – what she calls Big Team Farms. We talk about this model and what problems it could solve if implemented well. Sarah is an agricultural journalist, and the author of two books, including Farm (and Other F Words), and her most recent, Big Team Farms.
Catch Sarah as a keynote speaker at this fall’s Regenerate Conference in Denver.
Shownotes
2’34 growing up on a farm in Wyoming, trying to go into international relations, pivoting to agriculture journalism
6’35 most farms in the US are family farms
7’36 the limitations of family farms––everything from family conflicts to the pressure to do extractive practices
13’32 the labor problem of family farms––if you want to do regenerative agriculture at a high level, you need labor, but there’s often not enough money to pay them enough
17’50 defining “Big Team Farms” in contrast to family farms, and what problems this model is trying to solve
20’34 some examples of big team farms and new ownership models
25’02 the employee ownership model
26’36 when you have a business, make sure there’s always an exit plan
28’00 different strategies for dealing with legacies for your children if you turn your farm into a multi-owner partnership
34’24 does the big team farm model benefit laborers?
37’33 big team farms and regenerative agriculture
39’57 resisting “maximization”
46’18 the minimal role of consumer demand as a change mechanism
50’11 policies that could improve the food system––that’s also very difficult, as USDA has always been about promoting big ag
53’22 commodity payments should be tied to regenerative agriculture practices
55’57 Sarah’s own experience of a big team farm falling apart
59’36 we don’t’ know if the big team farm model will work, but it’s the best one Sarah has come across
More Episodes
Episode 164 – From Suburban Chicago to Rural Montana: the Journey of a Bison Rancher
From Suburban Chicago to Rural Montana: the Journey of a Bison Rancher Matt Skoglund was an attorney with a conservation non-profit, but over time was drawn to work on the land. With no prior agrarian experience he started a successful bison ranch using regenerative...
Episode 163 – A Matter of Conscience: Will Harris on Regenerating an Industrial Ranch
A Matter of Conscience: Will Harris on Regenerating an Industrial Ranch In his new book, Will Harris describes the moment when he saw that his industrial ranch was cruel to animals and bad for the land. Before he'd ever heard the phrase "regenerative grazing" he...
Episode 162 – The Robber Barons of Today’s Food Industries
The Robber Barons of Today's Food Industries Iowan Austin Frerick saw his home state transform from a world of farms to one of toxic factory food and hollowed out rural communities. Yet he offers optimism and real solutions. Austin Frerick grew up in Iowa, which in...