Perennial AF

Silvopasture researchers Stefania Cartoni-Casamitjana and Diane Mayerfeld describe the lessons they’ve learned from their research on silvopasture establishment by woodland thinning in southern Wisconsin, and share practical guidance for farmers considering silvopasture by subtraction on their own land. Show notes at www.SavannaInstitute.org/PerennialAF

Host Jacob Grace discusses the book "Quit" by professional poker player Annie Duke with his coworker Erin Crooks Lynch. When is quitting a good thing? How do lessons from the book apply to perennial agriculture? Show notes at www.SavannaInstitute.org/PerennialAF

Dick McGinnis, a black currant breeder based in British Columbia, began his career as a stockbroker before devoting many years to developing cold-hardy, blight-resistant black currant varieties. The Savanna Institute acquired Dick McGinnis’s breeding program in 2022. In this episode, Savanna Institute researcher Lily Hislop explains what’s next for the “McGinnis cultivars,” and we’ll hear from Dick McGinnis himself, who recorded a webinar with our staff last year. Show notes at www.SavannaInstitute.org/PerennialAF

In 2024, Savanna Institute began a bioacoustic monitoring program to record the sounds of birds and other wildlife each morning and evening at one of our research farms. Ecosystem scientist Nate Lawrence explains the initial results from this project and how we hope to expand our acoustic monitoring in the future to identify birds, amphibians, insects, and bats in agroforestry fields. Show notes at www.SavannaInstitute.org/PerennialAF

Host Jacob Grace reads from the first three chapters of Tree Crops: A Permanent Agriculture by J. Russell Smith, first published in 1929. This book, which is now in the public domain, has been extremely influential in the adoption of agroforestry in the United States, and in the origins of the Savanna Institute in particular. Show notes at www.SavannaInstitute.org/PerennialAF

Sallie Calhoun, founder of the #NoRegrets Initiative and owner of Paicines Ranch on California's central coast, talks with staff member Jenn Ripp about how she got started ranching, her experiences as a philanthropist, and the importance of shifting from an agriculture based on chemistry to an agriculture based on biology. Show notes at www.savannainstitute.org/PerennialAF

Farmer Josh Payne leads a tour of his farm in central Missouri and describes his management of beef cattle, sheep, and hogs in a rotational grazing silvopasture system with chestnuts and additional agroforestry crops.

Harry and Jackie Hoch describe their work establishing tropical agroforestry in Carmelita Gardens, Belize, and discuss what has happened with their farmland in Minnesota since the 2018 interview heard in the previous episode. Show notes at www.savannainstitute.org/PerennialAF

Hear an audio tour of Hoch Orchard and Gardens in southeastern Minnesota in this archival recording from 2018. Harry and Jackie Hoch describe their systems for organic apple and cider production, orchard management with multispecies grazing, integrated pest management, and more. More info at https://www.savannainstitute.org/minnesota/hoch-orchard/

Adam D’Angelo, Breeding Operations Manager for the Savanna Institute Tree Crop Improvement Program, leads a tour of a research farm at the Savanna Institute’s Spring Green Campus in Spring Green, Wisconsin. Learn about plant breeding efforts with hybrid hazelnuts, American persimmon, black currants, elderberry, and more. Show notes at www.SavannaInstitute.org/PerennialAF

Brett Chedzoy and Cherrie Nolden have decades of experience managing silvopasture on farms in New York, Argentina, and Wisconsin. In this recorded session from PFG 2024, Brett and Cherrie describe their experiences raising cattle, goats, and other species in silvopasture systems, share lessons they’ve learned, and answer questions from the audience. Show notes at www.SavannaInstitute.org/PerennialAF

Lupe Rios talks about grafting, Eliza Greenman talks about silvopasture and fruit exploring, and Paul Dietmann talks about farm loans and financing in these interviews from the 2019 Perennial Farm Gathering. Show notes at www.SavannaInstitute.org/PerennialAF

In 2018, the Mexican government launched a national program called Sembrando Vida, or “sowing life”, with the goal of reducing poverty and reforesting rural areas with agroforestry. Since the program’s launch, it has paid out billions of dollars and impacted over a million acres, and is now expanding to other central American countries. In this episode, researchers Pablo Gonzalez Moctezuma and Sophia Winkler-Schor describe the details of this ambitious program, and discuss what we can learn from the outcomes of the program so far. Show notes at www.SavannaInstitute.org/PerennialAF

Perennial beverage makers discuss the processing, marketing, and development of syrups, sparkling waters, salves, cordials, shrubs, beers, wines, and other beverages made with perennial ingredients in this recorded workshop from the 2024 Perennial Farm Gathering. Show notes at www.savannainstitute.org/PerennialAF

Host Jacob Grace talks with his friend Alex about her family’s experiences as non-operating landowners trying to establish perennial management on their historic Wisconsin farm, and the hurdles and roadblocks they have encountered along the way. Show notes at www.SavannaInstitute.org/PerennialAF

This January, Savanna Institute staff member MJ Oviatt visited the UK to study hedgelaying with members of the Blackdown Hills Hedge Association. In this episode, we hear MJ’s recorded conversations with hedgelayers Martin Turner, George Pidgeon, and Steven McCulloch. Show notes at savannainstitute.org/PerennialAF/

Chefs and perennial food advocates Beth Dooley, Francesca Hong, and Odessa Piper discuss cooking and baking with perennial ingredients, favorite recipes, and suggestions for being engaged and “curious eaters” in this recorded session from the 2024 Perennial Farm Gathering. Show notes at www.savannainstitute.org/PerennialAF

Erik Hagan, farm director of the Spring Green Campus, leads a farm tour of silvopasture systems in this recording from a field day in August 2024. Show notes at SavannaInstitute.org/PerennialAF

Tree crop researchers Eliza Greenman and Nate Lawrence discuss the pros, cons, and tradeoffs of windbreak and riparian buffer management for ecosystem services and profitability in this recording from the 2024 Perennial Farm Gathering. Show notes at www.savannainstitute.org/PerennialAF

Barbara Decré, assistant director of our Agroforestry Adoption program, leads a guided meditation to help you visualize a perennial farming project five, fifteen and thirty years from now. What is your "why", and how does it help shape your vision? Show notes at www.savannainstitute.org/PerennialAF

Chef Sean Sherman delivers the keynote address at the 2024 Perennial Farm Gathering in October 2024. Show notes at www.savannainstitute.org/PerennialAF

Agroforester Steve Gabriel leads the audience in a conversation about why agroforestry plantings fail and what we can do to help projects succeed in this recorded session at the 2024 Perennial Farm Gathering. Link to Steve’s resources: https://www.farmingwithtrees.org/projects/whytreesdie Show notes at www.savannainstitute.org/PerennialAF

Chuck Anderas and Margaret Krome from the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute's policy team discuss the need for a new Farm Bill, the importance of ag policy in expanding perennial agriculture, and what types of engagement can have the greatest impact on policymakers.

A tour of 4H Memorial Demonstration Farm at Allerton Park in central Illinois with Demonstration Farms Director Kaitie Adams and Savanna Institute staff. This farm features windbreaks and alley cropping with timber species planted into a row crop field, and relies on a number of innovative partnerships with landowners and farmer collaborators. You can see a video tour of the farm at https://youtu.be/9nEAOzHYB6Q?si=rJNAFCUh52rkLfc5

This episode takes you on an audio tour of the Savanna Institute's North Farm, part of our Spring Green Campus in southern Wisconsin. Hear farm director Erik Hagan talk about chestnuts, hazelnuts, silvopasture with sheep, and more! Show notes at www.savannainstitute.org/PerennialAF