Down to Earth
Down to Earth is a podcast about regenerative agriculture. It’s about the place where food production and conservation come together, where the food we eat actually improves the health of land, water, people—and climate.
Above all, it’s a podcast about hope. We focus not on doom but instead on people who are developing practical, innovative solutions. We invite you to meet farmers, ranchers, scientists, land managers, writers, and many others on a mission to create a world in which the food we eat is healthy—for us, for wildlife, for the lives and livelihoods of the producers, and for the planet.
Recent Programs
Restore the water cycle, revive the planet
Zach Weiss has seen land so degraded that even weeds couldn’t grow…and helped transform it into healthy, living landscapes by changing the flow of water and letting nature do most of the work. The implications for agriculture, wildlife, and climate are huge.
This earth to which we belong
The name of Pamela Tanner Boll‘s new film, To Which We Belong, comes from the great naturalist and conservationist Aldo Leopold, who understood the interconnection among all living beings, and the need to treat land with respect––and a deep sense of belonging.
Science meets compost
Biologist Eva Stricker works with hog farmer Zach Withers and rancher Emily Cornell to study—and quantify—how compost works to heal degraded agricultural lands. So far the results are promising.
Cultivating the People-Planet-Profit model on an urban farm
Minor Morgan and Matt Draper are intergenerational farmers in Albuquerque’s North Valley. Cultivating diversity and healthy soil, their goal is to grow food that’s healthy for people and the earth.
Planetary regeneration on a community scale
Tejinder and Juliana Ciano founded Reunity Resources on land in Santa Fe where a veteran had grown food for the hungry. Now they have a thriving compost, farming, educational, and community organizing operation—all founded on regenerative principles.
Growing pecans in the desert? Yes—with regenerative ag practices
Soil microbiologist David Johnson has been collaborating with pecan farmer Josh Bowman to cultivate healthy soil that retains water and produces a more abundant—and more profitable—harvest.
Our Roots
Down to Earth is produced by Mary-Charlotte Domandi, long-time public radio and podcast producer/host, in collaboration with the Quivira Coalition, a non-profit organization that promotes healthy agricultural lands and food systems across the West—and across the world.
We’re dedicated to the idea of the Radical Center, in which people from divergent political, cultural, and professional worlds leave their differences aside and come together to work on the things they believe in—healthy soil, landscapes, and food…clean water and air…wise use of science and technology…and flourishing rural communities.
