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
Landscape restoration: letting nature do the work
Bill Zeedyk restores landscapes—streams, wetlands, even rural roads—by using simple, low-tech tools and letting nature do most of the work. The result is healthy, lush desert ecosystems. He’s the subject of a new documentary, Thinking Like Water.
Ducks, cows, and resilience: Benefiting farmlands by protecting waterfowl habitat
Ducks Unlimited works with farmers and ranchers across the American continent to help them reach their land health goals—while protecting wildlife, promoting sustainability, and sequestering carbon.
Animal welfare is good for everyone—including farmers
Adam Mason of the ASPCA makes the argument that healthy farm animals actually help farmers to thrive—and benefit land, air, and water. He talks about how farmers are making the transition away from industrial/conventional.
1000 Farms Initiative: A new paradigm of science in service of farmers
Scientist and farmer Jonathan Lundgren is helping to change the paradigm of agricultural science to one that expands the measures success to include the regeneration of land and health of people.
Virtual fencing—new technology that benefits both ranching and land conservation
The Nature Conservancy partners with ranchers on virtual fencing, a new technology that keeps animals in delimited areas through GPS collars—resulting in labor saving, wildlife conservation, and land health.
Regenerating a desert wetland oasis
On New Mexico’s Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, Don Boyd and David & Hui-Chun Johnson are restoring agricultural soils—to grow food for migrating waterfowl.
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.
