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
Colorado peaches: delicious for the eaters, fair for the workers
Gwen Cameron took over her father’s peach farm, and has been balancing regenerative methods, fair work practices, and diversification of markets to run a successful business.
Black farmers regenerating land in the face of historical––and current––racism
P. Wade Ross‘s great grandfather was a runaway slave who bought land in Texas. On this land his descendants founded a non-profit that helps Black farmers and ranchers to succeed in regenerative agriculture.
Empowering women in agriculture
Women farmers and ranchers have historically been at a disadvantage in many ways––equipment designed for male bodies, lack of access to credit and capital, and just not being taken seriously. We talk to Jules Salinas of Women, Food & Agriculture Network
The wild adventures of a New Mexico hemp farmer
Journalist-filmmaker-farmer-comedian Doug Fine left the New York suburbs to settle in New Mexico, where he cultivates hemp as well as goats, chickens, and produce. He’s an advocate for regenerative farming and rural living.
Sarah Wentzel-Fisher on working lands, community, science, and more
Quivira Coalition’s executive director Sarah Wentzel-Fisher began as an artist and creative writer, and got interested in communities and food systems. Her path led to a life of both non-profit leadership and farming.
Pueblo values + engineering expertise = resilient landscapes
Phoebe Suina draws on advanced studies in engineering and management and deeply held cultural values and knowledge of the land to lead a native- and woman-owned environmental restoration company.
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.
