Hoosier Young Farmer Podcast

Fresh episodes and conversations from the agricultural community.

The Hoosier Young Farmers Coalition brings you a series of stories from farmers around the state of Indiana, farmers you probably haven’t heard of, farmers you might not picture when you picture the farmers of Indiana. We're speaking with farmers who break the sepia-toned stereotype of a white guy in plaid on his combine, out in a corn field. We capture a full-color, updated narrative about farming in Indiana, and amplify the voices of underrepresented farmers like women, BIPOC farmers, beginning farmers, and first-generation farmers. The podcast was produced by Alex Chambers. This project is possible because of generous support from Indiana Humanities and Valparaiso University. Brought to you by the Hoosier Young Farmers Coalition and partners across the state including Earth Eats, Black Independent Growers, Fresh Local Food Collaborative of Southeast Indiana, Food and Growers Association, Slow Food Ft. Wayne, Northwest Indiana Food Council, University of Indianapolis, Indiana University, and the National Young Farmers Coalition. Learn more at <a href="https://www.hoosieryfc.org/stories.html" rel="noopener">https://www.hoosieryfc.org/stories.html</a>

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Recent Episodes

HYFP Episode 1: Getting the Land

November 29, 2021 18:29

Episode notes

In the next nine years, over 400,000 acres of farmland is going to change hands. That’s more than Texas, California, and Montana combined. That *could* be a big opportunity for changing how we care for land in this country, who owns land and builds wealth, and how we feed our communities. But a lot of farmland will be developed, or just consolidated into bigger and bigger farms. For folks farming on a small scale, or in urban spaces, land access is actually their number one hurdle.

HYFP Full Interview with Sibeko Jywanza

November 3, 2021 40:24

Episode notes

This conversation is with Sibeko Jywanza. Sibeko is the Director of Food Justice at Flanner House, a multiservice community center in Indianapolis that’s been around for over 120 years. He talks about politics and race, education, food apartheid, and the exciting work that they’re doing over at Flanner House. He’s talking with Rachel Brandenburg.

HYFP Full Interview with Megan Ayers

November 3, 2021 36:46

Episode notes

This is a conversation with Megan Ayers. Megan is the founder, farmer, and, as you’ll hear, chicken wrangler at Unvarnished Farm in Deputy, Indiana, not too far from the Ohio River in the southeast part of the state. Megan’s only been there for a couple years, but before that she was an urban farm in Cincinnati. She spoke with Andrew Raridon, a professor of food studies and outgoing board member of HYFC.

HYFP Full Interview with Dan and Julie Perkins

November 3, 2021 42:29

Episode notes

This conversation is with Julie and Dan Perkins of Perkins’ Good Earth Farm in DeMotte, Indiana, up in the northwestern part of the state. They have a CSA and sell at the local market. They make a full-time living selling vegetables to their neighbors, which is one of the things they talk about in this interview. They could make more money selling their vegetables up in Chicago, but they’ve decided feeding their community is more important. You’ll hear about that, about their systematic approach to making sure they have family time AND farm time, and their all-important farm slogan. They spoke with Andrew Raridon, a professor of food studies and outgoing board member of HYFC.

HYFP Episode 7: Family, Workflow, Balancing Act

November 1, 2021 17:38

Episode notes

This episode is how farmers around Indiana are balancing all the demands on their time, if they’re a farming family, how they divide their labor, and the systems they’ve developed to keep from going crazy.

HYFP Episode 6: Community

November 1, 2021 16:27

Episode notes

Small scale farmers love solving problems, and they know that we all do better when we all do better. That’s special, and the Hoosier Young Farmers Coalition is working to make that connection among farmers even stronger. Let’s hear what some farmers from across Indiana have to say about community.

HYFP Episode 5: Making It Pay

November 1, 2021 14:45

Episode notes

Because it’s so hard to make a living, most small farmers these days do it because they are passionate. But even when you love what you do, you should still get to have financial stability. We need to change things in our system to get to that point. That might be access to loans, healthcare for farmers, or other policy changes. But today, we’re not digging into the big stuff - we’re going to hear more stories about how people make it work.

HYFP Episode 4: Organic and Unconventional

November 1, 2021 17:59

Episode notes

This episode focuses on someone who’s been farming sustainably in Indiana for a long time. Tracy Jaeger started farming almost 40 years ago, but growing food without a lot of chemicals isn’t about nostalgia for her. It’s about safety. For this episode we’re going to focus on Tracy’s story. As you listen, I think you’ll see how getting away from industrial farming methods isn’t just about realizing it’s the right thing to do. When you’ve been investing in one way of doing it for decades, that switch can be risky.

HYFP Episode 3: Women in Farming

November 1, 2021 15:48

Episode notes

This episode is about the kinds of assumptions people make about farmers. Who gets to be one. Who has the necessary knowledge and skills. Specifically men and women. It’s about gender. But it's also about power. Here are stories about the assumptions people make about farmers and how power is working in the background of all that.

HYFP Episode 2: Food Apartheid

November 1, 2021 14:36

Episode notes

Fruit, vegetables, grass-fed meat - it’s a lot of work to grow, and the government doesn’t subsidize it the way it supports those big fields of corn and soybeans.

That can put healthy, local food out of reach for people who don’t have a lot of money.

And it’s not just about money. If there’s no grocery store nearby, no place to buy local veggies, you’re stuck. And once you’re thinking about geography, you realize race matters too. If you’re Black or Latino in this country, you’re much more likely to live in an area where it’s hard to get healthy food - and that’s no accident. That’s systemic racism. In this episode, we’re going to hear from urban farmers and Black farmers, on why it’s especially hard for their communities to get good food, and what they’re doing about that.

Hoosier Young Farmer Podcast

About This Podcast

Recent Episodes

HYFP Episode 1: Getting the Land

HYFP Full Interview with Sibeko Jywanza

HYFP Full Interview with Megan Ayers

HYFP Full Interview with Dan and Julie Perkins

HYFP Episode 7: Family, Workflow, Balancing Act

HYFP Episode 6: Community

HYFP Episode 5: Making It Pay

HYFP Episode 4: Organic and Unconventional

HYFP Episode 3: Women in Farming

HYFP Episode 2: Food Apartheid

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