For many small-scale fruit and vegetable growers, “local” is the word that makes their business work. Shoppers seek out—and pay premiums for—the promise that a juicy tomato or vibrant squash was raised right down the road.  Yet much of the time, the local food economy ultimately depends on big farms thousands of miles across the […]

Last summer, members of the InterTribal Buffalo Council (ITBC), a Native non-profit group dedicated to restoring tribal bison herds among its 83 member Nations, embarked on a timeless practice across the grasslands of southeast Montana: the slaughter of a 1,600-pound American bison, right out in the open prairie.  In tow was the organization’s new “Cultural […]

Nearly four decades ago, Ron Mardesen and his wife Denise stopped using antibiotics on their hog farm, A-Frame Acres, in Elliot, Iowa. He decided there was a better way to raise his animals, one that wouldn’t require the need for routine antibiotics. After prioritizing clean feed, fresh air, comfortable bedding and plenty of space, he […]