Explore the rich traditions and cultural wisdom shared at the Sheridan Food Forest’s Northern Cheyenne Native Plant Traditional Uses & Plant Lore event. Featuring Linwood and Randall Tall Bull, this celebration of Indigenous knowledge highlights the power of plants, storytelling, and community in fostering sustainability and intergenerational connections. Discover the magic of plants and their role in bridging cultural divides for a more connected future.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the Garnet Mesa Solar Project in Delta County, Colorado, marks a major milestone for renewable energy and solar co-ops. This collaborative effort between DMEA, local organizations, and community members highlights the potential of solar energy to support local economies, preserve agricultural land, and create jobs. The project will provide affordable, sustainable energy to the Delta-Montrose area without raising costs for members, thanks to strategic partnerships. With a focus on agrivoltaics, it will also combine solar energy generation with agricultural activities, setting a blueprint for the future of solar co-ops across the country.

Cameron Skinner turned a childhood passion for farming into a successful agricultural business in Big Timber, Montana.  Cameron now runs Living Soils, an advisory business dedicated to sustainable farming and soil health. Discover how he empowers local farmers, enhances soil quality, and builds a resilient food system through regenerative agriculture and community-supported farming practices that make a difference in rural Montana.

Follow Brian Berglund, a first-generation farmer, as he navigates challenges and embraces innovation to build a sustainable farm in Sheridan, Wyoming. From childhood gardening to exploring different farming methods across the country, Brian's journey embodies resilience and community support in the pursuit of a greener future.

Mastering grant writing has emerged as a vital skill for farmers and ranchers, nearly as crucial as comprehending soil health or navigating deals with processors. Through WCA's workshops, individuals gain the expertise needed to strengthen their operations and expand the agricultural landscape within their communities.

Discover the transformative journey of Global Gardens, a non-profit cultivating community and ethnic diversity through sustainable agriculture. Explore how this initiative began as a community garden and evolved into a thriving market garden involving farmers from diverse backgrounds. Uncover their unique approach to growing ethnic vegetables, fostering local connections, and addressing food system fragilities, all within the vibrant landscape of Boise, Idaho.

Henry Red Cloud started Red Cloud Renewables with the vision of establishing energy independence on the Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota. Through grassroots organizing and establishing partnerships, Red Cloud Renewables now serves as a place for food sovereignty programs, housing insecurity initiatives, and a training facility for solar energy and tiny homes.

The Black Hills Farmers Market runs year round, accepts SNAP and EBT and has now expanded access to fresh local foods even more. Through community sponsorships, the Black Hills Farmers market is now able to double the SNAP benefits up to twenty dollars per market-day through their Double Up Food Bucks program. Various organizations in the community donated money so that people already receiving SNAP benefits could double up and receive up to 20 dollars more per day.

Marielena Vega grew up with her parents working in agriculture. Seeing first hand the mistreatment of farmworkers, she felt as though people outside of her community didn’t really care about the wellbeing of the people who help provide most of the food for the United States. In March 2020, Marielena attended a public hearing in the Idaho Senate to share her own story and testify against a bill that would limit the authority of the Idaho State Department of Agriculture to respond and regulate pesticide use and application. This was the start of her becoming a leader in farmworker advocacy.

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, stay-at-home orders were enacted and for the first time farmworkers were deemed essential and required to continue to work in the fields and food processing plants of the country. Members of Oregon Rural Action (ORA), a grassroots organization in Eastern Oregon, were already well aware of how essential farmworkers are to our food system and the challenges they face. They were also aware of the many challenges those farmworkers face. As the pandemic began, ORA launched a successful campaign to get COVID-19 related information out to Eastern Oregon’s farmworker communities on the platform that’s most accessible to them, the radio.

In two years, Michael and Sara Lobato transformed their new property from a wasteland into a produce farm with native grasses, chickens, and bees. Through sustainable agriculture practices, the Lobatos hope to lead by example, leading a rising tide of small-scale farmers that can more sustainably meet local food demands.

Young and beginning farmers face a behemoth of uphill battles when starting out. Capital, land, a client base, equipment, climate, and weather are just a few of the things standing between young people and a dream to provide fresh, local produce to their communities for a living. Patrick Certain’s Stone Soup Garden is a result of the power of community.

The Troyer’s started their farm several years back, slowly adapting their growing and selling methods to the changing times. Utilizing water saving techniques helps them combat drought while expanding their sales into the CSA market helps them keep that food local.

Carl Kimmerle opens a small-scale meat processing plant in Lemmon, South Dakota in 2019. Corporate consolidation within the United States food system has caused opening up a business like this to be very difficult for the average person despite how important these businesses are to local economies, the environment and the health of the people.

Fruit of the Coop, LLC is a 7-acre farm located in the watershed of the Big Sioux River near Brandon, South Dakota and is owned and operated by Stephanie Peterson. Stephanie attended Dakota Rural Action’s Farm beginning course to learn how to operate and succeed in her chicken egg business where she sells pasture raised eggs to restaurants, local stores and more.

In several locations in the West, bison reintroduction has begun to revitalize indigenous culture, increase food sovereignty, and heal the land. The Fort Peck reservation, in northern Montana, is one such place. The Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes are leaders in buffalo restoration and have continued the expansion of their buffalo program since the bison were first re-introduced in 1990. The ranch is currently nearly 15,000 acres with a capacity for 375 bison.

On the outskirts of the main town of Porcupine, KILI Radio Station sits on top of a hill with scattered sagebrush and prairie grass. The station is surrounded by solar panels both on the hillside and attached to the building, and the entrance opens to a wind turbine. The combination of these renewable energy sources powers KILI Radio Station entirely. Over its history, the station had seen power outages, lack of funding, and had moments where they struggled to stay on the air. Switching to renewable energy has allowed the station to remain on the air as a reliable source of information for the community.

People living on Turtle Mountain pay two to three times the average amount per kilowatt-hour for energy than people on the other side of the reservation border. In the past, rural electrical co-ops have not invited Indigenous people into conversations about joining and being a part of the co-op movement. As the facilities manager, Wes has fine tuned the geo-thermal energy that the school was built on along with a 600w wind turbine to be one of the most sustainable colleges in the nation. Moving forward, Wes sees opportunity to increase Tribal Sovereignty through the benefits of renewable energy.

Jill Morrison grew up on her family’s farm in Western Nebraska. The farm fell victim to the 1980s’ farm crisis, forcing the family to sell off sections of the land, piece by piece. Later, Jill would move to Wyoming to start a 30 year long career with Powder River Basin Resource Council fighting for the protection of the land, water and air for future generations to farm, recreate and enjoy.

Tanya Svec moved back to South Dakota to embrace the rural and farm lifestyle with her husband and four kids. In 2020, East Dakota Beef proposed to put in a processing plant just 1/2 mile from Tanya’s home. This video goes in depth on her perspective on the development and the role of farmers in environmental conservation.

Northern Plains Resource Council hosted a soil crawl on Lisa Schmidt’s ranch in Conrad, MT. The ranch tour took place in the midst of a drought and focused on Lisa’s experiments to combat the lack of rain and soil health.

People are attracted to farmers markets because they know it’s a place to get local foods and to connect with producers as well. Inspired by Sheridan’s indoor farmers market that runs all year long on the weekends, Christine decided to open a market that would host local producers and their products five days a week.

Patchwork and MRCC have a long history with Farm Aid. Patchwork Family Farms has been feeding concert attendees at Farm Aid for sixteen years with pork raised on independent family farms in Missouri. Patchwork started in 1993 and is a program of the Missouri Rural Crisis Center, a family farm membership and advocacy organization that began the same year as Farm Aid, 1985.

Jenna Vanhorne is a North Dakota dairy farmer, a mother, and was one of the first women of color to run for state senate in North Dakota. She operates the homestead with her mother, motivated by the lifestyle of having her kids free roaming in the backyard and the feeling of work outside, at her own pace. She has hopes for the North Dakota state government to better serve the people that live there. While she didn’t win the election in 2020 she has plans for the future and is still active in her community whether it be putting out petitions or conjuring up ideas for community orchards.

In Gillette, Wyoming two friends started a non-profit to address food insecurity in their community. The Edible Prairie Project offers a variety of programs from tiered priced veggie baskets to weekend meal programs for kids. Not only does EPP benefit local produce buyers but they also provide a consistent customer base for local farmers and they're just getting started.

The Sheridan Food Forest is part of a movement in urban areas to bring communities together to grow, learn, and nourish one another through foraging and planting. The food forest movement has started getting traction in the last several years separating itself from community gardens on the principle that the entire plot is available to anyone who wants to forage for their food.

COPEKA cafe in Grand Junction, Colorado is a progressive coffee house designed and located with the intention to be as inclusive as possible with the hopes that people can converge in this space to have important conversations about issues facing their community. Jana Joramo and her family own and operate the cafe with a constant awareness of where the products in their shop come from and how they can best support ethical foods.

Joe Wesnitzer and Adam Bunker started an online farmers market through their website for Papa Joe’s Produce to accommodate social distancing during the COVID pandemic. Local producers joined together to organize drop-offs throughout Sheridan, Wyoming. Papa Joe's grows a variety of lettuce, kale, basil, and herbs using hydroponics.

Soil has been depleted to a point where in order to get a harvest every year, farmers must use more and more chemical fertilizers and pesticides just to produce the same amount of food per acre. Biochar is a special form of charcoal that is specifically made to be used as a soil amendment. Black Bison Organics produces products that have the potential to improve the soil structure and biological activity even in clay or sandy soils.

In the past, solar energy has felt out of reach for many people. The creation of solar co-ops has provided a way for communities to join together to get group discounts, making solar more affordable and accessible.

The COVID pandemic has brought community partners together under the umbrella of Mutual Aid to give support to each other during a times of crisis. From food security to harm reduction, Grand Junction non-profits are working towards alleviating some of the social issues facing the city.

In 2017, Northern Plains Resource Council contacted Lyle Strobel to gauge his interest in being part of the Yellowstone Valley Food Hub. The Food Hub is a farmer-owned and operated co-operative. “There’s a lot of adventure left in this journey,” said Lyle.

Patti Armbrister is an agriculture educator at Hinsdale Public School and a member of the Soil Task Force of Northern Plains Resource Council. She started a farm to school program in 2009 and has been using regenerative agriculture practices to help their garden and soils flourish.

In late May 2019, 20 farmworkers harvesting hops near Parma, Idaho, were suspected to have been sprayed by pesticide from a crop duster. These incidents have lead to a new Idaho chapter that is community-driven and focused on social justice.

Tom Abe saw the Fort Berthold Reservation as the perfect place to pioneer new technologies like microgrids and electric storage to fight climate change, create jobs, and emerge as an energy independent community.

Mabel has spent the last 35 years fighting with the Western Organization of Resource Councils for a fair and just agricultural system for American farmers, ranchers, and consumers.

Montana rancher Mark Fix has watched prices for his cattle fluctuate for almost three decades. He sees the Tyson beef slaughterhouse in Holcomb, Kansas, fire price instability as a momentary blip. It’s the undue influence that agribusinesses have on the markets causing real danger to the livelihoods of both ranchers and consumers.

“We're starting to look at climate change through the lens of agriculture or agriculture through the lens of climate change and that’s exciting,” Janie Burns, owner of Meadowlark Farm in Nampa, Idaho, said. Janie is fully invested in utilizing agriculture to combat climate change. Her values echo throughout her operation in all of her practices. “I think the potential to sequester carbon in the soil is enormous, the issue is going to be how farmers are compensated for that,” Janie said.

Nella Mae’s hard work has made her food accessible, and as a charismatic person who loves interacting with other people, she has built a support network and helped bring about a change in local attitudes toward local, organic food.  “I have worked really hard to make local produce accessible to low-income folks,” Nella Mae said. “I have lobbied for the Farm Direct Nutrition program which provides vouchers for low-income seniors to purchase Oregon fruits and vegetables.” 

Nate Whitley has spent most of his life around food. Becoming a chef was a natural fit for him. Nate works with local producers, foragers, farmers, and ranchers around Boise to create local, delicious dishes for The Modern Hotel.