Grazin' Hell

Bison fiber might be the last unexplored natural fiber in the world — and Pete Conley of Ember Heritage is one of the few people harvesting it.

Pete joins AGA's Sadie Bolze to talk about his path from alpaca shearing to pioneering professional bison shearing, the surprising softness of bison down (as fine as 15-17 microns, rivaling cashmere), and how he built America's only fully domestic bison fiber supply chain — from shearing to scouring to de-hairing to finished fabric, all without sending it overseas.

Topics covered: bison coat biology, sourcing and timing bison fiber, the de-hairing process, blending bison with Merino wool, and what's next for American natural fiber manufacturing.

Find Ember Heritage at emberheritageapparel.com

What happens when a Cornell forester also runs a 100-cow beef operation? You get some of the most thoughtful silvopasture management in the Northeast. In this episode, AGA's Sadie Bolze chats with Brett Chedzoy of Angus Glen Farms in Watkins Glen, New York, about how he uses trees, bale grazing, and natural "living barns" to keep his cattle healthy and his land thriving year-round. Whether you're curious about silvopasture or looking to level up your grazing system, Brett's real-world experience makes this one you won't want to miss.

Nicolette Hahn Niman was an environmental lawyer. Then she married a rancher — and everything changed. Now she's the author of Defending Beef, a regenerative rancher in Marin County, and she's running for Congress to fight for the rural communities that shaped her. She joins Sadie Bolze to talk agriculture, activism, and the battle to keep 12 family ranches in Point Reyes National Seashore.

Running a farm is already a full-time job. Alex Edquist of Good Agriculture joins Sadie Bolze to talk about how farmers can finally get help with the stuff that keeps piling up — bookkeeping, taxes, and grant funding. Built for farm life.

In this conversation, Wayne Knight explains the principles behind Total Utilization grazing and how balancing ecology, animal performance, and recovery drives regenerative land management.