The Regenaissance Podcast

Who's Jason?
Jason Hansen spent 14 years with the NRCS watching conservation rules bend for bigger, better-connected operators, and running cost-share programs structurally set up to fail the farmers they were meant to help. In 2018, he left USDA and founded Yield Unlimited.
What is Yield Unlimited?
Yield Unlimited is Jason Hansen's nonprofit that pays farmers directly, long-term, to run five core conservation practices - crop rotation, no-till/strip-till, cover crops, nutrient management, and (for a higher payout) prescribed grazing.
The model:
- Farmers apply for a land rental contract (30-second application, Jason's goal)
- Up to $2,000/acre over 10-30 years, 50% paid upfront
- Funded by donations, not federal money - pitch is $5/person/month covers the country
- Treasury notes lock in and grow the later payouts (years 10 and 20)
Why it matters:
USDA cost-share caps at 5 years, right when farmers hit the yield dip during transition.Yield Unlimited's long-term contracts are built to carry them through this period.
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Key Topics
14 years inside the NRCS, wetlands to DC headquarters
Uneven enforcement of drainage rules for connected operators
Why USDA's 5-year contracts fail farmers mid-transition
The 2018 moment that led to founding Yield Unlimited
The model: up to $2,000/acre, 10-30 year contracts
Funding it outside the federal system
Timestamps 
00:00 — Intro
02:15 — Jason's background
08:40 — Certifying wetlands in ND
15:20 — Drainage enforcement issues
24:00 — Utah, then district conservationist
31:10 — The moment with his daughter
36:30 — Why the RCPP grant failed
44:15 — Hawaii, then DC headquarters
50:00 — Leaving USDA, founding Yield Unlimited
55:30 — How the model works
1:01:00 — Funding conservation nationwide
1:07:00 — Where to follow along
Connect with Jason
Website
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Linkedin

In this episode we cover why beef and dairy prices are climbing for reasons that go far beyond inflation, and what three decades of farm policy have cost rural America. 
JR Burdick runs Nourishing Family Farm in north-central Missouri, milking dairy cows and raising hogs, and has sold direct-to-consumer since 2023 after leaving conventional commodity markets and USDA subsidy programs in 2022. This is his third appearance on the show.
Key topics 
Why beef and dairy prices reflect a 30-year supply crisis, not inflation
How the 1994 Freedom to Farm Act shifted risk from government to farmers
How Smithfield-style integrators used farmer equity to consolidate the hog industry
The 2009 Dairy Depression and 2015 Holcomb fire's lasting effect on cattle herd confidence
Why cheap fuel, money, and labor are gone — and what that means for small farms
Direct-to-consumer dairy: correcting consumer misconceptions and building trust
JR's shift to organic farming and leaving USDA subsidy programs

Timestamps

0:00 – Intro, reconnecting with JR
2:00 – Affordability crisis: inflation vs. supply
5:00 – 1994 Freedom to Farm Act and the shift to income-based policy
9:00 – Hog contracts and the Smithfield equity play
16:00 – Ethanol/biodiesel bankruptcies and the 2009 Dairy Depression
23:00 – BSE scare and the 2015 Holcomb fire's lasting impact on cattle herds
28:00 – Cheap fuel, cheap money, cheap labor — and why that era's over
33:00 – Selling direct to consumer: listening over convincing
37:00 – Consumer misconceptions: winter grass, family milk cows
45:00 – The dairy farm decline stat and JR's bullish case for small, local farms
58:00 – The lettuce recall, greenwashing, and knowing your farmer
62:00 – Leaving USDA payments, faith, and the calf-birth story that keeps it all grounded

Connect with JR Burdick / Nourishing Farms

Facebook
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Website

JR's Previous Episosdes

#66
#93

Ep 120: Mike Callicrate
Mike Callicrate runs Ranch Foods Direct and Callicrate Beef out of Colorado Springs and St. Francis, Kansas. He built a fully vertically integrated operation involving raising cattle, slaughtering on-site, cutting, and selling direct to consumers. Our conversation follows his life story from his childhood on a small Colorado farm, a rodeo scholarship that led him into an animal science degree, and years running large-scale feedlots before he became one of ten ranchers who sued major meatpacker IBP in 1996 over market manipulation, a case that ended in a $1.28 billion jury verdict the judge later overturned.
We get into why that loss pushed him to stop selling livestock and start selling meat instead, how Ranch Foods Direct's on-site slaughter facility, composting system, and bone char/biochar production work together, and the economics that separate a small direct-to-consumer operation from an industrial one. 
Key topics
- From rodeo and animal science to building and later rejecting industrial feedlots
- The 1996 lawsuit against IBP, the overturned $1.28 billion verdict, and the Packers and Stockyards Act
- How producers' share of the consumer dollar collapsed since 1970
- Fraud, political influence, and market consolidation
What "pink slime" and lean finely textured beef actually are
- The grass-fed/grass-finished labelling problem 
- Declining Ogallala Aquifer levels and what it means for ranching's future
- Building local maker-owned marketplaces as an alternative to scaling up
Timestamps:
0:00 – Intro + backstory: rodeo, animal science degree, early feedlots
6:00 – Building industrial feedlots, growing concerned with market concentration
12:00 – Decision to sue IBP, being blackballed by buyers
18:00 – The lawsuit's path to trial and the $1.28B verdict
30:00 – The judge's reversal + Packers and Stockyards Act explained
36:00 – Shifting from selling livestock to selling meat direct
44:00 – Building the on-site slaughter facility and circular waste model
52:00 – The "story of the steer" and producers' lost share of the consumer dollar
1:02:00 – Scaling down vs. scaling up: why direct/local beats commodity
1:10:00 – COVID, empty shelves, and the case for local food resilience
1:18:00 – Batista brothers, JBS, and meatpacking consolidation
1:28:00 – What pink slime is and how it's made
1:38:00 – Grass-fed/grass-finished labeling and imported beef
1:46:00 – Ogallala Aquifer decline and water scarcity
1:52:00 – Vision for maker-owned marketplaces and local food hubs

Find out more: 
https://www.mikecallicrate.com/
The Regenaissance Podcast explores the people, farms, and ideas rebuilding our food system from the ground up.

Matthew runs Cottage Pastures on 26 acres in Switzerland County, Indiana, raising pigs, chickens, cattle, and sheep alongside garlic and herbs - everything sold under the name is raised on the farm itself. He and his wife bought the property in 2022 and built it up from a homesteading project into a full working farm. 
Our conversation centers on garlic: despite ideal growing conditions across the Midwest, most garlic sold in the U.S. is imported, and a soil-borne fungal disease can make land unable to grow garlic for 20 to 40 years once it takes hold. This is a risk Cottage Pastures is now soil-testing to get ahead of. We talk through how the farm accidentally ended up growing 20-plus garlic varieties, why the economics of commodity crops crowd out specialty ones like garlic, and what it costs to raise and ship chicken nationwide as a direct-to-consumer farm. 
Matthew also gets into why pre-orders rather than outside financing keep the farm's cash flow working, how he decides what to raise or cut as the operation grows, and what it looks like to raise kids alongside farm work without compelling them to help.
Key topics:
- Why most U.S. garlic and herbs are imported despite favorable growing conditions
- A soil-borne fungal disease that can end garlic production on a piece of land for decades
- How Cottage Pastures accidentally became a 20-plus variety garlic farm
- The real cost of raising and processing chicken for direct-to-consumer sale
- Grass-fed and grass-finished labeling: domestic vs. imported
- Deciding what to raise, expand, or cut as the farm scales
- Raising kids on the farm without compelling their help
- Plans for a 2027 regional farm-share model in Cincinnati/Louisville
Timestamps
0:00 – Intro + catch-up, farm rebrand to Cottage Pastures 
2:30 – Why the family moved to Switzerland County, Indiana 
15:00 – Daily schedule: full-time job plus farm work 
19:00 – Garlic harvest race against incoming rain 
27:00 – Cost of shipping meat nationwide 
31:00 – Why most U.S. herbs and garlic are imported 
44:00 – How the farm ended up with 20-plus garlic varieties 
48:00 – Fungal disease risk and soil testing plans 
58:00 – Real cost of raising and processing chicken 
1:07:00 – Grass-fed and grass-finished: domestic vs. imported 
1:12:00 – Deciding what to raise, expand, or cut 
1:16:00 – Plans for a 2027 regional farm-share program 
1:19:00 – Raising kids on the farm 
1:26:00 – Closing thoughts on local food and staying hopeful
Links:
https://cottagepastures.com/about/
https://www.instagram.com/cottagepastures/
https://www.facebook.com/CottagePastures/?ref=PROFILE_EDIT_xav_ig_profile_page_web#
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-6-interview-with-carissa-a-year-in-review/id1700604702?i=1000628016269
The Regenaissance Podcast explores the people, farms, and ideas rebuilding our food system from the ground up.

Joel Hollinsworth runs Smoke River Ranch in Oklahoma, where he's built a herd-share community of about 40 families co-owning cattle together - a model that's taken his herd from 15 animals to 425 in four years. But, this could all be taken away, as he's fighting two subpoenas from the Oklahoma Department of Securities on claims his shares are unregistered financial securities. In this episode, Joel breaks down exactly how that herd-share structure works economically, and then walks through the legal fight he's currently in.
He gets into why that claim doesn't hold up, who's helping him fight it (including USDA's Brooke Rollins' office and the American First Policy Institute), how they're fighting it, and what's at stake for other ranchers running similar models. Ultimately, this challenge threatens not only Joel's ranch, but the broader idea that people should be able to support and participate in local food systems without facing unnecessary regulatory burdens or government overreach.
We also talk through the broader pattern of regulatory overreach in agriculture, and close with Joel's advice for young people looking to get into ranching - namely, don't try to do it alone.
Key topics
How the herd-share model works (co-ownership, calf splits, time horizons)
The Oklahoma securities subpoenas and the case against them
Legal support and path forward (Rollins' office, state legislation)
Advice for young ranchers on doing this in community
Timestamps

0:00 – Intro + catch-up
2:00 – Herd-share model origins
5:00 – Scaling to 425 head + genetics program
13:00 – First subpoena
17:30 – Second subpoena, securities claim explained
21:30 – Why it's not a security
26:00 – Comparisons to other ag regulatory fights
31:00 – Legal support and path forward
47:30 – Herd-share financials + time horizons
58:30 – Advice for young ranchers + close
Connect with Joel
Support Joel's Gofundme
Smoke River Ranch Website
Herdshares
Apply for Herdshares
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