At some point, people decided that feeding the world could only happen through scaling industrial agriculture—massive monoculture farms, synthetic inputs, factory-style efficiency. And when regenerative farmers like Joel Salatin, Gabe Brown, and Will Harris prove there’s another way, they get slapped with labels like “starvation advocate” because their methods supposedly can’t be scaled like conventionalContinue reading “Farm Table Talk: We Don’t Need to Scale Regenerative Ag—We Need to Replicate It”
Author Archives: Traci Houston
Reclaiming the Plate: Solutions for Fixing “Poor Folk Food”
For generations, poor folk food meant survival—not just in the sense of calories but in resilience, knowledge, and resourcefulness. It was the food people grew, preserved, traded, and cooked with intention. Today, poor folk food has been stripped of its dignity and turned into highly processed, corporate-controlled pseudo-nourishment—cheap enough to fill a belly but engineeredContinue reading “Reclaiming the Plate: Solutions for Fixing “Poor Folk Food””
Farm Table Talk: The Harvest Won’t Wait
“Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.’”—Matthew 9:37-38 The harvest is ready. The fields are full, the food is waiting, and the opportunity is right in front of us. But without handsContinue reading “Farm Table Talk: The Harvest Won’t Wait”
Farm Table Talk: Regenerative Agriculture Should Be in Every Classroom
For all the talk about education preparing the next generation, one glaring omission remains: where does food come from, and how do we care for the land that sustains us? Kids grow up learning math, history, and science, but regenerative agriculture? Indigenous land stewardship? Nothing. And yet, those two things are arguably more important thanContinue reading “Farm Table Talk: Regenerative Agriculture Should Be in Every Classroom”
Frizzled Feathers: The Genetics Behind the Curly Plumage in Chickens
Love them or hate them, frizzle chickens are one of the most visually distinctive birds in poultry breeding. With their curled, windswept feathers, they look like someone cranked up the humidity and forgot to bring a brush. But behind that quirky appearance is a straightforward genetic mechanism that makes frizzles both easy to breed andContinue reading “Frizzled Feathers: The Genetics Behind the Curly Plumage in Chickens”
Farm Table Talk: Tariffs Won’t Save America If You Won’t Support It Yourself
Let’s talk about all these tariff-loving, bring-businesses-back-to-America folks out there—the ones preaching that tariffs will magically fix everything, forcing companies back into American hands. Sounds great in theory. But let’s look at reality for a second. Where do you buy your vegetables?Where do you buy your fruit?Where does your meat come from?Where do you getContinue reading “Farm Table Talk: Tariffs Won’t Save America If You Won’t Support It Yourself”
Cooler Ground: What Driving Through Illinois Taught Me About Soil, Microclimates, and the Power of Mulch
Driving back from the Homestead Freedom Festival this weekend, I kept glancing at the thermometer on the dash. The numbers weren’t static—they danced with the landscape. Rolling past lush roadside woods and ponds, the temperature hovered around 93°F. But as I entered long stretches flanked by bare cropland—open fields, no trees, no water—the numbers shotContinue reading “Cooler Ground: What Driving Through Illinois Taught Me About Soil, Microclimates, and the Power of Mulch”
Farm Table Talk: The Art of Pretending People Matter—And Why I’m Not Playing Along
You ever hear through the grapevine that an event happened—something you’ve been attending for years, something you’ve helped cook for, clean for, organize for—but somehow, nobody thought to invite you this time? Yeah. That. Let’s talk about why the whole “Oh, but you KNOW you’re always welcome!” line is absolute nonsense. If You Want SomeoneContinue reading “Farm Table Talk: The Art of Pretending People Matter—And Why I’m Not Playing Along”
Ponds as Land Stewardship: How Strategic Water Management Strengthens Ecosystems
Water is often framed as a finite, competitive resource, where one person’s gain is another’s loss. But what if water could be managed in a way that benefits everyone—landowners, ecosystems, and even downstream neighbors? Despite legislation restricting pond construction in some regions under the premise of “water hoarding,” evidence suggests that small-scale water retention actuallyContinue reading “Ponds as Land Stewardship: How Strategic Water Management Strengthens Ecosystems”
Farm Table Talk: The Joy of the Harvest
“You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before You as people rejoice at the harvest, as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder.”—Isaiah 9:3 There is no joy quite like harvest season. After months of work—planting, tending, waiting—the moment finally arrives. The fields yield their crops, the animals provide, and the farmContinue reading “Farm Table Talk: The Joy of the Harvest”
