Perennial AF

The Savanna Institute’s Deep Roots Award recognizes an individual for a lifetime of achievement advancing the science, practice, and adoption of perennial agriculture, and was presented this year to Wes Jackson, co-founder of The Land Institute. The New Shoots Award recognizes an emerging leader in perennial food and agriculture, and was presented this year to Selena Warsaw-Lane, owner of Future Fruit Farm and The Frozen Local in Spring Green, Wisconsin. This episode features a recording of the Deep Roots and New Shoots Awards Ceremony from the opening session of the 2026 Perennial Farm Gathering, held March 11-13th in Dubuque, Iowa.  

The 6th World Congress on Agroforestry was held October 20-24th in Kigali, Rwanda, and staff members Lily Hislop and Jenn Ripp were in attendance. Hear their interviews with other attendees and their reflections on the event in this episode of the Perennial AF podcast. Show notes at www.SavannaInstitute.org/PerennialAF

“Living Roots: The Promise of Perennial Foods”, a new book co-edited by Dr. Liz Carlisle and Dr. Aubrey Streit Krug, will launch at the upcoming Perennial Farm Gathering in Dubuque, Iowa on March 12th. In this episode, Liz and Aubrey share the stories behind the book. “Living Roots” features writing by over thirty different contributors who are working to advance perennial agriculture, including several Savanna Institute staff members. Show notes at www.SavannaInstitute.org/PerennialAF

Silvopasture researchers Stefania Cartoni-Casamitjana and Diane Mayerfeld describe the lessons they’ve learned from their research on silvopasture establishment by woodland thinning in southern Wisconsin, and share practical guidance for farmers considering silvopasture by subtraction on their own land. Show notes at www.SavannaInstitute.org/PerennialAF

Host Jacob Grace discusses the book "Quit" by professional poker player Annie Duke with his coworker Erin Crooks Lynch. When is quitting a good thing? How do lessons from the book apply to perennial agriculture? Show notes at www.SavannaInstitute.org/PerennialAF

Dick McGinnis, a black currant breeder based in British Columbia, began his career as a stockbroker before devoting many years to developing cold-hardy, blight-resistant black currant varieties. The Savanna Institute acquired Dick McGinnis’s breeding program in 2022. In this episode, Savanna Institute researcher Lily Hislop explains what’s next for the “McGinnis cultivars,” and we’ll hear from Dick McGinnis himself, who recorded a webinar with our staff last year. Show notes at www.SavannaInstitute.org/PerennialAF

In 2024, Savanna Institute began a bioacoustic monitoring program to record the sounds of birds and other wildlife each morning and evening at one of our research farms. Ecosystem scientist Nate Lawrence explains the initial results from this project and how we hope to expand our acoustic monitoring in the future to identify birds, amphibians, insects, and bats in agroforestry fields. Show notes at www.SavannaInstitute.org/PerennialAF

Host Jacob Grace reads from the first three chapters of Tree Crops: A Permanent Agriculture by J. Russell Smith, first published in 1929. This book, which is now in the public domain, has been extremely influential in the adoption of agroforestry in the United States, and in the origins of the Savanna Institute in particular. Show notes at www.SavannaInstitute.org/PerennialAF    

Sallie Calhoun, founder of the #NoRegrets Initiative and owner of Paicines Ranch on California's central coast, talks with staff member Jenn Ripp about how she got started ranching, her experiences as a philanthropist, and the importance of shifting from an agriculture based on chemistry to an agriculture based on biology. Show notes at www.savannainstitute.org/PerennialAF  

Farmer Josh Payne leads a tour of his farm in central Missouri and describes his management of beef cattle, sheep, and hogs in a rotational grazing silvopasture system with chestnuts and additional agroforestry crops.

Harry and Jackie Hoch describe their work establishing tropical agroforestry in Carmelita Gardens, Belize, and discuss what has happened with their farmland in Minnesota since the 2018 interview heard in the previous episode. Show notes at www.savannainstitute.org/PerennialAF

Hear an audio tour of Hoch Orchard and Gardens in southeastern Minnesota in this archival recording from 2018. Harry and Jackie Hoch describe their systems for organic apple and cider production, orchard management with multispecies grazing, integrated pest management, and more. More info at https://www.savannainstitute.org/minnesota/hoch-orchard/  

Adam D’Angelo, Breeding Operations Manager for the Savanna Institute Tree Crop Improvement Program, leads a tour of a research farm at the Savanna Institute’s Spring Green Campus in Spring Green, Wisconsin. Learn about plant breeding efforts with hybrid hazelnuts, American persimmon, black currants, elderberry, and more. Show notes at www.SavannaInstitute.org/PerennialAF

Brett Chedzoy and Cherrie Nolden have decades of experience managing silvopasture on farms in New York, Argentina, and Wisconsin. In this recorded session from PFG 2024, Brett and Cherrie describe their experiences raising cattle, goats, and other species in silvopasture systems, share lessons they’ve learned, and answer questions from the audience. Show notes at www.SavannaInstitute.org/PerennialAF

Lupe Rios talks about grafting, Eliza Greenman talks about silvopasture and fruit exploring, and Paul Dietmann talks about farm loans and financing in these interviews from the 2019 Perennial Farm Gathering. Show notes at www.SavannaInstitute.org/PerennialAF

In 2018, the Mexican government launched a national program called Sembrando Vida, or “sowing life”, with the goal of reducing poverty and reforesting rural areas with agroforestry. Since the program’s launch, it has paid out billions of dollars and impacted over a million acres, and is now expanding to other central American countries. In this episode, researchers Pablo Gonzalez Moctezuma and Sophia Winkler-Schor describe the details of this ambitious program, and discuss what we can learn from the outcomes of the program so far. Show notes at www.SavannaInstitute.org/PerennialAF

Perennial beverage makers discuss the processing, marketing, and development of syrups, sparkling waters, salves, cordials, shrubs, beers, wines, and other beverages made with perennial ingredients in this recorded workshop from the 2024 Perennial Farm Gathering. Show notes at www.savannainstitute.org/PerennialAF

Host Jacob Grace talks with his friend Alex about her family’s experiences as non-operating landowners trying to establish perennial management on their historic Wisconsin farm, and the hurdles and roadblocks they have encountered along the way. Show notes at www.SavannaInstitute.org/PerennialAF

This January, Savanna Institute staff member MJ Oviatt visited the UK to study hedgelaying with members of the Blackdown Hills Hedge Association. In this episode, we hear MJ’s recorded conversations with hedgelayers Martin Turner, George Pidgeon, and Steven McCulloch. Show notes at savannainstitute.org/PerennialAF/

Chefs and perennial food advocates Beth Dooley, Francesca Hong, and Odessa Piper discuss cooking and baking with perennial ingredients, favorite recipes, and suggestions for being engaged and “curious eaters” in this recorded session from the 2024 Perennial Farm Gathering. Show notes at www.savannainstitute.org/PerennialAF

Erik Hagan, farm director of the Spring Green Campus, leads a farm tour of silvopasture systems in this recording from a field day in August 2024. Show notes at SavannaInstitute.org/PerennialAF

Tree crop researchers Eliza Greenman and Nate Lawrence discuss the pros, cons, and tradeoffs of windbreak and riparian buffer management for ecosystem services and profitability in this recording from the 2024 Perennial Farm Gathering. Show notes at www.savannainstitute.org/PerennialAF

Barbara Decré, assistant director of our Agroforestry Adoption program, leads a guided meditation to help you visualize a perennial farming project five, fifteen and thirty years from now. What is your "why", and how does it help shape your vision? Show notes at www.savannainstitute.org/PerennialAF

Chef Sean Sherman delivers the keynote address at the 2024 Perennial Farm Gathering in October 2024. Show notes at www.savannainstitute.org/PerennialAF

Agroforester Steve Gabriel leads the audience in a conversation about why agroforestry plantings fail and what we can do to help projects succeed in this recorded session at the 2024 Perennial Farm Gathering. Link to Steve’s resources: https://www.farmingwithtrees.org/projects/whytreesdie Show notes at www.savannainstitute.org/PerennialAF 

Chuck Anderas and Margaret Krome from the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute's policy team discuss the need for a new Farm Bill, the importance of ag policy in expanding perennial agriculture, and what types of engagement can have the greatest impact on policymakers.

A tour of 4H Memorial Demonstration Farm at Allerton Park in central Illinois with Demonstration Farms Director Kaitie Adams and Savanna Institute staff. This farm features windbreaks and alley cropping with timber species planted into a row crop field, and relies on a number of innovative partnerships with landowners and farmer collaborators. You can see a video tour of the farm at https://youtu.be/9nEAOzHYB6Q?si=rJNAFCUh52rkLfc5

This episode takes you on an audio tour of the Savanna Institute's North Farm, part of our Spring Green Campus in southern Wisconsin. Hear farm director Erik Hagan talk about chestnuts, hazelnuts, silvopasture with sheep, and more! Show notes at www.savannainstitute.org/PerennialAF

A recording of Dr. Eric Burkhart's forest farming workshop at the Savanna Institute's Spring Green Campus. Learn more about forest stewardship and non-timber forest products like ginseng, wild edibles, and more! Show notes at savannainstitute.org/PerennialAF

The road trip continues! We hear from agroforesters and authors Steve Gabriel, Eric Toensmeier, and Akiva Silver on a road trip to the northeast. Show notes at savannainstitute.org/PerennialAF

Road trip! We hear from agroforesters Sven Pihl, Seva Water, and Joe Orefice on a road trip to the northeast. Show notes at savannainstitute.org/PerennialAF.

Monika Shea and Kevin Wolz, two of the researchers behind Canopy Compass, describe the history and the potential of this new web-based tree crop suitability mapping tool. You can access Canopy Compass at www.canopycompass.com

Savanna Institute researcher Eliza Greenman describes her search for the best-tasting American persimmon cultivars, which involves box turtles, pudding competitions, indigenous plant breeding, extinct megafauna, missing research scientists, and more. Recorded at the 2023 Perennial Farm Gathering. Show notes at www.savannainstitute.org/PerennialAF

Savanna Institute staff members Bill Davison and PJ Connolly describe their work to expand regional markets for four nutritionally-dense perennial berries: black currant, elderberry, aronia, and honeyberry. Show notes at www.savannainstitute.org/PerennialAF

A compilation of short interviews from our recent videos, featuring Nightfall Farm, Riveredge Nature Center, Scott Brainard & Eliza Greenman, Grassland 2.0 and Canopy Farm Management. Videos by Man Alone Media and Windborne Media. Videos and show notes at www.savannainstitute.org/perennialaf

Adam D’Angelo, founder of Project Pawpaw, answers commonly asked questions about this elusive and beloved North American fruit. Project Pawpaw: https://www.projectpawpaw.com Show notes: https://www.savannainstitute.org/perennialaf/

A lot of people hate black locust and honey locust trees, but some people think they hold great potential for agroforestry. Greg Judy, Austin Unruh, Steve Gabriel, Brett Chedzoy, Eliza Greenman, and others share their perspective in this episode. Show notes: https://www.savannainstitute.org/perennialaf/

Spreadsheet wizard John Hendrickson helps host Jacob Grace get started with the Fruit and Nut Compass, a free spreadsheet tool for producers to track the financial viability of their enterprises. Show notes at www.savannainstitute.org/PerennialAF Free compass tools at https://cias.wisc.edu/our-work/farming-systems/farm-viability/

This episode features portions of the PFG 2023 panel discussion "Everything You Wanted to Know About Forest Farming (But Didn't Know to Ask)", featuring Ingrid Daudert from Misty Dawn Farm in Wisconsin, Karam Sheban from the Northeast Forest Farmers Coalition, and Robin Suggs from Appalachian Sustainable Development. Show notes and links at www.savannainstitute.org/perennialaf 

Savanna Institute research scientists Nate Lawrence and Monika Shea dig into the details of agroforestry for climate change mitigation (through reduced inputs and carbon sequestration) and climate adaptation (through better mapping and management, among other things). Show notes and links at www.savannainstitute.org/PerennialAF

Author and poet Ross Gay speaks with silvopasture farmer Liz Brownlee in a recorded keynote session from the 2023 Perennial Farm Gathering. Show notes at https://www.savannainstitute.org/PerennialAF/

This episode features a recorded phone interview between Missouri silvopasture farmer and author Greg Judy and Iowa State University student Jesse Matt, recorded in 2018 as part of a Savanna Institute outreach project. Show notes: www.savannainstitute.org/perennialaf 

Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer, ecologist and author of "Braiding Sweetgrass" and "Gathering Moss", answers questions from the audience of our 2023 Perennial Farm Gathering. Moderated by author and Leopold scholar Curt Meine. 

Wisconsin Extension forestry specialist Tony Johnson discusses how maple syrup production can open doors for other agroforestry enterprises, and how Wisconsin woodland owners can get started. Plus, Scott Brainard and Eliza Greenman describe the benefits of persimmons as an agroforestry crop.  Show notes at www.savannainstitute.org/perennialaf

Goats, sheep, cattle, hogs, horses, and fowl all have different diets, behavior, and impacts on the land. Choosing the right type of livestock for you and your farm is key to success. Wisconsin farmer and researcher Cherrie Nolden discusses the strenghts, weaknesses, and needs of different types of livestock in this recording from the 2022 Perennial Farm Gathering.  Show notes: www.savannainstitute.org/perennialaf  

Host Jacob Grace and Eric Wolske of Canopy Farm Management join Will Fulwider and Michael Geissinger, hosts of the Field Notes podcast from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension, to answer questions that Wisconsin crop farmers might have about agroforestry.  Show notes at: https://www.savannainstitute.org/perennialaf Field Notes podcast: https://cropsandsoils.extension.wisc.edu/field-notes-podcast/ 

Jacob Marty reflects on how his relationship with his father has shaped the dynamics on their sixth generation family farm in southern Wisconsin in this recording from the 2017 Perennial Farm Gathering.  Show notes at https://www.savannainstitute.org/perennial-af-generational-dynamics-with-jacob-marty/

Scott Brainard, a plant breeding specialist working for the Savanna Institute, gives an overview of the institute's goals and strategies for breeding more productive and resilient tree crop varieties.  Show notes at https://www.savannainstitute.org/perennialaf/

In this recording from our 2021 Perennial Farm Gathering, farmer Dayna Burtness moderates an online panel conversation with cookbook author Beth Dooley, orchardist and historical horticulturist Eliza Greenman, and author and food justice advocate Anna Lappé.  Hear more at https://www.youtube.com/@SavannaInstitute