What's New At Hudson River Flows
We continue to share stories about people committed to creating a healthier and more equitable food system in our region.
WHy HEALTHY Soil Matters:
A New Hudson River Flows Story Series
What We Know and
Don't Know About Soil
More farmers and producer who have invested time, labor and money in land that has been distressed by years of chemical farming are beginning to test their food for nutrient value and density. They hope to prove scientifically what we all have intuited: farming methods that promote the health of the soil and the biodiversity above it produce food that is healthier for humans than conventionally grown.
However, what those food testers are discovering is that a myriad of factors can influence a given test result and those factors cannot yet be easily teased out. What's more, as network-scientist Albert-László Barabási, says: "‘Our understanding of how diet affects health is limited to 150 key nutritional components....these represent only a small fraction of the biochemicals present in our food. … There’s also a vast supporting cast of micronutrients: minerals, vitamins and other biochemicals, many of which are only present in minuscule quantities, but which can still have profound health effects."
Clearly the emerging scientific exploration of this "nutritional dark matter," as Barabási has coined it, will be exciting to report on and holds great promise. Yet, wherever that exploration takes us, we need first to understand the bottom line: healthy soil is where that vital "supporting cast of micronutrients" lives. Nurturing the soil where we grow our food is the only way we can be sure that those nutrients are getting into the food we eat.
We will start with a story by Dr. Kate Susman, professor of Biology and Environmental Studies at Vassar College, who offers a deep dive into what we now know about healthy soil, how it is degraded, how it is restored, and why it matters.--Coming Soon.
A conversation with Kyle Jaster of Community Food Works
Kyle Jaster has been thinking deeply for many years about the barriers to building a healthy and equitable regional food system. Now, as Executive Director of Community Food Works, he’s addressing those barriers as the organization works to restore a food system in the Hudson Valley that sources food from local producers, processes it at local facilities and distributes it to an expanding network of local institutions.
Tri-Corner F.E.E.D. — A Market Committed to Equitable Food Access
We are fortunate to have several food markets in the Hudson Valley that are working to provide nutritious food to everyone regardless of financial means, while at the same time offering a fair price to the farmers who grow that food. In this first of a Hudson River Flows series on these community-based models, we profile Tri-Corner F.E.E.D. market in Millerton.
Intro to "commodity Farmers Who Partner with the Soil"
A new breed of commodity farmers are cultivating a way of farming that stretches their creativity and resourcefulness as they working increasingly as collaborators with the soil. The exciting news is they are finding they can depend less, or not at all, on synthetic inputs. The learning curve and challenges are significant, but they are coming to embrace the complexity and the rewards of farming as both an art and a vocation.
A Commodity Farmer in Partnership with the Soil: John Macauley on Embracing Change
“I saw all that was happening,” recalls John Macauley of Macauley farms. “My soil had a different smell and when I pulled back the cover crop the worms and bugs were running around in it." He credits his progressive father for encouraging him: "If you stay in the same track you never get out of the rut," was the wisdom he imbibed.
A Commodity Farmer In Partnership with the Soil: Forrest Watson on the Intricate System of Farming
“When people say cows are bad for the environment, well having no cows and only farming soy and corn is worse,” says Forrest Watson of Mulligan Farm says. “Maybe cows produce more methane but they also produce manure and using only synthetic fertilizer for your crops because you don’t have the natural manure is probably worse."
A Commodity Farmer In Partnership With The Soil: Jay Goldmark on Extending the Soil's Sabbatical
Farmers once understood the fundamentals of crop rotation and disease management without chemical inputs, says Jay Goldmark of certified organic Stone House Farm. “It’s only until recent history, within the last hundred years, that we've lost that intrinsic balance on farms,” he notes, when synthetic inputs became substitutes for sound soil management practices.
American Farmland Trust's Bianca Moebius-Clune on a "New "Conventional" Agriculture
“We want to bring about a shift to a form of agriculture across the country that we can all be proud of, where the new normal, the new conventional, is to successfully adapt soil health management systems to every farm, and for farmers to thrive as a result,” says Moebius-Clune.
Aaron Ristow on the Challenges of the Transition
As conventional farmers continue to build soil health it will become clearly and consistently reflective in their bottom lines, Ristow hopes: “They might have lower yields in a given season they might also have offsetting lower input costs. And maybe there will actually, over time, be some improvement in yield because the soil is more resilient. That is what we are hoping to demonstrate.”
"Leap of Faith" Short Doc Coming Soon
Drawing on his unique storytelling gifts and his life experiences in both the world of conventional and regenerative organic farming, Jay Goldmark of Stone House Farm in Hudson, NY, offers a nonjudgmental perspective into the challenges, rewards, and complexities of farming in harmony with our natural and human communities.
In the first chapter of Hudson River Flows a group of writers, thinkers, and creatives worked to weave a new narrative of the Hudson Valley bioregional food economy. We followed the connective threads and flows where they led, as we revealed the system’s self-organizing collaborators and activators. You can read their stories here.
Our Current Contributors
Susan Arterian Chang directed Capital Institute’s digital storytelling project "A Field Guide to Investing in Regenerative Economy" and the documentary "A Year in the Life of First Green Bank." She created Hudson River Flows with a group of writers, thinkers, and creatives in 2019 with a founding grant from Capital Institute.
Dr. Kate Susman is a professor of Biology and Environmental Studies at Vassar College and teaches Human Physiology and Environmental Neuroscience courses that focus on how our health is influenced by our environment (including the food we eat). She believes that teaching and learning about science through storytelling brings it into our everyday lives.
Trained in stroke neurochemistry, Kate pivoted her research focus on the toxic effects of common pesticides on brain and behavior of crucial soil organisms in response to growing scientific awareness of the links between pesticides and neurodegenerative diseases. Her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and an Established Investigator Award from the American Heart Association.
Creative Class 6 is a collective of filmmakers partnering with cause-based brands, nonprofits, and artists. Creative Class 6 produced "A River That Flows Both Ways" for Capital Institute and directed the soon to be released Hudson River Flows short documentary "A Leap of Faith."
Marie McCann, is a fine artist, graphic designer, and long-time collaborator with Susan on this and many other digital storytelling projects including Capital Institute's "A Field Guide to Investing in Regenerative Economy."