Ducks, cows, and resilience

01/07/25 • 52 min

Down to Earth: The Planet to Plate Podcast

Since the 1930s, Ducks Unlimited has been protecting habitat for ducks and other migrating waterfowl, and has conserved over 18 million acres of wetlands and bird habitat in North America and beyond. Founded by hunters, the organization originally focused on duck breeding habitat in Canadian prairie lands. Over the decades their conservation work expanded to including the US, Mexico, and other parts of Latin America, and embraces both public and private lands. We talk with Billy Gascoigne is DU's Director of Agriculture & Strategic Partnerships, and Ryan Taylor, Director Of Public Policy for the Dakotas and Montana and North Dakota cattle rancher, about how conservation of waterfowl habitat is a win-win for farmers and ranchers—as well as water, wildlife, communities, and climate. By promoting voluntary conservation efforts, they build long-term partnerships that aim for long-term resilience and farmer profitability.

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Animal welfare is good for everyone—including farmers

Adam Mason is Senior Manager of Farm Animal Welfare and Environmental Policy at the ASPCA, the American Society of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. In our conversation he talks about their multi-pronged approach to getting animals out of buildings and into cruelty-free lives in which they can express their natural instincts and behaviors. Farmers who make the transition from industrial/conventional livestock practices to animal-friendly practices report better lives for the animals and the farmers themselves, with benefits for land and water health, and often more autonomy and greater profitability.

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Landscape restoration: letting nature do the work

Bill Zeedyk restores landscapes—streams, wetlands, even rural roads—by using simple, low-tech tools and letting nature do most of the work. The result is healthy, lush desert ecosystems. Filmmaker Renea Roberts' recently released a five-part documentary series about his work, Thinking Like Water.