Reframing Rural Tree Ring Records

Megan Torgerson has some big life news to share and is working with collaborators on the creative direction of the fourth season!

In this final installment of Season 3 “Groundwork,” Reframing Rural founder, host and producer, Megan Torgerson speaks with the podcast’s audio engineer, Aaron Spieldenner and story editor, Mary Auld about the inspiration behind the season and all the work that goes into producing the show’s long-form narrative episodes.

Grace Olmstead is the West’s preeminent author on place. In her book "Uprooted: Recovering the Legacy of the Places We've Left Behind” and in this interview, she speaks to rural outmigration, connection to place, the history of how agriculture was industrialized and the future of agriculture in the West amid suburban sprawl and a call to build more just and resilient regional food systems.

At 21 John Wicks was faced with the decision to stay in college or come home and save his family's farm. Today he is a leader in Montana's organic and regenerative farming movement and an advocate for family farms across the state, serving as the associate director of Montana Farmers Union. Together with his friends Peyton Cole and Paul Neubauer, John is helping further the understanding that the health of our agricultural lands impacts the health of our communities.

Dr. Alison Brennan, MSU Extension's designated mental health specialist, Courtney Brown Kibblewhite with Northern Ag Network and Beyond the Weather, and wellness coach and rancher Lisa Williams discuss mental health resources and stigma around mental health in Montana's rural and agricultural communities. This episode spans data on farm stress, free counseling services for Montana producers and actionable tips for restoring balance and wellbeing to our lives.

In Winnett, the only town in the least populated county in Montana, out-of-state absentee land ownership poses a threat to the future of ranching and the preservation of the region’s intact prairie ecosystem. To keep people on the land and build a vibrant future for Winnett’s main street, the rancher-led nonprofit Winnett ACES is furthering economic and environmental sustainability for Petroleum Co. through local grassroots organizing.