Deep Roots Radio

Sylvia Burgos Toftness
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This is about connecting the dots. Every dollar we spend on food, clothes, health care, recreation, and building materials either supports pollution or clean water, farm worker poverty or economic health, nutrition or empty calories, and humane or cruel livestock conditions. Guests from across the country and around the world describe how we can work for a better, healthier culture, lifestyle, and planet. There is hope. Be the change.

  1. May 19

    Katrina Rodabaugh - Slow Fashion movement through making, thrifting and mending

    Connecting the dots between what we wear and environmental impact creates a scary picture. According to the EPA, billions of pounds of textiles ends up in landfills every year. Why? One of the reasons may be our culture's habit of hoping from one fashion trend to another every few weeks. That's Fast Fashion. Lots of people in the industry, and in your neighborhood, have taken note and are taking action in a movement called Slow Fashion. It encourages us to purchase better-made clothes, and learn to mend the jeans, blouses, and jackets we really like. This Deep Roots Radio interview features Katrina Rodabaugh, author of Mending Matters, and of Make Thrift Mend. She teaches classes and offers a number of products. You can learn more from her website, www.katrinarodabaugh.com Sylvia Burgos Toftness

    35 min

  2. May 9

    May 9th River Rd Farm Crawl, Osceola WI

    The day's are bright, the air fresh - perfect time to visit a nearby farm and learn about how our food is grown, how livestock are raised, and taste delicious local food. The 2026 farm visiting season kicks off with the May 9 River Road Farm Crawl in Osceola, Wisconsin. Visit their Facebook page for details -@River Road Community Collaborative - an interactive map, and descriptions of loads of family fun. Enjoy this Deep Roots Radio chat with Sara Hasse, the organizer of the 6th Annual event. Sylvia Burgos Toftness

    29 min

  3. Mar 27

    Curlee Acres naturally-colored yarn from Shetland Sheep

    When March hits, Wisconsin can be a roller-coaster of temperature and snow - nasty. Yet this is the time of year when new lambs decide to baaa their way into the world. At Curlee Acres, a small sheep farm near Centuria (north central Wisconsin), sheep herder/yarn producer Andrea Seifert is hoping for black lambs this year. It's a matter of minding the genetics of her Shetland flock, and some luck, said Andrea. In this Deep Roots Radio interview, Andrea describes what it takes to get from fleece to naturally colored skeins of yarn. Check out her website for her yarn, fleeces, and knitting patterns. I hope you enjoy this interview. Sylvia

    30 min

  4. Mar 19

    Z-Orchard - the cold and warm of making maple syrup in Wisconsin

    When you think "maple syrup" what comes to mind? Vermont? Canada? Nah, think Wisconsin. Z-Orchard in Amery, WI was recently featured in a syrupy article in the New York Times, and the recognition is well deserved. Z-Orchard's syrup is pure and delicious. In this Deep Roots Radio chat, Z-Orchard owner and beekeeper Bill Zager describes the steps involved in going from tree sap to maple syrup. Enjoy. Sylvia

    31 min

  5. Mar 19

    Wisconsin lavender farm invites you to color, fragrance, flavor and health.

    Many travel to France for the annual display of lavender: fields of purples ranging from dusky to intense. Luckily for us in the Upper Midwest, we need go no further than Kiel, Wisconsin to drink in the site and fragrance of acres of lavender at Country Lavender & Orchard. In this Deep Roots Radio chat, Sandy Buchholz describes how she and husband John tripped from farming into the cultivation of this amazing flower and herb. Enjoy the interview, and make plans to visit this lavender farm! Sylvia

    32 min

  6. Mar 18

    Take action: Laws that help or hurt Wisconsin agricultural tourism

    Wisconsin loses more than a farm a day because of the high costs and low incomes to farmers. Not a new story: WI lost 10% of its farms between 2017 and 2022. Yet, there is a clear way for farmers to increase their income: agricultural tourism. And it will not cost the taxpayer a dime. Despite this great way for farmers and rural businesses to boost income, Wisconsin legislators are sitting on bill that could help. Why? Call your Wisconsin Senator and Representative to urge them to pass two bills: One that will again enable event barns, on working farms, to rent their barns more than six (6) times a year, andAnother that allows Wisconsin farmers to welcome overnight visitors for Education Farm Stays.Enjoy this Deep Roots Radio interview with more of the reasons why this works for farmers, visitors and the State of Wisconsin. Sylvia

    29 min

  7. Feb 16

    Plan 2026 on-farm adventures & help remove obstacles to agtourism opportunities

    Sheila Everhart, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Agricultural Tourism Association points visitors to on-farm fun all across Wisconsin. She also asks the public to help remove barriers to agricultural tourism opportunities. Hundreds of Wisconsin farmers are eager for you to visit their farms for adventures in eating, meeting animal farm babies, hiking/biking, taking classes, picking fruits and berries, and so much more. Public demand for on-farm experiences continues to grow. This includes holding private events in on-farm barns, and enjoying Educational Farm Stays. Unfortunately, there are obstacles. And you can help remove these blockages by contacting your Wisconsin State Senator and Representative before this Legislative session ends in a few weeks. (Find your legislators here.) Pls urge your Senator and Representative to support Senate Bill 415 and Assembly Bill 413 so that Wisconsin farmers can offer Educational Farm Stays on their property.Pls go to Change.org and sign the petition to this effect. You can make a big difference.Also contact your Senator and Representative to move Senate Bill 850 and Assembly Bill 863 through committee and to a vote. These bills would again allow Wisconsin farmers to offer the public the opportunity to rent the space of an event venue (barn) for private, invitation-only celebration. As of January 2026, new legislation demands that a working farm must purchase a $10,000 liquor license, install expensive equipment, and operate as a bar if it wants to open its barn to more than six events a year. To be clear, for decades before this January, on-farm event venues operated legally and in compliance with all state and local regulations: These farm venues did not sell liquor in any form; the farms rented the barn space; the renter provided the alcohol (if any) to its invitation-only guests; the renter provided the required, licenses bartender. Register your support at https://instituteforjustice.quorum/campaign/128722/

    29 min

  8. 08/30/2025

    Elspeth Hay, Part 1 - journalist/author, "Feed Us With Trees: Nuts and the Future of Food"

    In this first of two Deep Roots Radio interviews, journalist Elspeth Hay introduces us to her fresh off the presses book, Feed Us With Trees: Nuts and the Future of Food. She describes what describes what agriculture looked like before Columbus, how European settlers forced change, and what we’ve lost in a cloud of myth and misinformation. Ms. Hay moves us through a re-examination of permaculture, as well as economic and social opportunities possible in the future. Elspeth Hay is a writer in print, radio and online, focused on food, the environment, and the people, places and ideas that feed us. She is the creator and host of The Local Food Report, a weekly feature that has aired on Cape Cod’s NPR station since 2008.

    33 min
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About

This is about connecting the dots. Every dollar we spend on food, clothes, health care, recreation, and building materials either supports pollution or clean water, farm worker poverty or economic health, nutrition or empty calories, and humane or cruel livestock conditions. Guests from across the country and around the world describe how we can work for a better, healthier culture, lifestyle, and planet. There is hope. Be the change.

Information

  • Creator
    Sylvia Burgos Toftness
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    44
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Sylvia Burgos Toftness
  • Show Website
    Deep Roots Radio