Through Timber Ridge Land & Cattle in Southwestern Alberta, the Halls are pioneering a model of ranching rooted in a simple belief: the land they steward is a gift, and it's their responsibility to leave it healthier, more resilient and abundant for generations to come. Their approach reflects what many now call regenerative agriculture or holistic management, but for the Halls, it began more simply: with a responsibility to care for a thriving ecosystem, and along the way, figure out how to make that commitment work as successful ranchers.

In the final episode of our 2026 Old Salt Festival series, Michael Dimock talks with father and son, Glen and Cody Hall, and Sheldon Atwood of Western Ranchlands Corporation about stewardship, succession and education, the interdependence of rural and urban communities in regional food systems, and what becomes possible when we manage working lands for ecological, economic and community health.

You may know Wendell Berry for his writing on what we stand to lose through industrial agriculture—and what it will take to defend farmers, preserve small farms and agrarian culture, and advocate for equitable and ecological land stewardship. But you should also know his daughter, Mary Berry.

As Executive Director of The Berry Center in New Castle, Kentucky, Mary is carrying her multigenerational family legacy, philosophy and values into action. Through farmer education, direct marketing projects for local producers, a demonstration farm, cultural events and programs that strengthen local rural communities, Mary and her team are showing what a more equitable, ecological, and agrarian farming future can look like.

Enjoy our fifth out of the six podcasts featuring voices for the Old Salt Festival where Michael Dimock sits down with Mary to learn about the Berry family legacy, why small-farm agriculture matters, and the work of building a future in which farmers and healthy rural economies can thrive.

Rural people are a minority in America and rural regions are often overlooked except during elections or farm bill debates. In Episode 4, we hear from two veteran rural advocates: Anna Claussen, Founder of Voices for Rural Resilience and Ash Hanson, CEO of The Department of Public Transformation, about the key reasons why overlooking the rural people, places and economies of our nation is a mistake. Their conversation invites us to look beyond our political and urban-rural differences to discover the culture, deep care, and creative resilience that is alive in rural communities—and what becomes possible when those strengths are recognized and supported. Rural people and communities have much to share with urban America that makes us a better nation.