Warmly, Iowa Podcast Exploring the beauty and complexity of life in Iowa through the stories of its people.

“Pizza’s the perfect canvas for local food.” 
~Maren Beard
After we released the first season, so many of you expressed a special interest in pizza farms, we wanted to share more of the conversation I had with Maren Beard earlier this year. In this bonus episode, Maren and I discuss Luna Valley Farm’s approach to farming, why Tom and Maren Beard decided to begin a pizza farm and the downstream effects of farming.
We hope you subscribe to our Substack, if you haven’t already, for some behind the scenes notes from the episodes and stories of Iowans we admire. Find us at warmlyia.substack.com.
Mentioned in this episode:
* Decorah, Iowa
* Luna Valley Farm 
* Foot-Notes Band
* NRCS Climate Smart Mitigation Activities


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit warmlyia.substack.com

In this season, I asked the question, “Why does everyone think I grew up on a farm?” It was meant to be an inquiry to counter the stereotype, but it took a different direction altogether. The question ended up being rhetorical in nature. This episode is the end of the season, but not the end of the podcast. We hope you subscribe to our Substack, if you haven’t already, for some behind the scenes notes from the episodes and stories of Iowans we admire.
Thank you, Brian R. Johnson, for providing the voice of Iowa in this episode. 
For more Iowa agrotourism farms in operation, search Visit Iowa Farms.
Mentioned in this episode:
* Decorah, Iowa
* Recognizing Challenges to Iowa’s Annual Cropping Systems
* Practical Farmers of Iowa
* Nordic Fest
Support the farms featured in Warmly, IA:
* Land Alliance Folk School and Retreat Center
* Birds & Bees Urban Farm
* Luna Valley Farm


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit warmlyia.substack.com

“I like that we're supporting the next generation of farmers who are farming in a way that my great grandparents farmed.”
This episode is our last in the series. We bring it all together by highlighting both a pizza farm, Luna Valley Farm, and an academic’s discussion of agrotourism. 
In this episode, host Sarah Davis speaks with Dr. Brian Rumsey and Maren Beard, of Luna Valley Farm, about their insights on pizza farms. During their conversations, they discussed sustainability, agrotourism, farming, the economics of pizza farming and the community development aspect that can come from opening up farms to tourism.
About Dr. Brian Rumsey
Dr Brian Rumsey is environmental sustainability administrator at Wartburg College. He was born and raised in Iowa City. After stops in New Hampshire, Mississippi, and Kansas, he returned to Iowa in 2016. He lives in Cedar Falls with his wife and two daughters and teaches courses on history and sustainability at the University of Northern Iowa and Wartburg College. He is passionate about producing and preparing good food sustainably. When he's not working on his classes, you're likely to find him out in the garden with his family in the warmer months, or running the wood-fired oven at Basal Pizza in Waterloo on Friday evenings.
About Maren Beard
After a youth spent in rural Wisconsin, Maren Beard attended Luther College in Decorah where she studied Environmental Studies and Spanish. She fell in love with the area and went on to earn a Masters of Science in Sustainable Food Systems and joined the team at Luther College as the Assistant Director for the Center for Sustainable Communities where she worked for ten years on issues related to campus sustainability. These days Maren works full time on the farm!
Maren spends a lot of time in the kitchen during the week, making dough, rolling dough balls and preparing pizza ingredients using our wood-fired oven. You’ll usually spot her behind the bar greeting customers on pizza nights.
Mentioned in this episode
* Field of Dreams
* Luna Valley Farm  
* Dave and Anna Geyer (See previous episode or LandAllianceFolk.com) 
* Italy Agriturismos


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit warmlyia.substack.com

“What we do here at this urban farm is to be connected to the earth, but as we've mentioned, it's [also] connected us to so many other people.”
In this episode, host Sarah Davis speaks with lifelong Iowan, Kathy Byrnes, of the Birds & Bees Urban Farm. During their conversation, they discussed community, self-sufficiency and sustainability — all in the setting of a farm in the middle of Des Moines, Iowa.
If you live in an urban area in Iowa, have you considered turning your yard into food? I’d love to hear from you. Email me at warmlyiowa@gmail.com. For the next episode, we’ll be chatting with Dr. Brian Rumsey about community and sustainable farming practices, in the context of pizza farming.
About Kathy
A lifelong Iowan, and country mouse at heart, Kathy Byrnes always gardened but wasn’t an actual farmer till she moved to the city of Des Moines. She soon discovered that dirt in urban settings is very different from the soil she was used to. With her husband, Ed, she’s learned to build soil with compost and manure from local sources - one being their very own chickens. Now Kathy is using her experience as a teacher, writer, foodie, and climate activist to help others learn to turn their yards into dinner.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
* Birds & Bees Urban Farm  
* The Fallon Forum
* The Fallon Forum Dec. 5 Episode Kathy mentioned (the tomato discussion begins at 54:19):
* Urban Farming Practices (Iowa State Extension)
* Derecho (August 2020)  
* Washington Post article mentioning Iowa as a state with a high quality of life: Which states have the highest living standards? (And more!)
* No Mow May 
* Des Moines Irish Session


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit warmlyia.substack.com

“There’s something a little mundane about [farm work], and that mundane work is both beautiful and steadying.”
In this episode, host Sarah Davis speaks with longtime Iowan, Anna Geyer, of the Geyer Family Farm. Anna is an entrepreneur with a vision for sharing her beautiful and sustainable life with other entrepreneurs through her Land Alliance Folk School Entrepreneurship Program. During their conversation, they discussed the Land Alliance Folk School and Retreat Center, shared thoughts on entrepreneurship, and Anna elaborated on the reasons why she is currently focused on farm work.  
If you are a farmer (or an entrepreneur), can you relate to what Anna discusses in this episode? I’d love to hear from you. Email Sarah at warmlyiowa@gmail.com with your reflections. For the next episode, we’ll be chatting with Kathy Byrnes of Birds and Bees Urban Farm, for more of an urban farm outlook.
About Anna
Anna Geyer farms with her husband Dave on a farm west of Iowa City, IA.  In addition to participating in the general work of the farm, one of Anna’s significant contributions over the years has been to create a series of agritourism enterprises.  Beginning with cut flowers for u-pick and weddings (Anna’s Cutting Garden), then moving into artisan wood-fired bread, (Crust & Crumb), wood-fired pizza events (Geyer’s Oven), a folk school and retreat center (Land Alliance) with lodging, camping and glamping experiences on the farm. Most recently, she has begun working to transition some of their acres to agroforestry, focusing on perennial food, fiber, and natural dyes. Anna also teaches entrepreneurship through the Land Alliance Folk School Entrepreneurship Program.
Resources mentioned in this episode
* Land Alliance Folk School and Retreat Center
* Land Alliance Folk School Entrepreneurship Program
* Wikipedia Entry on Agritourism 
* Practical Farmers of Iowa
* Anna’s recorded talk for Practical Farmers of Iowa
* The Artists’ Way


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit warmlyia.substack.com

Subtle beauty
“Let’s take a moment to remember what it’s like to be at home.”

My intention with this podcast is to explore the nuances that rest beyond the stereotypes.
In this first season, we’ll be exploring the answer to a question I was often asked over the years, “did you grow up on a farm?” For me, it’s more of a rhetorical question. I didn’t grow up on a farm, but I am Iowan. In my first full summer back, I learned about pizza farms and became very intrigued, discovering the reasoning behind it and the possibilities of farming and rural community building.
This season, you’ll hear from Anna Geyer, owner of the Land Alliance Folk School and Retreat Center in Oxford, Iowa. You’ll also hear from Kathy Byrnes, a teacher, writer, foodie, and climate activist, who is Founder and Director of Birds and Bees Urban Farm in Des Moines, Iowa. Last, you’ll hear from Dr. Brian Rumsey, Environmental Sustainability Administrator at Wartburg College, and Maren Beard, Owner and Operator of Luna Valley Farm in Decorah Iowa. And, this summer, I’ll begin again, taking you with me behind the scenes as I create the stories for the next season.
Thanks for listening to the trailer, and I look forward to rediscovering Iowa with you through this podcast and newsletter.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit warmlyia.substack.com