What Losing My Farm Taught Me About The Food System - Jr Burdick | #93

JR Burdick of Nourishing Family Farm recounts how his family lost everything during the 1980s farm crisis - and how that collapse became the blueprint for rebuilding local, regenerative food. From co-op control and industrial dependence to raw milk, soil stewardship, and food freedom, JR traces how America’s broken system can be fixed one farm at a time.

Key Topics

The 1980s farm crisis and its generational impactIndustrial agriculture’s false promisesLosing and rebuilding the family farmFounding Nourishing Family Farm and producing raw milkRedefining farming as care for soil, cows, and community

Why Listen

Reveals how U.S. farm policy hollowed out rural AmericaShows how raw milk and local food rebuild trust and healthOffers a firsthand blueprint for regenerating the land and economyTraces 40 years of American farming through one family’s eyesEnds with a powerful redefinition of what it means to be a farmer

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References:
"The Jungle" (1906) by Upton Sinclair

Timestamps

00:00:00 – JR’s 11-generation farming roots on the Michigan–Indiana border00:02:00 – The 1980s farm collapse and how his father lost everything00:06:00 – Interest-rate hikes, debt, and the domino effect across family farms00:10:00 – Starting over from scratch and lessons in resilience00:14:00 – University training, industrial ag mindset, and early GMO exposure00:25:00 – The Green Revolution, “feeding the world,” and the loss of nutrition00:33:00 – How regulation and consolidation centralized food control00:46:00 – Tornado destruction and the community that helped rebuild01:00:00 – Financial strain, insurance gaps, and rebuilding again01:15:00 – Family succession and generational challenges in agriculture01:30:00 – Co-op shutdown in 2022 and six months with no milk income01:45:00 – Ethanol policy, crop insurance, and systemic dependence02:03:00 – Life as a conventional dairyman and marketing realities02:10:00 – Returning to identity as a farmer and faith in the work02:30:00 – Founding Nourishing Family Farm: raw milk & heritage wheat02:45:00 – Food as medicine and healing through nutrient-dense food03:00:00 – Lessons in stewardship, soil, and community resilience03:10:00 – Redefining what it means to be a farmer in modern America