Today we’re sharing an episode from our friends at Reframing Rural, an award-winning documentary podcast telling honest, place-rooted stories of rural people and communities. Their new season, “Succession Stories,” offers an intimate look at the family farm and ranch succession process – something rarely talked about openly, yet central to the future of working lands. 

Before we roll the episode, we sit down for a short conversation with the show’s creator, Megan Torgerson, to hear what she’s learning from families across Montana. 

listen

more about megan torgerson

Megan is a farmer’s daughter from Northeast Montana and founder, producer and host of Reframing Rural. In 2019 she developed Reframing Rural while an arts leadership MFA student at Seattle University. Since then, she has dedicated her creative writing, podcasting and fundraising skills to producing stories about the rural West and Heartland. Megan has also lent her knowledge of rural spaces and storytelling to community needs assessments, keynotes, lectures, workshops and educational courses for organizations including the Red Ants Pants Foundation, Montana Farmers Union, Montana State University Extension, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Montana State University and ServeMontana, the Governor’s Office of Community Service.

links

Listen to Reframing Rural’s full season here

Transferring Your Farm or Ranch to Next Generation, resources from Montana State University Extension

Learn more about Winnett ACES, a grassroots-led nonprofit addressing rural vitality issues that affect agricultural communities in central Montana. Their mission is to strengthen their community by enhancing the health of their land, economy and traditions for future generations

Credits

On Land is a production of Western Landowners Alliance, a West-wide organization of landowners, natural resource managers and partners dedicated to keeping working lands whole and healthy for the benefit of people and wildlife. This episode was hosted and produced by Zach Altman.