The Legacy of Place

If you know the work of Wendell Berry, you’ll recognize immediately the depth and expertise of his daughter, Mary Berry, our final guest in Season 1. For those new to his work, welcome to the seamless unfolding of Wendell Berry’s writing and thinking, into the deeply lived experience of his daughter. Mary takes Wendell’s life’s work to the world, in practice and perpetuity, through The Berry Center’s several projects, and as a center for living history. 

Documenting her family’s work while almost a century of small shareholder farms were systematically erased by our government and corporate Ag, The Berry Center Library houses the papers of Wendell Berry, and generations of the Berry family, who worked and  legislated on behalf of these same farmers.

Though now repealed, those laws created predictability for farmers, stabilized prices, and left the ceiling of profitability wide open for free markets, all while protecting the supply chain for eaters and consumers, a win-win-win-win for us all.

Our Home Place Meats is a model for how these powerful practices can be replicated through volunteer structures - though difficult, farms and farmers can still choose this practical solution set. Lastly, the Farm and Forest Institute is a school for mastering the essentials of practical, sustainable farming.

From a hyper-local and deeply grounded perspective, Mary shares expert views that have a national and global scope. Her vantage point helps us tie together some of the most significant themes we’ve encountered in our inaugural season — and we are honored to share this conversation with you.