Oh, For The Love of Farming...

Oh, For The Love of Farming...

Author: Eric Hurlock, Digital Editor November 6, 2025 Duration: 24:41

This special edition of the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast celebrates the 70th anniversary of Lancaster Farming Newspaper, which has been reporting on agriculture since 1955.

Recorded at Penn State's Ag Progress Days, this episode is a love letter to farming and to the people who make it possible. Farmers and ag leaders reflect on why they farm, what's changed, and what remains timeless — love of land, faith, family, and devotion.

Here's a quote from Wendell Berry that frames the conversation:

"Why do farmers farm, given their economic adversities on top of the many frustrations and difficulties normal to farming? And always the answer is: "Love. They must do it for love." Farmers farm for the love of farming. They love to watch and nurture the growth of plants. They love to live in the presence of animals. They love to work outdoors. They love the weather, maybe even when it is making them miserable. They love to live where they work and to work where they live. If the scale of their farming is small enough, they like to work in the company of their children and with the help of their children. They love the measure of independence that farm life can still provide. I have an idea that a lot of farmers have gone to a lot of trouble merely to be self-employed to live at least a part of their lives without a boss."

― Wendell Berry, "Bringing it to the Table: On Farming and Food"

Learn More

Ag Progress Days

Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture

Wendell Berry – The Berry Center

Sponsors

IND HEMP — Believing in the goodness of hemp.

King's AgriSeeds — High-quality seed for over three decades.

Forever Green — Distributor of the KP4 Hemp Cutter.


There’s a quiet revolution happening in fields and factories, and it’s centered on a single, versatile plant. Industrial Hemp Podcast, guided by Eric Hurlock, the Digital Editor at Lancaster Farming, moves beyond the headlines to explore what’s actually happening on the ground. This isn’t just theoretical discussion; it’s a direct line to the people driving the industry forward. Each episode features conversations with the farmers who are planting and harvesting these crops, facing very real agronomic challenges and opportunities. You’ll also hear from researchers, processors, and policy experts who are shaping the future of hemp for fiber, grain, and other industrial applications. The dialogue digs into the practicalities-from planting techniques and harvesting equipment to market trends, regulatory hurdles, and technological innovations that are changing the game. It’s a clear-eyed look at an agricultural sector finding its footing, reported by journalists with deep roots in farming communities. For anyone curious about the business, science, and sheer hard work behind industrial hemp, this podcast serves as an essential, grounded resource. Tune in for honest talk that cuts through the hype and gets to the root of this growing field.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

Industrial Hemp Podcast
Podcast Episodes
Making Progress With Hemp at Horse Progress Days [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:09
This week on the hemp podcast we saddle up and gallop out to Gordonville, Lancaster County, for Horse Progress Days, a two-day celebration of all things horsepower. Nearly 40,000 people were in attendance July 5-6, mostl…
Building a Hemp Hub in Northern Illinois with Kifcure [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:54:03
This week on the Hemp Podcast, Lancaster Farming talks with Kelly Burke from Kifcure, an Illinois-based hemp company that is focused on developing the hemp industry in the Land of Lincoln. Burke, along with her husband J…
Hemp in Europe: Voices from the EHIA Conference and Expo in Prague [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:26:24
On this week's Hemp Podcast, I recap my recent visit to the Heart of Europe, the Golden City, the City of a Hundred Spires, the capital city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia — Pr…
Will the Hemp Industry Survive the Miller Amendment? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:19
On this week's hemp podcast we discuss a recent amendment to the House draft of the 2024 Farm Bill known as the Miller Amendment, which was introduced by Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill. The amendment effectively bans all hemp p…
Czech Your Hemp with Hana Gabrielová [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:48
On this week's hemp podcast, Lancaster Farming talks to Czech hemp farmer, consultant and advocate Hana Gabrielová, who started her first hemp company, Hempoint, in 2010 and has been instrumental in developing the hemp i…
Bear Fiber Weaves American Textiles with Hemp [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:39
On this week's Hemp Podcast, we talk to Guy Carpenter, founder of Bear Fiber in North Carolina, where he is spinning a blend of hemp and cotton into yarn and making garments like hats, shirts, and socks. "The vision was…
Industrial Hemp on the National Mall [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:09
Apologies to Jimmy Stewart. I only went to Washington for one day. I took the train from Philadelphia May 6 to record a podcast episode at the Ag on the Mall event on the National Mall in D.C. The National Hemp Associati…
Hempcrete Workshop Lays Foundation to Build Industry and Community [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:34:41
This week's podcast takes us to a hempcrete workshop in Barto, Pennsylvania. That's where Cameron McIntosh of Americhanvre Cast-Hemp hosted a four-day hands-on training session to teach the basics of the spray-applied me…
Exploring Hemp Fiber Agronomy and Genetics [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:04
On this week's hemp podcast, we listen to a panel discussion from the NoCo Hemp Expo that took place in Colorado earlier this month. The panelists were Rachel Berry, a farmer and founder of the Illinois Hemp Growers Asso…