Shows
Real Organic PodcastAnna Jones-Crabtree at Chuchtown: Farming With Nature#204: Organic grain farmer Anna Jones-Crabtree shares an emotional glimpse into the real and challenging issues she and her husband Doug face as they try to align their nature-first stewardship practices with the reality of operating in an economic system that favors extractive agriculture. Anna spoke this past September at our Churchtown Dairy event in Hudson, New York, Real Organic: A World Movement. Anna Jones-Crabtree and her husband Doug own and operate Vilicus Farms in northern Montana where they manage thousands of acres of mixed grains and lentils alongside beneficial plantings for pollinators and other wildlife. She holds a...2025-01-0537 min
Regenerative by DesignRedefining the Rules of Engagement in Regenerative FarmingSummary: In this episode of Regenerative by Design, host Joni Kindwall-Moore welcomes Anna Jones-Crabtree, Jessica Roberts, and Colleen Kavanagh to discuss the transformative potential of regenerative organic farming in Montana’s Northern Great Plains. The conversation dives into the challenges and opportunities of building sustainable food systems prioritizing environmental stewardship, economic resilience, and community health.Show Notes:Guests: Anna Jones-Crabtree, Jessica Roberts, Colleen KavanaghAnna Jones-CrabtreeAnna Jones-Crabtree is a first-generation organic farmer and co-owner of Vilicus Farms, a 12,500-acre dryland crop farm in Northern Montana. Sh...2024-12-2742 minReal Organic PodcastDave Chapman + Anna Jones-Crabtree: Notes For The Climate Underground#161: Co-director Dave Chapman joins our newest executive board member and Real Organic Project certified grain farmer Anna Jones-Crabtree for an interview by Al Gore at his Climate Underground Summit in November of 2023.Anna Jones-Crabtree holds a Ph.D in Civil and Environmental Engineering and is a registered professional engineer and an early accredited US Green building Professional. She has fostered a national sustainable operations effort for the US Forest Service serving as the first Regional Sustainable Operations Coordinator and as the National Sustainable Operations Director. She lives and farms in Havre, MT at Vilicus Farms with her h...2024-03-0532 min
Food Sleuth RadioAnna Jones-Crabtree, Ph.D., owner and operator of Vilicus Farms and Institute.Did you know that farm couples often have to find off-farm jobs to secure health insurance? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Anna Jones-Crabtree, Ph.D., owner and operator of Vilicus Farms and Institute, in Havre, MT. Jones-Crabtree discusses agricultural challenges and opportunities for farming in light of climate change, policy, and relationships with community and nature. She explains “systems thinking,” and encourages us to recognize how ecology is central to economic and social systems. Related website: https://vilicusfarms.com/ https://www.vilicusinstitute.org/ 2023-12-2928 minReal Organic PodcastDoug Crabtree: Thoughtful Tillage Is An Important Tool#079: Montana grain farmer Doug Crabtree grows grains, lentils, flax and a handful of other crops, and relies on various tillage practices and biodiversity designs to succeed. Farming in a cold, dryland climate on the Canadian border, Doug and his wife Anna see the ruinous effects no-till agriculture with a heavy reliance on biocides is bringing to their area. Doug Crabtree is a lifelong grain farmer who started Vilicus Farms in Montana with his wife Anna Jones-Crabtree in 2009. Unlike the majority of commodity grain farms, Real Organic Project-certified Vilicus aims for diversity in the fields and among its in...2022-08-3059 minReal Organic PodcastAnna Jones-Crabtree: Our Organic Supply Chain Needs A Makeover#067: Real Organic grain farmer Anna Jones-Crabtree of Vilicus Farms in Montana shares her farm's vision for a more sustainable approach to their land and local food system. Through diversifying their plantings and income streams, and focusing on customer relationships that offer them more protection than is typical of commodity farmers, Vilicus is primed to become a model farm for organic and sustainable grain production. But...how much will that matter if the rest of the system operates with an industrial mindset? Anna Jones-Crabtree holds a Ph.D in Civil and Environmental Engineering and is a registered professional en...2022-06-071h 03
Fresh GrowthVilicus Farms: Innovations that Impact Climate ChangeSend us a textIn our third episode, you’ll listen to the folks at Vilicus Farms, a first-generation organic, dryland crop farm located in Havre, Montana. Anna Jones-Crabtree, Doug Crabtree, and Paul Neubauer discuss honestly their successes and challenges as they built the operation from scratch as young farmers and in the face of climate variability. They hold a vision of bringing in new farmers who see agriculture as a solution. They talk about how, in 10 years, the farm grew from 1,280 acres to 7,400 acres and how they are cultivating a conservation-based ethic for sustainable foo...2020-02-1843 min
agri-CultureEp 011 Vilicus Farms Part TwoThe continuation of our delightful conversation with Doug Crabtree and Anna Jones Crabtree of Vilicus Farms in Havre, Montana. We talk about their efforts to establish and maintain an apprenticeship program to find and train new pioneers on one of the last farming frontiers left in America.Support the show2019-05-2728 min
agri-CultureEp 010 Vilicus FarmsWe visited the frontier - or as close as we've been to it so far - for our visit with some of the organic farmers of Montana. Our visit with Doug Crabtree and Anna Jones Crabtree of Vilicus Farms was a kitchen table discussion about diversity, dryland farming, organic land management, and the deeper understanding of the possibilities of how to work with natural systems in our agricultural processes, instead of waging constant war against them. These are some of the last of the pioneers, and we hope you enjoy the podcast (Part 1 of 2).Support the show2019-05-2039 min
Regeneration RisingAnna Jones-Crabtree, Doug Crabtree, & Paul Neubauer (Vilicus Farms)Anna Jones-Crabtree, Doug Crabtree, and their new Farm Operations Foreman Paul Neubauer discuss building a new agrarian community, the role of long-term mentorship, and important moments in their respective agrarian journeys. Paul is the new Farm Operations Foreman at at Vilicus Farms, an organic, dryland crop farm in Northern Hill County, Montana founded by Anna Jones-Crabtree and Doug Crabtree. Since 2009, Vilicus Farms has grown to a 7,400-acre organic farming operation with a conservation-based ethic. In addition to stewarding their land, Anna and Doug are also committed to cultivating beginning farmers. They launched a beginning organic farmer apprenticeship program in 2013...2018-12-2654 min