Dusty Hinz is co-founder of the Experimental Farm Network. The Experimental Farm Network is an open sourced social platform that allows for people to develop & breed crops, anything from perennial grains to improved varieties and hybrids of popular plants. They also distribute rare/unique seeds from experimental growers across North America in their store. In this conversation I talk to Dusty about the formation of the network, and his personal thoughts on civilization and global warming. Dusty speaks of this decade as “the collapsing 20s,” and much of what they are breeding / distributing is based around resiliency in the face of climate change. We discuss how we can think about making “back to the land” practices more accessible, creating an “urban to rural pipeline,” and cooperative land trusts. Dusty also talks about the importance of nut trees / agro forestry and what small scale / localized / bioregional post-civilization food systems could look like.
From their website:
The Experimental Farm Network (EFN) facilitates collaborative plant breeding and sustainable agriculture research in order to fight global climate change, preserve the natural environment, and ensure food security for humanity into the distant future. We believe participatory plant breeding on a massive scale can lead to breakthroughs to help us not only adapt to climate change, but one day actually stabilize the climate.
Founded in 2013, EFN is composed of professional and amateur farmers, gardeners, plant breeders, and researchers. The network's main organizing tool — this open-source website — is free to use and open to all.
The work of revolutionizing our food system to save our planet is generational in scope: it will take generations to undo the damage already done. Let's get moving!