In this episode of Return to Nature, Melissa interviews Todd Ulizio, a farmer who co-owns both Two Bear Farm and The Farmers’ Stand in Whitefish, Montana. Todd grew up on a small vegetable farm in Connecticut and, since a young age, loved to be outdoors in nature. After feeling pressured to get a business degree and working for two years as an accountant, he found the courage to follow his own path and moved to Montana, where he went back to school to study Wildlife Biology at University of Montana. Todd worked for 10 years as a wildlife biologist, studying forest carnivores, before meeting his wife, Rebecca, and starting an organic vegetable farm called Two Bear Farm. 

With 17 years of farming experience, Todd strives to promote the importance of local economies, community food systems, and nutritious food. In 2020 he and Rebecca partnered with Wicked Good Produce to open a local food market in Whitefish called The Farmers' Stand.

Todd Shares

His introduction to farming as a child and his grandfather’s legacy
His father’s dual life as a farmer and banker
The evolution of organic farming and how it used to be the way everyone farmed
How Aldo Leopold’s Teachings influenced him
The book he read in college that helped him realize he did not want to walk the mainstream path he was on, Natural Capitalism by Paul Hawken
His breaking point working as an accountant that prompted him to changed his career trajectory to wildlife biology.
The observation that how humans live on the landscape affects the ability of certain wildlife species to thrive
Learning the nuances of farming in Montana and starting his first farm with his wife, Rebecca in Eureka, MT
The benefits of having a business background as a farmer
The truth behind conventional farming’s story of “feeding the world”
How human disconnection from Nature is at the core of the environmental and agricultural issues we face today
The difference between organic and regenerative farming 
How corporate influence affects our agricultural system
How our values and priorities can play a role in restoring our systems to support both human and planetary health
The fallacy of choice when it comes to the food available for purchase at the grocery store
The need for more people to return to the land and farm for their local communities 
Insight into The Farmers’ Stand’s origins and operation
How we can make choices that align with the kind of future we want for ourselves and our children


You can connect with Todd through Two Bear Farm:
website: www.twobearfarm.com
instagram: @twobearfarm
instagram @farmersstand

Intro/Outro Music by Ken Belcher

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