By Jo Ann Baumgartner, WFA Executive Director

I'd spent a dozen years farming organically and had just finished a master's thesis on birds eating orchard pests when I joined the first meeting of the Wild Farm Alliance (WFA). Back then, the 'alliance' was really just a group of like-minded souls. It was a thrilling time of exploring wild farming from every angle with the board, constantly testing whether our ideas were both practical for farmers and strong enough conservation to help reverse the loss of biodiversity. We debated it all: hedgerows and habitat patches, farms nestled within wild landscapes, wildlife corridors, coexisting with large predators on ranches, and using fire to manage native grasslands. Together, these discussions deepened our understanding that humans and wild species have evolved together, shaping and depending on one another in reciprocal ways.

Jo Ann and her husband, Sam Earnshaw, at the conference that would later become known as EcoFarm, around 2000.

Those early years grounded us in a conviction — agriculture had to give back some of the space it had unwisely taken, and make room for the wild. Inspired by Dan Imhoff's landmark Farming with the Wild book, still influential today, and anchored by our own founding principles, we challenged others to imagine a bolder kind of agriculture — one that not only could, but must, support the wild.

Early on, Harriet Behar (IOIA president, 2002) spotted and shared a bold opening: biodiversity language buried in the brand-new USDA National Organic Program. With WFA's Laura Smith, we rallied dozens of organizations behind a radical idea — organic farms should support the wild. Sean Feder (CCOF) dug into the rules; Jim Riddle (NOSB Chair, 2005) championed WFA's first biodiversity guide; Tony Fleming (IOIA) helped train certifiers; and Barry Flamm (NOSB Chair, 2015) assisted us in pushing NOP to finally publish official guidance.

The dynamic duo, Shelly Connor and Jo Ann Baumgartner, in 2018

Right after that win, Shelly Connor joined WFA — helping certifiers interpret the NOP biodiversity guidance, and holding them accountable when they didn't. Together we untangled the hard questions: what does thriving biodiversity on a farm actually look like, and what are the red flags when it's missing? The payoff has been extraordinary: biodiversity is now woven into the fabric of organic farming, its reach stretching far beyond into regenerative agriculture and the future of how we grow food.

At the same time, a looming food safety crisis threatened to sterilize farms and strip away conservation gains. We teamed up with Dave Runsten (CAFF), Mark Schoenbeck (Virginia Association for Biological Farming), and the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition to fight for a Food Safety Modernization Act that protected — not punished — wildlife-friendly farming. We dug deep into the science and won: the law now allows free-roaming wildlife and on-farm habitat, no fencing required. Since then, Danny Karp and his lab at UC Davis have delivered the proof: farms that stripped away habitat actually saw pathogens rise, not fall.

Jo Ann at her favorite pastime, birding.

With biodiversity now embedded in organic standards, and food safety regulations allowing for conservation, our next chapter turned towards birds (skyward). Rachel Carson's Silent Spring first set me on this wild farming path — she was, above all, a scientist who taught readers how nature actually works, and it was in her pages that I first learned of birds' power as pest control agents. Decades later, in 2016, I finally had the chance to dive back into that delightful world, co-writing WFA's seminal guide, Supporting Birds and Managing Pest Birds, with Sara Kross (now a WFA board member) and Sacha Heath (then a UC Davis PhD candidate). Shelly and I first shared these ideas in our All Things Avian field days — these beginnings have since grown into WFA's Farmland Flyways Trail, with a bold goal now taking flight: one million nest boxes and perches across U.S. farms.

Jo Ann speaking at Grgich Hills Estate Winery field day

When COVID hit, it opened an unexpected door: with field days on hold, we pivoted to creating dozens of pest control videos with Anne Hamersky, filmmaker extraordinaire, pairing farmers who champion beneficial birds and insects with the researchers who prove it works. We still team up with Anne, but now Ashley Chesser, WFA's creative communications director, leads our video work and much of our public-facing storytelling — and it shows: our videos alone have reached more than a hundred thousand of viewers over the years.

From the beginning, we've been helping farmers put habitat in the ground — starting alongside my husband Sam Earnshaw at CAFF, and later through WFA's own projects. The next step felt inevitable: pulling together the scattered science on which plants truly support beneficial birds and insects. That work has grown from published technical sheets and guides into something bigger — an interactive online bird tool now in development with the help of WFA's Courtney Tchida and Purdue University, and an insect tool on the horizon.

Tom Broz and Jo Ann leading a farm tour at his Live Earth Farm in 2011

Ours has always been a shared exchange with farmers—we help shape their plans, and they deepen our understanding along the way. John Anderson's Hedgerow Farms showed how wild and diverse a farm could be. Dru Rivers, Judith Redmond and their partners at Full Belly Farm ring every field with hedgerows and buffers. At Phil Foster's ranch, we planted hedgerows, restored riparian corridors, and installed nest boxes. At Tom Broz's farm, we restored land too steep to farm, softened field edges with transitional borders, and increased biodiversity. Frank Olagaray taught us tricks to mulching miles of hedgerows. Peter Martinelli showed us how short perches draw raptors, and how buffers protect salmon. With Becky King, we framed pastures with hedgerows, including oak trees. Alan Haight reminded us that some growers avoid BT because it harms butterflies. Ken Kimes taught us how food safety depends on healthy microbes. Tom Willey reminds us: farms can't flourish above ground without life below. Javier Zamora revealed the generosity farmers extend to those learning the ropes. Dennis Hutson urges us to live the dream of community and self-sufficiency. And helping Dennis Tamura tend his thirty nest boxes, I learned to stay observant and mindful of the bigger picture.

I’ve been fortunate to share my passion for this work with my husband Sam, often over breakfast and at times in the field. It has been rewarding to watch the hedgerows and habitats that we planted mature —roots entwining, branches weaving themselves into a complex whole—until the once-simple designs have become living, layered communities

Many more people, organizations and funders not named here have inspired me and contributed to our success. From the beginning, we understood that biodiversity matters for farms, and for the whole landscape. It has been a delight to work with our team and the dedicated WFA board mostly led by Dan Imhoff over the years, as we make the science behind the value of the natural world accessible, inspiring, and practical to implement.

Most important of all has been Shelly Connor, whose creative and strategic range — spanning ecological science, operations, and movement-building — has been invaluable. Together we developed a strong synergy that has powered the last decade of our work. Sam likes to say we’ve been the Lennon and McCartney of wild farming. I’m confident that Shelly, as Midwest Co-Director working alongside a forthcoming California Co-Director, will take WFA to the next level.

May our collective love for wild nature on farms deepen and expand to meet the profound responsibility of stewarding so much farmland in our world.