Rural Resilience: Will Westmoreland on Farming, Politics, and Community

About this episode

Will Westmoreland discusses farming, rural advocacy, and community resilience in Missouri.

Will Westmoreland, a Missouri agroforestry grower, discusses focusing on expanding Chinese chestnuts and developing gluten-free chestnut flour, after past work with elderberries and a family cow-calf operation. He explains chestnut production timelines (fruit in 3–5 years, heavy yields in 8–10) and uses in silvopasture, and describes building retail products through his large Back 40 following. Westmoreland founded The Back 40 as rural advocacy to counter stereotypes about rural voters and address rural decline driven by out-migration, weak local economies, and policy neglect. He outlines Back 40’s priorities: rural-framed local policy, health access awareness, voter empowerment, and economic resilience, emphasizing major rural healthcare shortfalls, education engagement, broadband/infrastructure investment, and constructive persuasion over culture-war issues. He argues immigration can revive small towns and shares where to find him and Back 40 online. We're glad you're joining us for another episode of Barnyard Language. If you enjoy the show, please tell a friend (or two) and be sure to rate and review us wherever you're listening! If you want to help us keep buying coffee and…

People in this episode

Hosts: Caite Palmer, Arlene Hunter

Guest: Will Westmoreland

Topics covered

• agroforestry
• rural advocacy
• community resilience
• chestnut production
• local policy
• health access
• voter empowerment

Keywords

• agroforestry
• chestnuts
• gluten-free flour
• rural decline
• local economies
• healthcare
• immigration

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Back 40

Places: Missouri, Back 40

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