Farmer to Farmer with Chris Blanchard artwork

Farmer to Farmer with Chris Blanchard

183 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 5 years ago - ★★★★★ - 327 ratings

The organic and sustainable farming movement has its roots in sharing information about production techniques, marketing, and the rewards and challenges of the farming life. Join veteran farmer, consultant, and farm educator Chris Blanchard for down-to-earth conversations with experienced farmers - and the occasional non-farmer - about everything from soil fertility and record-keeping to getting your crops to market without making yourself crazy.

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Episodes

176: Jan Libbey of One Step at a Time Gardens on Scaling Up, Scaling Down, and Partnerships and Networking

August 30, 2018 08:30

Jan Libbey raises three acres of vegetables with her husband, Tim Landgraf, at One Step at a Time Gardens in North Central Iowa. With sales through their CSA and the North Iowa Fresh Food Hub, the market farm makes up one of multiple streams of income that include cash rent and CRP income on their 132 acre farm. We dig into how Jan and Tim have made One Step at a Time Gardens work in rural Iowa, with an emphasis on their marketing efforts. Jan shares the story of growing the market farm op...

176: Jan Libbey of One Step at a Time Gardens on Scaling Up, Scaling Down, and Partnerships and Networking

August 30, 2018 08:30 - 1 hour - 161 MB

Jan Libbey raises three acres of vegetables with her husband, Tim Landgraf, at One Step at a Time Gardens in North Central Iowa. With sales through their CSA and the North Iowa Fresh Food Hub, the market farm makes up one of multiple streams of income that include cash rent and CRP income on their 132 acre farm. We dig into how Jan and Tim have made One Step at a Time Gardens work in rural Iowa, with an emphasis on their marketing efforts. Jan shares the story of growing the market farm op...

176: Jan Libbey of One Step at a Time Gardens on Scaling Up, Scaling Down, and Partnerships and Networking

August 30, 2018 08:30

Jan Libbey raises three acres of vegetables with her husband, Tim Landgraf, at One Step at a Time Gardens in North Central Iowa. With sales through their CSA and the North Iowa Fresh Food Hub, the market farm makes up one of multiple streams of income that include cash rent and CRP income on their 132 acre farm. We dig into how Jan and Tim have made One Step at a Time Gardens work in rural Iowa, with an emphasis on their marketing efforts. Jan shares the story of growing the market farm op...

176: Jan Libbey of One Step at a Time Gardens on Scaling Up, Scaling Down, and Partnerships and Networking

August 30, 2018 08:30

Jan Libbey raises three acres of vegetables with her husband, Tim Landgraf, at One Step at a Time Gardens in North Central Iowa. With sales through their CSA and the North Iowa Fresh Food Hub, the market farm makes up one of multiple streams of income that include cash rent and CRP income on their 132 acre farm. We dig into how Jan and Tim have made One Step at a Time Gardens work in rural Iowa, with an emphasis on their marketing efforts. Jan shares the story of growing the market farm op...

175: Lauren Palmer of Bloomsbury Farm on Sprouts, CSA, and Community Connections

August 23, 2018 08:30 - 57 minutes - 78.9 MB

Lauren Palmer raised 15 acres of vegetables in Smyrna, Tennessee, just south of Nashville. With year-round production, a sprouts operation, a 300-member CSA, wholesale accounts, farmers markets, and on-farm events, Bloomsbury Farm is a thriving hot spot in the local food scene in Nashville. We dig into how Lauren has built the farm from the ground up since its start in 2009, taking a deep dive into Bloomsbury’s sprout production, employment structures, and CSA setup. We discuss how she dea...

174: Jack Algiere of the Stone Barns Center on a Diversified Farm, a Close Partnership with a Restaurant, and Innovative Production

August 16, 2018 08:30 - 1 hour - 102 MB

Jack Algiere is the farm director for Stone Barns Center in the New York’s lower Hudson Valley. Actively farming since the early 1990s, Jack has been the director at Stone Barns since its inception fifteen years ago. Jack oversees the extensive and diversified farm operations, including indoor and outdoor vegetable production, small grains, and a diverse array of livestock. Most of the farm’s produce and meat is sold to the partner restaurant Blue Hill, and we dig into how this relationshi...

173: Jean-Martin Fortier of La Ferme de Quatre Temps on Intensive Production on More Acres

August 09, 2018 08:30 - 1 hour - 104 MB

Jean-Martin Fortier is most famous for his book, “The Market Gardener,” based on the high-output systems he developed at Quebec’s Les Jardens de la Grelinette, where his wife, Maude Helen, currently produces over $150,000 of produce on an acre and a half of production ground. He currently farms at La Ferme de Quatre Temps, an enlarged version of the same model on six acres of production ground. We dig into the foundations of JM’s production model, from high fertility to an emphasis on weed...

172: Allan Gandelman of Main Street Farms on Meeting People’s Needs through Scaling and Marketing Decisions

August 02, 2018 08:30 - 1 hour - 177 MB

Allan Gandelman raises 45 acres of crops at Main Street Farms in central New York state with his partner, BobCat. With twenty employees in its eighth year in business, Main Street Farms sells through a CSA, farmers market, and wholesale accounts. Main Street Farms got its start in 2011 with an acre of production and an aquaponics set up, so they’ve grown a lot in the last eight years and Allan and I talk a lot about the process of scaling up their operation and finding their way with diffe...

171: Caroline Pam and Tim Wilcox of Kitchen Garden Farm on Scaling Up, Value-Added Products, and Wholesale Marketing

July 26, 2018 08:30 - 1 hour - 183 MB

Caroline Pam and Tim Wilcox farm 50 acres of vegetables at Kitchen Garden Farm in Western Massachusetts. Starting with an acre of produce in 2006, Caroline and Tim have steadily expanded the farm’s scale and added fire-roasted salsa and a naturally fermented sriracha to their farm’s production. We discuss the value-added products and how those fit into the work and overall business of Kitchen Garden Farm, since they account for a significant portion of the farm’s revenue. Tim and Caroline ...

170: Rebecca Graff and Tom Ruggieri of Fair Share Farm on CSA Transitions, Greening the Farm, and a Fermented Food Business

July 19, 2018 08:30 - 1 hour - 98.3 MB

Rebecca Graff and Tom Ruggieri raise vegetables for a hundred-member CSA, manage a small laying flock, and operate a cottage-scale fermented food business at Fair Share Farm, 45 minutes north of Kansas City, Missouri. They’ve been farming together on family land since 2004 after meeting in the fields at Peacework Organic Farm in upstate New York. We dig into the nitty gritty of their member-oriented CSA program, and the changes its undergone in the last couple of years as Rebecca and Tom h...

169: Nate Fingerle of River Ridge Farm on Four Seasons of Fresh Vegetables in Rural Indiana

July 12, 2018 08:30 - 1 hour - 121 MB

Nate Fingerle has been farming with his family at River Ridge Farm in north-central Indiana for ten years. With one-and-a-half acres of production and ten thousand square feet of high tunnels, River Ridge provides vegetables to its customers year-round. River Ridge has found success in a rural agricultural community with a combination of farmers markets, an on-farm retail store, and restaurant sales. We dig into how Nate and his family make this all work, and some of the details of how a l...

168: Karen Washington of Rise and Root Farm on Self-Care, Managing Relationships, and Addressing Social Justice and Food Issues on a For-Profit Farm

July 05, 2018 08:30 - 1 hour - 110 MB

Karen Washington owns and operates Rise and Root Farm with Lorrie Clevenger, Jane Hodge, and Michaela Hayes. Located in Chester, New York, just a little over an hour from New York City, Karen and her partners raise an acre of produce to serve two New York City Farmers Markets. Karen shares the story of finding land for farming in rural New York state, and how she and her fellow growers have made the transition from backyard urban gardening to commercial production. Karen digs into the nuts...

167: Genesis McKiernan-Allen and Eli Robb of Full Hand Farm on Four-Season Farming for Restaurants and Farmers Markets in Indiana

June 28, 2018 08:30 - 1 hour - 122 MB

Genesis McKiernan-Allen and Eli Robb raise vegetables year-round at Full Hand Farm, 45 minutes northeast of Indianapolis. Going into year seven of their operation, Genesis and Eli have between four and five acres of produce production, with half of their sales going to farmers market and half going to restaurants in Indianapolis. Eli and Genesis dig into how they’ve managed a black rot infestation in their brassica crops, as well as how they weathered an herbicide drift incident by marketi...

166: Mike Madison of Yolo Press on Organic Fresh Flowers, Olive Oil, and Value-Added Products in California’s Central Valley

April 12, 2018 08:30 - 1 hour - 109 MB

Mike Yolo raises 14 acres of organic olives, cut flowers, a variety of tree fruits, and the occasional vegetable crop at Yolo Press, near Davis, California. With his wife, Diane, Yolo Press creates olive oil and a variety of value-added products that are sold with the cut flowers through independent grocers and farmers markets in Davis. Yolo Press has provided a living for Mike and Diane since 1986. We dig into the development of Yolo Press’ crop mix and markets, and how they developed to ...

166: Mike Madison of Yolo Press on Organic Fresh Flowers, Olive Oil, and Value-Added Products in California’s Central Valley

April 12, 2018 08:30 - 1 hour - 109 MB

Mike Yolo raises 14 acres of organic olives, cut flowers, a variety of tree fruits, and the occasional vegetable crop at Yolo Press, near Davis, California. With his wife, Diane, Yolo Press creates olive oil and a variety of value-added products that are sold with the cut flowers through independent grocers and farmers markets in Davis. Yolo Press has provided a living for Mike and Diane since 1986. We dig into the development of Yolo Press’ crop mix and markets, and how they developed to ...

165: Olivia Hubert of Brother Nature Produce on Raising Salad Greens in Detroit, World War II Gardening, and Farm Yoga

April 05, 2018 08:30 - 1 hour - 114 MB

Olivia Hubert farms with her husband, Greg Willerer, at Brother Nature Produce in Detroit Michigan, as well as at a farm an hour north of the city. Specializing in salad mix and fresh herbs sold to farmers markets, grocers, and restaurants, Brother Nature provides a living for both Greg and Olivia. Olivia grew up in Detroit, where she fell in love with agriculture as a high school student. After studying at the Royal Horticulture Society of London, Olivia returned to Detroit, where she met...

164: Tom Kumpf of Double-T Farm on Right-Sizing the Farm, Rolling with the Punches, and Making the Transition to Full-Time Farming

March 29, 2018 08:00 - 1 hour - 112 MB

Tom Kumpf raises about four acres of vegetables at Double-T Farm in Garner, North Carolina, just south of Raleigh. Double-T Farm markets through a CSA, restaurants, and a small neighborhood farmers market. Farming full time since 2008, and part time for many years before that, Tom and his wife, Theresa Ryan, have seen their share of transitions, from farmland transitions and suburban encroachment to changes in the local food and CSA marketplaces. Tom shares the story of how they’ve respond...

163: Chandler Briggs of Hayshaker Farm on Farming with Horses in Walla Walla’s Wine Country

March 22, 2018 08:30 - 1 hour - 103 MB

Chandler Briggs of Hayshaker Farm and his partner, Leila Schneider, make a living with about six acres of vegetables on the edge of Walla Walla, Washington. Now in their fourth season of production, Chandler and Leila do most of their farming with horses, and sell their produce through two farmers markets, restaurants, and a grocery store. Chandler takes us deep into farming with horses, including how he uses them on the farm, and how he learned to work with his horses and how they learned...

162: Lorien Carsey and Shea Belahi of Blue Moon Farm on Farm Ownership Transitions, Farm-Life Balance, Complex Crop Rotations, and Custom-Packed CSA Shares

March 15, 2018 08:30 - 1 hour - 110 MB

Lorien Carsey and Shea Belahi of Blue Moon Farm in Urbana, Illinois, raise vegetables for farmers market, restaurants, stores, and a CSA. With twenty acres dedicated to vegetable production, and ten high tunnels totaling just under half an acre of year-round production, Blue Moon Farm was founded in 1977 by John Cherniss and Michelle Wander, and now Lorien and Shea are in the process of taking over the ownership and management of the farm. We dig into how Lorien, Shea, John, and Michelle a...

161: Elizabeth and Paul Kaiser of Singing Frogs Farm on No-Till Ecological Farming in Northern California

March 08, 2018 09:30 - 1 hour - 130 MB

Elizabeth and Paul Kaiser raise a little under three acres of vegetables at Singing Frogs Farm in Sebastopol, California, where they have been farming since 2007. Their ecological farming model rests on a foundation of no-till production, but incorporates many more elements to build soil organic matter and soil biology to support an economically viable operation. Elizabeth and Paul dig deep into the ecological and production principles that undergird their success, from soil management to ...

160: Stacey Carlberg and Casey Gustawarow of The Farm and Sunnyside on Managing a Farm instead of Owning, Conservation Efforts on the Farm, and Getting and Giving the Most with Employees

March 01, 2018 09:30 - 1 hour - 114 MB

Stacey Carlberg and Casey Gustawarow manage The Farm at Sunnyside, with twelve acres of vegetables and eight of tree fruits in Rappahanock County, Virginia, about seventy miles from Washington, D.C. We dig into the ups and downs of managing other people’s farms, including why they’ve chosen to do it and how the farm owners set expectations and provide oversight. Stacey provides insights into how they manage the financial implications, and we look at some of the other goals of the property ...

159: Anne and Eric Nordell of Beech Grove Farm on a Multi-Pronged Approach to Weed Control, Farming with Horses, and Designing a Farm

February 22, 2018 09:30 - 1 hour - 123 MB

At Beech Grove Farm, Anne and Eric Nordell manage six-and-a-half acres for vegetable crop production, with half of that in cover crop, and half of that in vegetables. And they do it with horsepower, next-to-no hand-weeding, and no irrigation. Anne and Eric share their experience farming with horses, something that they’ve done since Beech Grove Farm’s start 35 years ago, and how they set the farm up from the start to be manageable for the two of them. We talk about their strategy for reduc...

158: Angie Raines and Miles Okal on Rice, Dried Beans, and Diversified Vegetables on a Small Farm

February 15, 2018 09:30 - 1 hour - 110 MB

Angie Raines and Miles Okal raise diversified vegetables, rice, and dry beans at South Wind Produce in Rougemont, North Carolina. With sales at five weekly farmers markets plus wholesale sales to restaurants, they have built a viable business in a short amount of time. Angie and Miles take us on a deep dive into their rice and dried bean production, as well as how they market these crops and how they fit into their farm economics and overall farm agroecosystem. We also explore how they s...

157: David Greenberg of Abundant Acres Farm on Investing in a Deep-Compost System, Radical Delegation, and Cooperative Direct Marketing

February 11, 2018 03:03 - 1 hour - 133 MB

David Greenberg of Abundant Acres Farm raises about five acres of vegetables with his wife, Jen, in rural Nova Scotia, about an hour from Halifax. With four full-time employees in addition to David and Jen, Abundant Acres focuses on high-value crops, while also growing a bit of everything for their diversified market streams. David takes a deep dive into the cooperative direct-to-consumer marketing arrangement Abundant Acres has with a few select food producers in Halifax, including how th...

156: Steven Beltram of Balsam Gardens on Farming without Infrastructure, Growing on Plastic, and Selling Wholesale

February 01, 2018 09:30 - 1 hour - 97.5 MB

After starting out in 2008 on a homestead in the country that grew to a market and livestock farm on several different parcels, my guest Steven Beltram and his wife Becca Nestler moved Balsam Gardens to two large parcels right in the city of Asheville, North Carolina. They now farm on 30 acres of certified organic ground, selling their product to wholesale distributors. Steven digs into how he has developed a large, efficient farm without any infrastructure. At Balsam Gardens, the crew fie...

155: Howard Prussack of High Meadows Farm on a Happy Farm, Business Development, and Transplant Production

January 25, 2018 09:30 - 1 hour - 117 MB

Howard Prussack of High Meadows Farm raises crops, potted herbs, and vegetable starts with his wife, Lisa, in 30,000 square feet of greenhouses as well as out in the field in Putney, Vermont. Howard has been farming since 1971, and High Meadows Farm was the first certified organic farm in Vermont. We dig into Howard’s history and the growth of the farm, Howard’s early off-farm job and how that helped him learn the business, and the logistics of marketing to retailers. Howard also shares hi...

154: Richard Wiswall of Cate Farm on Managing for Profits and Quality of Life

January 18, 2018 09:30 - 1 hour - 93.2 MB

Today’s show is a repeat of an episode I recorded in the spring of 2015 with Richard Wiswall Cate Farm in Plainfield, Vermont. Cate Farm has sold produce through a CSA, farmers markets, and wholesale accounts, and has been in business since 1981. Richard is also well known for his excellent book, the Organic Farmer’s Business Handbook. We take a hard look at the business side of vegetable farming, with some quick pointers for how you can start to understand the cost of production and marketi...

153: Ryan Thiessen of Creek Shore Farms on Going Full Time, Small Scale Mechanization, and Winter CSA

January 11, 2018 04:59 - 1 hour - 106 MB

Ryan Thiessen farms four acres of vegetables in two locations at Creek Shore Farms in St. Catharines, Ontario. With 110 CSA members in the summer and 72 in the winter, as well as farmers market sales, Creek Shore Farms provides a modest living for Ryan and his wife, Amanda. While Amanda has been full time on the farm since its start in 2010, 2017 was Ryan’s first year with farming as his only job. We talk about the challenges he encountered while making the transition, and what he plans to...

152: Scott Chaskey of Quail Hill Farm on Thirty Years of a Member-Harvested CSA, Land Trusts, and Making Time for Poetry

January 04, 2018 09:30 - 1 hour - 106 MB

Scott Chaskey is the Director of Quail Hill Farm, one of the original Community Supported Agriculture farms in the United States. Located in Amagansett, New York, on land donated to the Peconic Land Trust, the farm also delivers fresh food to local restaurants, food pantries, and the Sag Harbor Farmers Market. Quail Hill’s 250 member families harvest their own food each week from the 35 acres of vegetable production, and Scott digs into the nitty gritty of how that process works. We also d...

151: Siri Erickson-Brown and Jason Salvo of Local Roots Farm on Restaurant Sales, Chicories, Predicting the Future, and a Little Bit of Latin

December 28, 2017 09:30 - 1 hour - 114 MB

Siri Erickson-Brown and Jason Salvo own and operate Local Roots Farm, fifteen acres of diversified vegetables in the Snoqualmie River valley thirty miles west of Seattle. With sixty percent of their sales to restaurants, and the remainder going to a CSA and a farmers market, Siri and Jason take a low-tech, high-touch approach to marketing. We get into the nitty gritty of how they manage their restaurant sales, from crop planning to receiving orders and managing shortages and overages. Siri...

150: John Good of The Good Farm on Finally Farming on Their Own Land, a Maniacal Focus on Weed Control, and a Legacy of Efficiency

December 21, 2017 09:30 - 1 hour - 121 MB

John Good farms with his wife, Aimee, at The Good Farm in Germansville, Pennsylvania. Ten acres of vegetables serve 200 CSA members plus farmers market and wholesale sales. 2017 was their first year farming on this land under this name, after eleven years of renting ground at the Rodale Institute where they operated their private farm business, Quiet Creek Farm. John and Aimee took a very strategic and long-term approach to getting onto their own land. John shares how they developed their ...

149: Heather Secrist of Suncrest Gardens Farm on Going Out on a Limb to Build and Grow One of the First Pizza Farms

December 14, 2017 09:30 - 1 hour - 103 MB

Heather Secrist raises two acres of vegetables, as well as pastured pork and lamb, on sixteen acres at Suncrest Gardens Farm in the rural hills of Cochrane, Wisconsin – and turns it all into pizzas and other value-added foods. With sales on farm during pizza nights and a new “garden café”, as well as to a farmers market in Winona, Minnesota, Heather has developed a business model that works for herself and for her family. Heather returned to the region where she grew up on a family farm to...

148: Will Reed of Native Son Farm on Coming Home to Mississippi, Surviving Adversity, and Reshaping Land and Community

December 07, 2017 09:30 - 1 hour - 115 MB

Will Reed and his wife, Amanda, returned to Will’s home in Tupelo, Mississippi, in 2010 to start Native Son Farm with a walking tractor and an acre of production. Today, Native Son Farm has twenty acres of produce in two locations, and markets through its 200-member CSA, an on-farm retail store, farmers markets, and restaurants. Will shares the story of coming home to Mississippi, and learning to grow and sell organic vegetables in a climate where everyone said it wouldn’t work. He shares ...

147: Frank Morton of Wild Garden Seeds on the Patience of Seeds, and the Art and Craft of Plant Breeding

November 30, 2017 09:30 - 1 hour - 117 MB

Frank Morton of Wild Garden Seeds in Philomath, Oregon, supplies seed companies, farmers, and gardeners with seeds that are selected and grown in a real organic environment. With his wife and business partner, Karen, and five employees, Frank grows certified organic seeds on about eight acres. Wild Garden Seeds is unusual in the seed business because they grow everything that they sell right there in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Frank shares his story of getting started on his market garden...

146: Dylan Strike of Strike Farms on Scaling Up Big Time, Grocery Store Sales, and Management Systems

November 23, 2017 09:30 - 1 hour - 122 MB

Dylan Strike has been the owner of Strike Farms in Bozeman, Montana, since 2014. In 2017, he increased production from four acres to fourteen in order to edge out national produce players in his local grocery stores. Strike Farms also markets through a CSA throughout the greater Bozeman region. We dig into the nuts and bolts behind the dramatic expansion at Strike Farms, including how Dylan financed the expansion and associated land purchase. Dylan gets real as he discusses the challenges ...

145: Corinna and Kurt Bench of Shared Legacy Farms on Creating a Marketing and Retention System on the CSA Farm

November 16, 2017 09:30 - 1 hour - 112 MB

Corinna and Kurt Bench raise a little under ten acres of certified organic vegetables at Shared Legacy Farms in Elmore, Ohio. With 400 CSA shares and a 78% retention rate, Corrina and Kurt have created a values-based business on family land that is supporting them in their tenth year of business. We take a deep dive into how Corinna and Kurt create a connection with and market to their CSA members – a system that has resulted in them being 94% sold out seven months before their CSA program...

144: Marja Smets and Bo Varsano of Farragut Farm on Growing and Selling from the Most Remote Market Farm in the Country

November 09, 2017 09:30 - 1 hour - 125 MB

Marja Smets and Bo Varsano raise an intensive three-quarters of an acre of vegetables at Farragut Farm, located across a lot of water from Petersburg, Alaska. Selling vegetables for eight years in what may be the most remote and difficult-to-access vegetable farm in the country, Marja and Bo make a living moving their vegetables to market on a boat when the tide is high. We dig into the details of farm management when local amendments are the only real option, and when you get 120 inches o...

143: Wendy and Asher Burkhart-Spiegel of Common Thread CSA on Community Engagement, Apprenticeship Realities, Tractor-Scale Permanent Raised Beds, and Season Extension

November 02, 2017 08:30 - 1 hour - 110 MB

Wendy and Asher Burkhart-Spiegel raise about twelve acres of vegetables at Common Thread CSA in Madison, New York, in the central part of the state. With twenty years of experience doing CSA, Wendy and Asher have continued to emphasize CSA in their current operation, with additional sales at farmers markets and to wholesale accounts. At Common Thread, Wendy and Asher maintain a community-focused vision for the farm. Prior to Common Thread, Wendy and Asher managed a non-profit CSA farm in P...

142: Liz Graznak of Happy Hollow Farm on Getting Started, the First Five Years, and Learning from the Neighbors

October 26, 2017 08:00 - 1 hour - 110 MB

Today we’re digging back into the archives for one of my favorite interviews, our very first episode of the Farmer to Farmer Podcast, with my good friend Liz Graznak. This one was recorded in early October of 2014. In 2014, Liz was farming a little over seven acres of ground in central Missouri, and selling her certified organic produce through a CSA, farmers market, and to restaurants and grocery stores. In her fifth year of running her farm, Liz reflects on the challenges and rewards of ...

141: Brendan Davison of Good Water Farms on the Science, Art, and Spirituality of Growing Microgreens and Growing a Business

October 19, 2017 08:30 - 1 hour - 106 MB

Brendan Davison grows microgreens in over 4,000 square feet of greenhouse space at Good Water Farms in Bridgehampton, New York. Started in 2011 in the driveway of Brendan’s house, Good Water Farms sells its greens to Whole Foods Markets and a long list of Hamptons and New York City restaurants. Brendan shares his spiritual and practical path to building Good Water Farms. We dig into many of the details of what makes Good Water Farms a successful microgreens operation, including Brendan’s m...

140: Andy and Melissa Dunham of Grinnell Heritage Farm on Growing a Vegetable Farm in a Sea of Corn and Soybeans

October 12, 2017 08:00 - 1 hour - 123 MB

Andy and Melissa Dunham own and operate Grinnell Heritage Farm in Grinnell, Iowa. From corn-and-bean ground and no infrastructure when they started in 2006, Grinnell Heritage Farm has grown to twenty acres of vegetables, marketed through a 250-member CSA, natural foods stores, multiple farmers market, and a new on-farm pizza night that they started this year. Andy and Melissa share how they worked with New Pioneer Food Co-op to develop their skills as market farmers and to learn how to bet...

139: Dave Chapman of Long Wind Farm on Growing Greenhouse Tomatoes, Managing a Business, and the Fight to Keep the Soil in Organic

October 05, 2017 08:30 - 1 hour - 121 MB

Dave Chapman got his start at Long Wind Farm in 1984 with a team of oxen, a diverse array of vegetables, and a roadside stand in East Thetford, Vermont. Today, he only grows tomatoes – and lots of them! With 2.5 acres of greenhouses, Dave and his crew produce certified organic, soil-grown tomatoes all year ‘round. Dave digs in to the nuts and bolts of producing tomatoes in protected culture. He shares the details of his high-tech greenhouse system, Long Wind Farm’s fertility management str...

138: Kelly Kingsland and Russell Poe of Affinity Farm on Growing Small, Self-Awareness, and Giving Good Weight

September 28, 2017 08:30 - 1 hour - 126 MB

Kelly Kingsland and Russell Poe raise about an acre-and-a-half of produce at Affinity Farm in Moscow, Idaho. With sales to a farmers market, a small CSA, and restaurant and retail stores, Kelly and Russell have created a lean, smart, and profitable farm that has provided a “right livelihood” for sixteen years. We dig in to the values that have informed their decision-making and market development, including their decision to farm in a the small-but-progressive city of Moscow. Kelly and Rus...

137: Shawn Kuhn of Vitruvian Farms on Growing Salad Greens, Selling to Restaurants, and Expanding into Retail Sales

September 21, 2017 08:30 - 1 hour - 104 MB

Shawn Kuhn of Vitruvian Farms raises about five acres of vegetables with his business partner, Tommy Stauffer, in McFarland, Wisconsin, just outside of Madison. Vitruvian Farms raises a little bit of everything, and a lot of salad greens, so we dig into the ins and outs producing 1,200 pounds of salad greens a week, from bed shaping and weed control through harvest and delivery. Shawn shares the ways they have – and have not – mechanized their salad production, and how they make this inten...

136: Sam Hitchcock Tilton of Michigan State University on Steps to Mechanical Weed Control Success

September 14, 2017 08:30 - 1 hour - 119 MB

Sam Hitchcock Tilton studies weed control at Michigan State University, where he went to study after two years of pushing a wheel through clay soil on his own farm, and more years of working for other farmers. His graduate-student work on in-row weed control in vegetable crops has led him to explore the various elements that go into setting up for weed control success. Sam draws on his experience on farms, a visit to Europe to learn about and evaluate precision weed-control tools, and his ...

135: Ruth Chantry of Common Good Farm on Biodynamic Farming, CSA, and Integrating Livestock and Vegetables on a Nebraska Farm

September 07, 2017 08:30 - 1 hour - 104 MB

Ruth Chantry raises a little under four acres of vegetables, plus eggs, pork, and beef, with her husband Evrett Lunquist at Common Good Farm, just a little way outside of Lincoln, Nebraska. With sales to their 65-member CSA, farmers markets, and wholesale accounts, Ruth and Evrett make a full-time living on twenty acres of ground. Common Good Farm is certified organic and certified biodynamic. Ruth spells out the practical implications of biodynamic farming at Common Good Farm, how it fits...

134: Barb and Dave Perkins on Keeping the Community in a Large-Scale CSA, Seed Potatoes, Business Planning, and Farm Succession

August 31, 2017 08:30 - 1 hour - 130 MB

Barb and Dave Perkins raise 30 acres of vegetables at Vermont Valley Community Farm in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin, where they’ve farmed since 1994. Packing 850 CSA boxes each week, Barb and Dave work hard to keep their CSA community active in the farm with festivals, community days, and worker shares. We take a deep dive into how their worker share program functions, and how it fits into their overall labor strategy – a strategy that includes two adult children in management positions on the f...

133: Jeff and Elise Higley of Oshala Farm on Picking a Niche and Getting to Scale in the Medicinal Herb Business

August 24, 2017 08:30 - 1 hour - 119 MB

Jeff and Elise Higley of Oshala Farm in southwest Oregon’s Applegate Valley raise 37 acres of medicinal and culinary herbs for the wholesale herb market, as well as for direct- and value-added production. Jeff and Elise provide insights into their business model for working with medicinal herbs, and how they went about getting the business established. We discuss how they balance labor needs, infrastructure utilization, and production cycle for over 70 annual, perennial, and biennial crops...

132: Laura Davis of Long Life Farm on Soil Mineralization, Farming without Flea Beetles, and Organic Certification

August 17, 2017 08:30 - 1 hour - 106 MB

Laura Davis farms about two-and-a-quarter acres of vegetables at Long Life Farm in suburban Hopkinton, Massachusetts, with her husband, Donald Sutherland. Laura started farming after she was laid off from her 30-year career in the medical device business, and she and Donald farm full time, selling their produce to a CSA and two farmers markets. Laura was attracted for farming through a passion for soil science, and has put a lot of effort into re-mineralizing her soils. We discuss her appr...

131: Anne Cure of Cure Organic Farm on Passion, Profits, and Growing into Diversity

August 10, 2017 08:30 - 1 hour - 118 MB

Anne Cure has farmed at Cure Organic Farm with her husband, Paul, since 2005. Six miles east of Boulder, Colorado, Cure Organic Farm’s 15 acres of vegetables, 85 pigs, and eggs from 300 laying hens are sold through a CSA, restaurants, farmers markets, and an on-farm store. Anne tells the story of how she and Paul started as full-time farmers with four acres of vegetables, and how they gained expertise and built infrastructure as they expanded their vegetable production and the diversity of...

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Giving Good Weight
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