Real Organic Podcast
217 episodes - English - Latest episode: 5 days ago - ★★★★★ - 67 ratingsFarmers interview scientists, activists, politicians, and authors engaged in protecting USDA organic food against an active corporate takeover. Real Organic Project released its add-on food label in stores and markets in 2021, and is focused on introducing eaters across the United States to our movement and its allies. In this podcast series, you'll meet the best organic and regenerative farmers around, as well as journalists, climate experts, policy makers and chefs (Dr. Vandana Shiva, Paul Hawken, Leah Penniman, Bill Mckibben, Alice Waters, Dan Barber, and Eliot Coleman - to name a few!) who support our mission and have lent their voices and insights to explaining the importance of keeping corporate cheaters out of the real food movement. As bad players aim to redefine what food is for the sake of their own profits, we believe there is too much at stake for both human and planetary health today and into the future. Feed the soil, not the plant!!
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Episodes
Nora Taleb: Global Players Rule Our Food System
June 19, 2024 20:00 - 55 minutes - 38.3 MB#176: Food systems consultant and former team leader for the Naturland Fair & Social Responsibility program Nora Taleb visits Real Organic Project co-director Linley Dixon at her farm in Durango, Colorado for a conversation about the role of organic agriculture, farmers, and corporate actors across the globe. Nora Taleb is a food systems consultant focusing on regenerative organic agriculture and sustainable systems. She joining Naturland Association for Organic Agriculture in 2015, to ma...
Tim Wise: Today's Green Revolution In Africa and Iowa
June 13, 2024 13:00 - 1 hour - 54 MB#175: Researcher and author Tim Wise shares his deep knowledge of the Green Revolution and its misleading claims to solve world hunger through chemical agriculture and government policy. While most of us think of the Green Revolution as movement from the past, Tim raises awareness that it is very much alive today across the globe, most notably in Africa. Tim Wise is a writer, researcher and speaker, and the author of Eating Tomorrow: Agribusiness, Family Farmers, and the Battle for the Fu...
Will Rosenzweig: Crafting A Positive Impact Food System
June 06, 2024 12:00 - 1 hour - 52.7 MB#174: Republic of Tea co-founder and UC Berkeley Haas Center for Responsible Business co-chair Will Rosenzweig joins Dave to discuss his early efforts to impact change on the food system from the inside out, through entrepreneurship, as well as his thoughts on how to acheive postive impact in today's world through education. Will Rosenzweig is a well-known entrepreneur, having co-founded the Republic of Tea in the early 90s. He is co-author of The Republic of Tea: How an Idea Becomes a Bus...
Will Rozensweig: Crafting A Positive Impact Food System
June 06, 2024 12:00 - 1 hour - 52.7 MB#174: Republic of Tea co-founder and UC Berkeley Haas Center for Responsible Business co-chair Will Rosenzweig joins Dave to discuss his early efforts to impact change on the food system from the inside out, through entrepreneurship, as well as his thoughts on how to acheive postive impact in today's world through education. Will Rosenzweig is a well-known entrepreneur, having co-founded the Republic of Tea in the early 90s. He is co-author of The Republic of Tea: How an Idea Becomes a Bus...
Glenn Elzinga Pt 1: Good Grazing On Public Lands
May 30, 2024 14:00 - 1 hour - 46 MB#173: Real Organic Project certified rancher Glenn Elzinga talks about the grazing plan he and his wife Carolyn devised to mimic the movement of animals that were once a key part of healthy ecosystems. Their method of "in herding" has transformed his own land, as well as the public land he leases in Idaho, bringing back a diversity of species and allowing for the repair of riparian areas. Glenn also speaks to the notable nutritional differneces between his beef and the typical feedlot beef ...
Kat Taylor: Funding The World We Want
May 23, 2024 13:00 - 44 minutes - 30.9 MB#172: California green banker and philanthropist Kat Taylor joins us again to shed light on how banking and finance influence the consolidation seen in food and agriculture. Kat Taylor is a positive-impact investor who has started both a community bank and an organic cattle ranch to influence the social and environmental injustices she sees in her home state of California. https://www.kattaylor.com/ To watch a video version of this podcast please visit: https://www.realorganicproject.org...
Hans Herren: Controlling Pests With Biology
May 15, 2024 21:00 - 1 hour - 55.8 MB#171: Hans Herren shares the story of using biological controls to save Africa's cassava crop from a disastrous, continent-wide Mealy Bug infestation. While he was awarded the World Food Prize for his efforts and recognized for the incredible number of lives that work saved, non-chemical biocontrols are still nowhere near a popular approach in the pro-chemical agricultural landscapes that dominate our globe. Hans Herren has served as the President and CEO of the Millennium Institute, an ...
Alice Waters: Organic Food In Our Schools Now
May 09, 2024 09:00 - 1 hour - 55.1 MB#170: Alice Waters' focus on educating young minds about where real food comes from, how to identify and prepare it, and how food relates to all facets of our lives and cultures has inspired many. She shared her latest plans and emotional motivations with Dave in California in January of 2024, as part of a broader conversation about the organic movement. Alice Waters is the founder and owner of Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley, California, known throughout the world for its dedication t...
Barbara Gemmill-Herren: Big Chem's Eyes Are On Africa
May 02, 2024 08:00 - 1 hour - 41.4 MB#169: Barbara Gemmill-Herren shares her views on listening to farmers first and foremost as policies and support systems are developed, the need to pay attention to the social workings of agricultural communities, and the immense pressure applied to African farmers by global chemical companies to purchase amendments. Barbara Gemmill-Herren serves as an associate faculty member at Arizona's Prescott College and as a Senior Associate at the World Agroforestry Centre in Nairobi, Kenya. From 2...
Zephyr Teachout: Today's Antimonopolist Movement Has Legs
April 23, 2024 15:00 - 1 hour - 45.1 MB#168: Author and law professor Zephyr Teachout walks us through the hardcore push for consolidation in the food, agriculture, and chemical industries that has devastated rural communities and our population's general access to truly good food. She also delivers a hopeful message about policy changes on the horizon that are worth our attention and support as citizens. Zephyr Teachout is an attorney and law professor at Fordham University. She is the author of Break'em Up: Recovering Our Fre...
Hugh Kent: How The USDA Supports Bad Agriculture
April 16, 2024 11:00 - 54 minutes - 37.4 MB#167: Dave Chapman visits Real Organic blueberry farmer Hugh Kent at his biodiverse King Grove Farm in central Florida, to discuss the takeover of the US berry market by global brands that are rapidly encouraging the growth of plastic farms. By leveling soil, spraying the ground with chemicals, laying down plastic and popping up high tunnels, pedestals, plastic pots and a maze of tubing for feed and water, a new generation of disposable (and non-recyclable) "farming" is being popularized in ...
Hugh Kent: The Problem With Plastic Berry Farms
April 16, 2024 11:00 - 54 minutes - 37.4 MB#167: Dave Chapman visits Real Organic blueberry farmer Hugh Kent at his biodiverse King Grove Farm in central Florida, to discuss the takeover of the US berry market by global brands that are rapidly encouraging the growth of plastic farms. By leveling soil, spraying the ground with chemicals, laying down plastic and popping up high tunnels, pedestals, plastic pots and a maze of tubing for feed and water, a new generation of disposable (and non-recyclable) "farming" is being popularized in ...
Seth Godin: No Society Thrives With Monopolies
April 09, 2024 00:00 - 37 minutes - 26.1 MB#166: Seth Godin returns and lends his thoughts on corporate consolidation's threat to democracy and to our right to find, grow, and sell organic food. He also talks about the path forward and some ways to inspire effective action. Seth appears in our annual virtual symposium, which is available for instant access here: https://realorganicproject.org/symposium-2024/ Seth Godin has been a force across the internet and the book shelf for decades, with 21 worldwide bestsellers and a spot ear...
Allan Savory: Desertification's Causes, Problems + Solutions
April 02, 2024 15:00 - 1 hour - 51.5 MB#165: Allan Savory joins Dave for an eye-opening conversation about the best path forward for solving our most-crucial planetary problems and symptoms, including Climate Change, rapid loss of biodiversity, desertification, wildfires, and the inability of humans to act collectively and organizations to create impact. His views on the management of select grasslands to reverse course alone should grab the attention of environmental activists, government officials, parents, grandparents; reall...
Austin Frerick: Modern Day Robber Barons Rule Our Food
March 26, 2024 10:00 - 1 hour - 57.6 MB#164: Author and journalist Austin Frerick joins Linley to discuss his brand new book, Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of America's Food Industry. His research on the men shaping our food system through their desire for personal greed reveals a shocking level of immorality. Austin's views were a great addition to our annual virtual symposium, which is available for instant access here: https://realorganicproject.org/symposium-2024/ Austin Frerick is a 7th generation Iowan who, a...
JM Fortier: Envisioning A Hyper Local Small Farm Revolution
March 19, 2024 14:00 - 1 hour - 51.6 MB#163: JM Fortier joins Dave to discuss the potential of promoting a replicable, decentralized food and farming system that relies on people building relationships with both land and community, by engaging their powers of observation and connection. https://realorganicproject.org/symposium-2024/ JM Fortier is a farmer, educator, and author from Quebec, Canada. He is known for promoting a culture that replicates small-scale diversified farms that rely on market gardening strategies (direct s...
Zephyr Teachout + Dave Chapman: Live Panel w/ Matt Sheffer At Churchtown Dairy
March 11, 2024 23:00 - 1 hour - 43.9 MB#162: Live from the Saving Real Organic Conference at Churchtown Dairy in October 2023, and moderated by Matt Sheffer of Hudson Carbon, Zephyr Teachout and Dave Chapman field (tough) questions from audience members about the fate of the US anti-monopoly movement and its ability to impact our food system for the better. https://realorganicproject.org/symposium-2024/ Zephyr Teachout is an attorney and law professor at Fordham University. She is the author of Break'em Up: Recovering Our Freed...
Dave Chapman + Anna Jones-Crabtree: Notes For The Climate Underground
March 05, 2024 09:00 - 31 minutes - 21.9 MB#161: Co-director Dave Chapman joins our newest executive board member and Real Organic Project certified grain farmer Anna Jones-Crabtree for an interview by Al Gore at his Climate Underground Summit in November of 2023. Anna Jones-Crabtree holds a Ph.D in Civil and Environmental Engineering and is a registered professional engineer and an early accredited US Green building Professional. She has fostered a national sustainable operations effort for the US Forest Service serving as the fir...
Eliot Coleman: Denying Our Understanding Of Real Organic Practices Robs The World
February 27, 2024 13:00 - 1 hour - 43.6 MB#160: Organic farmer and Real Organic Project champion Eliot Coleman returns to discuss the role corporations, trade associations, and government policy has had on limiting the amount of real organic food found in the marketplace today. In the second half of the interview, the conversation focuses on growing on-farm fertility and stifling pest pressure by building up organic matter and biodiversity. Eliot Coleman is an author, market gardener, and educator. His work on the USDA study in the...
Errol Schweizer: Consolidation, Greenwashing, And The Growing Myth Of Local Food
February 20, 2024 00:00 - 1 hour - 44.2 MB#159: An insightful conversation about what's happening on grocery shelves, with Errol Schweizer, whose career in the retail natural foods space included a long stint at Whole Foods on the merchandising team. Dave and Errol talk about Walmart's effect on food prices, sellers inflation, and the noticeable changes seen at food co-ops and other organic marketplaces as a result of corporate consolidation. Errol's voice will be included in our annual virtual symposium, which starts on 03/17/2...
Vandana Shiva: False Claims Of The Green Revolution, Then And Now
February 13, 2024 16:00 - 46 minutes - 31.9 MB#158: Vandana Shiva shares her knowledge around the Green Revolution, a transformative and chemical-dependent set of agricultural practices and policies that promised to deliver food security to populations around the world. But has it delivered on those promises? And how does its outcomes compare to organic agriculture? Vandana Shiva is a celebrated scholar, prolific author, and longtime activist who's work focuses on seeds, agriculture, and ecofeminism. You can follow along with her wo...
Tim Bowles: Climate Smart Agriculture Includes Tillage
February 06, 2024 15:00 - 1 hour - 44.1 MB#157: A continuation of Linley's conversation (one year later and in-person!) with Professor Tim Bowles of UC Berkeley's Agroecology Lab. The discussion is focused on organic's relevant role in Climate Smart Agriculture, even as the DC chemical lobby is training our politicians to believe that any amount of tillage should disqualify a farm from claiming the term. Dr. Tim Bowles is an Assistant Professor of Agroecology and Sustainable Agricultural Systems in the Department of Environmental S...
Tim Bowles Part 1: Digging Into The Rhizosphere
January 31, 2024 01:00 - 46 minutes - 31.8 MB#156: Professor Tim Bowles of UC Berkeley's Agroecology Lab introduces us to some interesting players in the soil, including arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and how they may interact with plant roots, drought, and fertilizers. Dr. Tim Bowles is an Assistant Professor of Agroecology and Sustainable Agricultural Systems in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at UC Berkeley. https://nature.berkeley.edu/agroecologylab/ To watch a video version of this podcast ...
Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin: The Need For A Real Regenerative Movement
January 23, 2024 12:00 - 23 minutes - 16.4 MB#155: Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin promotes his vision for creating systems aimed at serving entire regions and communities of farms as a successful path forward for the organic / regenerative movement . Addressing the crowd at Churchtown Dairy in October of 2023, Regi also shares his thoughts about how a small group of thinkers can prevail against a big, powerful faction. Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin is an author, farmer, member of the Regeneration International steering committee, and CEO o...
Patrick Holden: Organic Needs Top Down, Bottom Up, And In-The-Middle Action
January 16, 2024 14:00 - 1 hour - 47.7 MB#154: UK Soil Association trustee, Sustainable Food Trust co-founder, and organic dairy farmer Patrick Holden sits down with Dave to discuss the path forward for the organic movement, as activists on both sides of the pond try to inspire our governments and corporate powers to take note of our competence in the restoration of Earth's systems. Patrick Holden is a longtime member-turned-trustee of the Soil Association founded by Lady Eve Balfour. He is also the co-founder of the UK’s Sustaina...
Francis Thicke: A Journey To Real Organic
January 10, 2024 00:00 - 23 minutes - 16.3 MB#153: Real Organic dairy farmer and former National Organic Standards Board member Francis Thicke gives the crowd at Churchtown Dairy a view through the lens of his education and decades-long career. He also shares how he believes dairies like his own (Radiance Dairy in Fairfield, Iowa) can still fetch a premium for their standout products. Francis Thicke owns and operates Radiance Dairy in Fairfield, Iowa with his wife Susan, which produces milk, cream, cheese, and yogurt on site . He has ...
Alan Lewis: Food System Betrayal
January 01, 2024 22:00 - 22 minutes - 15.9 MB#152: Alan Lewis delivers deep insights into the growing number of reasons small and mid-sized farms can't find shelf space within American grocery stores. With the arrival of AI and its impact on purchasing systems, even food coops and small Mom and Pops are aiming to stock convenient-to-order over real, local food. Alan Lewis is the VP of Government Affairs, Stakeholder Relations, and Organic Compliance at Natural Grocers. His 2019 talk at the first annual Real Organic Symposium blew a ...
Ben Dobson: The Politics Of Farming For Climate
December 25, 2023 14:00 - 22 minutes - 15.3 MB#151: Ben Dobson, co-founder of Hudson Carbon, has been monitoring the changes in language and funding for agricultural ventures that claim to sequester carbon. He shares his thoughts about the pitfalls that some of these directions present with the crowd at Churchtown Dairy. https://www.realorganicproject.org/donate Ben Dobson is a lifelong organic farmer, originally from NY's Hudson Valley. He has farmed coffee, bananas, salad greens, and grains, and has turned hi9s attention to the pr...
Dave Chapman and Eliot Coleman: We Did It Before, We Can Do It Again
December 19, 2023 10:00 - 47 minutes - 32.6 MB#150: Dave Chapman and Eliot Coleman take the stage at the Saving Real Organic Conference at Churchtown Dairy to reflect on the importance of growing the real organic movement in the US amid the mounting challenges facing our country's food system. Meanwhile, the rest of the world is embracing the value of growing organic acreage and markets. https://www.realorganicproject.org/donate Dave Chapman is the co-founder of the Real Organic Project and the owner-operator of Long Wind Farm in Ea...
Karl Hammer: Imagining A Photosynthetic Food System
December 12, 2023 09:00 - 1 hour - 44.2 MB#149: Organic farmer and founder of the Vermont Compost Company Karl Hammer shares his vast knowledge of our agricultural and social history, in a heady conversation with his longtime friend, Real Organic Project co-director Dave Chapman. https://www.realorganicproject.org/donate Karl Hammer has been involved with rural life, horse-powered farming, and manure-based composting since his family left Manhattan for Vermont's North East Kingdom during his childhood. Since that time, his advent...
Zephyr Teachout at Churchtown: Break'em Up
December 05, 2023 09:00 - 25 minutes - 17.6 MB#148: Law Professor and author of "Break'em Up" Zephyr Teachout addresses the crowd at the Saving Real Organic Conference at Churchtown Dairy about what it will take to dismantle monopolies in the United States. https://www.realorganicproject.org/donate Zephyr Teachout is an attorney and law professor at Fordham University. She is the author of Break'em Up: Recovering Our Freedom from Big Ag, Big Tech, and Big Money and a 2018 candidate for Attorney General in New York State. Once upon ...
Kristin Kimball: The Small Farm Revolution Needs Activist Eaters
November 28, 2023 11:00 - 26 minutes - 18.5 MB#147: Writer and farmer Kristin Kimball throws light upon the idea that organic family farmers desperately need eaters to help transform the food system. Choosing to buy whole foods, choosing to cook, choosing meaning over convenience, and choosing to teach others how to do the same can bring powerful and necessary change. https://www.realorganicproject.org/donate Kristin Kimball is a celebrated author and the co-founder of Upstate New York's Essex Farm, a unique and inspirational model ...
Linley Dixon: Saving Organic: The First Five Years of The Farmer-Led Real Organic Project
November 21, 2023 23:00 - 26 minutes - 18.5 MB#146: Linley Dixon, co-director of the Real Organic Project, speaks to the progress of our movement and the challenges we face, including new and misleading terms like "climate smart agriculture" and a misunderstood villainization of tillage. Linley was the lead-off speaker at our recent in-person event at Abby Rockefeller's Churchtown Dairy in Hudson NY, in mid-October. Dr. Linley Dixon is the co-director of the Real Organic Project and the owner-operator of Adobe House Farm in Durango, Co...
Iriel Edwards: Why Is Race In This? USDA Discrimination, Land Access, And Collective Liberation
November 17, 2023 13:00 - 16 minutes - 11.4 MB#145: Iriel Edwards, an inspector with Real Organic Project, a former dryland SRI rice farmer with Louisiana-based Jubilee Justice, and a graduate of Cornell University with a degree in Entomology, addresses the crowd at Churchtown Dairy at the Saving Real Organic Conference on October 14, 2023. https://www.realorganicproject.org/iriel-edwards-usda-discrimination-land-access-and-collective-liberation-episode-one-forty-five
Dan Barber: The Power Of Deliciousness
November 14, 2023 23:00 - 28 minutes - 19.4 MB#142: Dave interviews celebrated chef and author Dan Barber at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, where they discuss the potential of getting the masses to understand the value of food production practices above the final product. Dan believes the key lies in exceptional flavor and the innate human drive to pursue pleasure. Dan Barber is the chef and co-owner of Blue Hill in Manhattan and Blue Hill at Stone Barns in New York's Hudson Valley His book The Third Plate is an explorat...
Hugh Kent | Breaking Their Own Laws: Hydroponics And The Farce Of USDA Organic integrity
November 10, 2023 16:00 - 26 minutes - 18 MB#144: Real Organic blueberry farmer Hugh Kent of King Grover Organics in FL, explains the complete transformation of organic blueberry farming within the US and outside of its borders, that make up an increasing amount of USDA-certified "organic" berries in the produce sections of US stores. This shift, as he explains is not occurring because the USDA lacks awareness of the issue, but rather because they are encouraging this outcome. Hugh is addressing the crowd at the Saving Real Organic Co...
Joan Gussow: Last 50 Years Brought More Foods And Less Choice
November 08, 2023 01:00 - 1 hour - 46.1 MB#141: Nutrition icon, author, and professor Joan Gussow reflects on changes in food and farming over the past many decades and how a concentration of power is negatively affecting our food system. Joan Gussow is a Professor Emeritus at Teachers College, Columbia University where she taught her revered course "Nutritional Ecology" until 2022. Once called the "Matriarch of the eat-locally-think-globally food movement" by the New York Times, Joan is a prolific author and researcher, and a t...
Glenn Elzinga: Why Cattle Are Ruining Our Public Lands In Spite Of A Better Way
November 03, 2023 09:00 - 21 minutes - 14.8 MB#143: Real Organic Idaho cattleman Glenn Elzinga shares his success story about reintroducing beaver and protecting important fauna and flora by moving his cattle with intention as they graze public lands. Glenn is addressing the crowd at the Saving Real Organic Conference at Churchtown Dairy in Hudson, NY on October 14, 2023. Visit our YouTube Channel to watch the video version of Glenn's talk with slides. https://realorganicproject.org/glenn-elzinga-why-cattle-are-ruining-our-public-lands...
Tom Willey Part 2: Working Towards A Permanent Agriculture
October 31, 2023 23:00 - 37 minutes - 25.6 MB#140: Longtime organic, California vegetable farmer Tom Willey continues his lively conversation with Dave. They land on their thoughts around lasting solutions for sustainable food production that will take humanity into the future. Tom Willey has run TD Willey Farms with his wife Dennesse in Madera, CA since the mid-1980s. Along with California farmers Scott Park, Phil Foster, Paul Muller, Dru Rivers, Andrew Brait and others, Tom has been participating in on-farm trials that aim underst...
Tom Willey: Merging Chemical-Regenerative With Organic
October 24, 2023 23:00 - 35 minutes - 24.7 MB#139: Tom Willey is a longtime, organic vegetable farmer in Central California who has participated in recent trials seeking to minimize tillage in organic row crop production. His thoughts on the reliance of of Haber-Bosch nitrogen, the overuse of compost, and intentionally moving towards the use of chemicals in organic leads to some lively conversation with Dave. Tom Willey has run TD Willey Farms with his wife Dennesse in Madera, CA since the mid-1980s. Along with California farmers Sc...
Dennesse Willey: When Organic Was Easy To Sell
October 17, 2023 22:00 - 1 hour - 45.8 MB#138: Decades ago, Dennesse Willey left her career as a nurse to join her husband Tom on their organic vegetable farm in California. As the farm's sales and marketing lead, Dennesse witnessed many changes in both retail sales and distribution in an increasingly-consolidated food system. Dennesse Willey has run TD Willey Farms with her husband Tom in Madera, CA since the mid-1980s. She is recently retired. https://tdwilleyfarms.com/ To watch a video version of this podcast with access to ...
Bryan O'Hara: Organic No-Till Vegetable Farming
October 10, 2023 15:00 - 56 minutes - 39 MB#137: Bryan O'Hara has been learning about, tweaking trials, and sharing his observations on how to grow organic vegetables in a no-till system for over a decade. Last fall he sat down with Dave to share his thoughts on whether these practices can be used at scale, using compost as a nutrient vs as a mulch, cover cropping, and many other nuanced thoughts that contribute to the greater no-till veggie production conversation. Bryan O'Hara is a longtime organic veggie farmer growing food in ...
Jeff Moyer: Organic Is, Was, And Should Be The Foundation of Regenerative
October 03, 2023 21:00 - 1 hour - 45.4 MB#136: Jeff Moyer of the Rodale Institute recalls the intended meaning behind the origin of the term "regenerative" as envisioned by Bob Rodale, and explores what's both exciting and concerning as a new context emerges for regenerative agriculture today. Jeff Moyer is the former CEO, Director, and Farm Manager of the Rodale Institute in Pennsylvania. He is internationally-known for his deep knowledge of organic practices and principles. https://rodaleinstitute.org/ To watch a video versio...
Steve Ela: Diversifying Crops, Sales Channels, And Research Dollars
September 28, 2023 10:00 - 1 hour - 42.9 MB#135: Organic farmer and former NOSB member Steve Ela talks about managing his fruit-focused operation with diverse market strategies, crop rotations, and biological controls for orchard pests. He also speaks about the difficult mission of achieving carbon neutrality on the farm, Steve Ela is a longtime farmer in Western Colorado, where his family grows 55 varieties of organic fruit trees and participates in on-farm organic research trials. Steve holds degrees in biology and environmental g...
Hannah Smith-Brubaker: Growing On-Farm Organic Research
September 19, 2023 12:00 - 58 minutes - 40.4 MB#134: Hannah Smith-Brubaker, aReal Organic Project farmer and the Executive Director of Pennsylvania-based sustainable agriculture organization PASA, shares what her peers are learning as they ramp up efforts to collect data from on-farm organic trials and experiments. Hannah Smith-Brubaker married into the farm family at Village Acres farm, a highly-diversified, organic operation founded in the 1980s in Juniata County Pennsylvania by her wife Deb's parents Roy and Hope Brubaker. She is ...
Jim Riddle: Lobbyists Not Farmers Have Access To USDA
September 12, 2023 13:00 - 41 minutes - 28.8 MB#133: Retired Minnesota berry farmer and founder of the International Organic Inspectors Association Jim Riddle discusses his time on the National Organic Standards Board, including observing the culture of a revolving door of corporate lobbyists. Jim Riddle is the founder of Blue Fruit Farm, an organic blueberry farm in Minnesota, as well as the Winona Farmers Market and the International Organic Inspectors Association. He has served on the National Organic Standards Board in a farmer seat...
Dru Rivers: An Organic Activist's Manifesto
September 05, 2023 16:00 - 25 minutes - 17.7 MB132: Longtime organic farmer Dru Rivers speaks to the crowd at the 2023 EcoFarm Conference about the future of food, and the important role activism plays in farming. Dru Rivers is an original founding farmer at Full Belly Farm in California and has played an important role in both the EcoFarm Conference and CCOF (California Certified Organic Farmers) since their beginnings. https://fullbellyfarm.com/ To watch a video version of this podcast please visit: https://www.realorganicproject...
Mark and Kristin Kimball: Holistic Farming Goes Beyond Food Production
August 30, 2023 10:00 - 50 minutes - 34.5 MB#131: Farmer Mark Kimball and his wife, author Kristin Kimball, almost everything that's been in their heads recently, as their journey at their year-round, CSA-model farm in Essex, New York continues to evolve. Dave caught up with the Kimballs at the NOFA New Hampshire Conference last February, where they all discussed the future of food production, late-stage capitalism, and the organic movement. Mark Kimball founded Essex Farm in 2003, along with his wife Kristin. With deeply diversifie...
Peter Donovan: RedirectingThe Carbon Conversation Towards The Water Cycle
August 22, 2023 11:00 - 1 hour - 45 MB#130: Peter Donovan of the Soil Carbon Coalition shares his thoughts on the true value of carbon sequestration in agricultural settings, and how it differs from the ideas being pushed by industrial players who stand to benefit from carbon credits and offsets. Peter Donovan has a long history working in agriculture, specifically managing livestock, pastures, and soil. He has authored numerous articles and given lectures on improving the soil carbon sponge and finessing ideal grazing practic...
Zach Cannady: Farming To Strengthen Your Local Food Shed
August 15, 2023 15:00 - 47 minutes - 33 MB#129: Zach Cannady of Prema Farm joins Dave to discuss the inspiration he found working as a produce manager that led him to start his own farm, dedicated to growing crops that his community was asking for and could not find locally. Dave and Zach dive deep into conversation about Prema's composting and cover cropping practices, as well as the use of simple, human-powered farm tools that allow them to minimize soil disturbance. Zach Cannady grows food at Prema Farm in northern California, o...