The Thriving Farmer Podcast
289 episodes - English - Latest episode: 5 days ago - ★★★★★ - 283 ratingsIf you’re looking to build a profitable farm that works, The Thriving Farmer Podcast is for you. Learn the latest tricks and strategies from successful farmers, strategize with in-depth interviews with leaders in the industry, and connect with stories of farmers just like you. With over 15 years of farming background, your host Michael Kilpatrick has the experience and authority to bring you practical advice, ask the hard questions, tease out the gold nuggets, and help share what it’s really like to build a truly profitable, sustainable farm. In the interviews, we focus on building farms that last, setting up your systems, knowing your customers, building your team, and treading that ever-challenging work/family/life balance.
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
231. Evan Marks on Putting the Culture Back in Agriculture
May 16, 2023 12:00 - 50 minutes - 94.1 MBHow can you create a purposeful farm culture in the middle of a city? On today’s episode of the Thriving Farmer Podcast, Evan Marks is joining us from Orange County, California. He is the Founder and Executive Director of The Ecology Center, which is not only a farm but a nonprofit education center that is passionate about putting the culture back into agriculture. Located on a historic agricultural property that is today surrounded by urban sprawl, The Ecology Center is a 28-acre Regen...
230. King Whetstone on the Importance of the Agricultural Census
May 09, 2023 13:00 - 24 minutes - 22.5 MBHow much do you know about the Census of Agriculture? On this episode of the Thriving Farmer Podcast, we’re hosting King Whetstone who is the Regional Director of the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, Northeastern Region. In his role, he is committed to providing timely, accurate, and useful statistics that will help those working in U.S. agriculture. King will share about the Census of Agriculture which occurs every five years. The census provides the only source of cons...
229. Jon and Bre Taylor on their Cross-Country Farm Tour Adventures
May 02, 2023 13:00 - 45 minutes - 41.6 MBHave you ever thought about selling it all and traveling the country? On this episode of the Thriving Farmer Podcast, we are hosting Jon and Bre Taylor, a pair of digital nomads who are traveling the country in search of their future farm. They, along with their three kids, have visited many national parks and historical sites as they “roadschool” their children. However, their main goal has been to visit farms, attend hands-on homesteading conferences and ultimately search for the place t...
228. Steven and Christine Bailey on Cultivating Connections
April 25, 2023 14:00 - 59 minutes - 110 MBHow are you cultivating connections in your community? On this episode of the Thriving Farmer Podcast, we are hosting Christine and Steven Bailey, founders of The Kindred Farm, in Santa Fe, TN. Together, Christine, an author and podcast host and Chef Steven a.k.a “The Korean Farmer”, are growing vibrant produce, flowers, and bees in a sustainable way that heals the land and grows into beautiful food. They also offer sold-out farm-to-table dinners under the stars at their seasonal Kindre...
227. Reid Allaway on Going Electric with Your Farm Equipment
April 18, 2023 14:00 - 1 hour - 61.3 MBCurious about how to go electric with your farm equipment? On this episode of the Thriving Farmer Podcast, Reid Allaway is joining us from Quebec, Canada. He is the Director of Infrastructure and Machinery at Ferme Coopérative Tourne-Sol which has 9 members and about 15 employees who are all passionate about healthy food, gardening, seed production, and ecology. You’ll want to hear how Reid has converted many of the machines on their farm to electric while also spearheading their Elec-...
226. Reese Jones on the Social Enterprise of Community Victory Gardens
April 11, 2023 14:00 - 45 minutes - 41.3 MBHow can farmers serve their communities in unique ways? In this podcast, we’re hosting Reese Jones, Co-owner and Manager of Jones Family Farm, located in Edgewood, Maryland. As far back as the 1950s, the Jones Family has been growing award-winning fruits and vegetables for both Baltimore and Harford County. They have remained the first choice grower for those who wish to buy directly from the farmer. Today, the farming operation has grown extensively to accommodate greater...
225. David Greenberg on Greens, Greenhouses, and Growing a Business
April 04, 2023 14:00 - 1 hour - 66.4 MBDo you have farming questions? This podcast will make you want to pull up a chair and take notes. It is a conversation between two experienced farmers about greenhouses (including climate battery greenhouses), creating a holistic farm model and how greens play an important role, dealing with water and soil issues, and taking a CSA from a picnic in the park to farmers market levels of volume for a profitable mid-week retail store. Michael Kilpatrick is joined by David Greenberg, own...
224. Ian and Rachel Harding on Farming Through Crisis
March 28, 2023 14:00 - 52 minutes - 47.8 MBHow do you manage through a crisis and what lessons come from such a time? In this episode of the Thriving Farmer Podcast, we’re joined by Ian and Rachel Harding of Wet Knot Farms, located in Marietta, South Carolina. Ian and Rachel started their farm to get back to nature, and to raise their three boys playing in the dirt and eating healthy, tasty food. Now their mission is to cultivate community by bettering health through sustainable agricultural practices. Folks love how long Wet...
223. Kelly Shepherd on First Generation Regenerative Farming
March 21, 2023 14:00 - 40 minutes - 37 MBWhat ways can your farm bring more value to your community? In this week’s podcast, we’re hosting Kelly Shepherd, Co-Owner of What the Farm, located in Virginia Beach, Virginia. What the Farm is focusing on the health and vitality of the land through regenerative farming, and their mission is simple: serve the soil, serve the animals, and serve the community. They recently expanded their operations and opened What The Farm Store so they can share farm to table with othe...
222. Deirdre Birmingham on Organic Cider Farming
March 14, 2023 14:00 - 53 minutes - 49.2 MBDo you know what it takes to grow specialty apples to make organic apple cider and brandy? In this Thriving Farmer podcast, we’re joined by Deirdre Birmingham, Co-Founder of The Cider Farm, located in Madison, Wisconsin. The Cider Farm grows true cider apples organically for the purposes of making The Cider Farm brand of (hard) ciders and apple brandy. They are arguably the only orchard in the US that started for this purpose. The Cider Farm’s products are not ...
221. Matt Carr on Scaling Your Farm Business
March 07, 2023 15:00 - 51 minutes - 47.2 MBHow has your farm evolved and what changes have you made to scale your business? On this week’s Thriving Farmer Podcast, we’re joined by Matt Carr, Owner of Linden Lane Farms, a family operated farm located in Krestova, Canada. Linden Lane Farms has been in operation since 1978. The farm started as five acres of land used to produce food for the Carr family. Eventually, the farm grew onto a new 150-acre property primarily used for raising and processing livestock. In t...
220. Sasha Miller on Permaculture and Local Food Systems
February 28, 2023 15:00 - 42 minutes - 39.1 MBWhat Sasha Learned Implementing Permaculture and Starting a Farm Store In this Thriving Farmer Podcast, we are joined by Sasha Miller, Co-Founder of Purplebrown Farmstead. Sasha and her husband, Jimmy, started Purplebrown Farmstead with their two kids, Ohlen & Ivan, in 2016. Sasha is the full-time farmer, but everyone has their integral role. Purplebrown applied the permaculture design process to make choices for what, how, when, and why they grow and do what they do. They are growing ...
219. Lindsey Lusher Shute on GrownBy, the Farmer-Owned Marketplace
February 21, 2023 15:00 - 47 minutes - 43.8 MBWhat tools do you use to reach more customers? In this Thriving Farmer podcast, we’re joined by Lindsey Lusher Shute: farmer, co-founder and former executive director of the National Young Farmers Coalition, and co-owner of Hearty Roots Community Farm. An Ohio native, Lindsey first developed her love of farming on her grandfather’s land in the rolling hills of Appalachia. As executive director of Young Farmers, Lindsey grew the organization from a few volunteer farmer...
218. Eric Sannerud on Hop Farming
February 14, 2023 15:00 - 50 minutes - 46.6 MBWhat Should a Small Farmer Know When Starting with Hops? Today on the Thriving Farmer Podcast, we’re joined by Eric Sannerud, Hop Evangelist and Farm Advocate from Minnesota. Eric was co-founder and CEO of Mighty Axe Hops, Minnesota's largest hop farm. Eric started Mighty Axe Hops in 2013 and has since grown the farm from .25 acre to 80 acres of production. Mighty Axe was the industry leader in Minnesota hops working with commercial brewers, USDA programs, local government and e...
217. Anne-Marie Bilella on Foraging as a Lifestyle Business
February 07, 2023 15:00 - 45 minutes - 41.5 MBIn this episode, we’re tuning in to Thriving Farmer Value-Added Summit speaker Anne-Marie Bilella, aka the Forager Chick, of Bella Vista Farm, located in Monroe, Georgia. Bella Vista is a local, private farm that specializes in herbal products and remedies and homemade breads. Anne-Marie is the farmer, baker, and medicine maker of the farm. Anne-Marie helps homesteaders and preppers identify and use wild plants and mushrooms for food and medicine. She spent most of her career as a self...
216. Sandor Katz on The Revival of Fermentation
January 31, 2023 15:00 - 44 minutes - 82.3 MBIn this episode of the Thriving Farmer Podcast, we’re joined by fermentation expert and best-selling author, Sandor Katz. Sandor is the author of popular books such as The Art of Fermentation, Wild Fermentation, Fermentation Journeys, and more. Sandor’s interest in fermentation grew out of his overlapping interests in cooking, nutrition, and gardening. Since 2003, Sandor has taught hundreds of workshops demystifying fermentation and empowering people to reclaim this important transformatio...
215. Why Every Farmer Needs To Be Value-Adding
January 24, 2023 15:00 - 1 hour - 66.6 MBIn this podcast, we’re sharing one of our amazing guests from the Value-Added Summit, Joel Salatin of Polyface Farm, located in Swoope, Virginia. Joel talks to us about the benefits of and techniques involved with an effective, game-changing implementation of a value-added strategy on farms. Joel Salatin is an American farmer, lecturer, and author. Joel’s philosophy of farming emphasizes healthy grass on which animals can thrive in a symbiotic cycle of feeding. He has authored twelve book...
214. Liz Riffle on Holistic Bison Farming
January 17, 2023 15:00 - 49 minutes - 45.7 MBDo you farm with livestock? There may be a more humane way to harvest these animals. Tune in to hear about Riffle Farms’ holistic approach to managing and processing their bison. Today on the Thriving Farmer Podcast we’re joined by Liz Riffle, Owner and Operator of Riffle Farms, located in Terra Alta, West Virginia. Riffle Farms raises grass-fed and finished bison tucked in the hills of Preston County, where the grasses are cool and the snow is heavy. Liz is a U.S Navy Nurse Corps vete...
213. Matt McWilliams on Affiliate Marketing
January 10, 2023 15:00 - 43 minutes - 39.4 MBAre you looking to increase your income and take your business to the next level? If so, you will want to listen in to today’s guest, who is an expert in affiliate marketing and a successful coach for small business owners. Today on the Thriving Farmer Podcast, we’re taking a bit of a different approach with Matt the Affiliate Guy (Matt McWilliams), author of Internet Business Insights: Lessons Learned and Strategies Used by 101 Successful Internet-Based Entrepreneurs, and his new book, ...
212. Rob Dube on The 10 Disciplines for Entrepreneurs
December 27, 2022 15:00 - 57 minutes - 52.3 MBDo you feel burned out? Could you benefit from having more balance and less stress and overwhelm in your life? If so, you will want to listen to this episode to learn the tools to have a more meaningful life, with more time and energy. In this week’s Thriving Farmer Podcast, Michael is hosting Rob Dube, Co-founder and Co-CEO of imageOne, an award-winning, people-focused company whose purpose is to provide genuine care to everyone, every day, every time. imageOne specializes in manage...
211. Crystal Stevens on Herbalism and Education
December 20, 2022 15:00 - 43 minutes - 39.7 MBDo you grow medicinal herbs? Which ones, and what do you create with them? On this week’s podcast, we’re proud to host Crystal Stevens: author, herbalist, educator, and co-owner of Flourish Farmstead and Flourish Folk School, from Godfrey, Illinois. Crystal was born in Colorado, partly raised in California, and then transplanted to St. Louis, Missouri, where she spent her formative years as an activist and gardener in her community. She is the author of three successful books: Grow, Cre...
210. Darcie and Darbie Zirkle on Their Conventional, Multigenerational Family Farm
December 13, 2022 15:00 - 39 minutes - 35.7 MBAre you open to new ideas and technology when it comes to the younger generations on your family farm? What do you keep from the older generation and incorporate from the newer one? Today’s guests on the Thriving Farmer Podcast are Darcie and Darbie Zirkle, the twins of Zirkle Farms, located in Champaign County, Ohio. Zirkle Farms became a Century Farm in 2005. The family has multiple generations, all working together to make the farm evolve and thrive. Join us to hear all about the Zirkl...
209. Michael Torbett on Farming Microgreens and More!
December 06, 2022 15:00 - 1 hour - 57.6 MBWhat can you learn from a biologist about microgreens? In this episode of the Thriving Farmer Podcast, we have Michael Torbett of Terra Vita Farm, located in Castle Hayne, NC. Terra Vita Farm is the only completely no-spray farm in Wilmington NC and practices no-till farming while building soils and ecosystems. Their nutrient dense produce includes: microgreens/shoots, edible flowers, herbs, seasonal produce, hemp, gourmet mushrooms, cut flowers, and honey. Join us to hear how Michael an...
208. Michael Kilpatrick on Adding Income by Adding Value
November 29, 2022 15:00 - 30 minutes - 28.2 MBWhat can you do on your land to add more income? What is value-added to you? In this episode of the Thriving Farmer Podcast, Michael dives into why you need to attend this weekend’s Thriving Farmer Summit! It combines everything he’s passionate about: farmers loving what they do, while spending time with their families, and being justly compensated. In this episode, you’ll hear… Why innovation in products, not more production, is the biggest opportunity for farmers to work less and mak...
207. Jeff Bragg on Potatoes and Organic Agriculture
November 22, 2022 15:00 - 1 hour - 68.1 MBDo you want to learn how to properly grow potatoes and increase your yields with this superfood? In this week’s episode of the Thriving Farmer Podcast, we’re hosting Jeff Bragg, owner and sole proprietor of Superfood Consulting, operating out of New Mexico. Superfood Consulting is dedicated to taking the soils of Mother Earth to broaden the role of health worldwide, through food production. It is about soil health to gut health. Jeff enjoys perfecting processes and educating regardin...
206. Julie Guthman on The Strawberry Industry and California Agriculture
November 15, 2022 15:00 - 53 minutes - 49 MBIn this week’s podcast, we are joined by Julie Guthman, geographer and professor of social sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She has taken particular interest in California agriculture and in the evolving character of the alternative food movement as it confronts race, class, and bodily difference. More recently, she has explored the intersection of knowledge practices and political economy in the construction of healthy food and bodies, especially in light of emergent...
205. Andre Cantelmo on Biological Farming
November 08, 2022 15:00 - 1 hour - 62.4 MBWhat measures are you taking to care for and improve your soil? In this podcast, we’re joined for a second time by Andre Cantelmo, Co-Founder of Heron Pond Farm, located in South Hampton, New Hampshire. At Heron Pond Farm, Andre and his partner, Greg, strive to be biological farmers. Heron Pond fertilizes almost all of their crops with composted chicken manure and just like many organic farms, they use biologically based pesticides. They use certified organic products, including fertil...
204. Natasha McCrary on How a Family Project became a Value-added Farm
November 01, 2022 14:00 - 1 hour - 56 MBIs your farm a family project? In this week’s Thriving Farmer Podcast we are joined by Natasha McCrary, Founder of 1818 Farms, located in Mooresville, Alabama. The idea for this family project originated with Natasha’s eight-year-old child who fell in love with the Babydoll Southdown Sheep that he met at a petting farm in October 2011. Owning a Babydoll was all he could talk about; so, thinking this would be fun and educational for her family to do together, Natasha began researching wh...
203. DeAnna Lozensky on Regenerative Grain Farming
October 25, 2022 14:00 - 1 hour - 61.7 MBWhat does regenerative mean to you? In this episode, we’re joined by regenerative farming aficionado DeAnna Lozensky of Guardian Grains, located in South Prairie, North Dakota. Guardian Grains is a husband and wife team working to help their fourth generation farm thrive. The health of the soil is at the heart of every decision they make on their regenerative farm. Their soil health is reliant upon a rich blend of biodiversity in their farming practices. DeAnna got into regenerative...
202. Brian Thomas on Starting a Thriving Mushroom Business
October 18, 2022 14:00 - 1 hour - 63.6 MBHave you ever considered how all of your life experiences have led you to the point where you are at this very moment? For Brian Thomas, those experiences led to a thriving mushroom business. In this podcast, we are joined by mushroom farmer and mycologist Brian Thomas of MYCA Farms, located in Fort Langley, British Columbia. MYCA Farms is a Gourmet Mushroom Farm located in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia. You can find them at the Fort Langley farmers markets year round. In this e...
201. Dave Munson on Building a Top Quality Brand and Team
October 11, 2022 14:00 - 50 minutes - 46.2 MBWhat are some things you can do to create the most efficient and highest quality products and team? In this episode, we’re hosting Dave Munson, Founder of Saddleback Leather Company, a premium leather product company run out of Azle, Texas. Dave got his inspiration to work in leather when he was an English teacher in Southern Mexico. He told the leather worker in a local leather shop that he wanted a bag so durable he could pass it down to his grandkids to fight over. He loved that bag,...
200. Dr. Tammy Gray-Steele on Increasing the Impact of Agriculture
October 04, 2022 14:00 - 36 minutes - 33.7 MBHow can we make more and better farming resources available to everyone? In this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Tammy Gray-Steele, Founder of the National Women in Agriculture Association and a fourth-generation black woman farmer. For over 13 years, Dr. Tammy Gray-Steele has been seeking to have legislation passed that will re-distribute the balance of power and funding to achieve substantive change in the agricultural sector. NWIAA’s mission is to engage minority youth and female farmer...
199. Rebecca Graff and Tom Ruggieri on Biological Farming and Fermentation
September 27, 2022 14:00 - 1 hour - 59.2 MBIn this episode, we’re hosting Tom Ruggieri & Rebecca Graff, founders of Fair Share Farm, an organic farm located in Clay County, Missouri. Both Rebecca and Tom left their white-collar jobs in 2000 to find a way to promote community, sustainable agriculture, and healthy eating habits as their livelihood. Fair Share Farm is now operating on land that has been in Rebecca's family for four generations. Organic farming methods replaced conventional agriculture in the Fall of 2002. Soil health...
198. Elliott Powell and Indira Patt on Empowering Family Farmers
September 20, 2022 14:00 - 1 hour - 61.2 MBHave you considered the connection between environmental degradation and rural poverty? What can be done about it? Today on the show we’re hosting Elliott Powell, Executive Director and Indira Patt, Field Trainer of Sustainable Harvest International, an environmental nonprofit with 25 years of experience partnering with smallholder farmers to adopt regenerative practices that nourish people and the planet. As SHI’s Executive Director, Elliott Powell leads their operations and facilitate...
197. Will Staufer on Mechanical Weed Control
September 13, 2022 14:00 - 48 minutes - 44.7 MBWhat are the preferred tools you use on your farm? In this episode, Michael deep dives into discussion with Will Staufer on using Planet Jr. farm tools. Planet Jr. created tractors, seeding, fertilizing, and cultivating equipment for small farms from the 1870’s through the 1960’s. Although this company is no longer in business, people like Will Staufer appreciate the quality and craftsmanship of this equipment and are still using them today! Tune in to hear all about the Planet Jr. tool...
196. Who Owns the Organic Label? We All Do!
September 06, 2022 14:00 - 1 hour - 67 MBJoin Mark Kastel, nationally prominent industry watchdog with OrganicEye, with thoughts on what we can do to protect the organic farming movement. OrganicEye is an organic farming watchdog organization located in Lafarge, Washington. The organic movement started as a call to bring our food system back to focusing on healing communities and soil through regenerative growing practices. It was built on a collaborative relationship between family-scale farmers and shoppers willing to pay for f...
195. Aaron Bradley on Culture Building and Sustainable Farming
August 30, 2022 14:00 - 1 hour - 63.8 MBHow do you measure success on your farm? Today’s guest focuses on quality of life, building relationships, and efficiency in their farm business. Today on the podcast, we are hosting Aaron Bradley, Co-owner and Operator of Colfax Creek Farm, located in Bostic, North Carolina. Colfax Creek Farm was founded in 1901, and is currently comprised of fifth generation farmers. The farm’s mission is to raise the finest 100% grass-fed beef, pastured pork, and pasture raised poultry all while focus...
194. Micha Ide on Raising Meat Ethically in the Pacific Northwest
August 23, 2022 14:00 - 54 minutes - 49.9 MBToday on the Thriving Farmer Podcast, we are hosting Micha Ide, Founder of Bright Ide Acres, located in Orting, Washington. Micha and her husband, Andrew, are a couple of California transplants who fell in love with farming in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. As both animal lovers and meat lovers, they decided to raise animals with compassionate care so they could enjoy the finest quality meat without guilt. The ethics of Bright Ide Acres are threefold - to give animals a high quality...
193. Ellen Scheffer and Ashley Wilson on Finding Humor in Farming
August 16, 2022 14:00 - 58 minutes - 53.9 MBWhat do you do when you don’t have a tractor, your van lights on fire, and it rains 68 inches a year?! You can learn from today’s guests how to find the humor in it all and persevere! Today, we’re happy to be hosting Ellen Scheffer and Ashley Wilson, Founders of Frisky Girl Farm, located in North Bend, Washington. Ellen and Ashley joined forces in 2016 to run City Grown Seattle, and now these two are growing big with Frisky Girl Farm. Frisky Girl Farm believes in growing healthy fo...
192. Prairie Companion Company on Ranching in Northern California
August 09, 2022 14:00 - 50 minutes - 45.9 MBDo you practice land stewardship and respect and care for your livestock? Today on the show, we’re hosting Esther Stewart, Co-founder of Prairie Companion Company, located on the north coast of California. Prairie Companion Company grows nutrient dense microgreens and raises Angus cattle. They raise their cattle without antibiotics or hormones, and they forage on natural grasses. As a husband and wife duo, Prairie Companion Company has been farming collectively for over a decade. They beg...
191. Chris Sermons on Being a Real Organic Certified Farm
August 02, 2022 14:00 - 50 minutes - 46.2 MBHave you considered applying for organic certification? On today’s episode of the Thriving Farmer Podcast, we’re hosting Chris Sermons, Founder of Bio-Way Farm, located in Ware Shoals, South Carolina. Bio-Way Farm is a Certified Organic farm with a focus on sustainable agriculture and permaculture design principles. Their 120 acres offers a mix of cultivated fields with row crops, hardwood forests and an edible forest garden featuring many native plants. They are located 30 miles south o...
190. Evan Ryan on Diversified Farming in Hawai’i
July 26, 2022 14:00 - 55 minutes - 51 MBDo you feel like you’re always pushing and fighting with what nature wants to do on your farm? Have you considered a slower, more integrated approach where everything works together to support the whole? Today we’re joined by Evan Ryan, Founder of Pono Grown Farm Center, hailing all the way from Makawao, Hawai’i. Pono Grown Farm Center is a 15-acre diverse farm that offers fruits, vegetables, honey, eggs, plants, land design and educational workshops. They are all about growing in harmony ...
189. Jordan Green on the Role Children Play in a Farm Business
July 19, 2022 14:00 - 57 minutes - 52.7 MBDo your kids want to be a part of your farm? How can you best integrate them into the farming lifestyle? In today’s episode we’re hosting Jordan Green, lifelong farmer, owner of FarmBuilder LLC, and co-owner of J & L Green Farm, located in Edinburg, Virginia. FarmBuilder LLC is a consultancy that works with property owners and aspiring farmers to develop farms that sustain communities. J & L Green Farm is a pasture-based, direct-to-retail farm. Managing 500 acres of beautiful farmland,...
188. Kelly Clark on Education and Community–Involved Permaculture
July 12, 2022 14:00 - 48 minutes - 44 MBDo you have a passion for education and for farming? Can you live your dream and combine the two? Today we’re joined by Kelly Clark, Founder of Kelly’s Working Well Farm, located in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. Kelly’s Working Well Farm is an educational permaculture farm dedicated to the community. Take one piece of abandoned property at the edge of town, add a handful of sheep and goats, plus chickens and a couple of dogs, invite the community, and you have the long and short of the farm’s origi...
187. John Barker on Fusing Culinary Skills with Farming to Create Added Value
July 05, 2022 14:00 - 52 minutes - 48.2 MBHow can you create added value to your farm using your skills and interests? Today on the show we’re hosting John Barker, Director of Agriculture and co-owner of Forts Ferry Farm, located in Latham, New York. Forts Ferry Farm is a collective of innovators, farmers, and food lovers. Their farm is a year-round hive of activity that is continuously expanding and evolving—a living component of the region’s unique climate and rich soils. Their seasonally-focused, hyper farm-to-table kitchen cra...
186. Michael and Lauren Marchand on Running a Diversified, Bio-intensive Farm in the Tropics
June 28, 2022 14:00 - 1 hour - 66.5 MBWhat is farm life like in the tropics? On today’s episode of the Thriving Farmer Podcast, we’re joined by Michael and Lauren Marchand, co-founders of Lapa'au Farm, located in Maui, Hawaii. Lapa’au Farm is a two-acre, bio-intensive farming operation. Michael and Lauren practice “beyond organic” methods, which means they forgo modern organic methods that allow a long list of pesticides to still be used. Instead, they focus on biodiversity and seasonal crops, with a strong focus on building...
185. Ryan Lichttenegger on Organic Farming in a Challenging Location
June 21, 2022 14:00 - 47 minutes - 43.3 MBWhat are some of the challenges of organic farming, and how can you overcome them? Today, we’re joined by Ryan Lichttenegger, co-founder of Steel Wheel Farm, located in Fall City, Washington. Steel Wheel Farm is a small, first-generation family farm with one goal in mind: To improve the way in which produce is grown, harvested, and distributed. They believe that quality food begins with the farmer, and because of that, they provide only fresh, local, and naturally-grown items. Ryan wa...
184. Michael and Savannah Kilpatrick on U-Pick Strawberries
June 15, 2022 14:00 - 36 minutes - 33.7 MBToday on the Thriving Farmer Podcast Michael is joined by his wife, Savannah, to discuss their first season of offering u-pick strawberries at The Farm on Central. The Farm on Central is a small family farm located in Carlisle, Ohio and provides the community with a wide array of vegetables, mushrooms, and horticultural products. In this episode, Michael and Savannah talk about the benefits of offering a premium product and running a profitable value-added program. They also go over how th...
183. Mary Bowen on Serving the Community and the Environment with Livestock
June 07, 2022 14:00 - 40 minutes - 36.9 MBHave you considered the opportunities that livestock may bring to your farm? Today on the Thriving Farmer Podcast we’re joined by Mary Bowen, president of Prosperity Acres Farm, located in Sunderland, Maryland. Prosperity Acres is a small farm that offers high quality Hereford beef and goat meat for sale by the cut or as custom orders. Mary has farming in her genes tracing all the way back to Ireland with her great-great-grandparents. Mary began raising food for her family as a means to eat ...
182. Daniel Firth Griffith on Regenerating the Food System
May 31, 2022 14:00 - 1 hour - 72 MBHow many “hats” do you wear as a business owner? Today on the show we’ve got Daniel Firth Griffith, storyteller, entrepreneur, regenerative agriculturist, lover of wild woods and much more. He is the Founder of Timshel Wildland, a 400-acre regenerative, process-led, and emergent conservation wildland located south of Charlottesville, Virginia and in the heart of Central Virginia. Daniel is also the Director and Lead Educator of the Robina Institute, whose mission is to facilitate the ...