Greenhorns Radio

Chuck Ross was appointed as the Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets by Governor Peter Shumlin and took office in January of 2011. Prior to his current role as Secretary, he served as U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy’s State Director for 16 years. Before joining Leahy’s staff, Ross was a farmer and legislator from Hinesburg, Vermont. During his six years in the Vermont State Legislature, Ross served as Chair of the House Natural Resource and Energy Committee. He has served on the Board of Directors at Shelburne Farms; on the Advisory Board of the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Vermont; as an advisory member of the Vermont Council on Rural Development; and as Vermont’s National Democratic Committeeman. Ross formerly served as a trustee at Fletcher Allen Health Care; a trustee at the University of Vermont; a member of the Hinesburg Planning Commission; and a member of the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission. Born in Burlington, Vermont, he graduated from the University of Vermont with a B.A. in Geography in 1978 and from the University of Washington with an M.A. in Geography in 1982. Thanks to our sponsor, Hearst Ranch.

“If the 98% percent of people who are not involved in food production are not literate in agriculture, it’s going to be difficult to address the problems of our state, our country, and our globe when it comes to food issues.” [3:15]

— Chuck Ross, Secretary of Agriculture (VT), Greenhorn Radio

Dr. Sasha Kramer is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods (SOIL). Sasha is an ecologist and human rights advocate who has been living and working in Haiti since 2004. She received her Ph.D. in Ecology from Stanford University in 2006 and co-founded SOIL that same year while completing a postdoctoral research position with the Collaboratory for Research on Global Projects at Stanford. Sasha is currently an Adjunct Professor of International Studies and a Visiting Scholar at the Center for Latin American Studies at the University of Miami. She is also a National Geographic Emerging Explorer and an Architect of the Future with the Waldzell Institute and a member of the Clinton Global Initiative. This program has been sponsored by Hearst Ranch.

“The goal of our organization is to take things that are considered waste and turn them into resources.” [3:00]

“Often, the Caribbean is often left our of larger networks.” [12:00]

— Dr. Sasha Kramer on Greenhorn Radio

Clare Sullivan of Feedback Farms is currently the Environmental Coordinator of the Millennium Village project in the Tropical Agriculture and rural Environment Program of Columbia University. Before that she worked in a variety of capacities in the food service industry – running a collective bakery in St. Louis, working as a pastry chef in New York and doing agricultural research at the International Potato Center in Lima, Peru. Clare is also a serial crew leader for the Student Conservation Association and has served on it’s advisory board. She has M.A. in International Affairs with a focus on Environmental Policy from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and a B.A. in Political Science from Washington University in St. Louis. Thanks to our sponsor, Heritage Foods USA.

“That’s the neat thing about urban gardens- there’s so many intersections with the communities that surround them.” [6:00]

— Clare Sullivan on Greenhorn Radio

Sunnyside Organic Seedlings was founded in 2004 by Vernay ‘Pilar’ Reber, a graduate of the UC Santa Cruz Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems program. She and the rest of the Sunnyside crew are thrilled to be growing organic starts in the San Francisco Bay Area – a place where organic gardening is not only accepted, it is expected! Everything the crew at Sunnyside Organic Seedlings does is focused on providing quality certified organic plants that are produced in a socially and
environmentally responsible manner. This program has been brought to you by Hearst Ranch.

“The cool thing about an aquaponics system is that you’re building an ecosystem, not just pushing water through pipes… I think it’s the future of urban ag.” [7:00]

— Pilar Reber on Greenhorn Radio

Joe Bossen is the founder of Vermont Bean Crafters. Originally interest in renewable energies while attending Green Mountain College, Bossen found an opportunity in agriculture to make an impact on how we relate to energy consumption through promoting locally available, sustainably grown foods lower on the food chain, like beans. After working several years on a variety of farms, Joe realized he wanted to grow staple food crops like beans and grains but being unable to capitalize a farm operation, he turned to value-added products as a more financially accessible means to that same ends of engaging with food in a way that looks to build soil and beget joy via less energy intensive foods. This episode has been sponsored by Hearst Ranch.

“I chose this path through life because after working on many farms, I realized I wasn’t going to be in a position any time soon to access land.” [3:55]

— Joe Bossen on Greenhorn Radio

Saundra Ball is in her third year of farming, having first apprenticed on a vegetable farm in Texas before moving to the Hudson Valley, where she’s worked on several small scale diversified farms. Saundra now works on a small dairy in Columbia County, milking Jerseys for direct market sales of fluid milk. While she pursues farming, Saundra is supporting herself in the meantime with a career in humanitarian aid. She hopes to have her own raw milk micro-dairy and a flock of sheep one day. Tune into this episode of Greenhorn Radio to hear more from Saundra! Thanks to our sponsor, Hearst Ranch.

“80% of dairy farming is about pasture management. Pasture is what your cows eat, and what you put into your cows, you get out of your cows.” [6:45] — Saundra Ball on Greenhorn Radio

Once again, Severine Von Tscharner Fleming is digging into the Greenhorn archives. In this episode of the “Young Farmer Policy Podcast,” von Tscarner Fleming talks to Luke Gran, Beginning Farmer Coordinator at Practical Farmers of Iowa, which is a farmer driven research and education group out of Iowa. This program has been sponsored by White Oak Pastures.

Once again, we’re digging into the Greenhorn archives, and revisiting the 2012 Farm Bill. Annette Higby, from the New England Farm Union, discusses Federal Farm Bill the various titles and programs, and the the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Opportunity act which is supported by the National Young Farmers Coalition. The National Farmer’s Union is one of the oldest and best Farm advocacy groups in the country, with a strong family farmer focus. They are critics of the way farm policies have subsidized certain parts of our farm economy over other more sensible choices. Public investment in agriculture isn’t going away, but we can shift the direction it points us, our food and our landscape. Tune in to learn how – and check out the New England Farmers Union, NEFU.org. This program has been brought to you by Hearst Ranch.

This week on Greenhorn Radio, we’re digging into the archives of the Greenhorn Audio Almanac to bring you an interview with Charlotte Cater of the New York State Agricultural Mediation Program. Tune in to hear host Severine Von Tscharner Fleming talk with Charlotte about different legal issues that farmers face, and how representation can help young farmers in the realms of land access, leasing, and more. This program has been brought to you by Hearst Ranch.

Viva Farms is a farm incubator for new and Latino farmers, but they also maintain a large production farm. Produce from the Viva farm and the incubator farms feeds into the Viva Farms “food hub” along with other local products, which is then distributed to a 1,200 member CSA and various wholesale accounts in the greater Seattle market. Chris oversees it all, helping to cultivate new farmers as a relatively young farmer himself. He has worked on farms and ecological preserves for over 10 years, farming in Montana, Ecuador, New Mexico and Washington. Chris is both a hardcore farmer and a teacher, managing production, interns, and a bilingual farm crew while troubleshooting in the field with new farmers. His experience and perspective would make for a great conversation about young farmers–particularly beginning Latino farmers! This program
has been brought to you by Hearst Ranch.

“Most of the farmers in our program are Latinos that have grown up as farm workers, and now they have the chance to be farm owners.” [8:00] — Chris Elder on Greenhorn Radio