Greenhorns Radio

This week’s featured farmeron Greenhorns Radiois **Jeremiah Vernon.** Jeremiahis a tenth generation New Hampshire native, having grown up in New London, where his family still lives on the land his ancestors settled. After graduating from Bates College in Maine, Jeremiah started working on long-standing and accomplished farms throughout New England, collecting the skills necessary to start his own farm. In particular, his collaboration with Riverslea Farm in Epping taught him a lot. Jeremiah is happy to call the farmers of Riverslea, the Conrads, his farming mentors and family friends. Jeremiah, and his wife, Nicole, have now founded Vernon Family Farm in Newfields, NH, the culmination of these experiences and they could not be happier! Vernon Family Farm produces a wide variety of products including chickens, mushrooms, vegetables, dried flowers and Farmsicles™. Their products are currently available at regional farmers markets, restaurants and grocery stores and they are planning to open their farm store in 2016. Vernon Family Farm made significant improvements to its infrastructure in 2015 with the addition of grain silos, a cold room, walk in freezer, mushroom fruiting room, cold frame and irrigation pond. In 2016, the focus will be on opening their farm store, streamlining their production processes and continuing to produce high quality, locally produced goods. This program was brought to you by Heritage Foods USA.

This week’s featured farmer on Greenhorns Radio is Anson Biller. Raised in Eastern Massachusetts, gone west, and now returning, Anson has been farming for five years. Initially managing the production at a Buddhist retreat center in Cazadero, CA, Anson then moved down to Sebastopol to operate a small CSA at the Permaculture Skills Center. He’s now making the leap to start his own farm, Full Fork, on five-acres of leased land in Whitefield, ME. (www.fullforkfarm.com).

“Growing for seed, the plants are in the ground far longer. There is a high need for seeds for growing, it’s definitely there.” [09:00]

–Anson Biller on Greenhorns Radio

This week’s featured guest on Greenhorns Radio is Brian Dewan, a musician and visual artist living in Catskill, NY. He sings accompanied by accordion, autoharp, electric zither or other instruments. His recordings include Tells The Story, The Operating Theater, Words Of Wisdom, Ringing At The Speed Of Prayer and Grange Future. He is represented by Pierogi Gallery in Brooklyn and has performed at the Whitney Museum, the New Museum, the Museum Of The Moving Image, the Brooklyn Museum and the Museum Of Jurassic Technology. This program was brought to you by Heritage Foods USA.

This week’s featured farmer on Greenhorns Radio is Darby Weaver. After receiving her degree in Sustainable Agriculture from Sterling College in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, Darby packed up her Northern roots and transplanted herself deep into the Southeastern red clay of the state of Georgia. Being young landless farmers, Darby and her husband, Elliot, were forced to land hop from property to property for years, managing farms and starting small businesses in an attempt to save up enough money to purchase a farm of their own. All of this running around from Piedmont to the Coast and finally to the Mountains built character and gave them experience in a lot of different growing conditions. This program was brought to you by Heritage Foods USA.

“Biodynamics is seeing your farm as an entity where every living organism is an entity nesting in other living organisms. Everything is connected.” [10:00]

“In farming there’s no such thing as failing, there’s only moving forward. you can make mistakes and the land is forgiving. [12:00]

–Darby Weaver on Greenhorns Radio

This week’s featured farmer on Greenhorns Radio is Tim van Berkel. Tim is from Dutch origin and came to the UK to study in 2008. The beauty, remoteness, people, clean ocean and waves made him decide to stay and adapt to the Cornish way of life.
Seaweed was not Tim’s first love, but starting the Cornish Seaweed Company followed naturally from his original interests.
Tim is a conservation biologist from origin, and is involved as Scientific Director in the conservation of the rainforests in Indonesia through a charity called Frontline Conservation.
Before embarking on the seaweed and rainforest journeys however, he gained ecological and scientific knowledge during a BSc in Environmental Sciences with Utrecht University and an MSc in Conservation & Biodiversity at the University of Exeter. His research interests in tropical ecology and conservation led him to conduct research and expeditions around the world including Indonesia, Cameroon, Uganda, Honduras, Peru and Bolivia.
When not at work he can still be found near the ocean, surfing along the beautiful Cornish coastline.This program was brought to you by Heritage Foods USA.

This week’s featured farmer is Gowan Batist. Gowan is a farmer, metalsmith and soil nerd. Born on the Mendocino Coast in California and raised pulling crab pots out of the ocean with her Grandfather who taught her that work is love. She studied metal fabrication until succumbing to the pull to farm. She completed an Oregon State University Certificate program and Master Gardener training and cut her teeth on a 150-acre farm outside Portland. She always wanted to return to Mendocino, which she did to manage a farm at a local nonprofit, Noyo Food Forest. Now, at the age of 26, she is the proud owner of Fortunate Farm, made possible by a unique partnership with North Coast Brewing Company. Her 40-acre coastal farm focuses on heirloom vegetables, invasive species management, and large-scale composting. Her goal is to feed her community in a way that sequesters carbon. This program was brought to you by Heritage Foods USA.

“The backbone of our farm is a lot of work and as much community integration as possible.” [12:00]

“I would love to see more young farmers using technology.” [14:00]

“I would love to do everything in my power to get more farmers established and supported here.” [15:00]

–Gowan Batist

This week’s featured farmer is Tyler Hess. Tyler has been an apprentice of various organic farms for several years, and is now growing produce at New Forest Farm in Wisconsin. A recent college graduate and avid traveler, he hopes to continue facilitating land-based projects as leverage points for the times ahead. This program was brought to you by Heritage Foods USA.

“We need people doing commercial market farming!” [18:00]

“We [young farmers] need to collaborate and hold each other in this space!” [26:00]

–Tyler Hess on Greenhorns Radio

This week’s featured farmer on Greenhorns Radio is Mike Lewis. Since 2009, Michael Lewis has been a busy man. From becoming a husband and father to contributing as a Kentucky Proud farmer who is a Veteran of the 3rd U.S. Infantry, The Old Guard, he has proven how invaluable honorable service can be. He began full-time farming in 2010 and, after supporting local farmer’s market and community supported agriculture efforts throughout 2011, founded America’s first Veteran Oriented food security organization, The Growing Warriors Project, in 2012. Growing Warriors, which has helped over 65 veteran families grow more than 18,000 pounds of organic food, exists to equip, assist, and train our nation’s military veterans in agriculture production for themselves, their families, and the nation. In 2013, Michael was a celebrated recipient of Kentucky’s Local Food Hero Award, an honor granted by Seed Capital Kentucky and the Kentucky Department of Agriculture to exceptional individuals who promote local, farm-fresh food grown in Kentucky. Chosen from supporters who cast almost 2,600 votes, Michael stands out among 1,450 of his fellow Kentucky farmers for agricultural contributions he’s worked tirelessly for over the past several years, giving so many access to Kentucky-grown food straight from the farm. He has also served as a member of the Kentucky Industrial Hemp commission and, with the help of fellow veterans, operates America’s first federally permitted Industrial Hemp farm since 1934. At the close of 2014, Yahoo lauded Michael as one of eight people who “Made our World a Better Place,” touting his efforts with Growing Warriors and its movement to promote projects across multiple states. Compassionate and unfaltering, Michael’s impact is undeniable—even a brief conversation will show that his vision is contagious and will, as we work together, bring about the growth and change that Kentucky, the U.S., and our good green Earth so markedly needs.

This week’s featured farmer is Lea Zeise. Lea is the descendant of Oneida women who have worked to improve their community through activism and community organizing. Her mother taught her the value of a healthy environment at an early age, bringing her along to protests against mining on the Mole Lake Band of Lake Superior Chippewa reservation in the 80s. Now an adult with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Lea has focused her energy on the improvement of agriculture on Tribal lands. Every day offers another opportunity to draw linkages between the health of the environment and her people, with food often playing a central role.

This week’s featured farmer is Corrie Quinn of Goose the Market. Corrie Quinn is always hungry. After working in museums by day and restaurant kitchens by night, she moved a career in food to the front burner when she went back to Italy for a masters in food communication from the Università degli Studi di Scienze Gastronomiche. After graduation, the good folks at Goose the Market in Indianapolis fed her once and she never went away. She worked as a meat monger and wine and beer buyer there before managing the Goose Enoteca, or Italian-style wine and food bar, in the butcher shop’s cellar. Over three years ago, Goose the Market grew to open Smoking Goose, a wholesale, USDA-inspected meatery that handcrafts slow-cured and smoked meats, salumi, and fresh sausages. Since then Corrie has been helping to share the Goose philosophy with an audience that stretches from coast to coast: because Smoking Goose believes real meat has a tale, we can all dine happily ever after. This program was brought to you by Heritage Foods USA.