Greenhorns Radio

This week’s featured farmer on Greenhorns Radio is Rachel Britten. Rachel Britten was born to a farming family in the heart of Iowa. She made her way West to Washington where she farmed in the beautiful Port Townsend area and later completed her undergraduate degree in Agroecology at The Evergreen State College. Rachel now works for Ecology Action, a non-profit start 42 years ago by John Jeavons. She co-manages one of three research and education sites in Mendocino County, California. There, she trains interns from all over the world in the Grow Biointensive method–a set of principles developed to grow all of one’s caloric needs for a year on the least square footage possible while still improving the soil. Rachel’s other passions include biological nitrogen fixation and it’s role in agro-ecosystems, plant genetics (which she indulges with multiple breeding projects on the farm), and good old fashion cooking and hospitality– come on over! This program was brought to you by Heritage Foods USA.

“We emphasize the use of crops that are very good at taking carbon out of the atmosphere.” [08:00]

–Rachel Britten on Greenhorns Radio

This week’s guest on Greenhorns Radio is Lorig Hawkins. Loris graduated from the University of Texas at Austin and soon after began her path to farming. She has worked on farms in Texas for the past five years and most recently accepted a position as Farm Director with Farmshare Austin, where she will manage the 3-acre educational farm and oversee the Food Access plan. In 2011, after learning about the National Young Farmer Coalition and noticing a dearth of information, resources and support for young and upcoming farmers in the Central Texas community, she rallied networks, friends and colleagues to co-found the Texas Young Farmer Coalition an organization that aims to build connections between young farmers and to increase food awareness, encourage the exchange of ideas, and create sustainable and long-lasting relationships. She is also currently enrolled as a Master’s student for Agricultural Education at Texas State University. This program was brought to you by Heritage Foods USA.

“I encourage anybody i come across who’s interesting in farming and agriculture to get involved in policy and be aware of what’s happening in your state or your city because it will really affect you in the long run.” [09:00]

–Lorig Hawkins on Greenhorns Radio

This week’s featured guest: Michael H. Shuman.

Michael H. Shuman is an economist, attorney, author, and entrepreneur, and
Director of Community Portals for Mission Markets in New York City. He’s also a
Fellow at Cutting Edge Capital and Post-Carbon Institute, and was a founding board
member of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE). He has
authored, coauthored, or edited eight books. His most recent book, published by Chelsea
Green, is Local Dollars, Local Sense: How to Move Your Money from Wall Street to
Main Street and Achieve Real Prosperity. His previous book, The Small Mart Revolution:
How Local Businesses Are Beating the Global Competition (Berrett-Koehler, 2006),
received as bronze prize from the Independent Publishers Association for best business
book of 2006. He regularly helps communities analyze economic “leakages” and
job-creation opportunities from expanded “LOIS” businesses (locally owned, import
substituting), particularly those linked to local food, energy, and finance. A prolific
speaker, Shuman has given an average of more than one invited talk per week, mostly
to local governments and universities, for the past 30 years. He has lectured in 47 U.S.
states and eight countries. This program was brought to you by Heritage Foods USA.

“It’s good to remind ourselves that many financial options exist.” [18:00]

–Michael H Shuman on Greenhorns Radio

This week’s guest on Greenhorns Radio is Rachel Budde. She is the maker and creator of Fat and the Moon herbal body care. Budde’s practice is informed by herbalism, ethnobotany, feminism, ancestoral knowledge and the DIY philosophy. Her knowledge and interest in plant medicine span the practical and magical. This program was brought to you by Heritage Foods USA.

“Fat and the Moon is my livelihood and I’m very blessed and lucky for that to be the case.” [09:00]

–Rachel Budde on Greenhorns Radio

This week’s featured farmers are Jonah Vitale-Wolff and Leah Penniman.

Leah Penniman is an educator, farmer, and food justice activist from Soul Fire Farm in Grafton, NY. She is committed to dismantling the oppressive structures that misguide our food system, reconnecting marginalized communities to land, and upholding our responsibility to steward the land the nourishes us. In her dual capacity as a public secondary school science teacher and as a farm educator, Leah joyfully and reverently connects learners to the intricate miracle that is this living planet and to their own power as agents of positive change in the community. In recognition of the truth that food sovereignty is a global struggle, Leah is also a core collective member of Ayiti Resurrect, and coordinates an ongoing reforestation and sustainability project with farmers in Haiti, her ancestral homeland. Leah’s work as an educator has been recognized nationally by the Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program, the Teaching Channel, New Technology Network, College Board, National Science Teachers Association, Edutopia, Center for Whole Communities, and Rethinking Schools.

Jonah Vitale-Wolff is a farmer activist educator from Soul Fire Farm in Grafton, NY. He is committed to creating relevant and effective alternatives to the oppressive structures that result in gaping disparities in our food systems and larger communities. In his role as operations manager as Soul Fire, Jonah gets to exercise his love for land, community, and spirit through growing food for his communities of Albany and Troy, NY, organizing around building a just food system, facilitating workshops, teaching young people, and training the next inspired farmer activists. Jonah’s work holds central the profound ways in which the sacred connection to land creates a powerful vessel for social change and personal transformation. In addition to being a farmer, Jonah is also a proud dad, partner and dancer.

“There are so many ways that I feel this work is important for the liberation of our people. It’s not jut bout the food and the land but for sovereignty for all people.” [05:00]

–Leah Penniman on Greenhorns Radio

This week’s featured farmer is Jim Joyner, Morning Side Farm, TN.

71 years of age. An electrical engineer by training; spent 10 years in the US Naval Submarine service; became a businessman, selling computers and services, and a gardener in Guam in 1970 and farmer in Tennessee in 1980. In 1983, he started Morningside Farm, a food buyer’s club which offers all manner of foods for over 600 families: proteins, grains, fruits and vegetables. Jim currently resides in Liberty, TN.

Today’s featured farmer: Peter Giles

After living in Wyoming for a few years, in 2009, Peter moved with his wife back to his home City of Rutland Vermont. He then started Two Bad Cats with his father, Rick, to manufacture niche products. Luckily at the same time the city was having a small scale agriculture and farmers market boom. After helping out on a small organic farm for a summer Pete was introduced to the difficulties of vegetable production. At the request of the farm owners, Pete and his father took some of the more tedious farm tasks and made products to help make them easier. Two Bad Cats most popular products are a rolling dibble wheel for plant spacing and a plant popper for getting plugs out of plug flats.

Ty was born in Taos, New Mexico, graduated high school from Goldthwaite High School, and College from Texas State University- San Marcos. After finishing graduate school at The University of Montana in 2008, Ty made the decision to move back to his Mom and Step Father’s ranch in Comanche, TX. Ty turned what was a operation that sold their stock at the auction into a retail operation called Windy Hill Farm. Ty began by changing the land to include an acre garden and orchard, a flock of pastured chickens, grass fed and finished beef operation, and all natural goat. The drought led Windy Hill Farm to butcher a large % of their stock and in turn pushed us into a surplus of goat meat. A bad turned into a good and Windy Hill Farm began sourcing goat from partner ranches to meet the demand. Windy Hill Farm now sources 75% of goat, eggs, and beef from partner ranches. For 2014, Windy Hill Farm is looking at approximately 700 goats processed for direct sales to customers, restaurants, wholesalers, and delivery services. This program was brought to you by Heritage Foods USA.

For seven years Jon Magee worked on organic vegetable farms in the Northeast. In 2012 he published Small Farm Equipment, an introduction to working with tools and equipment on the farm. His current work as a writer and activist centers around the historical and social context of land tenure, industrialized agriculture, farm labor, and economic justice.

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“From the beginning I was skeptical of the idea of an apprenticeship. I didn’t think it would put you in a good place to own your own farm because it costs money to buy land.” [6:00]

–Jon Magee on Beer Sessions Radio

Micaela O’Herlihy and her 3 kids run a small ultra diverse farm and single mother sanctuary in the wilds of southwest Wisconsin. Micaela has the skills of film and art making in her tool belt along with an insatiable desire to re-invent the wheel. Her newest project is is running an RSA providing rare, seasonal and high value produce and value added products to a small handful of chef’s in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This allows her to live out her lifelong dream of being robin hood as she donates a fair share of produce to moms in need. This program was sponsored by Heritage Foods USA.

“For people who want to be small and diverse [in Madison, Wisconsin], they have to go far to sell stuff.” [05:00]

–Micaela O’Herlihy on Greenhorns Radio