The Farm Report: Live!

In collaboration with HRN and the National Young Farmers Coalition, Following a screening of the documentary "Common Ground" Leigh Ollman moderates a spirited conversation about the future of farming with guests Michelle A.T Hughes, Chirs Nickell and Leah Penniman.

Chris Nickell (Finca Seremos)- Chris Nickell (they/them) is a community organizer and land steward. With previous work experience in academia, labor organizing, and state government, Chris turned to agriculture in 2022. They farmed vegetables and offered public programming at Stone Barns Center in 2022 and served as crew leader at Cropsey Community Farm in 2023. This year they founded Finca Seremos in Beacon, NY with their spouse, Brenda González. Seremos is a food justice project to grow fresh, organic, nutrient-dense produce for Chris and Brenda's community in Northern Manhattan and the Bronx as well as their new community in the mid-Hudson Valley.

Leah Penniman (Soul Fire Farm)- Leah Penniman (all pronouns)  is a Black Kreyol farmer, mother, soil nerd, author, and food justice activist from Soul Fire Farm in Grafton, NY. She co-founded Soul Fire Farm in 2010 with the mission to end racism in the food system and reclaim our ancestral connection to land. As Co-ED and Farm Director, Leah is part of a team that facilitates powerful food sovereignty programs – including farmer training for Black & Brown people, a subsidized farm food distribution program for communities living under food apartheid, and domestic and international organizing toward equity in the food system.

Michelle A.T. Hughes (Young Farmers) - Michelle (she/her) is a former hog farmer from New Haven, Connecticut, with a background in agriculture policy. Before serving as Co-Executive Director, Michelle has served in a number of roles at the Coalition beginning as a Farm Bill Organizer in the summer of 2017. From there, Michelle served on the federal policy team as Federal Policy Associate after the passing of the 2018 Farm Bill. Working on federal farm policy reinforced Michelle’s desire for equitable change for young farmers and inspired her to design a framework for the organization’s racial equity transformation.

SUPPORT A BRIGHTERFUTURE FOR U.S.AGRICULTURE.Help our coalition tackle the obstacles preventing talented, passionate young farmers and ranchers from building successful careers in agriculture.

Access to land is the number one challenge facing the next generation of farmers in the US. Centuries of discrimination and land theft have put this resource out of reach of farmers who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. Everyday in the US we lose 2,000 acres of viable farmland to development. With millions of acres on the verge of changing hands, the Farm Bill is our best chance to ensure this land transitions equitably to the next generation of farmers. We’ll dig into the land access challenges farmers face, how the One Million Acres for the Future campaign provides solutions, and the role the next farm bill can play. Visit https://www.youngfarmers.org/land/ to find out more. 

Learn more about the Young Farmers One Million Acres campaign, check out the National Young Farmer Survey, and tell Congress to support land access for young and BIPOC farmers here.

Our guests specifically talk about the the Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access Program (LCM) and the Increasing Land Access, Security, and Opportunities (LASO) programs.

Connect with the farmers featured in this episode. Visit Heru Urban Farming and EarthDance Farm School.

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Adrien de Botin and his wife Carolina Prioglio are the husband-and-wife founders of Maison/Made, and to make the certified biodynamic skin-care products that they sell, they grow their own medicinal herbs on a family farm in Burgundy and have built a network of small farm suppliers around the world. In this episode, host Lisa Held talks to de Botin about the couple’s efforts—from the specifics of biodynamic practices and why they matter, to how biodynamic farming, a system focused on minimizing inputs, building healthy soil, and working with local ecology, compares to systems like organic or regenerative agriculture.

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With funding from New York State, American Farmland Trust (AFT) recently launched its most ambitious program to help young farmers access land and conserve farmland statewide. The program is modeled after the Hudson Valley Farmlink Network and is aimed at connecting landowners—especially retiring farmers—to young farmers via online listings and resources, on-the-ground support and guidance, and financial assistance. Host Lisa Elaine Held talks to AFT's New York Policy Manager Samantha Levy about how the program will work, what she anticipates the challenges will be, and why she thinks it is a successful model for getting more young people on land to start farming.

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Aquaponics is a system that pairs produce growing with raising fish. At Oko Farms in Bushwick, Brooklyn, Yemi Amu operates the largest outdoor aquaponics farm in New York City. Amu sits down with host Lisa Held to discuss the benefits and challenges of producing food using aquaponics, how Oko Farms is contributing to healthy food access in local communities, and how she’s teaching both kids and adults how to follow her lead.

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At Soul Fire Farm, Leah Penniman has been leading a farm-based movement to uproot racism in the food system and seed community food sovereignty for years. Now, her first book, Farming While Black, digs into the injustices built into the food system and offers resources for others to follow her lead in addressing them—by growing both food and activism. Penniman calls it "a reverently compiled manual for African-heritage people ready to reclaim our rightful place of dignified agency in the food system." She sits down with host Lisa Held to talk about the book and the overall mission.

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In Newark, NJ, AeroFarms is producing greens using unique growing methods inside massive warehouse farms. Co-founder Marc Oshima sits down with host Lisa Held to talk about the approach, how it compares to traditional agriculture in terms of environmental impact, debates over soil vs. hydroponic growing, and the company's plans for future farms.

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The first apple trees were planted at Hicks Orchard, about 200 miles north of New York City, in the 1880s. Since, then multiple generations have grown apples, pears, cherries and plums to sell directly to visitors on the farm. In 2005, Slyboro Cider House was established at the farm, and its heritage ciders are becoming more widely available thanks to online seller Cider in Love. In this episode, host Lisa Held talks to cider maker Dan Wilson about the process of cider making, including growing and fermenting fruit, how farm practices affect the final product, and how cider is boosting New York’s farm economy.

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James Peisker and Chris Carter opened butcher shop Porter Road in order to get better meat from local farms in Kentucky and Tennessee to more restaurants and home kitchens in Nashville. Recently, they launched an online shop to sell their meat across the country. In this episode, host Lisa Held sits down with Peisker and Carter to talk about how they work with farmers raising animals on pasture, their standards for high-quality meat, why they opened their own processing facility to solve a farm-to-table supply chain challenge, whether selling online negates the benefits of supporting local farms, and how they’re getting customers to embrace less popular cuts of meat so they can sell whole animals and waste less.

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[1]https://porterroad.com/
[2]https://porterroad.com/pages/about

Agricultural workers play a critical role in feeding people around the world. According to a new United Nations report, “they are, however, among the most food insecure, facing formidable barriers to the realization of their right to food, often working without labour and employment protections and under dangerous conditions.” Host Lisa Held speaks with labor organizers—Emma Kreyche, from Worker Justice Center of NY, and Suzanne Adely, from the Food Chain Workers Alliance—about that paradox and the many issues that impact farmworkers’ ability to feed themselves and their families, from low wages and flawed guestworker programs to lack of access to social services and drivers’ licenses due to immigration status.

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[1]https://northstarfund.org/people/emma-kreyche/
[2]http://www.wjcny.org/about-us/staff
[3]http://foodchainworkers.org/

Is goat meat inherently more sustainable than other meats? Host Lisa Held sits down with James Whetlor, founder of Cabrito and author of the book Goat: Cooking and Eating. They discuss his model of using goats from the dairy industry for meat to cut food waste, and why he thinks getting more people to eat goat would be good for the food system.

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Host Lisa Elaine Held sits down with writer-researcher Siena Chrisman to talk about her recent reporting on the dire economic realities facing farmers and rural communities across the United States. They discuss the stories and statistics that filled Chrisman’s Civil Eats story “Is the Second Farm Crisis Upon Us?” and how understanding the history of the 1980s farm crisis is crucial to figuring out the factors currently at play. They also discuss solutions: What are government officials, policymakers, advocates, and farmers doing to address the issue?

Some organic farmers, including Long Wind Farm’s Dave Chapman (a Vermont tomato grower), started growing food decades ago as part of a back-to-the-land movement focused on building healthier soil and communities. Now, they feel that the integrity of organic agriculture is being undermined due to developments like hydroponic production and factory-farm animal systems (CAFOs) being certified USDA organic. Host Lisa Held talks to Chapman about his views on organic farming, the recent protest movement he helped start (Keep Soil in Organic), and the Real Organic Project, a new certification standard being developed by organic growers.

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Over the past decade, hummus has exploded in popularity in the U.S, but compared to the many brands that now line shelves at every supermarket, Little Sesame is doing things differently. The Washington D.C. fast casual restaurant, which now also sells its hummus at Whole Foods and other stores in the region, gets all of its chickpeas from a single Montana farmer who is pushing the envelope on climate-friendly farming with his organic, regenerative practices. In this episode, host Lisa Held talks to Nick Wiseman, co-founder of Little Sesame, and Casey Bailey, regenerative farmer, about their unique partnership, how chickpeas are grown, why they’re a particularly beneficial crop in terms of climate impact, and more.

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Why build a massive vault into permafrost on a remote island between Norway and the North Pole? To safeguard sorghum and sweet potatoes, of course. On this episode, host Lisa Held sits down with executive director Marie Haga and Tender Greens founder Erik Oberholtzer to talk about the Crop Trust’s new Food Forever program, an initiative designed to educate people around the world about the importance of crop diversity for the long-term stability of the world’s food supply. They discuss why agricultural biodiversity is disappearing, why the loss of crops is catastrophic, how farmers, chefs, and eaters can participate in saving crop diversity, and how saving seeds in the vault is “the ultimate insurance policy.”

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United States Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME) is a former organic farmer and currently serves on the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee. She's been a longtime advocate for policies that support farmers and contribute to building a healthier, more sustainable food system—in her home state of Maine and across the country. With the Farm Bill deadline of September 30 fast approaching, host Lisa Held caught up with Rep. Pingree to talk about the Farm Bill programs she's been working on—like the Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP)—and other pressing policy issues facing farmers right now.

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When it comes to beef, farmer Ridge Shinn has been on a mission to get other producers and eaters to see the “big picture” for decades. “It’s the local and global perspective of our company—the awareness that soil health is the foundation of human health, and that restoring soil fertility and structure is key to solving many of today’s most confounding problems, including droughts and floods and climate change. It’s also my conviction that each region should be producing its own food, and that 100% grass-fed beef can revive the agricultural economy in the Northeast as well as benefit the environment.” In this episode, host Lisa Held talks to Shinn about the new company he created—Big Picture Beef—to help move that perspective forward, how he’s helping farmers transition from grain- to grass-finishing, the market impacts of imported grass-fed beef, the environmental benefits (like carbon sequestration) of rotational grazing, and more.

While the growth of farmers markets and CSAs have helped small farms sell their food locally over the past few decades, both models come with challenges that have become increasingly apparent. Hudson Valley Harvest and Local Roots NYC are two businesses that have introduced new channels for farms to sell their food to local eaters and rebuild regional food systems in the process. In this episode, host Lisa Held talks to farmer Paul Alward about how his experiences in the field informed the model for Hudson Valley Harvest and to Wen-Jay Ying about how she created a new kind of CSA after witnessing common barriers to consumer buy-in. They discuss their experiences figuring out what works and doesn't work in terms of getting more local food to local eaters in order to support farmers as efficiently as possible.

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For the season premiere of The Farm Report, host Lisa Held sits down with New York City Council Member Rafael Espinal. Born in East New York, Espinal is a lifelong resident of Brooklyn and currently represents the 37th district, which includes Bushwick, Brownsville, Cypress Hills, and East New York. As a Council Member, Espinal has taken on urban agriculture as one of his primary issues.

In August 2018, with the support of Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, he introduced a new package of legislation that would create a comprehensive urban agriculture plan to promote and support farming across the five boroughs. Together, Held and Espinal discuss the community, economic, and environmental benefits of urban farming, what city government can and should do to encourage it, how to balance the interests of different players—from community gardens to venture capital-backed hydroponic farms—and how New York City’s path towards urban agriculture legislation fits into a larger trend of local governments across the country figuring out how to manage, support, and grow farming and gardening within city limits.

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On this special episode of The Farm Report, outgoing host Erin Fairbanks hands the reins to Lisa Held, who will be taking over the show this fall!

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This week on The Farm Report, host Erin Fairbanks takes a trip north to the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, where she sits down with Brad Matthews and Jeffrey Minard to talk about how they make purchasing decisions for the school.

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In this first half of this episode of The Farm Report, host Erin Fairbanks speaks with Becca Rimmel, co-manager of the Ithaca Farmers Market. Becca's experience as a professional naturalist led her to begin questioning the origin of the food on her dinner plate, and how food choices affected the landscape around her. Through this curiosity, she began exploring her own bio regional food system, completing her Masters in Sustainable Food Systems from Green Mountain College in 2016, and beginning as the manager of the Ithaca Farmers Market shortly after. When she’s not managing the Ithaca Market, she’s working to build her own business, Bottomland Farm.

After the break, we hear a recording from Erin's visit to Fishkill Farms in September. Owner/operator Josh Morgenthau walks us through the history of his family business.

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On this week's episode of The Farm Report, June Russell joins host Erin Fairbanks to share a bit of what's exciting in the world of grains. June Russell is the Manager of Farm Inspections and Strategic Development for Greenmarket, a program of GrowNYC. Greenmarket is the largest network of farmers’ markets in the country with fifty five locations within the City’s five boroughs. It provides retail outlets for nearly two hundred and thirty local farmers, fishers, and bakers who sell what they grow, raise, catch, and bake themselves.

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On an all new episode of The Farm Report, host Erin Fairbanks is joined by farmers Steve Burnett and Austin Maness.

Steve Burnett is an extremely well-respected organic farmer of Burnett Farms in Delaware County, an active member of the community, and an advocate for the county, the region and farming in general. A marketing ex-pat from NYC, Steve has been described as a true ambassador for the county, with endless reasons to support local farmers & producers and, most importantly, enjoy all the agritourism that the Great Western Catskills has to offer.

Austin Maness is the COO of Harvest Returns, a one-stop shopping site for agriculture investors and farmers who need to raise capital. In his role, Maness manages all facets of the company’s logistics, deal flow, and human resources.

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While USDA-certified organic food still accounts for a small fraction of total U.S. food sales, it’s now big business. In 2020, data from the Organic Trade Association showed sales of organic food rose at a record rate to a new high of $56.4 billion, and as the industry has become more lucrative, fraud and cheating have increased. The Cornucopia Institute is a non-profit watchdog organization that has been working to hold companies and the USDA accountable to organic’s original ideals around soil health, animal welfare, and more. In this episode, host Lisa Held speaks with executive director Melody Morrell about the organization’s organic scorecards, a new Living Soil campaign, and what’s happening at the USDA right now to close loopholes and strengthen the standards.

Correction: In this episode, Melody Morrell's statement that 25 operations produce 75% of the organic milk in the country is false. The correct statistic is: 22 operations produce 25% of the organic milk in the country.

Photo Courtesy of Cornucopia Institute.

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This week on The Farm Report, host Erin Fairbanks is joined by Aislynn Campbell, Executive Director of GROW Local South Texas, Sue Beckwith, Executive Director at Texas Center for Local Food, Justin Butts of Four String Farms, and Nicole DeMeo, COO & spokesperson for Barnraiser.

Barnraiser is a social marketplace that makes it easy to discover, share, and fund online, the people changing how we farm, eat and live. They are hosting a major crowdfunding campaign for Texas Center for Local Food along with seven partner organizations to aid in the relief and recovery for farmers and ranchers impacted by the massive disaster caused by Hurricane Harvey.

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https://www.barnraiser.us/projects/texas-farmer-rancher-disaster-relief

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On the season premiere of The Farm Report, host Erin Fairbanks is joined in the studio by Loren Cardeli, president and founder of A Growing Culture, an organization that supports smallholder farming across the globe through research, collective learning, and advocacy.

Loren is a leader in a small but growing movement of farmer-centric organizations. He believes the key to sustainability lies in returning small-scale farmers back to the forefront of agriculture. Along with his colleagues in the movement, he promotes farmer-led research, extension, and outreach, helping to create sustainable, self-driving futures.

On an all new episode of The Farm Report, host Erin Fairbanks is joined in the studio by Susan Streit Sherman. Susan is the author of the blog Crate Cooking, a journal of how she seasonally shops, cooks and eats in the small Greenwich Village studio apartment she shares with her husband and young daughter. She has worked as a private chef, a line cook, an assistant food editor at Martha Stewart, recipe tester, farm inspector, food stylist, and teacher, just to name a few.

This week on The Farm Report, host Erin Fairbanks is joined by Gabriele Ludwig, Director of Sustainability & Environmental Affairs for the Almond Board of California. In her current position, she has been instrumental in the development of the California Almond Sustainability Program, and continues to encourage a diverse range of research on almonds and environmental issues.

On the season finale of The Farm Report, host Erin Fairbanks is joined by John Mackey, co-founder and CEO of Whole Foods Market, and author of the new book The Whole Foods Diet. Mackey's mission in writing it, along with Drs. Alona Pulde and Matthew Lederman (the bestselling authors of Forks Over Knives), was to distill the huge body of science, research, and advice into one undeniable consensus: that a whole foods, plant-based diet is the optimum plan for health and longevity.

This week on The Farm Report, co-hosts Challey Comer and Maria Rojas are joined by Sarah Gray Miller, the Editor-In-Chief of Modern Farmer, to discuss an article from the magazine's most recent issue titled "The High Cost of Cheap Labor." New immigration orders will greatly impact the food world, and this piece is an in-depth look at the facts and history of farm workers in the U.S., as well as a frank discussion with farmers that these policies affect.

This week on The Farm Report, host Erin Fairbanks is joined by "Gangsta Gardener" Ron Finley an environmentalist & entrepreneur Nell Newman.

Ron Finley is a creative phenomenon: a gangsta horticulturalist, with a strong vision for community gardening and the eventual creation of "a school of nourishment and change." Nicknamed the “Gangsta Gardener” and the “Renegade Gardener”, Ron Finley planted organic vegetables in the parkway in front of his South Los Angeles home and a revolution was started. Ron’s belief that gardens build communities has blossomed into a quest to change how we eat and the eventual founding of the Ron Finley Project, an organization dedicated to changing culture and growing people.

Nell Newman co-founded Newman's Own® Organics: The Second Generation® with her father, Paul Newman in 1993. An ardent supporter of sustainable agriculture, Nell is a sought after speaker and has participated in numerous panels, sharing her commitment to organic food and products made from organic ingredients. Nell established the Nell Newman Foundation in November of 2010 with the goal of carrying on her father's legacy of charitable giving, coupled with her passion for the environment. She pursues many philanthropic opportunities in the world of sustainable agriculture and conservation – including helping Ron Finley raise money to build an urban garden in South Central L.A.

This week on The Farm Report, host Erin Fairbanks welcomes John Flahavan, the sixth-generation CEO of Flahavan's Irish Oats. The first family connection to the Flahavan’s name can be traced back to about 1785 when Thomas Dunn took over the mill. Dunn was the great-great-great-grandfather of John Flahavan who is the Managing Director of the company today.

After the break, we're joined by Meryl Williams, star of the forthcoming short film Biophilia. Meryl plays the lead role of Rachel, an herbalist/farmer who convinces her boyfriend to leave Brooklyn and make a go of farming on his family's abandoned sheep ranch, but things don't go well and she finds herself increasingly isolated under his controlling influence. When an animal dies under her watch, she is forced to take care of it alone and in so doing, grows a thicker skin.

This week on The Farm Report, Erin and Challey are joined by Greg Wade and Will Travis.

Greg Wade is the Head Baker at Publican Quality Bread in Chicago, IL where he collaborates with chefs de cuisine, farmers and retail owners to develop breads. As Publican Quality Bread’s Head Baker, Greg oversees the bread program for all of One Off Hospitality Group, with a focus on whole grains and fermentation. Apart from his day-to-day leadership, Greg is an active member of the local, regional and national farming communities – every July, you can find him leading a two-day Bread Camp along with Marty and Will Travis at Spence Farm in Fairbury, IL.

Will Travis is an 8th generation farmer from Spence Farms in Fairbury, IL where he works the land with his father Marty Travis and his wife Kris. They raise a large variety of products on the farm, everything from fruits and vegetables to Dexter cattle for beef, as well as small grains that are milled onsite. In 2003, Spence Farms began marketing directly to restaurants and now market and deliver products for more than 50 small family farms in central Illinois.

Greg and Will's work are profiled in the documentary Sustainable available at http://sustainablefoodfilm.com/ and streaming on Netflix.

And in the second half of the show, Chad Hendrickson of Lakewood Vineyards is in studio to transition the conversation from grain to grapes!

What does it mean to be a small scale olive oil producer in 2017? Lorenzo Caponetti joins us from Italy to talk about his family's vineyards, the challenges of organic production and why American chef's like Michael Anthony of Gramercy Tavern and Untitled at the Whitney can't get enough of his oils.

When Alice Waters opened her trailblazing California restaurant Chez Panisse in 1971, she launched what would become a movement around truly seasonal cooking and eating that could support farmers, communities, and the environment. In 1995, Waters also started the Edible Schoolyard Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to teaching children about food and transforming the public education system. To mark the Edible Schoolyard Project’s 25th anniversary, in this episode, host Lisa Held talks to executive director Angela McKee-Brown about the organization’s history and original school garden, how it has grown its programming to reach thousands of schools around the world, and what the future of edible education looks like.

Photo Courtesy of The Edible Schoolyard Project.

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Did you know 80% of the flowers you buy are grown abroad? Local flower expert Molly Culver joins Erin to discuss the do's and don'ts of your Valentine's day bouquet buying. Yes, locally-grown flowers DO grow in February, even in the Northeast.

This week's episode of The Farm Report is focused on immigration and agriculture. Guest host Challey Comer is joined by Maria Rojas from GrowNYC and Mary Jo Dudley from the Cornell Farmworker Program. While there are many aspects of immigration to discuss, today's conversation is focused on community aspects of the issue. We learn about farmworker communities, employment experiences, and regulations that impact this integral part of the agricultural industry.

Mary Jo Dudley is the director of the Cornell Farmworker program and a faculty member of the Department of Development Sociology at Cornell University. Her research is focused on immigrant workers, farmworker empowerment, migration from Latin America to the U.S. and immigrant communities within the U.S. Through her work in the extension system, she provides education on health and safety for farm operators and workers, planning assistance related to state and federal laws that impact farmworkers and workshops to improve communications between farmworkers, their employers, and members of communities in wich they live. More information on the program is available at farmworkers.cornell.edu

Maria del mar Rojas is the beginning farmer program manager at GrowNYC. In this role, she provides direct technical assistance and organizes trainings to beginning and immigrant farmers who are part of the Greenmarket network. This work is part of GrowNYC's Farm Assistance Retention and Management program, FARMroots. More details on FARMroots is available at www.grownyc.org/farmroots

This week's episode of The Farm Report focuses on women as advocates for agriculture. Erin Fairbanks and Challey Comer are joined by Cindy Gieger. Cindy farms with her family in Jeffersonville, NY where they manage a 75-cow dairy. Her family has farmed in the region for years and Cindy has been an important connector of diverse groups within the farming community of her region. These local relationships led to her involvement in the Sullivan County Farm Network, a group that promotes local food and supports the needs of the farming community. This advocacy work led to Cindy's election as a member of the Sullivan County Legislature on which she served as Chair of the Agriculture & Sustainability and Family & Health Services Committees.

Following their interview with Cindy, Erin and Challey will discuss ways those who care about food and agriculture can get involved in their local communities. They'll respond to the call to action from the Women's March and they'll recap their experiences after traveling to the Capitol this weekend.

This week on The Farm Report, host Erin Fairbanks is joined by Ben Machin of Redstart Natural Resource Management in Vermont, which provides forest management, invasive species management, ecosystem restoration, and land use consulting services to landowners and property managers.

Prior to joining Redstart Forestry in 2001, Ben was employed as a firefighter/smokejumper with the USDA Forest Service, parachuting and fighting fires from Alaska to Arizona. In addition to his work as a partner of Redstart, Ben is the land management consultant for the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park in Woodstock, VT.

On the season premiere of The Farm Report, Erin Fairbanks introduces her new co-host, Challey Comer! Challey is a sustainability manager for Blue Apron, and has devoted her career to research, development and promotion of the agriculture industry. Tune in to hear them discuss their small town upbringings, Challey's background in engineering and farming, what the presidential transition means for the agriculture industry, and more!

On an all new episode of The Farm Report, host Erin Fairbanks is joined by Jim Campbell – Scotsman, Virginia farmer, and the CEO of New Country Organics, a leading producer of certified organic, soy-free feed and livestock minerals in the eastern United States. Recently, the company announced its acquisition of a nearly century-old Lubbock, Texas feed mill and facility, in order to expand the accessibility of its freshly-milled certified organic products throughout Texas and the southwestern United States.

This week on The Farm Report, host Erin Fairbanks is joined by John Wilkes, a former farmer from the English county of Shropshire, who has consulted and written for various publications including the UK’s Farmers Guardian newspaper and The Sheep Site. Tune in to hear them discuss the proposed agricultural policies of the major party presidential candidates, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), women's issues in agriculture, broadband internet access in rural areas, and more!

This week on The Farm Report, host Erin Fairbanks is joined by Ronny and Beth Drennan of Broadbent Country Hams.

The Broadbent family started curing hams and bacon commercially in Cadiz, Kentucky, in 1920. In 1999 the Broadbent family sold the business to Ronny and Beth Drennan. The Drennans, who were in the furniture business, had always heard of Broadbent Hams and saw an opportunity. It took some time to learn the ins and outs of the curing business, but Smith Broadbent has been there to help. Today, Ronny and Beth carry on the Broadbent tradition of quality, and they have won enough awards to live up to the founder’s name.

After the break, this week’s EscapeMaker segment features Matt Bowers of Four Fights Distilling in Corning, NY. On a scale of 1 to 4, how many fights were you going to get into after drinking a pint of moonshine? Bottom of the barrel rated 1, while the cleanest and strongest shines were rated at 4. So in keeping with tradition, while representing dedication to quality, the name Four Fights Distilling was chosen.

If you’d like to visit any of the craft brewers or cider makers interviewed in The Farm Report, checkout EscapeMaker.com to book a 1 or 2-night all-inclusive craft beverage package with tours tastings and lodging.

This week on The Farm Report, host Erin Fairbanks is joined by Charles Rosen of Ironbound Farm and Sabine Hrechdakian of Wassail to talk cider! Tune in to hear them touch on restoration agriculture, stewardship, apple varieties, and more!

After the break, this week’s EscapeMaker segment features Brian Facquet of Prohibition Distillery in historic Roscoe, NY, where you can fish like you’re in Montana and drink like you’re in Kentucky, all just a two hour drive from Manhattan.

If you’d like to visit any of the craft brewers or cider makers interviewed in The Farm Report, checkout EscapeMaker.com to book a 1 or 2-night all-inclusive craft beverage package with tours tastings and lodging.

On September 23, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization is hosting the first UN Food Systems Summit, with a goal of “setting the stage for global food systems transformation.” In this episode, Ruth Richardson, the executive director of the Global Alliance for the Future of Food, talks to host Lisa Held about the significance of the Summit, some of the controversies surrounding it, and what she thinks global food systems transformation should look like—from a shift toward agro-ecological practices in farming to calculating the true costs of food.

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This week on The Farm Report, host Erin Fairbanks is joined by Luke Holden, founder and CEO of Luke's Lobster, and Eric Knight, a fisherman who Luke's Lobster has purchased from in the past.

Luke Holden grew up in Cape Elizabeth, Maine—a third-generation lobsterman who started learning the trade at age 13. When he moved to New York to pursue a career in investment banking, he was remiss to find that every lobster roll available was overpriced, drowning in mayo, and diluted with celery. He craved a real Maine-style roll and simply couldn’t find one.

In 2009, Luke turned to his roots and longstanding relationship with the Maine lobstering community to cut out the middleman and bring Maine lobster to the heart of NYC. Today, Luke spends the majority of the year in Maine, where he maintains relationships with fishermen and oversees production at Cape Seafood. He also sits on the boards of the Maine Lobster Institute, the Maine Lobstermen Community Alliance, and the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative.

After the break, this week’s EscapeMaker segment features John Ingle of Heron Hill Winery. Heron Hill is among the leaders in recognizing Riesling as the flagship varietal of the Finger Lakes region, and was chosen as one of the ten most spectacular tasting rooms in the world by Travel + Leisure magazine.

This week on The Farm Report, host Erin Fairbanks is joined in the studio by Alon Shepon, a sustainability expert in the Weizmann Institute of Science. Shepon was part of a research team that spent five years studying and measuring five main sources of protein (dairy, beef, poultry, pork and eggs) to calculate the environmental costs per calorie and per gram. The findings, which were recently published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed that, among other things, beef is measurably the most environmentally draining livestock on the market.

After the break, this week's EscapeMaker segment features John McCarthy, executive chef and owner of The Crimson Sparrow in Hudson, NY. The Crimson Sparrow builds on all of John’s reverence and experience in cooking with Asian flavors, and utilizing French technique. Their tasting menu is a foray into all of these complex, rich and unexpected flavors, and changes approximately every two to three weeks to reflect seasonality.

If you’d like to visit any of the craft brewers or cider makers interviewed in The Farm Report, checkout EscapeMaker.com to book a 1 or 2-night all-inclusive craft beverage package with tours tastings and lodging.

This week on The Farm Report, host Erin Fairbanks is joined by the team from the Zia Green Chile Company.

Green Chile is extremely deep rooted in the state, economy, and culture of the state of New Mexico. It brings over $400 Million annually to the state's local economy, according to the governor's office. At Zia Green Chile Company, all of the chiles are sourced directly from Hatch Valley, New Mexico, making them New Mexico Certified and supporting New Mexico Agriculture.

And in this week's Escapemaker segment, Erin chats with Lucille Munz, the Farm Director at Hilltop Hanover Farm.

If you’d like to visit any of the craft brewers or cider makers interviewed in the Farm Report, check out EscapeMaker.com to book a 1 or 2-night all-inclusive craft beverage package with tours tastings and lodging.