Greenhorns Radio – Details, episodes & analysis

Greg Hart farms 1500 acres in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand. He works on the property with his wife and 3 young children, as well as 3 other workers and various WWOOFers from all around the world. The Harts practise regenerative agriculture and try to raise awareness about the urgent need to transition to a food production system based on nature that heals the earth and society.

Erika Rumbley is the Co-Founder and Director of The New Garden Society (TNGS). Each year The New Garden Society trains 100+ incarcerated students in the art and science of plants, building a bridge from Greater-Boston prisons and youth detention facilities to local careers in organic land care. Erika is also the Greenhouse Manager at Langwater Farm, a 50-acre, certified organic vegetable, fruit, flower and herb farm south of Boston. Her most formative experiences as an adult educator include her time with Southside Community Land Trust, The Trustees of Reservations, and growing food and flowers alongside students in prison gardens outside of Boston. A North Carolina native, Erika has farmed and found her home in southern New England for over a decade.

Jeff Conant directs Friends of the Earth's international forests program, which campaigns to protect forests and the rights of forest-dependent peoples by addressing the economic and political drivers of forest destruction. Prior to joining Friends of the Earth, Jeff ran communications and popular education efforts around climate and development justice with Global Justice Ecology Project, International Accountability Project, and other advocacy organizations, and co-authored A Community Guide to Environmental Health (Hesperian Health Guides, 2008), a comprehensive community education manual that covers issues from basic sanitation to big dams and from forestry to food sovereignty. The Community Guide has been translated into over a dozen languages.

This week’s featured farmer is Mike Sullivan:

Churchill Orchard Manager, picker, tour guide, weeder, legal counsel, bricoleur, grafter, security guard, fruit packer, and laborer, Mike Sullivan, loves his work. After doing less physically fulfilling, psychically rewarding, and mentally engaging work, he is at home caring for avocados, Ojai Pixie Tangerines, and Kishu mandarins in Ojai, California. Mike works with owners Jim Churchill and Lisa Brenneis, who continue to make the serious business of farming a fun and interesting venture for him. Today’s program was brought to you by Heritage Foods USA.

–Mike Sullivan on Greenhorns Radio

Today’s featured farmers: Mary Bricker & Noah Jackson

Mary Bricker is an ecologist with a passion for natural history and and teaching. She has worked with students in the classroom, in school gardens and local natural areas, and on backpacking and sea kayaking wilderness trips. Her ecology research on species interactions has given her the perfect excuse to get her boots muddy in a wide range of locations and ecosystems: temperate rainforests in Oregon, tropical forests of Central America and East Africa, and western Montana prairies in all seasons.

Mary earned a B.A. in Biology from Lewis and Clark College and PhD in Ecology from the University of Montana. Before working with Forest Voices, she taught as an assistant professor of Biology at Pacific University in Oregon.

Noah Jackson is a conservation consultant and storyteller whose work combines photography, writing, and new media to document conservation and community issues. He has worked in Asia and Africa for over a decade, starting as a Peace Corps volunteer, and continuing through graduate work, a Fulbright fellowship, independent projects, and as an auditor and farmer trainer for the Rainforest Alliance. His storytelling work can be found in publications such as the National Geographic Traveler, the Rainforest Alliance Blog and Canopy newsletter.

Noah holds a BA in Anthropology and Environmental studies with a minor in Biology, from Bowdoin College, and a MS from the University of Montana School of Forestry.

Julia and Todd met in 2002 around a barbecue in the backyard of a Chicago apartment. Todd revealed his “not very ambitious” desire to become an organic vegetable farmer. They married in 2007 and started Peasants’ Plot. Seven years later, the couple is living in a trailer outside of Manteno with 20 acres, chickens, a machine shed/woodworking shop, three high tunnels, two “guest trailers,” two tractors, a corn crib, a skateboard ramp, a massage practice, and a dog named Merle. They have realized that their dream to grow vegetables sustainably is possibly one of the most ambitious career goals around. Funded by their own savings, a farm mortgage, an FSA Loan, USDA Specialty Crop Grants, the Frontera Farmer Foundation and a Kickstarter, they have built up their farm slowly and steadily from 60 CSA members in 2009 to 250 members. Todd’s background in house-building, carpentry, woodworking, basic mechanics and organic gardening compliments Julia’s inclination towards marketing, outreach and farm advocacy. In addition to building their own business, Julia has been a leader in the Chicago CSA community, organizing annual events that help spread awareness about Community Supported Agriculture. They are committed to proving the viability of sustainable farming with the help of an equally committed community! Thanks to our sponsor, Bonnie Plants.

“A lot of CSAs are going to be like us in that they will have to approach non-traditional forms of funding. Many banks won’t look at these kind of business plans because they haven’t seen them before.” [12:00]

— Julia McDonald on Greenhorns Radio

Nolan Thevenet is the owner of Stryker Farm in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. He is a first generation farmer, raising pigs and goats which he sells through grocery stores, restaurants, and off the farm at his brand new farm stand. His goal is to provide full transparency for those who want to learn more about their food and it’s origins. This program was sponsored by Heritage Foods USA.

–Nolan Thevenet on Greenhorns Radio

This week’s guest on Greenhorns Radio is Peter Allen is an ecologist turned farmer focused on restoring functional and productive savanna ecosystems. He owns and manages Mastodon Valley Farm in Southwestern Wisconsin where he’s developing a farm and homestead, planting thousands of trees and grazing cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, and poultry. He also runs Savanna Gardens, LLC, an education and consulting company focused on permaculture, restoration agriculture, holistic planning, and ecological design. Today’s program was brought to you by Heritage Foods USA

Jeffrey Ellis and Rebecca Beidler, Peace of Earth Farm Owners, Albany, VT

Jeffrey Ellis and Rebecca Beidler have owned and operated Peace of Earth Farm in Albany, Vermont since 2010. At Peace of Earth they have a sprouting operation year round. Jeffrey and Rebecca also grow a mix of vegetables, herbs and small fruits for their CSA and local wholesale accounts. Peace of Earth Farm is a no-till animal powered farm striving towards growing healthy soil, healthy plants and health in those that eat them. Today’s show was brought to you by Heritage Foods USA.

This week’s featured farmer: Linda McCullough Decker

Linda McCullough Decker is currently serving as a trustee and board member of the Steve Trigg Ranch in eastern New Mexico. She is one of twenty-three heirs who, rather than choosing to inherit a portion of the ranch, created a perpetual trust to own and operate the ranch. Now one of the challenges is learning to work with all the other heirs to operate the ranch. The other challenge is to keep the ranch prospering in a prolonged drought. Her preparation for these tasks was childhood summer visits to her grandmother on the ranch, a college major in Renaissance history, a master’s degree in divinity, and ordination at age 73 as an Episcopal priest.