Change Is Taking Place – Stuart Woolf

Change is taking place from Climate to new regulations that effect Agriculture. In California regulations to limit ground water irrigation will lead  many farmers to fallow up to 20% of their farms. Stuart Woolf, Executive Chairman of Woolf Farming & Processing believes growing Agave is a solution, since growing crops such as Almonds canrequire about 50 inches of irrigation per year whereas Agave gets by on about 2.5 inches. Stuart points out that with Agave, farmers will be able to fallow less, farm more of their property, keep more of their employees–helping big farms, small farms and the communities they live in. Some day we may look at Agave growing and distilling regions as we have Napa and Soooma Counties for wine. www.californiaagave.org

To be Milk does it have to come from a cow? Not any more as evidenced in Supermarkets and Coffee shops across the country and around the world. This episode of Farm To Table Talk feautres Kortney Chase who shares her journey from growing up on a pecan farm to creating “Pecana milk, a shelf-stable pecan milk product. The family’s three generation pecan farming business evolved from selling to processors to becoming one of the top pecan manufacturers globally . Kortney shares how she developed Pecana Milk during COVID-19 after making nut milk at home, eventuallyt transitioning from refrigerated to shelf-stable packaging with an 18  month shelf life and the challenges of entering the competitive non-dairy mik market, including placement in stores and consumer education about the product’s location. From their beginning on the farm in New Mexico they have grown to distribution to over 5,000 stores where consumers continue to want to know where food comes from and understand ingredient transparency. pecanamilk.com

Some say consumers don’t know enough about farming to have informed opinions on farming methods. Andrew deCoriolis, Executive Director of Farm Forward says that’s not true–Consumers do know how they want animals treated.  Farm Forward is generally opposed to “factory farms” and is especially opposed to misleading campaigns to slip language into the farm bill that would reverse state voter decisions establishing guidelines for pork production practices (gestation crates) if they want to market in that state. The US Supreme Court has already ruled in favor of state’s right to make restrictions tied to production practices. Not to be deterred another attempt to supercede the Supreme Court and voters choice is being proposed for the Farm Bill under the deceptive title of “Save Our Bacon Act”. Everyone who cares should call to leave a message for their US Senators. Senate switchboard, 202 224 3121 . www.farmfoward.com  

Kara Tupy and her family live near Chico, California on their Hidden Springs Family Ranch. In the aftermath of the worst wild fire in California’s history that destroyed the near by town of Paradise, Kara was insprired to create  Farm Teach, a nonprofit that offers paid regenerative farming fellowships to youth. Her background as an educator and her family’s transition from suburban gardening to farming led to the creation of Farm Teach, which uses principles of regenerative  agriculture to help young people process trauma and develop resilience. She discussed the program’s focus on diversity, using the metaphor of an ecotone, and nature’s lesson that diversity creates resilience. The Farm Teach program is funded through grants, especiallyfrom the California Department of Food And Agriculture and is evolving its funding strategy to include direct contracts and program support. Farm Teach helping a new generation with their own approach to farming, food systems, and sustainability. www.farmteach.org

Some messages are worth hearing again such as this re-released classic from July 2023 with Elizabeth Hilborn. Over 60 years ago Rachel Carson warned of “Silent Spring (s)” to come  from the harms of indiscriminate use of pesticides. Since then the threatening big picture has broadened to position the Earth in the current period of the Sixth Extinction.  Extinctions are gradual but silence can be sudden as it seemed to honey bee veterinarian Elizabeth Hilborn who had to solve a mystery of what killed animals on her North Carolina farm. When she identified the cause, solutions and hopeful signs, it led to writing a book with a message:Restoring Eden.

The only thing we should ask is: what is the right thing to do? That is what the Earth requires of us according to author/philosopher Wendell Berry. “We have the world to live in and the use of it to live from on the condition that we take care of it. And  to take good care of it we have to know it and we have to know how to take care of it.” We have to love it. Farm To Table Talk brings back the wisdom of Wendell Berry at  his passing. The interview was a production of the Schumann Media Center, Inc. and Mannes Productions, Inc.© 2013

What began with encouraging churches to start gardens on church premises, has since grown to include encouraging congregations to make institutional purchases from Black farmers, host farmers markets, preferably on Sundays after church, and arrange tours of Black farms.

Bruce Knight describes himself as a “lifelong conservationist” following his father’s advice to “leave the land better than you found it,” He shares his journey from farming in South Dakota to leading the Natural Resources Conservation Service during the Bush administration to his role with Strategic Conservation Solutions. Rodger and Bruce explore various conservation programs including the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), and how these programs have evolved to support farmers in implementing practices like rotational grazing, no-till farming, and cover crops. Bruce explains how these programs have grown from initial federal funding to include private sector partnerships with food companies like McDonald’s and Nestle investing in regenerative agriculture initiatives. They discussed the balance between voluntary conservation incentives and regulatory compliance, noting that while some farmers are proactively seeking to improve their land, there is relatively light regulatory oversight. The conversation concluded with Bruce expressing optimism about the growing interest in conservation and sustainability among young people entering the field, noting that the food movement has made conservation popular again and created opportunities for both small and large-scale farmers.

Seeing the whole world every day can give food companies, farmers and consumers knowledge of crop issues, food supply now and in the future. Rodger interviews Nick Ohrtman from Earth Daily, a remote sensing analytics company, on the Farm to Table Talk podcast. Nick explains that Earth Daily has a constellation of 10 satellites to providing daily, 5-meter resolution imagery of the Earth’s landmass, primarily for agricultural monitoring. The data can track crop conditions globally, assist in forecasting production, and help farmers and food companies make informed decisions. The conversation coveresthe technical aspects of satellite imagery, the role of AI in processing data, and the applications for various crops beyond major commodities. They also toucheon the implications of climate change and how remote sensing can aid in adapting to new growing conditions. The value of this technology is the understanding of global food supply dynamics and improving efficiency in agriculture for a broad swath of food systems, from global views to local use. www.earthdaily.com

Some conversations deserve a second hearing . In this episode we’re bringing back one of those conversations, Allan Savory. The cause of climate change is not animals or fossil fuel. It is how we manage all resources and we can start with grasslands of the world. Allan Savory, the founder of the Savory Institute,  is a renowned ecologist and pioneer in holistic land management. His work fhas focused on regenerating degraded landscapes through innovative practices that integrate livestock grazing with sustainable land stewardship. His holistic approach aims to restore ecosystems, combat desertification, and address global challenges related to food production and climate change. In this re-release Allan Savory joins Farm To Table Talk to explore groundbreaking contributions to sustainable agriculture, environmental conservation and attention to global policies that will make a difference.