Young Farmers Podcast

National Young Farmers Coalition

The Young Farmers Podcast, a project of the National Young Farmers Coalition, is digging into the most critical issues facing the future of farming: land access, climate change, racial equity, water for the next generation, government access and accountability. This season, you’ll hear from policy makers, experts and advocates, and, of course, young farmers themselves, all fighting to make sure that the 2023 Farm Bill does what we need it to do: supports the future of farming in the U.S. Listen in and find out how YOU can join the young farmer movement. read less
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Episodes

Building Climate Resilience: 2023 Farm Bill Part 3
Sep 15 2023
Building Climate Resilience: 2023 Farm Bill Part 3
This is the third episode of our 2023 Farm Bill series, digging into the farm policy that will affect the next generation of farmers and ranchers.We’ve been asking how 1,000 pages of federal policy can provide tangible benefits and support to beginning and BIPOC farmers, our communities, and the environment. And in this episode, we're joined by Mario Holguin and Julieta Saucedo of La Semilla Food Center, and Ana Moran, Water Organizer at the National Young Farmers Coalition. La Semilla Food Center, based in Anthony, New Mexico, has a mission “to foster a healthy, self-reliant, fair, and sustainable food system in the Paso del Norte region of southern New Mexico and El Paso, TX.” They do this work through a number of programs that Mario and Julieta discuss with Ana, including their Community Farm, farmer fellowships, policy and community development, and storytelling efforts.Throughout their conversation Ana, Julieta, and Mario explore some of the ways that the 2023 Farm Bill can directly address the climate crisis, and what building climate resilience looks like across the Southwest. We know young farmers across the country are motivated by conservation and social justice. In our 2022 national survey 97% or respondents said their farm or ranch was using sustainable practices, and 86% identified their practices as being regenerative.We end our episode today with a brief chat between Erin Foster-West, Policy Coordination and Management Director with the Coalition, and myself. Erin shares some exciting new bills recently introduced in Congress that would help small farms secure more accessible funding for conservation efforts and also support community support systems through farmer-to-farmer education opportunities. Find the Young Farmers Action Center here. Learn more about La Semilla Food Center here.Learn more about the Farmer-to-Farmer Education Act here and take action and learn more about the Small Farm Conservation Act here.Become a National Young Farmers Coalition member at youngfarmers.org/join for only $1/year. Produced by Jessica Manly and Evan Flom.Edited by Hannah Beal.Original podcast art by SJ Brekosky.Gratitude to Chipotle and 11th Hour for sponsoring our Young Farmers' land campaign and to the our many partner organizations for furthering this important work with us.
Solving the Land Access Crisis: 2023 Farm Bill Part 2
Jul 19 2023
Solving the Land Access Crisis: 2023 Farm Bill Part 2
This is the second episode of a six-part series focused on the one thing everyone in our network – from farmers to policymakers, organizers to corporate partners – is laser-focused on right now: the 2023 Farm Bill.In this episode, we're joined by Dãnia Davy, Director of Land Retention and Advocacy for the Federation of Southern Cooperatives, and Alita Kelly, Land Organizing Director at the National Young Farmers Coalition. Throughout our conversation we’ll explore some of the ways that the 2023 Farm Bill can directly address the land access crisis happening right now in the US.We end our episode with Holly Rippon-Butler, Young Farmers Land Policy Director. Holly tells us why each and every one of us should be a land advocate, how young farmers are building powerful solutions to the land access crisis across the country, and a bit about what's next for our land policy priorities in the 2023 Farm Bill. Sign up for our One Million Acres for the Future campaign here and take action by asking your Members of Congress to support the Increasing Land Access, Security, and Opportunities Act.Learn more about the Federation for Southern Cooperatives at www.federation.coop.Learn more about the LASO Act here, and the Increasing Land, Capital, Market Access Program and its recent awardees here.Become a National Young Farmers Coalition member at youngfarmers.org/join for only $1/year. Produced by Jessica Manly and Evan Flom.Edited by Hannah Beal.Original podcast art by SJ Brekosky.Gratitude to Chipotle and 11th Hour for sponsoring our Young Farmers' land campaign and to the our many partner organizations for furthering this important work with us.
Getting on the Land with the Hoosier Young Farmers Coalition
Dec 13 2021
Getting on the Land with the Hoosier Young Farmers Coalition
Today we're coming to you with a special episode from our Hoosier Young Farmers Chapter. The Hoosier chapter just released their own podcast series which shares the voices of farmers from across the state, farmers you might not think of when you picture the farmers of Indiana. This episode features stories about the challenge of acquiring affordable, quality land for farming, and some of the creative ways these farmers have managed to get on the land. You can listen to the rest of the Hoosier Young Farmer Podcast at hoosieryfc.org/stories.Land access is the number 1 challenge young farmers across the country report in growing food for their communities and starting farm businesses. To address this barrier, Young Farmers just launched the One Million Acres for the Future Campaign. We are calling on Congress to invest $2.5 billion in the 2023 Farm Bill to facilitate equitable access to one million acres of land for the next generation of farmers. As part of the campaign, we created the Land Advocacy Fellowship, a two-year, paid advocacy and leadership fellowship that will resource 100 young farmers, growers, and land stewards to advocate for equitable land policy. Applications are open now through January 15th. To learn more about the campaign and to apply for our Land Advocacy Fellowship, visit youngfarmers.org/onemillionacres. And to join the National Young Farmers Coalition, visit youngfarmers.org/join. *Brief correction to the land transition statistic Liz states in the introduction. She meant to cite this Civil Eats article which claims, "In the next decade, 400 million acres of U.S. farmland will change hands," instead of "400,000 acres." According to American Farmland Trust, “371 million acres of farmland will change hands over the next 20 years."
What does it mean to be accountable?
Jun 22 2021
What does it mean to be accountable?
Jessica Manly talks with Equity and Organizational Change Director and Accountability Report author Michelle A. T. Hughes about what it means for the National Young Farmers Coalition to be accountable to its farmers, partners, and its racial equity commitments. Read the report at www.youngfarmers.org/2020accountabilityreport and join us for our first accountability report webinar on Wednesday June 23, 2021 at 4pm by registering here.Young Farmers Racial Equity Toolkit: https://www.youngfarmers.org/resource/racialequitytoolkit/.Edited by Hannah Beal.Michelle A. T. Hughes is a former large-scale hog farmer from New Haven, Connecticut with lived experience navigating systemic inequity and an educational background in food and agriculture policy reform. Prior to her graduate studies at New York University’s Department of Nutrition and Food Studies, Michelle worked in swine reproduction at the University of Pennsylvania, with both non-profit and food and agriculture start-ups in NYC and the Hudson Valley, and served on a program evaluation team for the NYC Mayor’s Office of Food Policy. At the Coalition, Michelle has worked on the equity and organizational change team since January 2020. Over the course of 2020, Michelle helped align our organization-wide efforts to institutionalize racial equity by implementing a strategy for organizational transformation. Michelle now works with executive leadership as Equity and Organizational Change Director to develop short- and long-term strategy to continue our anti-racist transformation, regularly evaluate and uphold accountability measures with staff, and develop practical tools and financial resources to support the organization’s racial equity goals.  Become a member of the National Young Farmers Coalition today at youngfarmers.org/join.
WAYFC Takeover 6: Ariana de Leña on Farmer Stress and Anxiety (Part 1)
Jan 22 2021
WAYFC Takeover 6: Ariana de Leña on Farmer Stress and Anxiety (Part 1)
Ari de Leña is a farmer at Kamayan Farm is a vegetable, flower, medicinal herb, and education farm just east of Seattle on Snoqualmie People’s land. In this conversation we dive into what it looks like to deal with stress and anxiety while being ‘August tired’. Because Ari and Elizabeth really get into the heart of stress and anxiety we decided to split our conversation into two parts. In the first episode we focus on the ‘big picture’ and make connections between current conditions for farmers and how it affects our mental wellness. Please take care of yourself and your needs before you listen, as you listen and as you process this conversation. Join the National Young Farmers Coalition today at youngfarmers.org/join and sign up for our advocacy network by texting FARMERS to 40649.In Part 1 we mention: The Body Keeps the Score: https://www.besselvanderkolk.com/resources/the-body-keeps-the-score Leah Penniman’s Farming While Black: https://www.soulfirefarm.org/media/farming-while-black/ Leah Penniman on How to Survive the End of the World Podcast: https://www.endoftheworldshow.org/blog/2020/5/6/apocalypse-survival-skill-4-braiding-seeds In Part 2 - Ari shares some real-life strategies on how to manage stress and anxiety. In this episode we discuss some embodied techniques that we both use on the farm. In this episode we bring the work of: Valerie Segrest: https://www.allmyrelationspodcast.com/podcast/episode/32c173eb/ep-2-food-sovereignty-a-growing-movem ent Generative Somatics: https://generativesomatics.org/ Music credit to Made By Finja by Sascha Ende Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/6171-made-by-finja // License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
WAYFC Takeover 5: Vero Vergara of Sweet Hollow Farm
Jan 13 2021
WAYFC Takeover 5: Vero Vergara of Sweet Hollow Farm
Vero Vergara is a nonbinary, disabled, brown, queer farmer and food systems cultural worker based on Coast Salish territories. Vero is a founding worker-owner of Sweet Hollow Farm in Woodinville, WA. They work at the intersection of autonomous food systems building and liberatory community care. Learn more about Sweet Hollow Farm at their website: www.sweethollow.farm or their Instagram account: @sweethollowfarm. Some folks that are mentioned in this podcast are: Karen Washington: https://www.riseandrootfarm.com/karen-washington Leah Penniman: https://www.soulfirefarm.org/meet-the-farmers/ Mai Nguyen: http://farmermai.com/farmer/ Rowan White: https://sierraseeds.org/rowens-story/ Ashante M Reese: https://ges.umbc.edu/ashante-m-reese/ Ricardo Salvador https://www.ucsusa.org/about/people/ricardo-salvador Robin Wall Kimmerer: https://www.esf.edu/faculty/kimmerer/ Winona la Duke: http://www.honorearth.org/speaking_engagements Chris Newman: https://www.sylvanaqua.com/ Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha: http://brownstargirl.org/ Ejeris Dixon: https://www.visionchangewin.com/meet-the-consultants/ejeris/ Music credit to Made By Finja by Sascha Ende Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/6171-made-by-finja License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Become a member of the National Young Farmers Coalition today at youngfarmers.org/join and join our advocacy network by texting FARMERS to 40649.This episode was edited by Hannah Beal.
WAYFC Takeover 4: Miles Griffin and Amanda Doughty on Farmer Mental Health
Nov 17 2020
WAYFC Takeover 4: Miles Griffin and Amanda Doughty on Farmer Mental Health
Miles Griffin and Amanda Doughty currently live on 20 acres in Twisp, Washington. Amanda is alicensed therapist, who works off the farm full-time but loves a good Saturday weeding session. Miles is the owner and operator of Posterity Farm, producing pastured turkeys, wholesale organic garlic, and diversified vegetables. Miles and Amanda find deep interest in the intersection of their professions, especially the contrast between the risk factors that farmers face and the inherent therapeutic benefits of their practices. Miles and Amanda hope to one day use their experiences to develop a farm therapyprogram that reduces stigma around mental health and addresses food insecurity, community-building, and job training. If you are interested in learning more about their farm you can visit posterityfarm.com or email them at eatforposterity@gmail.com.A note: this episode discusses topics related to suicide and mental health. Please take care of yourself and your needs before you listen, as you listen and as you process this conversation.At the end of the episode you will hear from Chandler Briggs, of Hayshaker Farm, who introduces you to Justin McClane. Justin was a farmer and an active member of the WA Young Farmers Coalition and died by suicide. His death was a wake-up call for the chapter and the community. Justin continues to impact the work of WA Young Farmers and his contribution inspired us to center care as one of our foundational values. Amanda wanted to share the following resources with folks in the audience who want to access more resources for mental wellness: National Suicide Hotline 1-800-273-8255 Crisis Text Line - text “help” to 741741 Telehealth platforms: -Ginger.io -Talkspace -BetterHelp For more on the WAYFC Farmer Mental Health Bill: https://www.washingtonyoungfarmers.org/hb2671 Music credit to Made By Finja by Sascha Ende Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/6171-made-by-finja License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/To join the National Young Farmers Coalition, visit youngfarmers.org/join
WAYFC Takeover 2: Tracy Stewart of Gathering Roots
Sep 4 2020
WAYFC Takeover 2: Tracy Stewart of Gathering Roots
The Washington Young Farmers Coalition (WAYFC) takes over the Young Farmers Podcast to talk about resilience and community building in the time of COVID-19. Become a member of the National Young Farmers Coalition at younfarmers.org/join and sign up for our advocacy network by texting FARMERS to 40649.Tracy L. Stewart is a mindfulness based mental health therapist at the Nile’s Edge wellness collective and activist in Seattle, WA. She currently serves on the board of SURGE, a BIPOC centered reproductive justice organization, Buddhist Peace Fellowship (BPF) – Seattle, and has served on three Social Justice Fund (SJF) giving projects. Elizabeth was able to get Tracy on the phone to help connect the dots between food-growing, uprisings for racial justice, and our mental health. Our conversation sprawls between rage and love, trauma and healing and does include explicit references to police brutality, internalized oppression, and other forms of harm. We acknowledge that some of this conversation could be triggering, and we encourage all our listeners to please take care of your needs. Tracy sees her role in community as working to create supportive, safe space for BIPOC folx in discovering their gifts through mindfulness practice and social justice awareness. Her cup is filled by the outside places, silly friends with microphones, passion for life, and folx sharing their good medicine with each other. “My focus is learning to be a good elder in order to support those out in the community fighting for all us to BE. In my work, I see a lot of suffering of black and brown folx who are warn from fighting to be their full selves. With Gathering Roots, the intention is creating a place where that burden can be released, people can fill their cups with joyful learning and the beauty of the Earth, witnessed and empowered to be all that they are.” You can learn more about Gathering Roots at their website: https://gatheringroots.org/ Throughout the episode we make reference to the work of: Reverend Angel Kyodo Williams : https://angelkyodowilliams.com/ Michelle Lee, Author of Working the Roots : https://kpfa.org/episode/the-herbal-highway-may-9-2019/ Llama Rod Owens: https://www.lamarod.com/ Leah Penniman: https://www.endoftheworldshow.org/blog/2020/5/6/apocalypse-survival-skill-4-braiding-seeds My Grandmother's Hands: https://www.resmaa.com/books Music credit to Made By Finja by Sascha Ende Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/6171-made-by-finja
WAYFC Takeover 1: John Wesley and the Seattle BIPOC Organic Food Bank
Aug 25 2020
WAYFC Takeover 1: John Wesley and the Seattle BIPOC Organic Food Bank
John Wesley is a curator, cultural ambassador, and community organizer. He is passionate about designing and producing experiences that connect diverse cultures and cultivate joy. JW is the founder and director of Seattle Bipoc Organic Food Bank; an organization dedicated to providing everyone with clean water and organic food. Their strategy is centered around outreach to the most vulnerable and underserved communities, beginning with the BIPOC community. Their goal is to help connect individuals and families to sustainable ecosystems, instead of merely focusing on short term solution. #foodcomesfromfarms Emma Shorr, a WAYFC Board member, and John share a conversation about food access in Seattle, what it takes to start a community-driven food bank and the importance of feeding folks organic veggies. You can find more information about John’s project on Instagram @seattlebipocfoodbank and their GoFundMe page: https://www.gofundme.com/f/seattle-bipoc-organic-food-bank-fund In this show John talks about some of the great farm and food projects in the Seattle region led by and serving BIPOC folks. Become a member of the National Young Farmers Coalition at youngfarmers.org/join and join our advocacy network by text FARMERS to 40649.Danny Woo Garden: https://www.dannywoogarden.org/ Yes Farm: https://www.facebook.com/yesfarmofficial/ Nurturing Roots: https://www.facebook.com/pg/NurturingRoots206/posts/ Percussion Farms: https://percussionfarms.org/ Beacon Hill Food Forest: https://beaconfoodforest.org/ Music credit to Made By Finja by Sascha Ende Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/6171-made-by-finja License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Hemp, CBD, and the U.S. Green Rush
Jun 11 2019
Hemp, CBD, and the U.S. Green Rush
Today we dive into the heady world of industrial hemp. Hemp is no longer just for Canadian cereal companies and scratchy beige t-shirts. This low-THC strain of cannabis, think of it as the well behaved fraternal twin to marijuana, is, as of the 2018 Farm Bill, a legal crop in all 50 states. And the hemp hype is real, mostly because of CBD, a hemp extract that's popping up in everything from $8 cans of seltzer, to medicinal tinctures, and even Carl's Jr hamburgers. But if there's such huge consumer demand for hemp, and it doesn't even get you high, why was the crop criminalized in the first place? And now that it's legal, what does this mean for farmers across the country who want to start growing it? We talk with Michael "Mr. Hemp" Bowman and Ben Banks-Dobson of Hudson Hemp and Old Mud Creek Farm. Special thanks to our podcast editor, Hannah Beal, producer, Jessica Manly, Ben Banks-Dobson, and Michael "Mr. Hemp" Bowman. More on industrial hemp and CBD: https://nifa.usda.gov/industrial-hemp https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrebourque/2018/12/17/how-hemp-and-the-farm-bill-may-change-life-as-you-know-it/#1bfcbe2e694c https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/06/us/cbd-cannabis-marijuana-hemp.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/05/14/magazine/cbd-cannabis-cure.html Hudson Hemp: http://www.hudsonhemp.com/ Michael Bowman: https://www.agprofessional.com/article/how-serve-growing-hemp-market https://www.agriculture.com/news/crops/what-farmers-need-to-know-about-growing-hemp https://www.agweb.com/article/three-potential-paths-for-farming-hemp/ Show art credit: Hudson Hemp @hudsonhemp