Ad Astra Farms is making BIG waves in food deserts in the US with their urban farming initiatives, making sure people who need fresh, healthy food, have access to it, no matter what their economic background. Maura “Mac” Russell is the owner and operator of Ad Astra Farms, where she moved  from the business consulting world to urban farming, while juggling major life transitions through it all.  Mac has created a community around her farms and has dreams to expand as far as she can while staying true to her vision. Not to mention how she is grinding to push the urban farming agenda b ..read more

On today’s episode of Talk Farm To Me, we hear from first generation farmer Kelley Babbin, owner and operator of Howling Flats Farms in Canaan, Connecticut. Kelley has made it her mission to create an environment of sustainable agriculture, while nurturing the land she grows on. Using sustainable practices to give her animals the utmost love and care, making for happy animals that live harmoniously with the land, Kelley has created an online marketplace to sell her meat to consumers that are looking for healthier, environmentally friendly, options. In this episode, you will hear how Kelley be ..read more

Sharon McMahon | America’s Government Teacher We believe in farmers being taken seriously. They are the backbone of our society after all, right? Then why are more and more farmers becoming silenced and marginalized? To answer this question and spread awareness about this topic, we have invited podcast host, author, and law and government teacher, Sharon McMahon, to shed light on how America is failing its farmers, and what we can do to change that. Sharon has a deep knowledge of the monster farmers are up against when it comes to legislation, farm bills, and the oligopoly of big ag phasing ou ..read more

Sal Gilbertie has had some luck -- good luck and bad luck -- that catapulted him into a career in growing organic herbs. Sal’s love for healthy soil and organic farming shines through in this episode, where he details his experience of deciding to grow organically when it wasn’t as common or popular as it is now. Sal has a deep knowledge of what it takes to be 100% organic, in a world where pesticides are still very much being used as the easier, cheaper option, yet making people very sick.  This is a story of persistence and passion you don’t want to miss! Tune in to hear how Sal took t ..read more

When you think of farming, Alaska isn’t the first place that comes to mind. However our guest on today’s episode is an Alaskan dairy farmer on Kodiak island, who is an advocate for small farms staying small, especially in Alaska where most of the food that is consumed is grown elsewhere and shipped in. Kelli Foreman grew up on a small farm in Nebraska, so she has always been familiar with the benefits of small family farms, but it wasn’t until she started a small farm herself, on a remote island in Alaska, where she realized the immediate importance of small farms feeding the local community ..read more

It’s not uncommon that farmers are hit with financial issues constantly. Farming isn’t cheap and requires a lot of grit to push through the uncertainty that comes with farming. What non-farmers might not realize is that something as seemingly arbitrary as improper fencing can make or break a farm. This was the case for our guest on today’s episode, and she is here to tell her story! Rancher Charity Epperson from Wild Things Ranch in Sonoma County, California, raises specialty sheep, lamb, and pigs, where the health and wellness of her animals are of the highest priority, as well as maintaining ..read more

Rachael Stewart | Stewart Pastures On today’s episode of Talk Farm To Me, we are joined by an incredibly strong and brave, first generation farmer, who took a chance on herself, no matter the hurdles, to own and operate an off grid livestock farm in Arizona. Rachael Stewart went from a life in fitness to life on the farm, taking her passion for good nutrition and living a healthy lifestyle, and putting it into action by growing and processing her own livestock. Rachael’s story is nothing short of resilient as she’s been navigating divorce and the financial and political hurdles that come with ..read more

Did you know that 99% of poultry farmers don’t own their own birds? When we learned this statistic from our guest on today’s show, it completely shocked us. Unfortunately, many family farmers across the US have their arms tied due to financial constraints where large corporations have swooped in to take advantage of their situation and hire family farms on contract, leaving farmers with little to no control over their compensation, how they farm, and the longevity of their farms. Our guest on today’s episode saw this issue and wanted to create a system where farmers could have full control ove ..read more

On this episode of Talk Farm To Me, we invite farmers Laura & Mike Ellis from Mt. Hope Farms to talk to us about their fifth-generation farm in Oregon and how they have created a successful business by bridging the gap between the old ways and new ways of farming. Known for their award-winning Oregon fruit spreads, table grapes, and specialty crops, Mt. Hope Farms has gone through a substantial amount of evolution during their five generations of being on this farm, which historically isn't the easiest task to accomplish in multigenerational farming families. However, Laura and Mike approa ..read more

In this episode, Charmaine La Fortune, a passionate urban farmer transformed two vacant city lots into a small garden that’s now a thriving center for community, education, and wellness. The Giving One Tenth Garden is not only reducing food insecurity in this Newark community, but addressing the needs of the community with a diverse selection of crops, health screenings, and more. Charmaine was the recipient of a For Farmers 2022 Grant, which allowed the garden to expand its impact and provide more fresh produce to the community. However, she’s facing challenges in increasing Giving One Tenth ..read more