One quick additional note is that I produced this series about GAP certification under a paid contract, but I was not paid to cross-post what you’re about to hear on my other two podcasts, Farming in British Columbia and The Ruminant. I’m posting episode one of the series here because I think it’s good and because the topic is relevant to a lot of my listeners.

Lanphear has been critical of aspects of Canada's pesticide oversight regime. I invited him on the show to discuss the topic.

You can read about Bruce's resignation here and here, or check out this google search.

After that: the farmer questionnaire!

Some links related to the chicken conversation and the proposed rule changes:

Patti suggests this blog post for a summary of the rule changes

A recent op-ed in Civil Eats about the tournament system

Here's an official summary of the proposed rule-changes

Plus another installment of The Farmer Questionnaire.

Links:

Grin-U.org: a great repository for online learning materials on plant genetic resources conservation and use.

Free Ebook: Crop Wild Relatives & Their Use in Plant Breeding

Or some related videos instead

Our guest on the Farmer Questionnaire in this episode was Tracy Robertson of Stony Mountain Farm in BC's Cariboo Region.

Also: another installment of The Farmer Questionnaire!

This episode was produced by Jordan Marr & Philippa Mennell.

This episode was produced by Jordan Marr & Philippa Mennell.

Also: Jessica Bell of Split Creek Farm Grade A Goat Dairy in South Carolina answers our first ever Farmer Questionnaire!

So yeah, this is a teaser for the conference, but be assured that each segment in this episode stands alone as an interesting piece of audio on its own merits. 

More info on the conference here: https://bcorganic2021.eventbrite.ca

From Sarah’s website: Sarah Flack is an author and consultant specializing in providing practical information on grass based and organic livestock production to farmers, organizations, institutions and individuals. She has a diverse background in sustainable agriculture, which includes both on-farm and academic experience. She is nationally known for her public speaking, workshops, books and numerous articles on a range of agricultural topics.

Show sponsor: The Small-Scale Meat Producers Association of BC

This ep: a few perspectives from members of the LGBTQ community who farm

Show sponsors:

BCS America

BC Small-Scale Meat Producers Association

Plenty of tips in here! All the Alibaba tips!

The specific supplier mentioned in this episode is Shijiazhuang Daoliangmou Trade Co., and my contact there is Ada Guo.

Show sponsors: BCS America and Dubois Agrinovation

Episode Sponsor: Dubois Agrinovation

Kevin claims that by following his guide, you can gross 250K on a half-acre urban farm.

Episode Sponsor: Dubois Agrinovation

Many thanks to professional thespian Kirk Smith, who co-produced this episode with me.

Show Sponsors: BCS America and Dubois Agrinovation

In our conversation, Karl refers to research done by Laval University and Cornell University on this subject. Go google for it! But here's something to get you started.

Bonus content (more conversation) should show up in your podcast feed, otherwise: get it at theruminant.ca  Tristan and Steve discuss what to do with tree biomass you remove from your silvopasture system, a good approach to pruning, and current gaps in the knowledge of this topic.

Show sponsors: Dubois Agrinovation

I grabbed this episode's artwork from The Pacific Northwest Bumblebee Atlas

One of JM's recent projects is an online course. He's pretty amped about it. It's called The Market Gardener's Master Class. We discuss that too.

One of her targets has been the use of compost tea as a disease-preventer/pest-abater/all-around garden panacea. Seeing as your podcast host is about to start a compost tea regimen on his own farm, this seemed like a good topic to ask her about.

Learn more about Javan at http://allpointsdesign.ca

Also this episode: I talk about The Ruminant's brand new gift registry. 

Marie-Claire is the co-author with B. Brett Finlay of Let Them Eat Dirt: Saving Your Child from an Oversanitized World. 

After that, I talk about lego for farmers.

Mentioned: Professor Andria Jones-Bitton's work The Market Gardener (JM Fortier) The Urban Farmer (Curtis Stone) Sustainable Market Farming (Pam Dawling)

I ask Patric about the cynicism surrounding bearded Brooklyn craft pickle-makers, whether it's okay for food artisans to sacrifice a little bit of quality for efficiency, and how small-batch producers can remain competitive against their large-scale industrial competitors. 

Then: I review two great tools for market gardeners made by Two Bad Cats

Then, Robin Turner of Roots & Shoots Farm provides tips for setting up a good pick-up point for your CSA.

Likes or shares from The Ruminant's Facebook Page are most appreciated, as are retweets

Have you ever been to The Ruminant website?

After that: Dr. Charles Levkoe joins me to talk about the politics and practice of farm internships as a source of labour on farms. Charles and colleagues are hosting a one day workshop on the topic as a precursor to Food Secure Canada's 9th National Assembly in Toronto in October.

foodandlabour.ca is where you can find out more about the workshop, and register. Or, download this PDF.

Or go here to learn about the overall conference.

Also: The Canadian Organic Grower Magazine co-Editor Amy Kremen returns to talk about the latest issue. 

The image featured with this episode was grabbed from this greeting card website.

I learned a lot. You will too.

Also: in which your hosts reads one of his essays.

Episode photo care of Lydia Carpenter of Luna Field Farm

Canadian listeners: the Canadian publisher will give away one copy of this book. Details within!

Interested in entering the contest mentioned in the episode? Use this link to participate. It's April 1, 2016 at time of writing; the draw will be held in a couple of weeks.

Discussed:

The limitations of 12' wide caterpillar tunnels compared to high tunnels

What you can expect to pay for a high tunnel, and the bells and/or whistles you should consider

Ideal tunnel layout

Why you should vent like crazy in the Winter

and more!

If you like what you hear, check out Adam's related content on Youtube by searching his name. 

Blake Hall of Prairie Gold Meats about his Winter bale-grazing program.

PhD Candidate Shuresh Ghimire of Washington State University about his research on biodegradable mulches for field crops.

Market Gardener Matt Coffay of Second Spring Market Garden about the value of regular soil testing and how he dealt with some really, really poor soil he leased.

In this episode, I talk to Jonathan Wachtel, co-author of the study. We talk about sustainability metrics, current barriers to the expansion of organic systems, and why we shouldn't assume that organic farming alone can feed the world.  

The graphic we discuss in the episode is available at theruminant.ca. Graphic credit: John P. Reganold and Jonathan M. Wachter and Nature Plants.

Every other episode (starting now!), The Ruminant zooms in on practical tips for the farm or garden. 

Guests today:

Hermann Bruns of Wild Flight Farm Jessica Gale of Sweet Gale Gardens John McAuley of chickenpeople.com and Healthy Hens Farm Amy Kremen of The Canadian Organic Grower Magazine

Also: the winner of The Salatin Semester giveaway is announced. You'll also hear a couple of ideas for replacing expensive specialty farm parts with their hardware store equivalents.

The intro to this episode is kind of long. Skip ahead to, I don't know, 9 minutes to get to my conversation with Anne and David. 

Eric's Farm

Heather's farm and book

Jason's Farm

Seth's Farm

Cover photo for this episode was sourced here. I cropped it a bit.

This is the last episode of 2015; I'll be back with a new episode in early January.

In this episode I interview the author of The Dorito Effect, Mark Shatzker. It's a good one. 

With thanks to Scott Humphries, who came up with the idea for this episode, I'm pretty sure.

You need to see photos of this farm to believe it. This is no indoor hydroponic setup or series of pots and garden boxes. It's literally a quarter acre market garden on a roof. Arlene talks about the farm's history, as well as the challenges of growing CSA crops way, way up in the sky.

Pritchard's latest book is called Growing Tomorrow: Behind the Scenes with 18 Extraordinary Sustainable Farmers Who Are Changing the Way We Eat.

My first conversation is with Delaney Zayac of Ice Cap Organics. His intensive growing practices and short season make it hard to maintain sufficient organic matter in his soil. His new approach? Delaney bought a tractor attachment that chops and spreads straw onto his beds and/or pathways. The resulting mulch is good for weed suppression, moisture retention, and. ultimately, for adding organic matter to the soil. 

Conversation two is with Andrea Gunner of Rosebank Farms. Government-imposed production limits made it hard for Andrea to exploit economies of scale in her pastured poultry operation. More independant producers in her region could potentially team up to exploit economies of scale together through cooperation, so Andrea began mentoring new farmers near her farm and then cooperating with them on bulk feed purchases and slaughter.

Also: I asked for some good ideas that you implemented on your farms this past season, and, well, one of you responded. Dan Brisebois of Ferme Tourne-Sol tells us about all the labour he saved this year by mulching his garden pathways with landscape fabric, and how you can do it, too. 

My other guest, Scott Humphries, has shared a photo of a bed marker he rigged up for his rotary plow. You can find it at The Ruminant in the episode notes. Scott farms at Bent Plow Farm.

After that, in another installment of Ruminant Do's and Don'ts, I tell you why you shouldn't use a forced air heater to heat your greenhouse in the Winter. 

After that, I talk about the results of my effort to attract more beneficial insects to my garden using lots of mulched annual flowers.

Linda explains why many organic and conventional orchardists are opposed to the Arctic Apple. We also discuss the organic industry's opposition to genetically engineered crops in general. 

Dan blogs about seed production here.

The book he co-wrote on crop planning, a great one, is here.

In this long-form interview with gardening writer Steve Solomon, we discuss his new book, The Intelligent Gardener, which he co-wrote with Erica Reinheimer.

In it, Steve argues that the key to growing healthy crops is to combine the return of organic matter to the soil with a practice called remineralization, which involves assessing the mineral content of your soil and then adding the right mix of amendments to ensure they are in proper balance (Steve's contention: few soils are). Along the way, Steve provides an excellent beginner's entry into soil science, and challenges some of the organic movement's tightly held assumptions about sustainable crop production.

This is part 2 of our conversation. In this segment we focus on the assertions Steve makes in his book regarding healthy vegetables, how to achieve a nutrient-balanced soil, and why organic gardeners should be open to the idea of using certain synthetic fertilizers.

Randy will be giving a more in-depth, live webinar in May, 2015. You'll be able to ask him questions directly. Find out more here.

In 2000, she founded a non-profit organization called The Whole Grain Connection, which aims to help farmers and gardeners access, test and grow heirloom varieties of wheat. Why? In this interview, Monica explains why modern, commercial wheat varieties kind of suck if you're interested in nutrition and taste, and why a rediscovery of older varieties of wheat could be so good for food security.

Monica also provides some advice on getting started with producing wheat and other grains on your farm or in the garden. She says it's easy to do, and no space is too small. 

Monica also co-authored a book on this subject, with her husband Gene. It's called What's With Fiber?

I was inspired to contact Monica after reading this article about her at a cool site called Lucky Peach.

Improving the soil biome starts with reducing tillage, reducing or eliminating the addition of soil amendments, and making great compost, and then, if necessary, applying compost teas and extracts to fine tune microbe populations. I've broken our conversation into two parts, which will be released concurrently. In this one, we talk about compost extracts and teas, and their role in improving soil health.

Improving the soil biome starts with reducing tillage, reducing or eliminating the addition of soil amendments, and making great compost, and then, if necessary, applying compost teas and extracts to fine tune microbe populations. I've broken our conversation into two parts, which will be released concurrently. 

First: Dan Brisebois of Tournesol Farm and a great book on crop planning explains how to include yoru employees and apprentices in a year-end debrief that will help you improve your farm management. 

Next, Philippe Choiniere of Oneka Farm talks about the vital importance of branding to your farm business. 

Finally: Jean-Martin Fortier, author of The Market Gardener, talks about how tarping your garden beds is excellent for weed control, and can dramatically reduce the need for tillage and increase your soil's microbiome. He also talks about a project so new that its website, growersandco.com, won't be up for another couple of days. 

In light of two recent cases of disgruntled farm interns suing their hosts for unpaid wages, The Ruminant delves into the matter. This jumbo-sized episode features four guests:  Dennis O'brien, a farmer who was sued for unpaid wages in 2014; Mary-Alice Johnson and Robin Tunnicliffe, both long-time apprenticeship hosts with lots of good advice on who should and shouldn't be offering apprenticeships, and how to keep your apprentices happy; and Michael Ekers, a University of Toronto professor who has studied labour challenges and solutions on small farms in depth. 

In the episode I referenced SOIL Apprenticeships, a non-profit organization that helps connect aspiring farmers with farms willing to host and teach them.

Miles' WSU profile page

WSU Resources for Niche Market Dry Bean Production

WSU dry bean variety information

I asked Rhys to join me on the podcast to talk about his piece. Herein, we discuss some of the barriers to achieving a more integrated food and wine culture, and why such an outcome would be better for that culture, and even for food security.

Rhys and his partner Alishan Driediger make wines that can be found on their website, littlefarmwinery.ca. He also has a project called Wine Plus+.

Chris also oversees Purple Pitchfork, an educational and outreach organization dedicated to helping farmers and their farm businesses. Chris will soon launch a podcast of his own, which you can learn about on his site. 

In our conversation, Chris references a culinary herb factsheet he has produced for Ruminant listeners. You can access it at farmertofarmerpodcast.com/ruminant

Chris also oversees Purple Pitchfork, an educational and outreach organization dedicated to helping farmers and their farm businesses. Chris will soon launch a podcast of his own, which you can learn about on his site. 

In our conversation, Chris references a culinary herb factsheet he has produced for Ruminant listeners. You can access it at farmertofarmerpodcast.com/ruminant

Part two of our conversation airs in a week. 

Here are some of Nathanael's conclusions, which we discuss in our conversation:

• GMOs are relatively well-regulated
• The effects of GMOs on the environment have been a mixed bag of benefits and losses
• There is a strong scientific consensus that GMO varieties of plants that have been approved for commercial use are safe to eat
• We should probably label GMO foods in the marketplace
• None of it really matters anyway

This is a long episode. I recommend you listen to the fifteen minute segment about Nate's approach to research and writing these articles, but if you prefer to skip ahead to our discussions of his conclusions, tune in at the 21 minute mark. 

Cam Smith and Dana Ewart of Joy Road Catering in BC's Okanagan Valley really want to support your farm, but they but they also insist that you take the customer service you provide them seriously. Herein, they provide some no-nonsense advice for how to approach and maintain restaurant customers.

This episode: what chefs expect in terms of quality, how they like to be billed and when you should start to worry about unpaid accounts, and Cam and Dana's thoughts on the relationship between high-end cuisine and food security.

Learn more about Joy Road Catering here.

Part 1 of our full conversation can be found here.

Part 2 of our full conversation can be found here.

Access The Ruminant Podcast at theruminant.ca, iTunes, and other fine podcast directories.

From her website: The Backyard Beans and Grains Project (BBGP) was started in 2008 as a response to the challenge of incorporating locally-grown staple foods into the diet. Whatcom County (and Western Washington in general) produces a large variety of vegetables, berries, dairy products, and to a lesser degree, fruits, fish and meat. The missing element, especially for vegetarians, those on low income, or those with dairy allergies, is a variety of storable, high-quality vegetable protein sources, i.e. dry legumes and grains.

Our research is conducted for the benefit of all regional farmers and gardeners who wish to grow dry beans and grains. We record detailed information about varieties, plant spacing, dates, labor inputs, yields, harvesting and threshing techniques, seed-saving, and storage.  

We have self-published an instruction manual, entitled "Growing Dry Beans & Grains in the Pacific Northwest", which contains information on growing, harvesting, and processing dry legumes and grains tailored specifically for Pacific Northwest growers.

In this episode, Krista takes me through the ins and outs of growing legumes and grains on a super small scale.

Matt gave this presentation to a group of young farmers at an event in Kelowna, BC in March of 2014. He's got an impressive pedigree as a digital marketer and passes on a lot of practical advice for making the most of your farm's website, social media accounts, and email newsletters.