Sharon Burns-Leader is the co-owner of Bread Alone, a pioneering organic bakery that sells its baked goods at the Union Square Greenmarket in New York City. She serves on GrowNYC’s (the organization that oversees the market) Farmer and Community Advisory Committee. That’s where we start, but quickly you will see Sharon leads us through her evolution as a person, the evolution of the market and the evolution of grain in the region. Even though this story is centered on this NYC marketplace, it reaches well beyond. Grain development impacts you, whether you eat it or not. It impacts the environment — carbon farming, regenerative agriculture, soil health… so much. The extraordinary progress that’s happened via markets like the Union Square Greenmarket in New York City impact regional food systems everywhere.  We’re just getting started. Let’s talk farm. Let me know your questions, thoughts, comments. Find me on Instagram @xoxofarmgirl. You can find show notes and more about this episode on http://talkfarmtome.com (talkfarmtome.com). Stay tuned. xoxo

Talk Farm to Me

Baked into the Market: Sharon Burns-Leader of Bread Alone on the Union Square Greenmarket

Season Six of Talk Farm to Me is all about the Union Square Greenmarket in New York City and the farmers and other producers who sell there. What an interesting combination — one of the biggest and most famous cities in the world and farmers and producers from within 250 miles. Here, in Episode 1, Talk Farm to Me dives in to how it operates, how it’s governed. Meet Grow NYC's Director of Greenmarkets, Michael Hurwitz and the Union Square Greenmarket manager, Aquilino Cabral. They know so much and share it all. Coming soon, you'll get to know the farmers, the farms, the 12,000 products, all the stories and lives and regional food systems that are influenced here. Stay tuned to Talk Farm to Me — wherever you get your podcasts and on Instagram @talkfarmtome — and connect with its host, Farm Girl, on Instagram @xoxofarmgirl. 

Farmers in NYC: Union Square Greenmarket & How It Works

Over the next few months Talk Farm to Me is connecting with the farmers who sell at Union Square Greenmarket in New York City.  This series will give you an idea of the multi layered logistics that go into making the farmers market happen, who’s involved and the impact the marketplace has on farmers, the regional food system and the layers of connections and learning between urban and rural communities.  Episode One will feature some of the leaders and managers of the market — from GrowNYC — to give you a behind-the-scenes peek at little-known thinking and intense operations. All of the following episodes will feature farmers who sell at the market, their experiences, what they grow, how that may have changed over time and more.  Got questions? Shoot them to me on a DM via Instagram @xoxofarmgirl and follow along there for bonus content. Talk Farm to Me is also @talkfarmtome on Instagram and all the show notes, transcripts and more are on http://talkfarmtome.com (talkfarmtome.com) xoxo

Season 6 Trailer: Union Square Farmers, NYC Edition

Farmer Will Harris transformed his third generation family farm from a monoculture factory farm to a regenerative multi-species farm that is no longer dependent on commodity structures or industrial fertilizer. He learned a thing or two along the way that he's willing to share. Farmer Will Harris wrote an open letter to billionaire Bill Gates whose status as the largest owner of US farmland recently came to light. We discuss what many are calling a "land grab" by Gates and what the technology magnate might learn from what Will Harris has done on his farm, White Oak Pastures in rural Bluffton, Georgia. For more farmers and farming content of all kinds, follow your host, Farm Girl, on Instagram @xoxofarmgirl. You can find Talk Farm to Me there too @talkfarmtome and you can find show notes and more, including Will Harris's open letter to Bill Gates at talkfarmtome.com/listen.

Straight Talk with Farmer Will Harris of White Oak Pastures

Farmer Franchesca Duval of Alchemist Farm in Northern California is pioneering humane practices for poultry hatcheries. She is working with her community to make sure the rooster chicks are going to good use for food. She thinks about the whole ecological and humane spectrum of raising birds.  Alchemist Farm raises 13 different breeds of chickens that are bred for temperament and egg color. You can order chicks from farmer Franchesca Duval to give you the most beautiful egg rainbow.  This episode puts to the test my mantra "Ask a Farmer, not Google!" and puts Google to shame. Find the answers to all your chicken and egg questions here. Except which came first... we are going to leave that one a mystery! xoxo

Five Live with Farmer Franchesca Duval of Alchemist Farm

Hold on to your mushroom caps, folks. We are going straight into the mushroom world today. Mushroom farmer Matt Hall really wears a scientist hat in his work growing Maitake and Shiitake mushrooms for restaurants and retail outlets. But he's got a lot more going on in the laboratory that just might break the mold on mushroom cultivation -- especially with morels. But there's more. Just wait until you hear about what he's got planned with mycelium. I had no idea the world of mushrooming could be so exciting! I hope you agree! If you love it, please write a review on Apple Podcasts! You can find me, your host, on Instagram at xoxofarmgirl. Stay tuned there for announcements about new episodes and some "Live from the Farm" bonus content where we visit some of our favorite farmers to see what's up. To learn more about mushroom farmer Matt Hall of Midnight Harvest, follow him on Instagram too at midnightharvest. xoxo

Straight Talk with Mushroom Farmer Matt Hall of Midnight Harvest

Meet farmer Nicole Vernon of Vernon Family Farm in Newfields, New Hampshire where she and her husband, Jeremiah, are raising pastured meats and three young daughters. The Vernons produce 20,000 pastured hens a year and that is not even enough to keep up with demand. Join me -- your host, Farm Girl -- to meet Nicole, to find out what personality traits are necessary to be a farmer, the pros and cons of raising kids on a farm and how they have envisioned and implemented a farm store right on the farm. I know you will find a lot in common with Nicole -- she's funny, hard working (she has an off farm job too), innovative, and straightforward. This interview took place on Instagram Live in the presence of a live audience who were encouraged to chime in with questions or comments. You can join Five LIVE too (every other Thursday, mostly at noon). Just follow your host on Instagram @xoxofarmgirl (Five LIVE announcements run through IG Stories). And please connect with Nicole and her family and her farm on Instagram as well @vernonfamilyfarm

Five LIVE with Farmer Nicole Vernon of Vernon Family Farm

Maria Stewart is a dairy goat farmer. At Gorgeous Goat Creamery she processes her goats' milk, makes cheese and soap. She sells her products off the farm and at seasonal farmers markets. She welcomes visitors for farm tours. Maria is a 24-7, 365-day a year farmer AND also a scientist with a full-time off farm job. More than 80% of farm families rely on income and insurance from off farm jobs, but a far smaller percentage actually talk about it. What does this mean? It is hard to make a living at farming. Learn more, including what you can do to help (ahem, buy local!). Connect with Maria and her Gorgeous Goat Creamery on Instagram @gorgeous_goat You can also meet her goats and hear more from her and a fellow goat farmer from Wisconsin on your host's Instagram @xoxofarmgirl. And of course you can find more about this podcast on Instagram @talkfarmtome or at talkfarmtome.com. xoxo

Straight Talk with Goat Farmer Maria Stewart of Gorgeous Goat Creamery

Farmer Kamal Bell and your host, Farm Girl, go back in history to Kamal's farming roots and look forward into what could be. Instead of food deserts and discrimination, a more sustainable world where young people lead the charge. Sankofa Farms in Efland, NC is supremely conscious of the depth of the issues the community faces and is making strides in connecting them to healthy foods by "going back to get it" from African traditions. Farmer Kamal has some sage advice for legislators too. You can find Kamal and Sankofa Farms on Instagram @sankofafarms Make sure to follow @talkfarmtome as well, and your host @xoxofarmgirl for fun and connected content on farming, food and finding common ground.

Straight Talk with Vegetable Farmer and Beekeeper Kamal Bell of Sankofa Farms

This episode is the first in a series of several about the dairy industry, dairy farmers and their bovine producers. It's a 101 of sorts. In this episode you'll meet a lifelong dairy farmer from New York state, Rich Dirie of Dirie's Dairy Farm. Rich speaks frankly about his farm, how it started and how it got to where it is today. His commentary on his own farm is insightful to what's happening in the industry. You'll also meet dairy industry expert Mark Stephenson from the University of Wisconsin, Madison's School of Agriculture and Life Sciences. There he serves as the Director of Dairy Policy Analysis, which is to say that he knows about the dairy industry and we get into it. Deep. By the end of this episode you will have a pretty good foundation to take on bigger and deeper issues as we go forward. I am sure you will have questions and ideas on what you'd like to hear about, so when you do, reach out and let me know. You can find me at talkfarmtome.com or on Instagram @xoxofarmgirl or @talkfarmtome. Follow along for news and updates. And stay tuned for Episode 2 in this Deep Dive series on Dairy in a few weeks! xoxo

Deep Dive on Dairy: Is Dairy Dying?

Meet Sam Lustig, a jack of all trades on the business side of Swanton Berry Farm in Santa Cruz, California. Sam talks drippy, sweet, red-in-the-middle strawberries, why it's important that they are organic and why it's just as important as the fact that Swanton Berry Farm's Latino farmworkers are treated with respect and honored with fair labor practices. Swanton Berry Farm is a pioneering farm -- it was the first commercial berry farm to go Organic in 1988 and the first to join the United Farm Workers Union in 1998 to make sure it's employees were afforded fair labor practices. Swanton Very Farm is unusual and it's leading the charge for other farms to follow. Have a listen. It's a multifaceted story and Sam is a gem! xoxo This episode first aired on Instagram on @xoxofarmgirl. Follow along there or watch the live recording on IGTV. Follow your host, Farm Girl, there and follow @swantonberryfarm for more on the best berries and farm practices.

Five LIVE with Sam Lustig of Swanton Berry Farm

On Talk Farm to Me, farmers take center stage and we learn what they do and how they do it. No matter how you spend your time, I'm pretty sure you have more in common with farmers than you think. So, sit back and relax and I'll bring a farmer, and maybe a cow or two, right into your living room for a chat. Hosted by Farm Girl, a city and country girl with an accidental farm, a slew of farmer friends and a passion for asking them tons of questions. Episodes released every other week during a 10-episode season. Produced by Make Hay Productions.

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Talk Farm to Me

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