Farms for Tomorrow

Joe Scrimger connects the dots between nitrogen use on the farm, soil health and water quality. The post s03e01 – Joe Scrimger – Nitrogen, Water, and the Farm appeared first on Farms For Tomorrow.

A Hospital Farm is Part of the Cure Episode 5: Amanda Sweetman:The Farm at Trinity Health Cultivating a Healthy Community Amanda Sweetman describes how a small farm on the hospital campus of Trinity Health St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor is having a big impact on food, medicine, community health, and local agriculture. Cultivating relationships (in […] The post s02e05 – The Farm at Trinity Health Ann Arbor appeared first on Farms For Tomorrow.

Game Changer for Local Food Economy Episode 4: Kathy Sample & Bill Brinkerhoff: Argus Farm Stop Next Generation Farmers Market More About With the launch of Argus Farm Stop in 2014, Kathy Sample and Bill Brinkerhoff transformed their passion for local food into a community mission. Having subscribed to CSAs for years, the married co-founders […] The post s02e04 – Argus Farm Stop appeared first on Farms For Tomorrow.

When an exceptional piece of farmland became available in Scio Township, Michigan, longtime land conservation specialist Barry Lonik and township officials found a way to protect it through an innovative “Buy-Protect-Sell” transaction strategy. Barry details the synchronicities and forward-thinking community leadership that made it possible. The post S02e03 – Barry Lonik – Buy-Protect-Sell + Leadership = Saving the Aprill Farm appeared first on Farms For Tomorrow.

Organic no-till farmer Eric Kampe speaks to the practices that he and his farm partners have used to maintain the integrity and viability of small farm operations in their community. The post S02e02 – Eric Kampe – Green Things Farm Collective appeared first on Farms For Tomorrow.

Organic no-till farmer Eric Kampe shares experiences and perspectives on launching a small farm enterprise with a focus on both personal values and farm economics. The post S02e01 – Eric Kampe – Green Things Farm Collective appeared first on Farms For Tomorrow.

Wali Via of Winter Green Farm in Oregon shares about farm leadership succession in the context of an LLC. The older farmers wanted to take a step back while ensuring the continuity of their successful land stewardship practices, and to remain in residence on site. The subdivision and sale of the larger business enabled stakeholders to balance economic benefits and responsibilities through contractually defined roles and written agreements. The post S01Ep11 – Wali Via – Winter Green Farm appeared first on Farms For Tomorrow.

Bob Bower describes the challenges and strategies of a community coming together to assist in the farm succession process at Angelic Organics farm in Illinois, where he worked from 1995-2010. A nonprofit organization emerged as a vehicle for community engagement that supported the longtime farmer through leadership transition. The post S01Ep10 – Bob Bower – Angelic Organics appeared first on Farms For Tomorrow.

John Bloom of the Yggdrasil Land Foundation talks about the role of the foundation in assisting the leadership transition on Krusen Grass Farm, located in Southeast Wisconsin. The foundation had a hand in supporting the farmer in finding a successor, provided financial backing, and helped integrate the operation into the local economy and larger community. The post S01Ep09 – John Bloom – Krusen Grass Farm appeared first on Farms For Tomorrow.

This segment describes how farmers stabilized day-to-day farm operations at Tablehurst and Plaw Hatch through direct marketing and community involvement, and how the separation of land ownership from farm operations helps protect the land in the long term. The post S01Ep08P2 – Bob Wills and John Thomson – Tablehurst and Plaw Hatch Farm Co-Op appeared first on Farms For Tomorrow.

Bob Wills and John Thomson share the story of how shared vision, individual personalities and emerging circumstances combined to form the land ownership and farm management model currently in place at the Tablehurst and Plaw Hatch Community Farms Co-op. The post S01Ep08P1 – Bob Wills and John Thomson – Tablehurst and Plaw Hatch Farm Co-Op appeared first on Farms For Tomorrow.

Bob Wills and John Thomson discuss how Tablehurst Farm was revitalized through a reorganization process that included transfer of land ownership to a trust and the onboarding of new, community-focused leadership for farm operations under a cooperative business entity. The post S01Ep08 – Bob Wills and John Thomson – Tablehurst and Plaw Hatch Farm Co-Op appeared first on Farms For Tomorrow.

Beginning with a discussion about how the scale of a farm enterprise impacts both its sense of community and economic viability, David Junghans then connects individual farms to big-picture questions about the emerging role of farms as centers for education and social change. The post S01Ep07P2 – David Junghans – Tablehurst and Plaw Hatch Farm Co-Op appeared first on Farms For Tomorrow.

David Junghans describes how he became managing director of Tablehurst Farm and shares advice for other young people interested in farming. The discussion also explores the critical role of intention in maintaining a farm's integrity in farming practice, land ownership issues, and the farm's relationship with the community. The post S01Ep07P1 – David Junghans – Tablehurst and Plaw Hatch Farm Co-Op appeared first on Farms For Tomorrow.

Farmer David Junghans shares about the importance of building a unified vision and how people's desire for quality food drives success on a community farm. “The word is agriculture and not agribusiness,” Junghans says. Consequently, the ethos of culture and care needs to be part of all decision-making on the farm. The post S01Ep07 – David Junghans – Tablehurst and Plaw Hatch Farm Co-Op appeared first on Farms For Tomorrow.

A look at the current state and future of farming, and how shifting public sentiment, government regulation and market forces are shaping agriculture for consumers, farmers, farmland and animals. Explores farms as models and centers for learning and community. The post S01Ep06P2 – Peter Brown – Tablehurst and Plaw Hatch Farm Co-Op appeared first on Farms For Tomorrow.

Peter Brown describes how Tablehurst and Plaw Hatch Co-operative Farms evolved into viable enterprises through a community-driven model, why a shared vision is essential to the success of these farms, and why subsidization of the industrial model requires farms like this to seek other ways to capitalize their businesses. The post S01Ep06P1 – Peter Brown – Tablehurst and Plaw Hatch Farm Co-Op appeared first on Farms For Tomorrow.

Longtime farmer Peter Brown describes the evolution of the management and ownership structure of Tablehurst & Plaw Hatch Community Farm Cooperative to create sustainable farm operations. Includes a discussion of how larger political and economic realities require such farms to generate multiple kinds of value for their communities. The post S01Ep06 – Peter Brown – Tablehurst and Plaw Hatch Farm Co-Op appeared first on Farms For Tomorrow.

Chris Marshall describes why community is essential in sustainable agricultural enterprise and land stewardship and outlines the organizational structure that Tablehurst and Plaw Hatch Cooperative Farms have used to safeguard the land while supporting farm operations. The post S01Ep05 – Chris Marshall – Tablehurst and Plaw Hatch Farm Co-Op appeared first on Farms For Tomorrow.

Provides examples of how community engagement can change outcomes in land use, and describes various scenarios involving landowners, land buyers, and local units of government working to preserve farmland and green space. The post S01Ep04P5 – Barry Lonik – Land Preservation Success Stories appeared first on Farms For Tomorrow.

How the process of publicly funded land conservation proceeds: how properties are identified, how landowners and program administrators become aware of the opportunities, and the special case of affirmative easements for ag use of land. The post S01Ep04P4 – Barry Lonik – Conservation Easement Implementation appeared first on Farms For Tomorrow.

How to get engaged on local zoning debates as well as how to launch a ballot campaign for publicly funded conservation easement millage. Also describes how those funds can leverage other funding sources for greater conservation impact and the basics of conservation easement oversight. The post S01Ep04P3 – Barry Lonik – Launching and Winning Ballot Campaigns appeared first on Farms For Tomorrow.

An introduction to publicly funded millages and the conservation easement tool, and how they can be used to together to preserve different kinds of value for landowners, communities and future generations. The post S01Ep04P2 – Barry Lonik – Public-Funding Easements appeared first on Farms For Tomorrow.

How to argue the case for land preservation and participate more effectively in local land use and planning/zoning processes. Covers local government and property owners' finances, the environmental services and economic value of undeveloped land, aesthetics, and community character. The post S01Ep04P1 – Barry Lonik – Benefits of Green Space appeared first on Farms For Tomorrow.

With decades of experience in on-the-ground organizing for land preservation in Michigan, Barry Lonik describes the benefits of publicly funded conservation easements and outlines paths for community involvement to make it happen. Barry cites many examples showing how the needs of multiple long-term stakeholders can be satisfied while protecting green space and agricultural land. The post S01Ep04 – Barry Lonik – Farm Project 2017 appeared first on Farms For Tomorrow.

Jean-Paul Stewart-Courtens shares how after losing the lease on the land he was farming he was able to find and add to a piece of farmland while protecting it for agriculture long term. Success required creative thinking, partnerships, and a mix of funding sources supported by tools such as conservation easements and resale restrictions. Also includes a discussion of leadership transition. The post S01Ep03 – Jean-Paul Stewart-Courtens BD Conference 2014 appeared first on Farms For Tomorrow.

Tom Spaulding opens with an inspiring story of how he came to farm the land he's on, and then shares the model and vision of the current multi-enterprise operation as well as the various strategies his organization has used or is implementing (LLC, community land trust, long-term leases) to protect the farm and prepare for succession. The post S01Ep02 – Tom Spaulding Biodynamic Conference 2014 appeared first on Farms For Tomorrow.

John Bloom offers a useful conceptual framework distinguishing ownership, use and community as primary concepts to help those seeking to organize around the issue of agricultural land preservation. The post S01Ep01 – John Bloom – Biodynamic Conference 2014 appeared first on Farms For Tomorrow.