Podcasts about full belly farm

Latinx farmworkers, who make up over 80% of California's agricultural workforce, face some of the state's lowest levels of food security, wealth, and homeownership. This week on Terra Verde, host and producer Hannah Wilton is joined by longtime farmer and co-owner of Full Belly Farm Paul Muller to discuss their research and development initiative to create a replicable model of affordable homeownership for farmworkers. Their pilot project, “Casas Capay Valley,” will provide resident-owned housing for several farmworker families employed at Full Belly Farm through the acquisition of a 43-acre parcel in Yolo County by a community land trust. Muller speaks to the importance of strengthening rural communities, building equity for farmworkers, and fostering long-term social and economic stability for California's agricultural workforce. The post “Casas Capay Valley” Farmworker Housing Pilot appeared first on KPFA.

#196: Real Organic farmer Paul Muller takes the stage at Churchtown Dairy to remind folks about the importance of a food system that celebrates farmers who sink their hands into the soil as they grow food and tend land. Paul Muller is a lifelong farmer and co-founder of Full Belly Farm in northern California's Capay Valley, along with his wife Dru. Since the 1980s, Full Belly has been supplying Bay Area restaurants and eaters with a diverse selection of organic food, including nuts, fruit, eggs, and a broad and ever-changing array of vegetable crops. They are known for their decades of commitment to local farmers' markets, their annual celebratory Hoes Down Festival, and their on-farm summer camp experiences for kids.https://fullbellyfarm.com/To watch a video version of this podcast please visit:https://realorganicproject.org/paul-muller-at-churchtown-2024-cultivating-affectionThe Real Organic Podcast is hosted by Dave Chapman and Linley Dixon, engineered by Brandon StCyr, and edited and produced by Jenny Prince.The Real Organic Project is a farmer-led movement working towards certifying 1,000 farms across the United States this year. Our add-on food label distinguishes soil-grown fruits and vegetables from hydroponically-raised produce, and pasture-raised meat, milk, and eggs from products harvested from animals in horrific confinement (CAFOs - confined animal feeding operations).To find a Real Organic farm near you, please visit:https://www.realorganicproject.org/farmsWe believe that the organic standards, with their focus on soil health, biodiversity, and animal welfare were written as they should be, but that the current lack of enforcement of those standards is jeopardizing the ability for small farms who adhere to the law to stay in business. The lack of enforcement is also jeopardizing the overall health of the customers who support the organic movement; customers who are not getting what they pay for at market but still paying a premium price. And the lack of enforcement is jeopardizing the very cycles (water, air, nutrients) that Earth relies upon to provide us all with a place to live, by pushing extractive, chemical agriculture to the forefront.If you like what you hear and are feeling inspired, we would love for you to join our movement by becoming one of our 1,000  Real Fans!https://www.realorganicproject.org/1000-real-fans/To read our weekly newsletter (which might just be the most forwarded newsletter on the internet!) and get firsthand news about what's happening with organic food, farming and policy, please subscribe here:https://www.realorganicproject.org/email/

#187: Judith Redmond sits down with Dave at Full Belly Farm in California's Capay Valley to discuss the values and motivations that drew her and others to organic farming decades ago. As times have changed and the issues have multiplied and deepened, what draws the next generation to this work and how can we help them succeed?Judith Redmond is one of the four founding farmer-owners at Full Belly Farm in northern California, having helped to supply the Bay Area with organic food since the 1980s. Full Belly is known for its diverse approach, offering dozens of crop varieties, tree fruits, nuts, meat, and value-added jams, sauces, pickles, etc. from their on-farm kitchen. They have been a mainstay at local farmers markets, and have hosted long-running on-farm children's programs, as well as a much-loved annual Hoe's Down Festival. Judith came to farming inspired by her work at  agricultural nonprofits, which focused on water rights and labor justice in California. https://fullbellyfarm.com/To watch a video version of this podcast please visit:https://www.realorganicproject.org/judith-redmond-becoming-activist-farmer-episode-one-hundred-eighty-sevenThe Real Organic Podcast is hosted by Dave Chapman and Linley Dixon, engineered by Brandon StCyr, and edited and produced by Jenny Prince.The Real Organic Project is a farmer-led movement working towards certifying 1,000 farms across the United States this year. Our add-on food label distinguishes soil-grown fruits and vegetables from hydroponically-raised produce, and pasture-raised meat, milk, and eggs from products harvested from animals in horrific confinement (CAFOs - confined animal feeding operations).To find a Real Organic farm near you, please visit:https://www.realorganicproject.org/farmsWe believe that the organic standards, with their focus on soil health, biodiversity, and animal welfare were written as they should be, but that the current lack of enforcement of those standards is jeopardizing the ability for small farms who adhere to the law to stay in business. The lack of enforcement is also jeopardizing the overall health of the customers who support the organic movement; customers who are not getting what they pay for at market but still paying a premium price. And the lack of enforcement is jeopardizing the very cycles (water, air, nutrients) that Earth relies upon to provide us all with a place to live, by pushing extractive, chemical agriculture to the forefront.If you like what you hear and are feeling inspired, we would love for you to join our movement by becoming one of our 1,000  Real Fans!https://www.realorganicproject.org/1000-real-fans/To read our weekly newsletter (which might just be the most forwarded newsletter on the internet!) and get firsthand news about what's happening with organic food, farming and policy, please subscribe here:https://www.realorganicproject.org/email/

Dried flower arrangements are one of the best ways of ensuring a year-round supply of domestically-grown blooms, as gaps in the harvest season can be filled in with dried flowers. Hannah Muller just published Designing with Dried Flowers, a gorgeous and practical book written from her experience as farmer/florist on Full Belly Farm, one of the nation's largest certified organic flower farms, among other crops. An additional benefit of using dried blooms is that flowers that don't make the cut for fresh use can often be used for dried flower arrangements and wreaths. Hannah shares her personal journey of growing up on the farm and finding her way back to it as an adult. She discusses the role of dried flowers in extending the farm's season, provides tips for getting started with drying flowers, including experimenting with flowers already grown and growing specific varieties for drying. She shares tips on crops, growing and harvesting flowers for drying, setting up a drying room, dealing with pests, arranging and more! Subscribers get 20% off this book and all books at growingformarket.com. Connect With Guest:Read her book, Designing with Dried Flowers- subscribers get 20% off at growingformarket.comWebsite: https://fullbellyfarm.comInstagram: @farmerhands@Full_Belly_Farm@wreathroom Podcast Sponsors:Huge thanks to our podcast sponsors as they make this podcast FREE to everyone with their generous support:Bootstrap Farmer offers a complete range of growing supplies including heat mats, ground cover, frost blankets, silage tarps, irrigation, and trellising. They also make all-metal, all-inclusive greenhouse frames, constructed of steel made in the USA and fabricated in Texas. Their heavy-duty, Midwest-made propagation and microgreens trays will last for years and are available in a full range of colors, great for keeping farm seedlings separate from retail, or just for fun. For all that and more, check out Bootstrap Farmer at bootstrapfarmer.com.Tired of admin work and technology trouble? You need Farmhand on your team. Farmhand is the all-in-one software platform and virtual assistant built by and for independent farmers. Through a simple text or email to Farmhand, you can offload admin tasks, automate your CSA, update your website, and sell more to your customers. Learn more and take the quiz to see how much you can save at farmhand.partners/GFM Subscribe To Our Magazine - FREE 28-Day Trial:Our Website: www.GrowingForMarket.com

Have you ever wondered about the art of drying flowers and creating stunning arrangements that last a lifetime? In this episode of the Backyard Bouquet Podcast, we have the pleasure of hearing from Hannah Muller, a cut flower farmer located in the beautiful Capay Valley of Northern California. Hannah shares her journey from growing up on Full Belly Farm to becoming a wedding farmer-florist to shifting her focus to dried flowers. We explore the process of drying flowers, the best conditions for drying, and the importance of harvesting at the right stage.Plus, get a glimpse into Hannah's newly released book, "Designing with Dried Flowers," which offers 32 unique arrangements that capture the enduring beauty of dried flowers. From everyday wreaths to breathtaking celebration pieces, Hannah teaches us how to craft these beautiful arrangements ourselves, whether from a backyard garden or a simple supermarket bouquet.Tune in to today's episode to discover the secrets of preserving the fleeting beauty of flowers into something permanent and the joy of connecting people to the earth through Hannah's work.In This Episode You'll Hear About: 00:02:29 - Hannah's Journey to Writing Her Book 00:03:05 - Growing Up on Full Belly Farm 00:05:01 - College Years and Return to the Farm 00:06:11 - Transition to Wedding Flowers 00:09:05 - Impact of COVID-19 on Wedding Industry 00:10:55 - Writing the Book on Dried Flowers 00:13:10 - Personal Stories and Inspirations in the Book 00:14:46 - Evolution of Flower Growing at Full Belly Farm 00:18:19 - Incorporating Dried Flowers into the Business 00:22:46 - Tips for Drying Flowers at Home 00:32:07 - Sunflowers and Other Dried Flowers 00:33:56 - Inside the Wreath Room 00:38:19 - Favorite Dried Flowers and Techniques 00:39:17 - Harvesting and Drying Techniques 00:41:28 - Experimenting with Drying Different Flowers 00:43:10 - Importance of Harvest Stage for Drying 00:45:13 - Outlets for Selling Dried FlowersLearn More About Hannah: https://www.instagram.com/farmerhands/ https://www.instagram.com/wreathroom/ https://www.instagram.com/full_belly_farm/ https://fullbellyfarm.com/ Designing With Dried Flowers Book: https://amzn.to/4bADBC1***Rate, Review, & Follow The Backyard Bouquet***If you enjoyed this episode, will you please consider leaving the podcast a review? Your review helps make the podcast more discoverable to others and allows me to continue creating more episodes. I'd love to know what you enjoyed most about the episode.New episodes coming every Tuesday to help keep your garden blooming!Sign up for newsletter: https://thefloweringfarmhouse.myflodesk.com/nlw4wua8s3

Flowers are fleetingly beautiful, but dried floral arrangements are both lovely and lasting. In her new book, Designing with Dried Flowers, Slow Flowers member, Hannah Muller of The Wreath Room and Full Belly Farm shares her unique methods to naturally dry flowers that hold their color and delicacy – and how to design small arrangements for every day, wreaths for all […] The post Episode 663: Designing with Dried Flowers – a new book by Hannah Muller of Full Belly Farm and Wreath Room appeared first on Slow Flowers Podcast with Debra Prinzing.

How has organic farming evolved over the years and what might the future hold? On this episode of the Thriving Farmer Podcast, Michael is joined by Paul Muller who is a part of the pioneering force at Full Belly Farm, a 450-acre certified organic farm in North Central California. For over four decades, the farm has championed economic stability, year-round employment, and a strong community connection, ensuring nourishment for this generation and those to come. Tune in to hear all about how Paul ensures that this large organic farm continues to thrive! You'll hear: How Paul got started in farming 0:59 About the Full Belly team 10:20 More on the history of organic farming and the Real Organic Project 15:48 About Paul's take about soil science 22:28 How Full Belly uses cover crops 34:39 What Paul is doing to bring up the next generation of farmers at Full Belly 46:15 About Paul's advice for new farmers 56:15 About the Guest: Paul Muller farms with family and partners at Full Belly farm, a diversified 450 acre organic farm in North Central California's Capay Valley. For more than 40 years, Full Belly has been seeking to evolve a model farm that is economically stable, honors employees with a business design that creates year round employment, strives to grow more layers of life on a farm for environmental complexity, and seeks to connect with a community of farm supporters for a broader social impact. Resources: Website - fullbellyfarm.com Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/full_belly_farm/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/FullBellyFarm   The Thriving Farmer Podcast Team would like to thank our amazing sponsor! At our Growing Farmers store, planting season is in full swing! A treasure trove of plant starts and cuttings await. Our team is shipping everything from elderberry and willow cuttings to strawberry starts and potato slips.  So if you've been eyeing that sunny spot by the fence or considering how to fill that quiet corner of your yard, look not further. Visit shop.growingfarmers.com today for the first step towards a greener, more fruitful farmstead or garden.

132: Longtime organic farmer Dru Rivers speaks to the crowd at the 2023 EcoFarm Conference about the future of food, and the important role activism plays in farming.Dru Rivers is an original founding farmer at Full Belly Farm in California and has played an important role in both the EcoFarm Conference and CCOF (California Certified Organic Farmers) since their beginnings.  https://fullbellyfarm.com/To watch a video version of this podcast please visit:https://www.realorganicproject.org/dru-rivers-organic-activist-manifesto-episode-one-hundred-thirty-twoThe Real Organic Podcast is hosted by Dave Chapman and Linley Dixon, engineered by Brandon StCyr, and edited and produced by Jenny Prince.The Real Organic Project is a farmer-led movement working towards certifying 1,000 farms across the United States this year. Our add-on food label distinguishes soil-grown fruits and vegetables from hydroponically-raised produce, and pasture-raised meat, milk, and eggs from products harvested from animals in horrific confinement (CAFOs - confined animal feeding operations).To find a Real Organic farm near you, please visit:https://www.realorganicproject.org/farmsWe believe that the organic standards, with their focus on soil health, biodiversity, and animal welfare were written as they should be, but that the current lack of enforcement of those standards is jeopardizing the ability for small farms who adhere to the law to stay in business. The lack of enforcement is also jeopardizing the overall health of the customers who support the organic movement; customers who are not getting what they pay for at market but still paying a premium price. And the lack of enforcement is jeopardizing the very cycles (water, air, nutrients) that Earth relies upon to provide us all with a place to live, by pushing extractive, chemical agriculture to the forefront.If you like what you hear and are feeling inspired, we would love for you to join our movement by becoming one of our 1,000  Real Friends:https://www.realorganicproject.org/real-organic-friends/To read our weekly newsletter (which might just be the most forwarded newsletter on the internet!) and get firsthand news about what's happening with organic food, farming and policy, please subscribe here:

In today's episode, we talk with mother/daughter team Dru Rivers and Hannah Muller of Full Belly Farm about growing 15 acres of certified organic flowers. Dru is one of the founders of this landmark California organic farm that has been growing since 1984, and she and Hannah manage the flowers, all of which are grown in the field. We cover strategies for keeping farm crew year-round, favorite flower crops and new varieties, the importance of playing hard when you're working hard, educating wholesalers and customers on the importance of organic flowers, and having big events on the farm. In Shop Talk with Neversink Farm we chat about new tools, old tools, how they can benefit your farm and tips to use them successfully with Conor Crickmore of Neversink Tools, which manufactures tools for farmers. In this episode of Shop Talk, we discuss how to have an awesome farmers market setup. We cover the importance of signs and two important things that must always be on them, farmers market layout and displays, crowd management and more. Thanks to our collaborator on this podcast Neversink Farm. They make this podcast free to everyone with their generous support. For tools designed and made by farmers, check out www.NeversinkTools.com Connect With Guest:Email: dru@fullbellyfarm.comEmail: hannah@fullbellyfarm.comWebsite: www.fullbellyfarm.comInstagram: @full_belly_farmInstagram: @dru_riversInstagram: @farmerhandsInstagram: @wreathroom Download A FREE Magazine Issue:Go To Growing For Market Magazine: www.GrowingForMarket.com 

#095: Dru Rivers, one of the original founders of Full Belly Farm in California's Capay Valley, remembers the early days of organic with CCOF (California Certified Organic Farmers), when ideas, practices, and inspiration were exchanged freely between peers. Dru Rivers co-founded Full Belly Farm in the 1970s with her partner Paul Muller, and friends Judith Redmond and Andrew Brait. Full Belly has grown into a highly diversified operation, that grows over 80 different crops on 400 acres including nuts, vegetables, flowers, fruit, seeds, and livestock. Full Belly has been celebrated by generations of eaters at local farmers markets and restaurants in northern California.https://fullbellyfarm.com/To watch a video version of this podcast with access to the full transcript and links relevant to our conversation, please visit:https://www.realorganicproject.org/dru-rivers-organic-farmer-to-farmer-movement-episode-ninety-fiveThe Real Organic Podcast is hosted by Dave Chapman and Linley Dixon, engineered by Brandon StCyr, and edited and produced by Jenny Prince.The Real Organic Project is a farmer-led movement working towards certifying 1,000 farms across the United States this year. Our add-on food label distinguishes soil-grown fruits and vegetables from hydroponically-raised produce, and pasture-raised meat, milk, and eggs from products harvested from animals in horrific confinement (CAFOs - confined animal feeding operations).To find a Real Organic farm near you, please visit:https://www.realorganicproject.org/farmsWe believe that the organic standards, with their focus on soil health, biodiversity, and animal welfare were written as they should be, but that the current lack of enforcement of those standards is jeopardizing the ability for small farms who adhere to the law to stay in business. The lack of enforcement is also jeopardizing the overall health of the customers who support the organic movement; customers who are not getting what they pay for at market but still paying a premium price. And the lack of enforcement is jeopardizing the very cycles (water, air, nutrients) that Earth relies upon to provide us all with a place to live, by pushing extractive, chemical agriculture to the forefront.If you like what you hear and are feeling inspired, we would love for you to join our movement by becoming one of our 1,000  Real Friends:https://www.realorganicproject.org/real-organic-friends/To read our weekly newsletter (which might just be the most forwarded newsletter on the internet!) and get firsthand news about what's happening with organic food, farming and policy, please subscribe here:https://www.realorganicproject.org/email/Hi Listeners, this is Linley Dixon, co-director of the Real Organic Project, inviting you to join myself, Dave Chapman, Paul Hawken and 10 incredible organic farmers for a day of Ted-style talks on January 17th at the Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove, California. Our Eco-Farm Conference is called Real Organic: Stories From the Front Lines, and features talks by organic farmers who will share their personal experiences within a dysfunctional organic marketplace and the solutions th

#062: Real Organic farmer Paul Muller of California's Full Belly Farm, shares what it will really take to reclaim and rebuild the organic movement: activist farmers of all ages, engaged consumers, scientists, and university programs that are passionate about improving our soils. Paul Muller is a co-owner and co-founder of Full Belly Farm in Northern California's Capay Valley where, along with three partners, he grows 80 diverse crops that are all sold within 120 miles of the farm. Full Belly is known nationwide for their deep organic practices, their on-farm "Hoes Down" harvest party, and for training slews of future organic farmers.To watch a video version of this podcast with access to the full transcript and links relevant to our conversation, please visit:https://www.realorganicproject.org/paul-muller-farmers-need-consumers-episode-sixty-twoThe Real Organic Podcast is hosted by Dave Chapman and Linley Dixon, engineered by Brandon StCyr, and edited and produced by Jenny Prince.The Real Organic Project is a farmer-led movement working towards certifying 1,000 farms across the United States this year. Our add-on food label distinguishes soil-grown fruits and vegetables from hydroponically-raised produce, and pasture-raised meat, milk, and eggs from products harvested from animals in horrific confinement (CAFOs - confined animal feeding operations).To find a Real Organic farm near you, please visit:https://www.realorganicproject.org/farmsWe believe that the organic standards, with their focus on soil health, biodiversity, and animal welfare were written as they should be, but that the current lack of enforcement of those standards is jeopardizing the ability for small farms who adhere to the law to stay in business. The lack of enforcement is also jeopardizing the overall health of the customers who support the organic movement; customers who are not getting what they pay for at market but still paying a premium price. And the lack of enforcement is jeopardizing the very cycles (water, air, nutrients) that Earth relies upon to provide us all with a place to live, by pushing extractive, chemical agriculture to the forefront.If you like what you hear and are feeling inspired, we would love for you to join our movement by becoming one of our 1,000  Real Friends:https://www.realorganicproject.org/real-organic-friends/To read our weekly newsletter (which might just be the most forwarded newsletter on the internet!) and get firsthand news about what's happening with organic food, farming and policy, please subscribe here:https://www.realorganicproject.org/email/

The Ag Engineering podcast is a conversation with small scale fruit and vegetable farmers to discuss tools, tips or techniques to improve the sustainability of your farm. In this episode, we get to know Stephen Park of Full Belly Farm in Monkton Vermont who shares his experience starting this farm. Visit the show notes for photos, videos or relevant links at http://agengpodcast.comSupport the show (https://securelb.imodules.com/s/1690/19/interior.aspx?sid=1690&gid=2&pgid=828&cid=1883&dids=157)

Today's episode features a special friend who has been an important part of my life for over a decade. We are discussing sustainable agriculture, climate change, and more! Join us! Judith Redmond has been a farmer for over 30 years. She is one of the founders and owners of Full Belly Farm in the beautiful Capay Valley of northern California. In addition to overseeing 400 acres and 80 different crops, Judith has run their CSA (community-supported agriculture) program and managed the weekly Farmer's Market. With many hands-on tasks, Judith is also part of the regulatory compliance effort and helps oversee the financial and business operations at the farm. She understands the larger issues and the importance of sustainable agriculture, along with facing the challenges of wildfires and drought in the midst of their Mediterranean climate. Judith explains what it's like to be a farmer in the era of COVID and what organic agriculture can offer to help mitigate climate change and move us forward.   Show Highlights: How Judith was inspired by her grandfather to become a farmer How Full Belly Farms began when four farmers came together in 1989 with a desire to produce organic food How the farm has grown and expanded to include 80 different crops, flowers, chickens, and sheep How the farm is forward-thinking in the “fertility” of the farm through composting and cover crops, all in an effort to return carbon to the soil How the pandemic challenges demonstrated that the local food system was there to help people when the mainstream food industry failed Why Judith considers farming a form of activism How community-supported agriculture works  How the relationship works between fertile soil and microbes, so the groundwater is not tainted with water-soluble fertilizers Why farmers need to take risks, learn new techniques, and be willing to constantly adapt to meet the challenges of the pandemic, wildfires, and climate change How Judith has moved into a transition time toward retirement from full-time farming and working more with nonprofit organizations  Why community, communication, and collaboration are important to Judith What Judith is working on right now What it means to Judith to live in her purpose Hear Judith's answers to rapid-fire questions about helpful advice, grounding habits, favorite hot beverage, last meal on earth, morning routine, an inspiring person, something people might not know, what she's reading, and what's bringing her joy right now.  Resources: Connect with Full Belly Farm and check out farming internship opportunities: http://www.fullbellyfarm.com ( www.fullbellyfarm.com)    Books mentioned and recommended by Judith:   https://amzn.to/3KXPNiP (Violeta) by Isabel Allende https://amzn.to/3JTx86y (One! Hundred! Demons!) By Lynda Barry https://amzn.to/3OkA5jQ (These Precious Days )by Ann Pratchett https://amzn.to/37tK1Hh (The Secret to Superhuman Strength) by Alison Bechdel Want to learn more about the planets? Visit my website for more information with myhttps://weaveyourbliss.teachable.com/p/home ( Planets) course. Are you an online business owner? Join my free Facebook group:https://m.facebook.com/groups/weaveyourbusinessbliss/ ( Weave Your Business Bliss) Get the 2022 Astrology Guidebook: https://weaveyourbliss.ck.page/products/2022-astrology-guidebook (https://weaveyourbliss.ck.page/products/2022-astrology-guidebook) Join the Patreon for weekly updates and more information: https://www.patreon.com/weaveyourbliss (https://www.patreon.com/weaveyourbliss)

The Ag Engineering podcast is a conversation with small scale fruit and vegetable farmers to discuss tools, tips or techniques to improve the sustainability of your farm. In this episode, we visit with Stephen Park of Full Belly Farm in Monkton Vermont who shares his experience mulching strawberries and protecting his crop from frost. Visit the show notes for photos, videos or relevant links at http://agengpodcast.comSupport the show (https://securelb.imodules.com/s/1690/19/interior.aspx?sid=1690&gid=2&pgid=828&cid=1883&dids=157)

The Ag Engineering podcast is a conversation with small scale fruit and vegetable farmers to discuss tools, tips or techniques to improve the sustainability of your farm. In this episode, we visit with Stephen Park of Full Belly Farm in Monkton Vermont who shares his experience with different strawberry growing systems.Visit the show notes for photos, videos or relevant links at http://agengpodcast.comSupport the show (https://securelb.imodules.com/s/1690/19/interior.aspx?sid=1690&gid=2&pgid=828&cid=1883&dids=157)

This is another amazing session with Paul Muller from Full Belly Farm. Full Belly Farm is a 400-acre certified organic farm. You will surely love everything he is doing on his farm. Don't miss out on the visuals. Join The EAT Community and get access to it ALL!

The Ag Engineering podcast is a conversation with small scale fruit and vegetable farmers to discuss tools, tips or techniques to improve the sustainability of your farm. In this episode, we visit with Stephen Park of Full Belly Farm in Monkton Vermont who shares his experience with the Ebb and Flow rolling greenhouse benches. Support the show (https://securelb.imodules.com/s/1690/19/interior.aspx?sid=1690&gid=2&pgid=828&cid=1883&dids=157)

The Ag Engineering podcast is a conversation with small scale fruit and vegetable farmers to discuss tools, tips or techniques to improve the sustainability of your farm. In this episode, we visit with Stephen Park of Full Belly Farm in Monkton Vermont. This is an intro to the farm where we touch upon cover crops, plastic mulch, pot fillers, flail mowers and round bale shredders for strawberry mulching.  Visit the show notes for photos, videos or relevant links at http://agengpodcast.comSupport the show (https://securelb.imodules.com/s/1690/19/interior.aspx?sid=1690&gid=2&pgid=828&cid=1883&dids=157)

SHOW NOTES: Full Belly Farm website: http://fullbellyfarm.com/ Full Belly Farm instagram: @full_belly_farm https://www.instagram.com/full_belly_farm/ FDA FSMA pdf of law: https://www.fda.gov/food/guidanceregulation/fsma/ucm334114.htm Hotsy Hot Water Pressure Washer: http://www.hotsy.com/Hot_Water_Pressure_Washers See page 133 of Martin's Produce Supply's online catalogue and call them to discuss further: https://www.martinsproducesupplies.com/sites/default/files/Catalog-2018.pdf CAFF Food Safety Training Templates and many others: https://caff.org/food-safety/food-safety-plan-templates/ CAFF's 2018 Hedgerow Manual: https://caff.org/hedgerows-farmscaping-for-california-agriculture-guide/ Wild Farm Alliance: https://www.wildfarmalliance.org/biodiversity The post Full Belly Farm Podcast Episode appeared first on Community Alliance with Family Farmers.

Today’s guest have been on my wish list to interview ever since we met in person at a Slow Flowers gathering in 2018, hosted by Scott Paris of High Hand Nursery, past guest of this podcast. Please meet Dru Rivers, co-founder of Full Belly Farm, one of the first certified organic farms in California, and […] The post Episode 498: It’s a family affair with Dru Rivers of Full Belly Farm and Hannah Rose Muller of Full Belly Floral appeared first on Debra Prinzing.

This story is a collaboration between The World and Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting. Listen to the latest episode of Reveal for more on this story.On a recent morning in Salinas, California, in the state's rural heartland, David Rivera and Alfonso Hernández worked shoulder to shoulder, installing irrigation pipes across freshly plowed fields that stretched to the horizon. Wearing jeans and sweatshirts with their hoods up to block the sun and dust, they prepared the fields for a spring planting of spinach, lettuce and broccoli. Nearby, a large billboard featured a man wearing leather gloves and a white cowboy hat, an irrigation pipe hoisted over his shoulder. It read: “Salinas Valley. Feeding Our Nation.”A version of this story originally aired on The World. Listen here. It was mid-March, the same week that US President Donald Trump declared a national emergency because of the novel coronavirus. By then, over 250 people had tested positive for COVID-19 in California. Gov. Gavin Newsom's statewide shelter-in-place order was imminent. Just an hour or so drive north in Silicon Valley, businesses and schools were shuttering, and hundreds of thousands of people began working from home.But for people like Hernández and Rivera, working from home was not an option. An estimated 2.5 million farmworkers across the United States are now deemed essential workers — exempt from shelter-in-place restrictions to keep the country's food supply flowing. California farms are vital to that system, producing a third of the country's vegetables and two-thirds of its fruits and nuts. At a time when social distancing and careful sanitizing are necessary safeguards, little has been done to protect farmworkers.Yet at a time when social distancing and careful sanitizing are necessary safeguards against exposure to the coronavirus, little has been done to protect farmworkers, many of whom are undocumented and work in remote, rural parts of the country with little access to health and social services."No, not yet,” Hernández said in mid-March, when asked whether he and his co-workers had met with their employer — Elkhorn Packing, a Salinas-based farm labor contractor — about workplace safety in the face of the coronavirus. “There should be a plan in place by now,” he said. But Rivera and Hernández, both from Mexico and unauthorized to work in the US, were hesitant to push the issue, grateful to have jobs. Many of their neighbors were already losing their jobs at restaurants, day care centers and hotels.COVID-19: The latest from The WorldAs they spoke, at the far side of the field, a crew of 20 men and women arrived to work in carpools, crammed into trucks and minivans. Armando Elenes, secretary-treasurer of the United Farm Workers of America, said he and his team have been surveying farmworkers informally for weeks, asking what messages they're getting from their employers. A March 24 poll of about 300 mostly nonunion farmworkers found that more than three-quarters had received no guidance from their employer on safer ways to work, Elenes said. He said many farmworkers, like Rivera and Hernández, are scared that without changes, they remain vulnerable to infection.“Rightfully so, because they're not being provided information,” Elenes said. “They're scared of losing the money. They're scared of getting infected.”He said it angers some farmworkers to be heralded now as essential, after those who are undocumented have lived with virulent anti-immigrant sentiment and threats of deportation from the Trump administration. “So when the government says they're essential workers,” he said, “the workers are responding, saying, ‘Now we're essential?'”  A sign in Salinas, California's rural heartland, which is home to tens of thousands of immigrant farmworkers.  Credit: Monica Campbell/The World Elenes said many immigrant farmworkers feel compelled to keep working, even while sick, aware that other jobs are drying up as the economic crisis deepens. A skipped paycheck means not only less money for their families in the US, but less support for family members in their home countries. “They're going to continue working because they don't feel that they have a choice. You know, bear with it, work through it,” Elenes said. “It's really distressing because these workers are the backbone of this country in terms of the food supply chain.”Hernández said that last week, long after the US had become the epicenter of the global pandemic, there had been a meeting with his boss at last. “We were told to wash our hands more,” he said.Related: Food supply logistics need a coronavirus 'reset,' says UN economistThat was it. No gloves or disinfectant supplies, he said. No conversation about avoiding crowded carpools to work, no changes to ensure more physical distance in the fields. Elkhorn Packing did not respond to an interview request. As of this week, there is no mention of the coronavirus on the company's website.Excluded from reliefThe $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, signed into law March 27, provides $9.5 billion for growers, ranchers and agricultural companies. Yet the legislation blocks many farmworkers themselves from seeking federal help. Nearly half of all farmworkers are unauthorized to work in the US, and the bill limits assistance to those with Social Security numbers.More than a million people deemed essential workers are ineligible for federal assistance from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act.That means more than a million people deemed essential workers are ineligible for the one-time cash payment of up to $1,200 that the federal government will issue in coming weeks. Many farmworker families will also be blocked from receiving the bill's $500 rebate per child if their parents lack a Social Security number. And unauthorized farmworkers are also unable to apply for unemployment insurance, which the aid package expanded by $600 a week for up to four months. Some members of Congress are seeking to make future coronavirus economic relief measures more inclusive. Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-CA, whose district includes the Salinas Valley, co-sponsored a new bill in early April that, among other measures, loosens eligibility requirements so “workers, regardless of their immigration status, have access to health, nutrition, and financial aid during this crisis,” he said in announcing its introduction. “We're going to continue to fight for these protections,” Panetta said in a recent interview. The pandemic, he said, is “highlighting not just how valuable farmworkers are, but how vulnerable they are.” Panetta wants to see bolder moves as well, such as temporary legalization for essential workers who are undocumented.For now, the exclusion of many immigrants from federal relief will force hard choices. “If it's your only income and you don't really have access to unemployment, then you've got to keep working,” said Daniel Sumner, an economist at the University of California, Davis. “You're willing to do things you wouldn't do normally.”Related: How Japanese and Mexican American farm workers formed an alliance that made historyMore than two-thirds of farmworkers also lack health insurance.An earlier bill, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, provided financial incentives for companies to provide paid sick leave, “ensuring that workers are not forced to choose between their paychecks and the public health measures needed to combat the virus,” according to the Department of Labor. Yet the new rules exclude companies with more than 500 employees, including such large agricultural employers as Elkhorn Packing. That means Hernández and Rivera won't be eligible. The new law also allows businesses with fewer than 50 employees to seek an exemption from providing paid sick days. “That means a lot of farmworkers will be left out of this paid-leave provision,” said Daniel Costa, director of immigration law and policy research at the Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit think tank. Costa's research shows that most farmworkers are employed by small farms, and he expects that “the vast majority” of those farms will apply for the exemption. Vineyards in California's Salinas Valley. Vineyard workers are, like all agricultural workers, considered essential during the coronavirus pandemic. Credit: Monica Campbell/The World The Agricultural Council of California, as well as California's largest growers — including Taylor Farms, Driscoll's, Bowles Farming, Bolthouse Farms, Swanton Berry Farm, Sábor Farms, The Wonderful Company and Grimmway Farms — did not respond to or declined interview requests for this story, as did officials with the state and federal departments of agriculture. However, some large farms have posted statements outlining their commitment to employee health and safety. Driscoll's, a berry giant based in Watsonville, California, states that it is following all “precautionary measures from social distancing to the basics of hand washing that have always been fundamental to our food safety standards. Rigorous reinforcement of food safety and worker standards are already in place within our network of independent growers and throughout our supply chain.”Related: The people who pick your berries in Washington will now be represented by a unionDave Puglia, president and CEO of Western Growers, a trade group that represents some 2,500 fruit and vegetable growers, said farmers are taking worker safety seriously.“We're all making as many changes we can as quickly as we can,” he said. “I am actually confident that farmers have been diligent in increasing all that they already do to protect workers in the fields in light of the coronavirus pandemic.”Some smaller farmers said they are offering their workers paid sick leave, even if they may not be required to do so under the new federal rules. Phil Foster, who runs organic farms in San Juan Bautista and Hollister, California, said he has expanded paid sick leave to over 60 hours for his 38 full-time employees. “My hope is that the folks on the farm are going to stay as healthy as they can, with maybe a few blips here and there,” he said. “We will continue to try and get fresh produce out to people in our community and our region.”Foster anticipates that his workers may soon need to wear face masks, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended this month. He has a few coveted N95 masks on the farm, but not enough for everybody — and he can't find any online or anywhere else. So he's improvising. “My wife is a schoolteacher, and when she is not doing online classes, I'm seeing if she can sew up some masks,” he said. He is also asking one of the field workers, who also works as a seamstress, if she can sew some. “We're doing the best we can ...We realize none of these measures provide 100% security, but are best efforts with the information that we have available."Paul Muller, an owner of Full Belly Farm“We're doing the best we can,” said Paul Muller, an owner of Full Belly Farm, an organic farm near Sacramento, California. He recently changed policies so that crews no longer travel with more than one driver and one passenger in the trucks. He also expanded paid sick time to two weeks. “We realize none of these measures provide 100% security, but are best efforts with the information that we have available to date from our public health experts,” he said.Yet overall, farmers' responses appear uneven. Esmeralda Zendejas, an attorney with California Rural Legal Assistance, which serves many agricultural workers, said some growers were staggering work and break schedules so fewer employees were gathered together at the same time. But she is also receiving reports of troubling violations. “Just last week, we got a call from a worker who said there was no hand soap on the farm,” Zendejas said. “It's alarming because these violations have been occurring and now, with the crisis, we're seeing that continue with even higher risk for the worker. And these are just the workers who take the step to call us. We're sure that this is happening on a larger scale and workers are just not reporting for any number of reasons, including job insecurity.”Related: California hospital translates coronavirus information for immigrantsBrenda Eskenazi, a public health professor at the University of California, Berkeley, has helped lead extensive studies on the health of Latino farmworker families in California. She noted that even when hand-washing stations are provided, they are often set up too far away for frequent access. The time it takes to reach them can mean money lost. “It might be really difficult to wash your hands for 20 seconds and to do this multiple times a day, especially if you're getting paid by the basket of strawberries that you pick,” she said. “You might want to rush the process.” “Clearly, oversight is needed,” said California state Sen. Anna Caballero, a Democrat whose district includes the Salinas Valley. “There's no question about it. We don't have a system that says, ‘Here are the new rules that everybody has to work under, and here is the oversight in place to make sure that the rules are followed.'” Improvising to mitigate riskWith few protections in place, field workers are doing what they can to protect themselves. Claudia Isarraz, 43, lives with her husband and two US-born teenage sons in Greenfield, a small town near Salinas. Isarraz belongs to Líderes Campesinas, an advocacy group of female farmworkers in California, and works for $13 an hour pruning grapes at nearby vineyards, which have remained open, as the agricultural industry as a whole has been labeled essential. Weeks before the state imposed the shelter-in-place order, she said she began washing her hands more at work and encouraging her co-workers to do the same.  Claudia Isarraz, of Greenfield, California, says she tries to keep distance from her co-workers as they work in the fields. She no longer carpools and shoulders the cost of driving alone to the fields. Credit: Monica Campbell/The World She is also trying to put distance between herself and co-workers who appear sick. Recently, she said, a 65-year-old co-worker was coughing and sneezing while hunched over the crops. “I asked her, ‘Shouldn't you be home?' ” Isarraz said. The woman waved her off. “She told me it was her allergies.” Isarraz moved to another row in the field, doing what she could to protect herself from any potential exposure.Although it was an expensive decision, Isarraz canceled her carpool, which used to involve packing in five or six people to share the cost of gas. As of late March, she said, “I'm going to work on my own, driving on my own.”But not everyone can do that. On the outskirts of Greenfield, where paved streets give way to dirt roads, a long row of modest single rooms are lined up, one after another, across from vast fields. Their beige walls and doors match the earth. Nicolás Merino González lives in room 13. Still in his late 20s, he looks older than his years after a life of outdoor work. In mid-March, Merino was still heading to the fields by cramming himself into the cab of a pickup with other workers. On a recent morning commute, Merino said, a fellow passenger could not stop coughing. “It was like that for four days,” he said. “I thought, ‘It's not good that he's going to work sick now.' But staying behind means a lost day for him.” Nicolás Merino González, a farmworker in Greenfield, California, wires money back to his wife and three children in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. Social distancing is tough for Merino, who carpools to work in a cramped pickup. Credit: Monica Campbell/The World Merino understands the pressure to work. He works in the spinach and lettuce fields of Greenfield in order to wire money back to his family in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, more than 2,000 miles away. The $13.50 an hour he earns is an economic lifeline for his three young children, paying for food and utilities. He is the family's sole breadwinner. On a recent day off, Merino rested outside of his room, which he rents for $260 a month. The room is small, with just enough space for a single bed. A half-full bottle of rubbing alcohol sat on a nightstand. “I use it to clean my hands,” he said. “If I get a cold, I'll rub it on my face.” For soap, Merino uses a single bright pink bar, shared by all the other lodgers, in their communal bathroom. The kitchen and showers, too, are shared. Social distancing is difficult.Roger Tenanuque, the caretaker of the lodging house, grew up in Greenfield and now lives three doors down from Merino. Although he earns little more than cash-strapped renters like Merino, Tenanuque does his best to keep things stocked. He buys soap and paper towels with his own money, he said. When asked whether he thought the renters here would stay home from work if they felt ill, he said, “I don't think so.” Roger Tenanuque is the caretaker for a cluster of single rooms rented by men who work in the fields near Greenfield, California. He rents a room in the complex himself, where residents eat and bathe in communal areas. Credit: Monica Campbell/The World Merino hopes to avoid making a tough choice. He said he has never called in sick in the United States and has never visited a hospital here. “I have been in Mexico, where I have insurance,” he said. “But I don't have that here.”The next challenge for Merino and other farmworkers may be less work. Several field workers said they were already seeing a cutback in hours in the past weeks. Areceli, 41, who asked to use only her first name because she is undocumented, cleans lettuce and spinach leaves near Greenfield. Last week, she was asked to work eight hours a day instead of her typical nine. Other farmworkers also said their hours were reduced. Related: These migrant workers are telling their stories through comic books“We're seeing losses of hundreds of millions of dollars per week easily in the fresh produce industry,” said Puglia, of Western Growers. “Restaurants, but also schools and universities, hotels and resorts — think of Las Vegas, for example — have all shut down for the most part. And that means that farmers, whose customers are in the food service supply chain, are in a really tough spot.”Caballero, the state senator, mentioned other signs that the industry is under stress. This week, she said, strawberry producers told her of canceled contracts with grocery stores and deliveries being turned away. Growers told her that they ended up donating the perishable berries to food banks. Related: How immigrant workers are preparing for automation in agricultureCaballero said there is “great consternation” among growers about consumer demand for their summer harvests.“I'm hearing about more cuts in hours, and I'm bracing myself for more,” Areceli said. She is not sure what she will do. She knows she's not allowed to apply for unemployment and won't qualify for any cash assistance from the federal government — even the $500-per-child benefit. “If they want to leave me out of that, fine, but it's unfair to leave out my two kids just because I don't have the right papers,” she said. “They are US citizens.” At the same time, Areceli observed something new this week: “I'm seeing moms and dads coming to the fields, asking if there is work. It's noticeable.” She wondered whether they had lost other jobs amid the mass layoffs roiling the state and were now heading out to the fields to find work.Reporter and producer Anayansi Diaz-Cortes contributed to this story. It was edited by Esther Kaplan and copy edited by Nikki Frick.

Anya Fernald of Belcampo Meat Co. Chris Sayer from Petty Ranch, Don Cameron from Terra Nova Ranch Inc. and Judith Redmond from Full Belly Farm share how they are adapting, learning and finding opportunities in this crazy COVID time.

Dru Rivers, co-founder and co-owner of Full Belly Farm, shares her journey from the bewitching woods of rural Vermont to a love story that inspired the now 400-acre certified organic farm in Capay Valley.

Dru Rivers began farming in 1983 with her partner, Paul Muller, in Northern California’s Capay Valley. Since that time, Full Belly Farm has grown to over 200 acres of vegetables, with still more acreage devoted to flowers, animals, fruits, nuts, and even grains. They’ve recently ventured into value-added products, as well. All of this is marketed to farmers markets, CSA customers, and wholesale customers in the Bay Area, Davis, and Sacramento. Full Belly Farm has also grown in the number of people – and not just their intern program or their employees, although we dig into how Full Belly has created a renowned and very successful internship program and an environment that fosters fantastic employee retention. Full Belly’s ownership has also grown, with an early partnership with Judith Redmond and Andrew Brait, as well as a more recent expansion to include some of Dru and Paul’s children. Dru shares about why their partnership has worked, the return of all four of her children to the farm, managing a wide diversity of enterprises, and the renowned Hoes Down Harvest Festival. The Farmer to Farmer Podcast is generously supported by Vermont Compost Company.

Guest(s):Dr. Jeffrey Ventre, Blackfish Cast Member & Former SeaWorld Trainer, Blackfish, Yakima, WADru Rivers, Co-Owner, Full Belly Farm, Guinda, CA

A Food Agenda for Next Administration will be a panel discussion at UC Berkeley that posits a policy framework for achieving healthy food and agriculture systems in the US. Speakers are Michael Dimock, President, Roots of Change; Michael Pollan, author and Professor, UC Graduate School of Journalism; Judith Redmond, co-owner Full Belly Farm and Board President, Community Alliance with Family Farmers; and Mark Ritchie, Minnesota Secretary of State. The moderator is Cynthia Gorney, Professor, UC Graduate School of Journalism.