Podcast appearances and mentions of georgia organics

Little Bear is an Atlanta restaurant that is a gold certified Farmer Champion by Georgia Organics. Today Jarrett talks about truly being Farm to Table, and why that is important to him. His restaurant is the definition of locally owned and operated, and I personally can't wait to go back to eat there. This episode is also available on Atlanta Restaurant Radio.

Lauren Cox is the Director of Farmer Services at Georgia Organics, a nonprofit based in Atlanta, GA. Lauren leads the Farmer Services team which focuses on direct farmer services, and innovative programming to support farmer prosperity. She received her Masters in Food Communications at the University of Gastronomic Sciences (Slow Food University) in Parma, Italy, and is now happy to call Atlanta her home.  Here we will discuss all the benefits of sourcing locally and how to build community. Thank you for being here.  Support your local farmers

In this episode, join Jared Sorensen and Will Harris as they navigate the journey of building a successful regenerative agriculture business.Whether you're a seasoned farmer, aspiring entrepreneur, or simply passionate about creating a more sustainable future, this episode is packed with valuable insights and inspiration to guide you on your journey.ABOUT THE GUEST: Will Harris is a fourth-generation cattleman, who tends the same land that his great-grandfather settled in 1866. Born and raised at White Oak Pastures, Will left home to attend the University of Georgia's School of Agriculture, where he was trained in the industrial farming methods that had taken hold after World War II. Will graduated in 1976 and returned to Bluffton where he and his father continued to raise cattle using pesticides, herbicides, hormones, and antibiotics. They also fed their herd a high-carbohydrate diet of corn and soy.These tools did a fantastic job of taking the cost out of the system, but in the mid-1990s Will became disenchanted with the excesses of these industrialized methods. They had created a monoculture for their cattle, and, as Will says, "nature abhors a monoculture." In 1995, Will made the audacious decision to return to the farming methods his great-grandfather had used 130 years before.Since Will has successfully implemented these changes, he has been recognized all over the world as a leader in humane animal husbandry and environmental sustainability. Will is the immediate past President of the Board of Directors of Georgia Organics. He is the Beef Director of the American Grassfed Association and was selected 2011 Business Person of the year for Georgia by the Small Business Administration.Be sure to check out our previous episodes and click on the link to join our Webinar series:  https://www.agsteward.fyi/registration-page--1 or visit our YouTube channel.

White Oak Pastures is a sixth generation, 156-year-old family farm in Bluffton, Georgia. It's also the home of Rancher Will Harris who runs an expansive, zero waste production system with the animals he pasture raises and butchers on the farm. White Oak Pastures produces grass fed beef, lamb, goat, and Heritage pork, and pastured turkeys, chicken, duck, geese, and more. Will is a vocal and passionate champion of radically traditional farming as the path to regenerative land management, humane animal husbandry, and revitalizing rural communities. This is the second time we've spoken with Will Harris. The first time came right on the heels of a really interesting national meeting held in Tennessee on regenerative farming, where I became very impressed with Will and the work he's doing. He was kind enough to join us for a podcast at that time. Our discussion today happens to coincide with the release of a book that Will has written entitled, "A Bold Return to Giving a Damn: One Farm, Six Generations, and the Future of Food.” Interview Summary I really would love to dive into the meaning behind the title of your book, and what you wrote about. But let me ask you a few lead-in questions. Many years ago, you made a profound change in the way you approached ranching and farming. What convinced you back then that this kind of change was necessary? And tell us what you did if you would. My dad ran the farm before me. He was born in 1920, took over the farm post World War II, 1945. He was the generation that really industrialized, commoditized, and centralized the farm. It went from being the really typical 19th century farm under my great-grandfather and grandfather, to being a monocultural cattle operation. My dad was very, very good at it, a great cattleman. He ran the farm profitably. And all I ever wanted to do was come back and run the farm as a monocultural industrial cattle operation. I just loved it. I went to University of Georgia in 1972 and majored in animal science with the intention of coming back, and I did. And I loved it. You know, we weren't wealthy people, but we made money every year. We paid taxes every single year. And I was happy for a long time. But, in the mid-nineties, the excesses of that industrial monocultural model, became displeasing to me. When it started, it happened fairly quickly, and I decided to change. I did not have a goal to move towards, I just knew what I wanted to move away from. I started moving away from it almost 30 years ago, and I've been moving away from it ever since. I'd love to follow up on one thing that you mentioned, and it's the generational nature of kind of farming overall, and your farm. Several years ago, I did a tour of farms in Eastern North Carolina, and I was really impressed with how important the family aspect of that was. Could you just tell us a little bit about that? What does that mean to you and six generations? That's really impressive. The family aspect of it is a blessing and a curse, but it's been a blessing for us. This is just the way it is. My dad was an only child, and I am an only child. So, the passing down of the asset, the farm, farmland was very easy for us. I'm reminded that the old European way of all the assets going to the eldest son was certainly not fair, but I think that went a long way towards ensuring that the asset was passed down and kept intact, as opposed to dividing it up equally among the two, three, four, six, seven siblings. I have three daughters, two of which have come back to the farm. And I will leave the farm to those two daughters. So, our farm is unusual. And it's five, maybe six generations old, but it too will cease to be at some point. That's the way it is. There are other people that want to start farming, that need the opportunity. So this, it's just a good healthy, natural business system. You referred to the farm as an asset, but I have a feeling it's more than that. I mean you could be passing down to subsequent generations a service station, or a convenience store, or a dry cleaner or something like that. But I have a feeling that the fact that you're passing along something that is tied to the land, it just has so much more meaning. Tell me if I'm wrong. No, you're exactly right. But I put a finer point on it. There are not many non-depreciating assets. Land is a non-depreciating asset. I guess gyms are a non-depreciating asset, probably art. There just aren't many assets that don't have a finite life for them. But land is one of them. It's perpetual. And I would argue that the herds also are perpetual. Certainly, the individual animal in the herd has an expected lifespan, but the herd itself is perpetual. My cattle herd literally goes back genetically to the cattle my great-grandfather brought here 150 years ago. So, when you take that perspective, it turns the asset that you inherit or build up or however that goes, it turns it into something very, very special. And I think it should be treated that way. So, let's get back to the farm itself. What have some of the effects been on your land, of the practices that you use on the environment, and also on the food you raise? How do you work to achieve zero waste production? And what do you mean by that? Well, the impact on the land has been incredible. When I started changing the way I farm, which means principally giving up tillage, pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and grazing my animals differently and having a broad spectrum of species of animals on the farm, it changed dramatically. My land went from a half a percent organic model - point five, one half of one percent - to five percent. A 10X increase, okay? It's incredible. And just to talk about the water holding capacity, I don't want to go too far down that hole, but 1% organic matter generally holds 27,000 gallons of water per acre. So, when you go from a half percent to 5%, a 10x increase, you can see what that does to the water holding capacity. The change is just as dramatic in terms of microbial life, and other aspects of soil productivity. So, it is incredible what it does. As far as the animals go, I had a monoculture of cattle, but I had a lot of them. And I always believed that our animal welfare was just great. I mean, I thought it was fine until I had my eyes opened and I realized that keeping them well fed, watered, in comfortable temperature range, is not good for the welfare. I thought it was, but it's not. It's also incumbent upon the herdsman to give the animals the opportunity to express instinctive behavior. Cattle were born to roam and graze, not stand in a pen and eat out of a trough. Chickens were born to scratch and pick. Hogs were born to root and wallow. And in the industrial model, those species don't get to do that. So, that's a beautiful thing to me. And then the environment, you know, I really believe that we're sequestering a lot of carbon. You mentioned zero waste. And when I say zero waste, I don't want people to think that there's never any plastic that's hauled off from here. Certainly, there is. But we slaughter our animals here on the farm, we've got a pretty big slaughter plant for red meat and poultry for private farm abattoir. And it generates about seven tons a day of packing plant waste. That's the term USDA uses. We compost that and make just wonderful compost that we reapply to the land. And it's just, it's just a beautiful thing. That is beautiful. So, let's talk about the zero-waste concept. When people hear that, I think some people think that it means you don't waste any parts of the animal when it's being turned into food for human consumption. But you're talking about more than that. And you mentioned the carbon sequestration in the soil. Can you explain what that means and how that fits into the zero-waste idea? I will but let me also address the fact that it does mean what you said. It does mean using all the animals. We render the fat into the lard and tallow, which we sell or make soap out of. The hides go to make raw hide pet chews, or I send it away to be turned into leather. We have a shop where we make leather goods. I can go on and on about the things we do to not waste. We grind the bones that are not marketable as soup bones. We grind them and apply them to the land as well as a source of calcium and phosphate. So, zero waste takes a lot of different ramifications to achieve that. And as for the carbon, you know, the carbon in our soil, the organic amount I mentioned earlier? Having increased this so dramatically is yet another way of not emitting. A company called Quantis, an environmental engineering company, did a lifecycle assessment on our farm several years ago. It's called LCA. And it's actually on my website, https://whiteoakpastures.com. And it shows that we sequester carbon. It's 3.5 pounds of carbon to sequestered soil for every pound that we put up. So, it's certainly doing positive things, we believe, for the environment. That's so important, because otherwise that carbon would be up there in the atmosphere, creating a lot of damage that people know about. So, the fact that you're drawing it down, and sequestering it in the soil is doing a really good turn for our environment overall. Tet me say also, I love your website, https://whiteoakpastures.com, because it tells the story of what you do, it provides some history and resources about the farm, but also you have a lot of really pretty amazing products that you sell. And so, it's nice to know that these things are available to people who might be interested in buying the products for your farm. It is so interesting and frustrating to me that a certain brand of environmentalist has identified cattle as being the primary culprit in climate change. And of course, it's simply not true. It is not fair to brand cattle with that claim, that, you know. If you want to blame the cattle feeding industry, confinement feeding industry with that, then I support it. But the way we raise cattle not only does it not contribute negatively, but it's also part of the cure. And that's, it's just so unfair. Let's think about the radical change you made in the family's farming practices. Tell me how risky this was? I mean, how risky was it to you in terms of your reputation, your place in the community with other people that may have been continuing to use all kinds of industrial farming and ranching methods, and financially, how risky was it? That's a great question. And when I give the answer, I certainly don't sound very smart. Because there was a lot of naivety in the decision I made. I really did not understand how much risk I was taking on. I should have, in retrospect. I was just a little reckless. But I always ran the farm, and I'd always made money. I was going to change the way I run the farm, and I assumed it would continue to make money, but it didn't. I was adding value to the product I was producing, grass fed beef, that I was not able to extract from the market at that time. Partially because I didn't have processing available, and partly because grass fed beef had not come into its being in the consumer community. So, we had some pretty tough times, but we made it through it. And my timing going in the grass-fed business in that mid-nineties to early two thousands was so, so lucky. And I really, really do mean lucky. Today, I don't think we would've made it. There's too much imported grass-fed beef. That is labeled as "Product of the USA." The market has tightened and tougher because of that. We made it then, but I don't think we would make it today. What does that say for farmers today who might be considering making the kind of changes that you made many years ago? Well, I don't like reporting this, but I've gone from really being a recruiter urging people to embrace this kind of agriculture to really warning people, "Be careful." I don't recommend people not do it, but I really do focus on them being careful. And we sat up a 501 C3 called Center for Agricultural Resilience to help people learn the things that we've learned, so that they won't make a mistake. I really want people to farm this way. And my goal is not to grow White Oak Pastures. White Oak Pastures is as big as I ever wanted it to be. I never really intended it to be as big as it is. Growth is not important to me and my family. We've talked about it, and we're in agreement on that. But I do want to see regenerative food production grow. The way we farm is very cyclical, as opposed to the industrial food market, which is very linear. The food product system is very linear. And linear systems scale up really well. Cyclical systems, I think they kind of have a maximum level at which they perform well. And I think we're at it. So, my goal is not to grow White Oak Pastures bigger and bigger. Again, as a family, we've talked about it and decided not to. We don't want a business so big that we've got to hire a CEO to run it for us. We sell $25 million worth of products a year. And that's enough. It's bigger than we intended it to be. Given that you said that it's not risk free to make this kind of change, and that people need to go into it with their eyes open, it seems to me, that there's a lot more attention now and awareness of regenerative agriculture. People in the general population know about it much more than they did even just a few years ago. And you have, you know, movies about it and television shows, and you have big institutions like the Rockefeller Foundation investing in it. I see that as a positive sign. I don't know if you do as well. But are there other things that can be done to create more inducements to farmers to make this change? Are there policies, for example, that might be put in place that would be helpful? Well, and that is opposed to the multinational food corporations. There re only a handful of them, that are feeding the entire planet. And they're very linear, and there are many, many, many unintended consequences to their production system. It's really adverse to the environment, the land, the water, the atmosphere, the animals, and rural America. I can go on that on. So, let's dive into that just a little bit. What can consumers do? Where do they look for their food? What do they look for? Where can they buy things? What can they do to help? The things you said are certainly great positive signs. They're very, very, very good. But unfortunately, big food has focused on this market. And engaged in very, very talented, skillful greenwashing that tricks the public. And that's the impediment and that's the problem. I just don't know how it's going to come out. I used to believe that I was an early innovator in this new way of producing food that was better for the land, and rural America and the environment, and the animals. I was happy about it, very satisfied in it. And I still hope that's the case. But new, young, or old, a person who is moving from industrial commodity agriculture into what we do today, has a harder go of it than I had 20 years ago, because of greenwashing. From the consumer perspective, it's a lot better today. There are a lot more people talking about it, and a lot more general information out there among the public. But the multinational corporations that are tricking people, they're just very successful. When I called my book "Return to Giving a Damn," that was what I was referring to. That the consumer has got to educate themselves and see where their food actually comes from. There are more opportunities to do that, I know. Where I live in North Carolina, there are a number of butcher shops around. And some of them in particular make it very clear that they're sourcing everything from local farms, and they talk about how the animals are raised, and they're tied into the kind of thing that you're talking about. So, it's nice that there are more such opportunities out there. And butcher shops seem to be one good place to go if you're a person who consumes meat. That's a good question. And I think that the more locally you can shop, the better. We sell food online, and we ship to 48 states. And I don't want to. Now I appreciate everybody that's been buying from us. I'm grateful for it. Thank you. But I really want to sell my products to people in my geography. And I want people in the Pacific Northwest and the New England, and the other areas of the country to have producers, that they support, that are local to them, local food systems. I'm happy to sell anybody anywhere, but I'd really rather to help somebody get started. I will just say that. It's nice that you offer your foods for sale online, because that does give people the opportunity to buy some of the things that you raise, and be connected with the story of the food that you've told us all about. That is very pleasing to hear. Say just a little bit more about greenwashing. How does it take place, and how can consumers know that it's occurring? The way for consumers to avoid greenwashing, is also to know as much as you can about who you're buying your food from. I hope the kind of education that you're doing, things like joining us, and writing your book will alert consumers to these kind of practices, and hopefully there will then be demand on legislators, change the way they write the laws to prevent this kind of stuff. But boy, it takes time, doesn't it? Greenwashing is messaging. Big multinational food companies and Ag companies hire brilliant marketers to convey the message they want to convey to consumers about how the food is produced. And I mean, it can be as simple as industrial milk having these beautiful barns and meadows, and cows on the carton too, some really technical things that are done. But it allows industrial food to be sold under the guise of being very green and humane. Big multinational food companies can import grass fed beef from 20 countries. Uruguay, New Zealand, Australia, being the three biggest or almost prominent. And sell it as American grass-fed beef. Literally and legally label it "American grass-fed beef." If the animal was born, raised, and slaughtered in one of those other countries, it can be brought into this country and legally labeled by USDA, "Product of the USA." And that is the epitome of greenwashing, and it's so very wrong. But it is allowed if any value was added here. And that changed from when I first started selling grass fed beef in the early 2000's. That's not the way that rule read, the rule changed, and this was not an accident. So, let me ask a final question then regarding that. Are you optimistic? If you look at the current generation of young people, do they care more about these things than what used to be the case? And do you think that leads to some optimism about what might occur in the future? Well, it does, and there's so much money behind it. I think if the food production system in this country changes, it won't be changed by Big Ag, it won't be changed by the Department of Agriculture, it won't be changed by land grant universities. It'll be changed by consumers, and what they demand. You know, it's so nice to hear that from you. And consistent with my own experience, you know, in the classroom, you know, I've been teaching people for many years. The most recent generations of young people seem very motivated around these issues, and informed and passionate. And I see that as a very positive sign for the future. So, I'm glad your opinion on this and mine converge. And there's reason I think to be hopeful for the future. So, Will listen. It was wonderful speaking to you, and the first time we did a podcast. And equally wonderful today. So I'm really grateful you could join us. And good luck with your work. And it's clearly inspired. There is no doubt there's more enthusiasm and optimism among young people. In fact, we have an intern program. We only take six per quarter four times a year. And we get 20 something applications for the six openings every quarter. And it's incredible. And we don't push it, we don't advertise it, because I just can't have any more than that. But the number of young, smart, enthusiastic people that come through here, most of them do not come from agricultural backgrounds, is very, very heartening. That part is just great. So, many of our young people that came through here, have gone on to do really, really good things in other places. I'm very proud of them. Bio Will Harris is a fourth-generation cattleman, who tends the same land that his great-grandfather settled in 1866. Born and raised at White Oak Pastures, Will left home to attend the University of Georgia's School of Agriculture, where he was trained in the industrial farming methods that had taken hold after World War II. Will graduated in 1976 and returned to Bluffton where he and his father continued to raise cattle using pesticides, herbicides, hormones, and antibiotics. They also fed their herd a high-carbohydrate diet of corn and soy. These tools did a fantastic job of taking the cost out of the system, but in the mid-1990s Will became disenchanted with the excesses of these industrialized methods. They had created a monoculture for their cattle, and, as Will says, "nature abhors a monoculture." In 1995, Will made the audacious decision to return to the farming methods his great-grandfather had used 130 years before. Since Will has successfully implemented these changes, he has been recognized all over the world as a leader in humane animal husbandry and environmental sustainability. Will is the immediate past President of the Board of Directors of Georgia Organics. He is the Beef Director of the American Grassfed Association and was selected 2011 Business Person of the year for Georgia by the Small Business Administration. Will lives in his family home on the property with his wife Yvonne. He is the proud father of three daughters, Jessi, Jenni, and Jodi. His favorite place in the world to be is out in pastures, where he likes to have a big coffee at sunrise and a 750ml glass of wine at sunset.

This episode takes us all the way down to Mansfield Georgia where we visit with Monica and Russell of Love is Love Cooperative Farm. Myself and a few other colleges visited in October 2022 as part of a farm tour focused on wash/pack design and produce safety. This project is titled SCRUB, Sanitizing and Cleaning Resources for Your Business. From this project we were able to learned what market farmers needed in order to improve their produce safety and we either collated or created resources to help improve the cleanliness, and reduce produce safety risks.This visit was an honor, to see a farm that is in the early stages of growth, and that we also helped to design this wash/pack space and recommend tools and products that'd improve efficiencies. This episode is a unique one, where two of the owner/members share what it's like to build a business with a cooperative farm model, raising funding, and investing in infrastructure. Russell also shares a bit about the Oggun cultivating tractor and why he decided to go with that machine as the primary cultivation tool. Support the showVisit the website to see photos/videos from the visit: https://thefarmersshare.comFollow the show on Facebook and Instagram: @thefarmersshareSubscribe to the YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thefarmersshare

Most of us are used to shopping in stores where one section is devoted to fresh produce, but the rest of the food for sale is either boxed, canned, or shrink-wrapped. Jamila Norman is an urban farmer and food advocate teaching the world about the benefits of growing our own food and eating fresh fruits and vegetables—whether grown on a community farm or in our own backyards. Norman is an internationally recognized urban farmer and food activist based in Atlanta, Ga. In 2010, she founded her own independent organic urban farm, Patchwork City Farms, which she operates full time. Her farm and work has been featured in publications such as SeedStock.com, Modern Farmer Magazine, The Library of Congress and Southern Foodways Alliance oral history project. She is currently the manager and one of the founding managers of the Southwest Atlanta Growers Cooperative, which is centered around black urban farmers in Atlanta's booming urban agriculture movement. She served as U.S. delegate to Slow Food's Terra Madre Salone del Gusto in Turin, Italy in 2014. Norman is also co-founder of EAT MOVE BeWELL, an initiative that is focused on including more fresh and living foods into our diet, promoting movement for health and wellness, and advocates for communities of color. She hosts “Homegrown,” a show on the Magnolia Network, which is currently on its third season, helping families transform their outdoor spaces into backyard farms. Most recently, Norman has joined the board of Georgia Organics, a non-profit organization which bridges together organic food from Georgia farms to Georgia families.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chef Chris Morrison is singlehandedly reinvigorating the catering industry in the country's hottest food hub, Atlanta, Georgia - one locally-sourced creation at a time. He is fearless in his menu conceptualization and isn't afraid to push the envelope to create an experiential culinary journey for his guests. His daring menus and bespoke planning process make him an outlier in a sea of "more-of-the same" in the food industry, and this is just beginning! He brings his Le Cordon Bleu education and over 20+ years of culinary and special event experience to each occasion, melding New American, Southern and French cuisines. He was recently named "Next Chef To Watch" by the Atlanta Journal Constitution and is a Great Awards nominee. He is a proud member of Georgia Organics, and is a fierce advocate for giving back to his community through volunteer farming, local product sourcing, and mentoring students of the culinary arts.   Chef Morrison is the Owner/Executive Chef of his Atlanta-based catering company, Little Farmhouse Catering, as well as the popular brunch spot, The Little Farmhouse Café - a hub for creative events and pop-ups where Atlanta's influencers and most fabulous individuals come together. https://www.facebook.com/thelittlefarmhousecafe/   https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-morrison-23730a64/   https://www.instagram.com/littlefarmhousecafe/   https://littlefarmhousecatering.com/# --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thewrongadvicepod/support

Today on the Naturally Inspired Podcast Will Harris is joining us. Will Harris is a fourth-generation cattleman, who tends the same land that his great-grandfather settled in 1866. Born and raised at White Oak Pastures, Will left home to attend the University of Georgia's School of Agriculture, where he was trained in the industrial farming methods that had taken hold after World War II. Will graduated in 1976 and returned to Bluffton where he and his father continued to raise cattle using pesticides, herbicides, hormones, and antibiotics. They also fed their herd a high-carbohydrate diet of corn and soy. These tools did a fantastic job of taking the cost out of the system, but in the mid-1990s Will became disenchanted with the excesses of these industrialized methods. They had created a monoculture for their cattle, and, as Will says, "nature abhors a monoculture." In 1995, Will made the audacious decision to return to the farming methods his great-grandfather had used 130 years before. Since Will has successfully implemented these changes, he has been recognized all over the world as a leader in humane animal husbandry and environmental sustainability. Will is the immediate past President of the Board of Directors of Georgia Organics. He is the Beef Director of the American Grassfed Association and was selected 2011 Business Person of the year for Georgia by the Small Business Administration. Will lives in his family home on the property with his wife Yvonne. He is the proud father of three daughters, Jessi, Jenni, and Jodi. His favorite place in the world to be is out in pastures, where he likes to have a big coffee at sunrise and a 750ml glass of wine at sunset. Please welcome Will Harris to the Naturally Inspired Podcast.

Georgia Organics has been rooted in providing direct support to small and organic farmers across Georgia since the 1970s, before formally incorporating as a 501(c)(3) in 1997. Michael Wall, Director of Farmer Advocacy, highlights some of the organization's programs and farmer advocacy initiatives. Tune in to hear about: - Georgia Organics' new mission and vision - Preliminary results of Georgia Organic's recent farmer survey - How Georgia Organics advocates for farmers - Upcoming events and special projects  Learn more about Georgia Organics on their website: https://www.georgiaorganics.org Support the show

Here Comes the Sustainable AG Rider How ya doing? My name's Brennan Washington and I'm the Sustainable AG Rider and welcome to the Sustainable AG Rider podcast. This is our first episode and it's just a short episode to tell you who I am, why I started this podcast and what you can get out of it. I've been involved in sustainable small scale agriculture for close to 20 years. My wife Gwendolyn and I own Phoenix Gardens, a small, diversified farm above Atlanta. We've been farming here for the past 15 years and we grow fruits, veggies, herbs, as well as keeping a large flock of laying hens. I'm also a strong advocate for sustainable agriculture across the southeastern United States with a focus on working with 1890 land grant universities, nonprofit organizations and farmers of color. I have served as a board member for Georgia Organics, the Southern Agricultural Research and Education Program, otherwise known as Southern SARE, the Southeastern Sustainable Agricultural Working Group, otherwise known as Southern SSAWG, and the Georgia Farmer's Market Association. I started this podcast to cover important issues in sustainable agriculture and to spotlight people working with sustainably minded farmers across the Southeast. When you listen to this podcast, you will receive a wealth of information that could help you with your farm, your research or your efforts to build local food systems and assist farmers and ranchers. You will hear from farmers and ranchers, Land Grant University researchers and extension personnel and organizations working with farmers who are building local food systems. This is our podcast. And my goal is to make it the best covering sustainable agriculture and small-scale farming and ranching in the Southeast. You can help by sending me show ideas, being a guest and sending me news and views from your area. Please share this podcast with your friends, neighbors and colleagues. Become a subscriber and rate us on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher and Google Play. Keep Listening. You won't be disappointed.

We want to welcome Will Harris to the Co-Movement Gym Podcast. Will is a fourth-generation cattleman, who tends the same land that his great-grandfather settled in 1866. Born and raised at White Oak Pastures, in Bluffton GA, Will left home to attend the University of Georgia's School of Agriculture, where he was trained in the industrial farming methods that had taken hold after World War II. Will graduated in 1976 and returned to Bluffton where he and his father continued to raise cattle using pesticides, herbicides, hormones, and antibiotics. They also fed their herd a high-carbohydrate diet of corn and soy.These tools did a fantastic job of taking the cost out of the system, but in the mid-1990s Will became disenchanted with the excesses of these industrialized methods. They had created a monoculture for their cattle, and, as Will says, "nature abhors a monoculture." In 1995, Will made the audacious decision to return to the farming methods his great-grandfather had used 130 years before.Since Will has successfully implemented these changes, he has been recognized all over the world as a leader in humane animal husbandry and environmental sustainability. Will is the immediate past President of the Board of Directors of Georgia Organics, He is the Beef Director of the American Grassfed Association and was selected 2011 Business Person of the year for Georgia by the Small Business Administration. White Oak Pastures has been highlighted on NBC news, Forbes, CNN, The New York Times, Good Morning America and has been mentioned many times on the Joe Rogan Podcast. Their products are sold online through their website and at Whole Foods. I personally visited White Oak Pastures in February and toured the 3000 acre farm, I had two amazing home cooked meals at their general store, and engaged in a warm conversation with Will's daughter Jenni. This farm has a remarkable story, one I am very excited to dive into on todays podcast with Owner Will Harris.  Will Harris Links: https://whiteoakpastures.com/https://www.instagram.com/whiteoakpastures/?hl=enSponsors:NativePath:Follow the link below to see all of NativePath's Pure Grass-Fed, Organic, Clean Supplements and use the CoMo15 code at checkout for 15% off!https://www.nativepath.com/Lombardi Chiropractic:https://www.lombardichiropractic.com/Mention the Co-Movement Gym Podcast when scheduling your initial appointment for 50% off Initial Consultation and X-Rays! Suttmeier Law Firm:http://suttmeierlaw.com/Mention the Co-Movement Gym Podcast for a FREE Initial Consultation!Redmond: redmond.lifeOur team at Co-Movement Gym has used Redmond's Real Sea Salt, Seasonings, Re-Lyte Electrolyte drink and other products for years! This is a U.S. company whose products are simple, clean and taste great. Support them by using the link above or entering the code CoMo15 at checkout and you will receive 10% OFF your order!Reach out to us at info@co-movement.com or visit our website co-movement.com and learn more on how we can assist you in achieving your maximum health and fitness potential!Check out our main website www.co-movement.comCheck out our Video Podcast Clip on our YouTube Channel Co-Movement

Today's conversation is with Kristin Russell who is well-established in the local food community of Savannah. I always enjoy speaking with Kristin because she has high ideals but takes a very practical approach to reaching them. We had a conversation a couple months ago that was intended to be a podcast, but I sort of forgot to hit record (which I only realized as our conversation was ended), so that will forever in my mind be known as the Podcast that Never Was. Since I didn't get a podcast out of it, but I really wanted to share some of Kristin's insights and practical approaches to activism, I wrote an article instead. You can read it here! In that conversation, Kristin and I talked a lot about her early life and how growing up on a family farm in Kansas has had a lasting impact on her life. Though her parents (half jokingly) forbade her and her sister from becoming farmers or marrying a farmer… the family farm as an institution has always remained close to Kristin's heart and has left an indelible impression on the ethos that governs both of her food-related businesses. You can see her passion for reducing waste and supporting local farms and farmers on display through menu and business practices of the cafe she co-founded The Sentient Bean and in the subtle shifts and changes she has brought as the relatively new owner of the long-established health food market next door - Brighter Day. Kristin has also left her mark on the local food community in many other ways including as a founding member of the Forsyth Farmers Market and a board member of Georgia Organics. Kristin has a great perspective on local food and I always walk away from our conversations feeling inspired to keep making slow and steady progress toward a much better food system tomorrow than we have today! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/southernsoil/message

“Our food, our future.”  October is National Farm to School and Early Care and Education Month with thousands of schools, early care and education sites, farms, communities, and organizations across the country celebrating food education, school gardens and lunch trays filled with healthy, local ingredients. Joining us to talk about National Farm to School and Early Care and Education Month is Diana Myers, Nutrition Health Educator here at DECAL, and Kimberly Della Donna, Farm to School Director with Georgia Organics.  Plus, a DECAL Download EXTRA, featuring Woody Dover, DECAL Enterprise Project Management Director, explaining the new STABLE 4WARD funding for licensed Georgia child care programs from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) passed by Congress.Support the show (http://www.decal.ga.gov)

Will Harris is the owner of White Oak Pastures, a nearly 5,000 acre farm in southern Georgia that raises 10 species of livestock and produces organic vegetables and honey. He is a fourth-generation cattleman, who tends the same land that his great-grandfather settled in 1866.After graduating from the University of Georgia's School of Agriculture in 1976, Will returned home to Bluffton where he and his father continued to raise cattle with pesticides, herbicides, hormones, antibiotics, and a high-carbohydrate diet of corn and soy. Over the years Will grew disenchanted with industrialized agriculture, beginning with concerns over animal welfare. In 1995, he made the decision to return to the farming methods his great-grandfather had used 130 years before.Since Will has abandoned intensive agriculture in favor of a wholistic system, he has been recognized all over the world as a leader in humane animal husbandry and environmental sustainability. He served as President of the Board of Directors of Georgia Organics, is the Beef Director of the American Grassfed Association, and was selected 2011 Business Person of the year for Georgia by the Small Business Administration.Head over to White Oak Pastures to learn more and to order their various animal products.

Next time you're at a food event, watching a commercial where someone's eating pizza, flipping through a magazine with beautiful food pictures, or enjoying a movie scene where the lead introduces her new boyfriend at the holiday table, I hope you'll think of Gena Berry of Culinary Works based in Atlanta, GA. She is, as she simply puts it, one of the people who put the food in all of these scenes. From food styling to recipe development, to ad campaigns and special food events, Gena is behind the scenes coordinating, organizing, planning and testing, not to mention often cooking up a storm. Her client list runs the gamut from Capital One to Delta Airlines, the Kentucky Derby to Georgia Organics, and her job is to have the food ready for showtime, whether that's in front of a camera or for a crowd of thousands. 

On today's episode, we're continuing the Georgia Organics Annual Awards celebration on May 27with a conversation between Lauren Cox, who heads up our Farm to Restaurant program, and three winning Farmer Champions: Steven Satterfield of Miller Untion, Chris Wilkins of Root Baking Co., and Stevenson Rosslow of Wrecking Bar Brewpub. We hope you join our party to celebrate these chefs on Thursday, May 27, details at georgiaorganics.org/awards. In our second segment, we have a very exciting guest, Stephen Satterfield, chef, writer, and soon-to-be-Netflix host of “High on the Hog” in conversation with Atlanta Foodcast guest host Quianah Upton of Nourish in Black and Nourish Botanica. So buckle up, because today's show is packed with excellent guests and interviewers – Enjoy the show! We'll recognize winners of the Land Steward Award, the Barbara Petit Pollinator Award, and also our new Farmer Champion Award winners! We hope you join us for this celebration of chefs and farmers – To join us and learn more, visit georgiaorganics.org/awards. This year's debut class of Farmer Champion restaurants source from Georgia farmers every week and are being celebrated for having the Top Local and Organic spend out of 20 other participating restaurant partners. They have worked with the Farm to Restaurant program, even through the pandemic, on projects supporting farmers like Food Fight GA and the Mid-Week Pop-Up Market. Our Organic Procurement Coordinator, Lauren Cox, talks with them about how they came to source locally, their legacies in the kitchen, and how to low-key convert folks into becoming local food enthusiasts. First up: Farmer Champions Stevenson Rosslow of Wrecking Bar Brewpub and Chris Wilkins of Root Baking Co. Now we'll continue talking to another Farmer Champion Top 3 winner in part two of this segment of the Atlanta Foodcast: Lauren Cox in conversation with Farmer Champion Steven Satterfield of Miller Union. Remember to register to attend Georgia Organics' Annual Awards celebration and hear more from these Farmer Champion winners, register at georgiaorganics.org/awards. You can find all our Farmer Champion partner restaurants throughout Georgia on our Good Food Guide by going to gfg.georgiaorganics.org. Next, guest host Quianah Upton interviews chef and food writer Stephen Satterfield, the founder of Whetstone and creator and host of the forthcoming Netflix documentary series “High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America.” This four-part series arrives on Netflix on May 26, inspired by the writing of Dr. Jessica B. Harris, and chronicles Satterfield's exploration of the historical and cultural roots of staple foods. Today, he and Quianah discuss entrepreneurship, career paths and travel, as well as representation in the wine and food industry and recognizing the fundamental impact of African Americans on the food and identity of America. That's our show for today, don't forget to join the party as we celebrate farmers and chefs on Thursday, May 27 – secure your spot at georgiaorganics.org/awards. As always, thanks for joining us and don't forget to support your local farmers and farmers markets! You can visit Georgia Organics' Good Food Guide to connect with farmers near you.

Welcome to the Atlanta Foodcast: Awards Edition! I'm ME Comms Dir at Georgia Organics. We're bringing you this special episode to celebrate the Georgia Organics Annual Awards, an ongoing virtual celebration of some truly remarkable farmers, leading up to an online get-together with these farmers on Thursday, May 27. To register and learn more about this event and read more about these Annual Awards, visit georgiaorganics.org/awards. We also have two exciting cookbook events with Chef Asha Gomez and CheFarmer Matthew Raiford, in partnership with A Cappella Books, check out the Events on our Facebook page to learn more. We're thrilled to announce this year's winners: First, the Barbara Petit Pollinator Award, named in honor of Barbara Petit, a remarkable community food advocate who served as Georgia Organics' past president. This award acknowledges individuals with exceptional success in advancing Georgia Organics' mission of “Good Food for All” by spreading—pollinating—the movement throughout community life. The winners of this year's Barbara Petit Pollinator Award are Brennan and Gwendolyn Washington of Phoenix Gardens, our first guest on today's show! The Washingtons are successfully farmers and icons of leadership in Georgia and the Southeast; they offer an urban agriculture education-focused property, that has indeed risen from the ashes and thrives in Lawrenceville. They have impacted countless farmers across the Southeast, and we're excited to recognize their incredible work through this award. In 1997, the Land Steward Award was created by Georgia Organics to honor an individual or individuals who have contributed significantly to the organic agriculture movement in the state of Georgia. The Land Steward Award recognizes the farmer with significant commitments to the tenets of organic agriculture, including soil fertility, biodiversity, and more. The winners of this year's Land Steward Award are Chris and Jenny Jackson of Jenny Jack Farm. Chris and Jenny embody the meaning of this award through their dedication to sustainable scaling, a cared-for team, community connection, and, of course, fostering a better environment through soil health and organic growing practices. In this segment, Brennan and Gwendolyn talk with friend and fellow agriculture consultant-leader James Ford of Square O Consulting (squareoconsulting.com/). They discuss the history and mission of Phoenix Gardens and why mentorship and resource-sharing is so critical to the success of future generations of farmers in Georgia and beyond. They have had a profound impact on sustainable agriculture in our state and countless individuals have benefitted from their passion and wealth of knowledge. Next, we feature Land Steward Award winners Chris and Jenny Jackson of Jenny Jack Farm. Katherine Kennedy, Executive Director of Concrete Jungle and former apprentice at Jenny Jack, interviews the Jacksons about their 15-year farming career, lessons learned, and why they continue farming. You'll even hear cameos from their very special guests Amos and Tulsi as they explain how to grow a farm while raising children and finding balance in their life. Thank you for joining this special Annual Awards edition of Georgia Organics' Atlanta Foodcast. Once again, we hope you join us online for a get-together and celebration of these winners on Thursday, May 27 via Zoom. This event is FREE for Georgia Organics members. Learn more and register at GeorgiaOrganics.org/awards.

Thanks for joining us today, we always enjoy visiting with all our guests on the podcast and Monte was particularly excited to speak with our guest today, Will Harris of White Oak Pastures. Will has been recognized all over the world as a leader in humane animal husbandry and environmental sustainability. As a fourth-generation cattleman, he and his family were raising livestock in the typical conventional methods, but in the mid-1990’s Will became disenchanted with the excesses of these industrialized methods. They’d created a monoculture for their cattle, and, as Will says, "nature abhors a monoculture." In 1995, Will made the audacious decision to return to the farming methods his great-grandfather had used 130 years before. Today, we get to journey with Will to understand the mindset, work, and fortitude it takes to risk it all and successfully implement these farming practices. It’s a great conversation, enjoy! WILL HARRIS BIO: Will Harris is a fourth-generation cattleman, who tends the same land that his great-grandfather settled in 1866. Born and raised at White Oak Pastures, Will left home to attend the University of Georgia's School of Agriculture, where he was trained in the industrial farming methods that had taken hold after World War II. Will graduated in 1976 and returned to Bluffton where he and his father continued to raise cattle using pesticides, herbicides, hormones, and antibiotics. They also fed their herd a high-carbohydrate diet of corn and soy. These tools did a fantastic job of taking the cost out of the system, but in the mid-1990s Will became disenchanted with the excesses of these industrialized methods. They had created a monoculture for their cattle, and, as Will says, "nature abhors a monoculture." In 1995, Will made the audacious decision to return to the farming methods his great-grandfather had used 130 years before. Since Will has successfully implemented these changes, he has been recognized all over the world as a leader in humane animal husbandry and environmental sustainability. Will is the immediate past President of the Board of Directors of Georgia Organics. He is the Beef Director of the American Grassfed Association and was selected 2011 Business Person of the year for Georgia by the Small Business Administration. Will lives in his family home on the property with his wife Yvonne. He is the proud father of three daughters, Jessi, Jenni, and Jodi. His favorite place in the world to be is out in pastures, where he likes to have a big coffee at sunrise and a 750ml glass of wine at sunset. REFERENCED LINKS: One Hundred Thousand Beating Hearts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoQWLK8-CYE Carbon Footprint Evaluation of Regenerative Grazing at White Oak Pastures: https://blog.whiteoakpastures.com/hubfs/WOP-LCA-Quantis-2019.pdf Grassfed Exchange 2016 - Peter Byck & Will Harris “A Georgia Story” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3Q-GuTn3WU Got questions you want answered? Send them our way and we’ll do our best to research and find answers. Know someone you think would be great on the AgEmerge podcast? Send your questions or suggestions to kim@asn.farm We’d love to hear from you!

For this week's episode, we're excited to bring you a rich conversation and Q&A between two paramount leaders in food sovereignty and farming: Leah Penniman and Matthew Raiford. This segment is a replay from our recent Eighth Annual Farm to School Summit. Before we get started, a few Georgia Organics' announcements! Mark your calendars! We're celebrating farmers, virtually, on Thursday, May 27 for Georgia Organics' Annual Awards! You can learn more at georgiaorganics.org/awards, this is a FREE member event celebrating all-star farmers in Georgia. And get ready to party for serviceberry season with Serviceberry Fest ATL on June 3! You'll catch amazing chefs and beverage folks creating serviceberry-based bites and drinks...You'll even catch ATL Foodcast guest host Quianah Upton with a Nourish Botanica pop-up! Get your tickets and details on Facebook, searching Serviceberry Fest ATL! To kick off this week's episode, we have a quick intro by Georgia Organics' Farm to School Director Kimberly Della Donna. She provides much-deserved credit to the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning and the valuable sponsors who brought this 8th annual Summit to life, this time virtually! “The Summit is a celebration of spirit and ‘pandemic positives,'” says Della Donna. Leah Penniman is the Co-Director and Farm Manager of Soul Fire Farm in Petersburg, NY and author of Farming While Black. Matthew Raiford, the CheFarmer, is the owner and farmer of Gilliard Farms in Brunswick and the author of Bress 'n' Nyam. Their conversation centers around fostering a love of the earth and growing food in the young generation, the definition of food sovereignty, and beyond. They share a passion for preserving ancestral agricultural practices that honor the earth, regenerating the soil, and advocating for food sovereignty in their communities and beyond. Enjoy this thought-provoking and motivating conversation and Q&A. To learn more about Georgia Organics' Farm to School work visit farmtoschool.georgiaorganics.org/. To learn more about about Soul Fire Farm, visit soulfirefarm.org/. To learn more about Gilliard Farms, visit gilliard-farms.com/.

Emily Hennessee is my guest on Episode 93 of Inside Ideas with Marc Buckley. Based in Washington, D.C., Emily is a policy associate at The Good Food Institute and leverages policy to create a sustainable, secure, and just food system via alternative proteins in the United States and beyond. Prior to joining GFI, she worked on sustainable food efforts at Georgia Organics as the Farm to School Director and Director of Programs. Previously, Emily was the Sustainability Programs Coordinator at Emory University's Office of Sustainability Initiatives. She holds a bachelor's degree in cultural anthropology from Emory University and an M.P.H. with a concentration in Food Systems from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Emily is a member of her neighborhood community garden, on the Steering Committee for the American Public Health Association's Center for Climate, Health, and Equity, and a Farm Foundation Young Agri-Food Leader. https://gfi.org/

Welcome to another episode of the Atlanta Foodcast by Georgia Organics! This week, we're exploring farming, cooking, and climatology with some great guests. To kick things off: a farmer and chef conversation with Chris Edwards, farm manager of Sparta Gardens in Sparta, Georgia, and Jarrett Stieber, chef and owner of Little Bear in Atlanta's Summerhill. We then caught up with agricultural climatologist Pam Knox, director of the UGA Weather Network and a UGA Extension Specialist. First, we have the incredible farmer-chef duo Chris Edwards and Jarrett Stieber. Chris Edwards is the farm manager at Sparta Gardens, founded lby Robert & Suzy Currey. Chris has spent over 10 years as an organic farmer in Georgia and in Ghana. Chris' expertise and passion for farming matches perfectly with the talent and sourcing commitments of Chef Jarrett Stieber of the now one-year old Little Bear. Enjoy their conversation! Next, we're speaking with Pam Knox about Georgia's climate, why organic farming matters, why the new administration is signaling meaningful change. As the director of the UGA Weather Network (weather.uga.edu), Pam and her team communicate the intricate daily weather details that farmers rely on across 86 stations in Georgia. We spoke about her title “Agricultural Climatologist” and why climate must be central to agricultural discussions moving forward. To learn more about Sparta Gardens, visit spartagardens.com and follow them at facebook.com/spartagardensga and @spartagardens. To learn more about Little Bear, visit littlebearatl.com/ and follow them at @littlebearatl. To learn more about Pam Knox's work, visit site.extension.uga.edu/climate.

Educators, school nutrition staff, early care providers, and agriculture professionals will come together April 27 through May 1 for the eighth Georgia Farm to School and Early Care and Education Summit.  Joining us to talk about the event is Kimberly Della Donna, Farm to School Director at Georgia Organics, and Diana Myers, Nutrition Health Educator here at DECAL.  Support the show (http://www.decal.ga.gov)

Welcome to another Atlanta Foodcast by Georgia Organics! Today, we're talking food policy and solutions with folks working at the national, regional, and local level. First, John Piotti, the president & CEO of American Farmland Trust, an organization dedicated to influencing policy to protect and conserve farmland. American Farmland Trust is a Georgia Organics supporter and business member.After that, Katherine Kennedy and Nichole Fields-Kyle of Concrete Jungle, which distributes neglected fruits & vegetable to those in need and grocery deliveries to the medically vulnerable during the pandemic. We're thrilled to share their work; we also discuss two opportunities to connect with these organizations:On Wednesday, April 14 at 8 p.m. EST, John Piotti of American Farmland Trust hosts Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack for a conversation on the American Rescue Plan. To register (FREE), visit farmland.org/events/.Concrete Jungle has several volunteer opportunities in the coming weeks and months, learn more at congrete-jungle.org.Enjoy this week's episode! We'll be back in another two weeks.

Asata Reid MPH, MS Ed​., is a professional chef and community health educator, and the founder of Life Chef LLC - a culinary education service focused on healthy cooking and nutrition for all of life's stages. As a partner of Small Bites Adventure Club, Chef Asata helps to develop recipes and activities for Farm to Home Explorer Kits and the Taste Test Boxes that are sent to classrooms and organizations. These turnkey activities help children discover, love and eat fruits and vegetables. Asata has worked with Kaiser Permanente for over 13 years as a Health Educator, and facilitates classes in smoking cessation, sleep improvement, diabetes prevention and other wellness topics that impact the community.With partners such as Georgia Organics, the Atlanta Community Food Bank, the Georgia Department of Public Health, and Quality Care for Children, she provides nutrition and culinary training for youth, adults and seniors, as well as professional development for school nutrition staff, and technical assistance for Farm to School/ECE programs. Chef Asata teaches cooking and nutrition in the afterschool program at  Drew Charter School where she also recently (2018/19)  launched a life skills Cooking Club for upperclassmen as a continuation of the work from Michelle Obama's health initiative Chefs Move to Schools. She co-founded the Cooking School at Irwin Street, served as the Health Education Director for Sevananda Natural Foods Market and Truly Living Well Center for Natural Urban Agriculture, and is the former Nutrition Health Educator at the HEALing Community Center in Atlanta's historic West End.Asata completed her Master of Public Health at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health where she completed a thesis on the complexities of picky eating. Asata also holds a Master of Science in Education from the University of Kansas where she developed a plan for integrating health and nutrition into PreK to 5th grade STEM curriculum. She is an honors graduate of Florida A&M University where she earned her BS in Journalism, and graduated with honors from the International Culinary School at the Arts Institute of Atlanta. As a wife and mother, Asata enjoys slow family meals and her superpower is getting people to love eating their vegetables.  In 2021, she self-published her first book “How to Feed a Kid: A Parent's Guide”.To learn more please visit:New self-published book, How to Feed a Kid: A Parent's Guide available on Amazon for print or download.Ongoing virtual kids' cooking classes with the Hand Heart and Soul Project.Farm to Home Explorer Kits and Farm to School Taste Test Boxes with Small Bites Adventure Club: https://smallbites.club/Good Food Good Mood series with Atlanta Eats and Kaiser Permanente (for Peachtree TV) GOOD FOOD GOOD MOOD RECIPE SERIES: Pistachio Crusted Salmon and Kale SaladPower Up BreakfastSouthwestern Black Bean BurgerAntioxidant Bomb ParfaitButternut Squash & Black Bean Chili Social Media:Instagram: @chefasata.lifechefFB: https://www.facebook.com/lifechef/Twitter: @Chefasata This podcast is brought to you by Emory Lifestyle Medicine & Wellness. To learn more about our work, please visithttps://bit.ly/EmoryLM

On this week's episode of the Atlanta Foodcast, we're excited to welcome friends from Savannah and Athens: Chef Mashama Bailey and Johno Morisano of The Grey and then Lauren Cox, who manages our Farm to Restaurant program, talks to Shyretha Sheats of The Plate Sale! First up, Chef Mashama Bailey and John O. “Johno” Morisano are co-owners of the much-lauded restaurant, The Grey, in Savannah. They are also co-authors of the recently released book “Black, White, and The Grey: The Story of an Unexpected Friendship and a Beloved Restaurant.” We had an great conversation about their book, which is a candid, heartfelt look at race, the restaurant industry, and the Savannah region; we also spoke more in depth about their relationships with purveyors and farmers in Savannah and the region, their response efforts in the wake of the pandemic, and the realities of running a highly successful restaurant. You can learn more about The Grey at thegreyrestaurant.com and follow them on social media at the handle @TheGreySavannah. Next up, Lauren Cox, who manages Georgia Organics' Farm to Restaurant program spoke to Shyretha Sheats of The Plate Sale, an Athens- and Atlanta-based group, co-founded Shyretha and her husband, Michael. Their current projects include a dinner series, a farm restoration, and restaurant start-up. They discuss these exciting projects, particularly their work restoring and establishing a farm near Athens, and navigating the pandemic as entrepreneurs. To learn more about The Plate Sale, visit theplatesale.com, and follow them on Instagram @theplatesale. Thanks for joining us for another week of the Atlanta Foodcast! Be sure to subscribe and review us wherever you listen, and to connect with Georgia Organics and become a member, visit georgiaorganics.org and follow us on social media @georgiaorganics. We'll be back in another two weeks!

On this week's episode of the Atlanta Foodcast, special guest host Joe Reynolds, farmer at Love is Love Farm at Gaia Gardens, is talking to the legendary Haylene Green, the Garden Queen. Then we spoke to Erin Croom and Chef Asata of Small Bites Adventure Club.First, Joe Reynolds of Love is Love Farm at Gaia Gardens (loveislovefarm.com) and former Georgia Organics board president joins us as a guest host to talk to a dear farming friend and gardening expert Haylene Green, known around the state as the Garden Queen (thegardenqueen.com), and for good reason – She is a pioneer of urban agriculture and shares her knowledge and entrepreneurship in this great farmer-to-farmer conversation.On Sunday, March 14 at noon, Joe (along with special guests) will be hosting Spring Forward: Planning and Prepping Your Summer Garden. You can learn more about this event and register at our Good Food for Thought website: gfft.georgiaorganics.org/virtual-events. This event is free for Georgia Organics members!In our second segment, we're talking with Erin Croom, co-founder of Small Bites Adventure Club (smallbites.club) and Chef Asata, Small Bites' Chef Educator and author of the recent released book, How to Feed a Kid. We spoke about their work educating children (and their teachers and parents) about good food and Georgia farmers!Thanks for joining us this week, enjoy the show!

Welcome to the Atlanta Foodcast by Georgia Organics, I'm Mary Elizabeth, GO Communications Director. On this week's episode, host Candace Dantes is speaking to Sed Rowe of Rowe Organics. Then I spoke to Jon and Rhandi Altidor of The Better Buggy. Candace Dantes joins the Atlanta Foodcast with her first hosted segment today talking with Sed Rowe of Rowe Organics in Southwest Georgia. Candace and Sed connected through their respective work with the Black Farmers' Network (blackfarmersnetwork.com/. They connected over his role pioneering and coaching around hemp in Georgia, marketing and expanding awareness of his business, and what it means to him to be a young, Black farmer in the organic agriculture community of Georgia. Sed is one of the founding farmers of the Georgia Organic Peanut Association (organicpeanuts.farm/). You can connect with Rower Organics at roweorganic.com/ and on Instagram @roweorganic. Next up, we talk to Jon and Rhandi Altidor, founders & co-owners of The Better Buggy. The Better Buggy was established in May 2020 as a grocery shopping and delivery service for Black-owned farms and grocery stores throughout the Greater Atlanta area…and beyond. We spoke about starting a business during the pandemic, navigating the logistics and relationships of a food business, as well as why it's so important to them to be a sales platform for Black farmers in Georgia. You can connect with The Better Buggy at thebetterbuggy.com and on social media at facebook.com/TheBetterBuggy and @TheBetterBuggy on Instagram.

Will Harris is a fourth-generation cattleman who tends the same land that his great-grandfather settled in 1866. In 1995, Will made the audacious decision to return to the farming methods his great-grandfather had used 130 years before. Since Will has successfully implemented these changes, he has been recognized all over the world as a leader in humane animal husbandry and environmental sustainability. Will is the immediate past President of the Board of Directors of Georgia Organics. He is the Beef Director of the American Grass-fed Association and was selected 2011 Business Person of the year for Georgia by the Small Business Administration. This episode is hosted by Dr. Shawn Baker MD. Find him at https://shawn-baker.com

On today's episode of the Atlanta Foodcast, we're featuring two leading voices in the Georgia food, wellness, and farming space–Candace Dantes and Quianah Upton, both of whom will be joining the host team of the Atlanta Foodcast for upcoming segments! First up, Candace Dantes, an award-winning rural journalist and branding consultant. Candace is the Media Manager for the Black Farmers' Network (blackfarmersnetwork.com/) and the Founder and Editor of Southern Styles & Steeds (southernstylesandsteeds.com/). We spoke about her work and recent projects including a student-driven docuseries on a group of young Black farmers in Southwest Georgia. We also talked about her career as a branding & marketing consultant to farmers—she'll expand on this in her forthcoming segments—and about some of the guests she plans to bring to the Atlanta Foodcast. Next, we spoke to Quianah Upton about her work through her platform Nourish in Black (instagram.com/nourishinblack/) and the forthcoming physical space Nourish Botanica (nourishbotanica.cafe/shop), a greenhouse and plant-based eatery. Quianah's work exists at the intersection of movements for racial justice, healing and wellness, activism, food justice, and care for the environment. We spoke about how her career, creativity, and spiritual journey have guided her as an entrepreneur in community food; she also shares some of the valuable lessons she's learned along the way and what this month, Black History Month, means to her. Thank you for joining us for another episode! Don't forget to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and stay tuned, we'll be back in two weeks! To learn more about Georgia Organics, visit georgiaorganics.org, and follow us on social media at facebook.com/GeorgiaOrganics/ and @GeorgiaOrganics. To learn more about Candace Dantes, visit southernstylesandsteeds.com/ and follow on social media at facebook.com/SouthernStylesSteeds/ and @southernstylesandsteeds. To learn more about the Black Farmers' Network and read Candace's work, visit: blackfarmersnetwork.com/ and follow on social media at facebook.com/blackfarmersnetwork/ and @blackfarmersnetwork. To learn more about Quianah Upton and Nourish in Black, visit instagram.com/nourishinblack/ and Like on Facebook. You can learn more about Nourish Botanica at nourishbotanica.cafe/shop and follow on social media at instagram.com/nourishbotanica/.

Daniel Parson is in his twenty-third season of organic growing. He started in 1998 at wildflower organics in Dawsonville, GA, where he worked four years. Next, he managed the Clemson University student organic farm for two years, and operated Gaia Gardens in Decatur, GA for five. In 2009, he started a new venture, Parson Produce, supplying a CSA, local restaurants, and farmers markets in Clinton, SC. In 2014, Daniel moved to Oxford, GA to start a campus farm for Oxford College of Emory University, producing food for the dining hall, CSA, and Emory Farmers Market while serving as a resource for student education and research.Daniel has two degrees from Clemson, a BS in Biological Sciences and an MS in Plant and Environmental Science, focusing on cover crops and organic systems. In addition to growing produce, Daniel has presented workshops on various organic topics to many state and regional groups, including the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, Southern SAWG and Georgia Organics. Daniel received the 2009 Georgia Organics Land Steward of the Year Award and in 2008 was listed on Mother Nature Network's 40 farmers under 40. Also, he served on the Georgia Organics board from 2006-2008 and the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association board from 2012-2014.In this episode Daniel makes an introduction to home gardening that can help people think about planting this season. Daniel talks about site selection (sun, proximity, and water); soil management and testing; mapping/calendar/rotations; crop selection and timing-garden calendar from UGA; weed management: cultivation and mulching; harvest timing -getting the most out of your planting.UGA extension is our best resource in Georgia and every state has a similar service if there are listeners from other parts of the country. https://secure.caes.uga.edu/extension/publications/files/html/B577/B577PlantingChart.pdf To learn more. please visit:https://oxford.emory.edu/academics/organic_farm.html This podcast is brought to you by Emory Lifestyle Medicine & Wellness. To learn more about our work, please visithttps://bit.ly/EmoryLM

On this week's episode of the Atlanta Foodcast, we're talking to the managers and owner three Georgia cooperative and independent natural groceries: Ahzjah Simons of Atlanta's Sevananda Natural Foods Co-Op, Kara Brown and Theo Horne of Athens' Daily Groceries Co-op, and Kristin Russell of Savannah's Brighter Day Natural Foods (and the Sentient Bean). Our conversation focuses on the background of these local food institutions and how they've met the challenges of doing business, protecting their staff, and serving customers during the pandemic as well as the engaging with the community in the Black Lives Matter and racial justice movement. We then spoke to Bilal Sarwari of the National Young Farmers Coalition, who will soon be joining the roster as an upcoming guest co-host of the Atlanta Foodcast. Our discussion centers around the racial equity movement and food justice and the roll of non-profit organizations in affecting systemic change. We hope you enjoy today's show and that it reminds you to eat responsibly and Stay Local. You can learn more about Georgia Organics' Stay Local campaign at georgiaorganics.org/staylocal. We'll be back with another episode in two weeks, be sure to subscribe, rate, and review us in the meantime wherever you listen to podcasts! - To learn more about Sevananda, visit sevananda.coop/ and follow on social media at facebook.com/Sevananda.ATL/ and @sevananda_atl/. To learn more about Daily Groceries, visit dailygroceries.org/ and follow on social media at facebook.com/dailygroceries and @dailycoop. To learn more about Brighter Day, visit brighterdayfoods.com/ and follow on social media at facebook.com/BrighterDayFoodsSavannah/ and @brighterdaynaturalfoods. To learn more and join the National Young Farmers Coalition, visit youngfarmers.org/. You can also join their advocacy network by texting Farmers to 40649. To connect on social media, visit facebook.com/youngfarmerscoalition/ and @youngfarmers/.

This week on the Atlanta Foodcast we're continuing to explore the theme of Georgia Organics' year-end campaign: Stay Local through conversations with farmers Monica Ponce, Russell Honderd, and Ronnie Mathis. To learn more about Georgia Organics' work, become a member, or shop directly from farmers, visit georgiaorganics.org/staylocal. First, we're talking to farmers Monica Ponce & Russell Honderd on navigating land and labor arrangements, cooperative farming, and farming as a couple, as well as why local food—Staying Local—is critical to righting systemic wrongs in food. Monica and Russell are currently farming at Love is Love Farm at Gaia Gardens in Atlanta, find out more at www.loveislovefarm.com/ or follow them atinstagram.com/loveislovefarm. For Gardening with Farmers, we hear from Ronnie Mathis of Mountain Earth Farm in Clarkesville. He is a fifth generation farmer sharing some winter tips for strong summer's blueberries! Finally, we hear more from Ronnie Mathis, exploring his lifetime career as a farmer in Northeast Georgia. Mathis has the kind of knowledge that comes from farming, primarily naturally and organically for decades. He shares his advice and mentoring of younger farmers, and why he just can't seem to retire from farming.

Welcome to another episode of the Atlanta Foodcast, hosted by Georgia Organics!As Georgia Organics launches our end-of-year fundraising campaign: Stay Local, we're focusing on why it's so important that Georgians continue to support Georgia farmers by shopping as directly as possible from them. In this episode, we're discussing the environmental and economic significance of supporting small farmers and why it's so vital to support Georgia farmers in and beyond this pandemic year. To learn more about Georgia Organics' Stay Local campaign, visit georgiaorganics.org/staylocal. First up, we're talking to Georgia Organics board member Rebecca Williams with Rodale Institute Southeast Organic Center at Many Fold Farm in Chattahoochee Hills. Rodale Institute's Southeast Organic Center is opening soon, and we caught up about the work they'll be doing to support research and policy-making in organic agriculture in Georgia and beyond. To learn more about the Rodale Institute Southeast Organic Center, visit RodaleInstitute.org and follow them on social media.Rodale Institute Southeast Organic Center is hosting a virtual open house on Tuesday, November 17 at 7 p.m. to register, visit https://rodaleinstitute.org/events/soc-virtual-open-house/. For this week's Gardening with Farmers, CheFarmer Matthew Raiford is sharing his tips for the fall vegetable and fruit garden. Matthew is the sixth generation owner and farmer of Gillard Farms in Brunswick, host of the podcast Jupiter's Almanac, author of the forthcoming cookbook, Bress ‘n' Nyam, and an Atlanta Foodcast co-host!Finally, we caught up with Zac Harrison of Fresh Harvest about how their operations have weathered the pandemic year and why it's more important than ever to be supporting Georgia farmers as directly as possible. We discuss how crucial it is that consumers who have shopped from farmers during the pandemic continue to do so to provide ongoing stability to Georgia's small farmers who are planning their crops with these new customers in mind. To learn more about Fresh Harvest and become a member, visit freshharvestga.com/.Curious about our Stay Local campaign? Through the end of the year, we're asking Georgians to STAY LOCAL, by doing two things:First, consider keeping your charitable dollars in Georgia with a year-end contribution to Georgia Organics, which will go toward supporting local and organic farmers working to feed their individual communities across our state.Second, please buy from those farmers directly where possible. Consistently shop at your local farmers market, and visit gfg.georgiaorganics.org to browse a selection of our farmer members who offer direct purchasing options through CSA subscriptions and online purchasing.Visit georgiaorganics.org/staylocal to learn more.

Dr. Sujit Sharma is a Harvard-trained pediatric ER doctor in Atlanta, Georgia. He is the CEO at Chuice, an innovative food company, and a member of the board of directors of Georgia Organics. He is a researcher working on a manuscript about respiratory diseases. He is a father, a husband and a friend.In this conversation we talk about gut health - what it is, what can we do about it, what does the science say, what gaps still exist. Did you know we are completely outnumbered by creatures that live in and on us? At least 10 to in! Did you know that the diversity of plant in our diet is number one predictor of gut health? We also go beyond that - what are the bigger lessons we can draw? What are the principles and made our evolution possible? Things like tolerance, collaboration, diversity and inclusion have allowed us to be where we are today. It works on microbial level, as well as local, national and universal one.Tune in to learn more!https://chuice.comhttps://www.instagram.com/lovechuice/https://www.instagram.com/drsujitsharma/ 

Welcome to the Atlanta Foodcast, returning with your new hosts with Georgia Organics!We sat down recently with the Forsyth Farmers' Market (forsythfarmersmarket.com/) team in Savannah to talk about their work in the community both through the market itself and the several other programs they offer to champion food equity in Savannah and beyond. We spoke with Executive Director Jeb Bush, Director of Community Programs Mark Bowen, and Outreach & Education Coordinator Tasha Wei about food as an agent of social change and tool for community health and healing. To donate to their COVID-19 relief fund, visitforsythfarmersmarket.com/give and leave the note “COVID Relief” in the Comments section. You can also follow Forsyth Farmers' Market at www.facebook.com/ForsythFarmersMarketand www.instagram.com/forsythfarmersmarket/.Next up, we got a few helpful tips for beginners setting up their fall garden from Haylene Green, aka the Garden Queen! The Garden Queen is legendary in the farming and health community of Atlanta, and we're thrilled to hear from her as she shares a bit about herself and her notes for fall. To learn more and shop from The Garden Queen, visitwww.thegardenqueen.com/ and follow on social media atfacebook.com/haylenethegardenqueen/ andinstagram.com/atlgardenqueen/.Finally, we're celebrating the fifth anniversary of The Farmer Fund (www.thefarmerfund.org/) by talking about the creative (even scandalous!) start of this fund helping farmers to weather crises such as Hurricane Michael, health emergencies, and, most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2018, Georgia Organics assumed operations of The Farmer Fund and aims to honor the intent and vision of the amazing crew who got The Farmer Fund off the ground. Since that time, more than $175,000 has been raised and more than $50,000 awarded to farms impacted by Hurricane Michael floods, healthcare emergencies, and the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Georgia Organics has provided $1,000 grants to 71 small Georgia farms and counting. To learn more and donate or apply, visit www.thefarmerfund.org/.

Today, we brought together Ben along withGeorgia Organics Communications Manager Mary Elizabeth Kidd and Georgia Organics Board Member—and the one & only "CheFarmer"—Matthew Raiford to talk about what's next

Will Harris, a sixth generation farmer, followed in the footsteps of his great-great-grandfather, his great-grandfather, his grandfather, and his father before him. He also went to school for agriculture and he implemented everything he was taught there on his family’s farm. But after 20+ years of doing this on his family’s farm, White Oaks Pastures, he had a gut instinct that this wasn’t the way to run things, despite everything he had been taught in school. He followed his instincts and radically transformed his family’s farm going back to the methods his great-great-grandfather used. And now Will Harris uses a regenerative agriculture approach on his farm, which benefits his animals, the environment, and the people on the farm and in the local community surrounding it. Will explains why that is in this episode with Dr. Anthony Gustin and he also dives into how his farm went full circle -- from using industrialization and commoditization after WWII to taking a humane animal husbandry approach and focusing on environmental sustainability. You’ll also hear more about how this approach isn’t the most profitable and why that doesn’t matter to Will. Will also describes the issues he faced early on and why he continues to hit roadblocks despite doing the right thing. If you’re not familiar with the term “greenwashing,” you’ll also discover what that is, why it’s so detrimental, and how big corporations are continuing to deceive people. On top of being a sixth generation farmer, Will has become a leader in the humane animal husbandry and environmental sustainability space.  He’s the immediate past President of the Board of Directors of Georgia Organics and the Beef Director of the American Grassfed Association. Will was even selected as the 2011 Business Person of the year for Georgia. And the reason he’s held such prestigious honors is because he’s not profit-driven, which you’ll hear more about when you tune in. Will cares about keeping mother nature happy along with making sure his animals and the people surrounding them are taken care of properly. When you tune in, you’ll discover why regenerative agriculture is so beneficial for the animals, the environment, and the people surrounding it. Check out the episode now to learn more!

We're excited to bring you a special episode which took place at the Georgia Organics Conference in Athens. It's an annual event that takes place in a different city throughout Georgia where farmers, members of Georgia Organics, partners of the organization, and many others meet for hands-on sessions, learning opportunities, and where friends gather to connect — all centered around the Good Food Movement. We stopped by to chat with a few attendees and listen to what this special has meant to them this year, the past decade, or longer…So, it's clear that this conference holds a special place for many and the relationships forged due to their attendance. The work of Georgia Organics touches all corners of our great state through multiple programs — one being Farm to School. The program started back in 2007 and the work has continued to impact over 90 school districts throughout the state of Georgia. So, here's Erin She started and ran the program for many years for Georgia Organics. We dropped by tho hear some of the it's origin.And that brings us to lunch, but not just any lunch. Lunch with Alice Waters, chef/owner of Chez Panisse in Berkley, California and founder of The Edible Schoolyard and Chef/Farmer, Matthew Raiford . They allowed us to take part in a meal that was made from produce and ingredients from Georgia farms where we all had to work together to gather all materials — plates, cups, drinks, prepared dishes, utensils, and everything without using words. All of this was modeled off of what is possible in a school lunchroom. Let me tell you — it was wonderful (and incredibly delicious).Immediately following, we had a chance to sit down with Alice Waters and hear more from her perspective on food, our education system, and the impact of Edible Schoolyard and Farm to School.So, who better to give us perspective on how the impact of growing and cooking local food, let alone working with local farms/farmers in our schools? Ladies and gentlemen, Ms. Alice Waters.

Imagine being a fourth-generation owner of a business and deciding to completely change things to upend tried-and-traditional ways of doing things in favor of something brand new, untraditional, and potentially pretty risky. Such is the story of our guest today, farmer Will Harris. About Will Harris Will Harris is a fourth-generation cattleman from White Oak Pastures Farm in Bluffton, Georgia, the same land his great-grandfather settled in 1866. Born and raised on this farm, Will left to attend the University of Georgia School of Agriculture, where he was trained in the industrial farming methods that had taken hold after World War II. He returned to Bluffton after, where he and his father used traditional practices, but later, Will changed things in a very big way. He's been recognized around the world for his pioneering work. Will is past president of the board of directors of Georgia Organics, is the beef director of the American Grassfed Association, and was named Businessperson of the Year for Georgia by the Small Business Administration. Interview Summary Will, I'm really pleased to have you join us and would like to begin by asking this question: what was it that made you believe things needed to be done differently? First, Kelly, thank you for having me on your show today and just allowing me to be here. I was a very industrial cattleman for 20 years, and for the most part really enjoyed it. It was high-input agriculture, confinement feeding, lot of hormone implants, sub-therapeutic antibiotic high-concentrated grain feed. I really liked it. It was sort of like a contest for me to see if I could do better next year than I did last year. But you know, along the line, I became increasingly aware of the unintended consequences of that kind of farming, because I didn't like what it was doing for my land and my animals and my community. So I started rethinking through this, and we got where we are pretty gradually. It took 25 years to get here, and we're still changing. I'd like to ask you in a moment about what your model to farming is, but first, could you paint a picture of your farm for us? How big is it, and what do you raise? And then we can talk about your approach. One of the pastures is 3,200 acres, currently. We're multi-generational. I'm the fourth generation. My children are here, two of my children and their spouses. They're the fourth. They have had three grandchildren that are the fifth and the sixth generation on the farm. We pasture-raise cows, hogs, sheep, goats, and rabbits. And we hand-butcher them at a USDA-inspected slaughterhouse that I built here on the farm. We pasture-raise chickens, turkeys, geese, guineas, and ducks. And we hand-butcher them in a separate slaughter facility. We raise pastured eggs, organic vegetables, honey. We try to operate as a zero-waste facility and farm. We make pet treats out of organs that are not for human consumption, leather products out of our hides. We currently have 165 employees. We're the largest employer in the county. We have a store. My farm surrounds the little town of Bluffton, Georgia. We now have six cabins for lodging, a restaurant, and a general store. Well, it's pretty amazing to hear the number of things that are being raised on your farm. And I know that's part of the integrated approach that you take. Can you explain how that works? We call it stacked enterprises. Nature abhors a monoculture. No nowhere in nature will a monoculture resist. We found it necessary to rethink symbiosis that comes from different species living together, benefiting from the existence of another. Could you give an example or two, Will, of how the different species interact in positive ways with each other and are necessary? Yeah. My favorite one is: raise goats and hogs. Very different species but they're both... I consider them to be forest creatures. One year, I weaned my baby goats and didn't have a good place to put them, so I put some of them in a forest paddock with the hogs and some of them by themselves in another forest paddock. I noticed that the goats that were in with the hogs looked better, and the goats were doing better than the goats who were not with hogs. Those with the hogs really looked good. The reason both those species looked better when they were together, the hogs were eating a lot of different plant species out in the woods. There's a lot of plant species that the hogs just won't eat. But the goats were eating virtually everything, and they were defecating, and the hogs were eating the goat feces. And I think the hogs looked better because they were getting nutrition out of that goat feces that was lacking in their diet otherwise. Hogs are supposed to do that. But if there's only hogs out there, they don't have the opportunity. So that explained to me why the hogs looked better, but it didn't explain the goats. What was happening is the hogs, in eating that goat feces, was breaking the lifecycle of the barber's pole worm, an internal parasite of goats. The way that works is the adult worm is inside the goat in the intestine, sucking blood and spewing eggs. The eggs are evacuated from the system when the goat defecates. The egg pupa climbs up a blade of grass and the goat reinfects itself by eating the neonate. But when the hogs at the goat feces before the worms could hatch, it broke it so the goats were more parasite-free. Beings are not meant to live in isolation from other species. Well, that's an impressive example. What about an example of how the animals are interacting with the soil and the land? So, on our 3,200 acres, it consists of a 1,000 acres of land. It's been managed holistically with a lot of animal impact for the last 25 years. We farmed like everybody else, but then for 25 years, we've been doing, I think, kind of doing it right. Organic matter on that land has gone from less than one half of 1%, 25 years ago when I was farming industrially, to over 5% today. And that was made possible by this animal impact. The other 3,200 are bits of land that's contiguous to my home farm, and the longer I've managed it holistically with livestock, the more the organic matter has increased, again, from a half percent to over 5% in a 20-year window. Organic matter is not the only thing that matters in the soil. There's microbial activity and water percolation and other things. But organic matter is a really good indicator of soil health, so that it makes it crystal clear that the longer the soil is managed without chemical fertilizers, without pesticides, without cultivation, but with a lot of animal impact, it just gets better and better and better. So let's talk about the cattle for a minute and discuss how the cattle that you raise are different from those raised with traditional feedlot methods. They're different in many ways. A happy animal is an animal that is well fed in a reasonable temperature environment and, most important, allowed to express instinctive behavior. In industrial confinement, livestock for production does not allow that. Hogs are meant to root, and walled-up chickens are meant to scratch and peck. Cows were meant to roam and graze. Those are instinctive behaviors, and when the animal is not allowed to do those things, it undergoes a lot of stress. Our cattle are never fed grain, never given sub-therapeutic antibiotics, hormones, dot, dot, dot. They grow more slowly. It takes us two years to get an animal up to about 1,100 pounds as opposed to industrial production, where in 16 months you can get them up to 1,300 pounds. Our animal have two tenths of an inch of back fat. They're very athletic. A confinement feedlot animal may have almost an inch of back fat, and it's an unnaturally obese creature that would never exist in nature. If I decided to not slaughter one of my cows which we do the mama cows and the bulls, they would live to be 20-something years old in that pasture. The confinement feedlot animal that's eating corn and soy out of a trough gaining three pounds or four pounds a day would die if they were left in that environment for a prolonged period of time. They would die of all the diseases that kills us. Just obesity, heart failure, dot, dot, dot. Let's talk about, if you would, the impact of this approach to farming and raising the animals on the environment. And I'd like to talk about a study that you were involved with. I know that you collaborated with some researchers to test the impact of your farming methods on your land. I know that study, which has now been published, found some pretty remarkable things. Could you explain? Yeah, it was really remarkable. I was not surprised at the results, but I was delighted to have those things validated scientifically. I knew that our land was being improved dramatically. I see it every day. I've been in the pasture this morning. But my knowledge and understanding was anecdotal. "Here's what I see and observe and recognize." But to have an environmental engineering group, called Quantis, from Minneapolis come here and scientifically sample and test, validate my observations was really great. It just felt vindicating. And what they found is that my farm sequestered well over 900 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in our soil in 2017. That is to say 900-something tons of greenhouse gases were breathed in by photosynthesizing plants and put into the soil in the form of roots and decaying vegetative matter and animal feces. That greenhouse gas that was floating around up there, creating global warming or environmental change, was put back where it belongs, in the soil where it does good things. It encourages microbial growth and acts as a sponge to hold water. You don't get flooding; it increases your productivity of my land for my animals. So very, very pleased. By the way, that study is on our website. That's WhiteOakPastures.com. Thank you for describing that. Let's put those numbers in perspective, if you would. So there's a lot of concern, obviously, in the popular press and also amongst some scientists about the environmental climate change impact of raising animals traditionally. So the amount of carbon sequestered, how does that compare to what would have happened if these animals were raised using traditional methods? And as I understood from the study, the beneficial impact of the sequestration pretty much offset entirely the impact of the animals that they would have been having otherwise. Am I right with that? Yeah, yeah. In fact, our cattle sequestered 3.5 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent for every pound of beef that I produced. The same environmental engineering outfit, Quantis, that did our lifecycle analysis, that's what you call the test I was referring to, did a lifecycle analysis on a production system on one of the vegetable-meat substitutes. In both cases, they were paid to do disinterested third-party research. They found that we sequester 3.5 pounds and they actually emit 3.5 pounds. So you would have to eat a pound of my beef to offset the damage from eating one pound of Impossible Burger. That's pretty incredible. It is pretty incredible. And one thing that I was really happy about when I saw that study is that with all this speculation about the benefits of this approach to farming, somebody came in and did an objective test, which was really nice. And, boy, those results were very impressive. Thank you for letting the scientists come in and do those kinds of tests, because then that really creates credibility for what you've and others have observed anecdotally. That was very forward thinking. Thank you for doing that. One of our customers, a big food company, offered to pay for it because they wanted to see if we were doing the things that we allege we were doing. And the deal was they would pay for the study and I'd cooperate, provide the land, and we'd both own the data. And I agreed to do it, but I had a little bit of a pause [inaudible 00:15:14], a little concern. I don't understand scientific method. I'm a farmer, not a scientist. But I did agree to do it because I felt a little bit challenged. It came out with the compelling results that we just discussed. Really glad I did it, but I was really concerned about it going in. You're courageous to have done that. Not everybody would. So do you see the regenerative, holistic approach becoming more widespread, and what do you think the future might bring? I hope so. But to be honest, I'm not real optimistic about it. It should. It's the right thing to do. I don't know where we'll wind up if it doesn't. But that decision will be made by consumers. Farmers will not be able to afford to choose to do this and then sell their product into conventional markets, commodity markets. I don't think that our government has the will/courage to require it. So it's in the hands of the consumer. The consumer will decide. Wendell Berry says something to the effect that the consumer votes with his dollars every day on how they want to be. This is a prime example of that. The people that buy product from me and people like me... In "product" I mean beef, pork, poultry, eggs, vegetables and so on. The people that do are sophisticated consumers that have studied the food production system and made some choices about the land management system they want to support, the sort of rural America they want to see reinvigorated, and the welfare of the animals that go to make the food. And they choose to pay a little more for the source, the production system, which satisfies these decisions that they feel strongly about. I don't know how many of those people there are out there. I go to Walmart and I see a lot of people that I don't think care too much about those things. I think there's a lot more of them than there are my customers. So consumers will make that decision, not farmers. So while I think you might've just answered my last question, but let me go ahead and ask it anyway. How can people go about supporting this work? If people want to see farms like White Oak Pastures survive and prosper and be replicated, then they got to buy from farms like White Oak Pastures. And I'm not just asking for the business for me. There are people all over the country doing good work. But this kind of farming is not highly scalable. White Oak Pastures will never be a Fortune 500 company. It'll never be a scale like Tyson or Cargill or JBS, but it is highly replicable. There can be a White Oak Pastures in every county, every agricultural county, in every state in the union. So it just depends on what customers want. If consumers want high animal welfare, regenerative land management, building wealth in rural communities to be a thing, they need to find a person that's doing it and support them.  

Trinita Ervin is the Founder and CEO of Ladybug for GirlsTM a health and wellness social enterprise. Ladybug for Girls is a youth development program designed to encourage young girls to be healthier where the live, learn, and play. Since launching her non-profit in 2008, the Ladybug for GirlsTM Foundation has served thousands of young girls and their families in metro Atlanta through their after-school programs, community workshops and through the installation of school gardens. The foundation mission is to empower elementary school girls with the tools to feel beautiful from the inside out. They achieve this by encouraging healthier lifestyles, building their self-confidence, strengthening their social awareness, and advocating for healthier environments locally and globally. Through its ‘Global Girls Health' campaign, the foundation also supports girls from the refugee community in the Clarkston area, adolescent girl's health programming in the rural areas of Tamil Nadu, India and they've chartered their first international Ladybug for Girls Club in Liberia, Africa. The Ladybug for Girls Foundation, Inc. has also partnered with Emory University's School of Medicine and Emory Rollins School of Public Health to provide students with applied public health experiences. Trinita is a respected community leader with an extensive professional career in healthcare and health and wellness advocacy. She has served on the Board of Trustees for Leadership Sandy Springs and as Vice Chair for the Regional Board of Directors for the American Red Cross. She has served on the Board of Directors and as Health Chair for the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, MAC. She has furthered her leadership outreach by serving as an EPIC trainer for the American Academy of Pediatrics, serving on the Farm-to-School Advisory Council for Georgia Organics, as an Ambassador for Slow Food Atlanta and as a member of Georgia Shape, the Governor's statewide initiative to address childhood obesity in Georgia. She recently received the 2018 Woman of Distinction award from the Sandy Springs Perimeter Chamber of Commerce for exceptional leadership for her professional endeavors, community involvement and sense of social responsibility. Globally, Trinita is an Ambassador for EcoFemme a global women's empowerment initiative in India, she's a member of WASH United a water, sanitation and hygiene advocacy organization serving South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, and she is a member of the World Affairs Council of Atlanta. She is an active member of the American Red Cross Tiffany Circle Women Philanthropist, a member of Junior League of Atlanta, and a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Trinita is a graduate of Spelman College and Georgia State University. She received her Health Coach certification from Emory University. She is certified in nutrition and dietary theory from the State University of New York and studied Child Nutrition, as well as, International Women's Health and Human Rights at Stanford University. To learn more please visit: Website: https://ladybugforgirls.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LadybugForGirlsFoundation/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ladybugforgirls IG: https://www.instagram.com/ladybugforgirls/

Kip Slaughter Hardy, MS, RD, LD is a present manager of Food & Nutrition Projects & Performance Improvement at Emory University Hospital. With her combined passion for sustainable food systems and her leadership experience in high volume food service in high acuity hospitals, Kip is uniquely positioned to facilitate a shift in healthcare food service to a system that is at once nourishing, delicious, affordable and sustainable. Kip is a part of a number f professional organizations, such as Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics, Hunger & Environmental Nutrition Practice Group, Greater Atlanta Dietetic Association, Georgia Organics and Slow Food USA. She has been a part of various publications, presentation and workshops on the topics of food sustainability, healing attributes of food and strategies for introducing healthier menu options. In this conversation Kip talks about recent trends in food service in large institutions, such as healthcare systems and higher education, the keys and challenges of shifting health and wellness culture and introducing change, and shares her experience from the recent projects that she has been working on. Finally, Kip lets us in on some of her favorite secrets of food planning and feeding her family, including her kids, and simple steps for those just getting started on their home-cooking journey. Tune in to learn more!

Something that most may not realize is truly HOW farmers and restaurants work together — on a daily basis. The aspects of a farmer working to produce and a chef working directly with a farm to build their menu(s) are truly beautiful.Thus, welcome Lauren Cox and Bruce Logue to the show. Lauren runs the Farm to Restaurant program with Georgia Organics and Bruce is the Executive Chef at Boccalupo. The two have worked together through many avenues over the years. For this episode, we're focused on an important campaign Lauren at the helm of: Farmer Champion.The three of us sat down to talk about the practical side of the bond between restaurant and farmer.

Golden Radish Awards are the chance to showcase. To shine light on the efforts of those in school districts across Georgia who are getting local grown produce on the plates of students and who are integrating creative techniques to teach the process of farm to school — where the food starts and all of the different aspects to get it to the plate. Much of the education is incorporated through hands on activity and covers state academic standards The Award is presented by the Georgia Department of Education, Georgia Department of Agriculture, Georgia Department of Public Health, the UGA Cooperative Extension, and Georgia Organics. Winning LEAs are recognized by the leaders of these five groups every October.  90 Georgia school districts with outstanding Farm to School accomplishments were recognized at the 2019 Golden Radish Awards. Song used by permission "Stomp" written by Donica Knight and Jim Huff.

Exciting News!The Atlanta Foodcast and Georgia Organics are partnering to bring you an all new podcast covering telling the stories from the people who grow and prepare our food — from all over the state of Georgia.Here's a little intro episode with the podcast's host — Skye Estroff.The first, full episode is coming soon. You can find out more at georgiafoodcast.com. Also, check out Georgia Organics and become a member today!

Daniel Parson is in his twenty-first season of organic growing. He started in 1998 at wildflower organics in Dawsonville, GA, where he worked four years. Next, he managed the Clemson University student organic farm for two years, and operated Gaia Gardens in Decatur, GA for five. In 2009, he started a new venture, Parson Produce, supplying a CSA, local restaurants, and farmers markets in Clinton, SC. In 2014, Daniel moved to Oxford, GA to start a campus farm for Oxford College of Emory University, producing food for the dining hall, CSA, and Emory Farmers Market while serving as a resource for student education and research. Daniel has two degrees from Clemson, a BS in Biological Sciences and an MS in Plant and Environmental Science, focusing on cover crops and organic systems. In addition to growing produce, Daniel has presented workshops on various organic topics to many state and regional groups, including the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, Southern SAWG and Georgia Organics. Daniel received the 2009 Georgia Organics Land Steward of the Year Award and in 2008 was listed on Mother Nature Network's 40 farmers under 40. Also, he served on the Georgia Organics board from 2006-2008 and the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association board from 2012-2014. To learn more please visit: http://oxford.emory.edu/offices-and-services/organic-farm.html https://www.facebook.com/oxfordcollegefarm

In Partnership with Georgia Organics and PeachdishThis is a really fun one here on The Atlanta Foodcast. As you may have watched this past season of Top Chef, Kelsey Barnard Clark took the show by storm and the hearts of viewers across the country.Kelsey was in town this past weekend for a slew of events and one of them happened to be a Saturday Brunch, Cocktails & Conversations, (by the Cast Iron & Collards Society) at King & Duke. Kelsey partnered with local Levity Farms and Chefs Damon Wise and Thomas Davis from Ford Fry's team at the restaurant.Kelsey and I sat down for a LIVE episode of the podcast in front of the brunch's guests, which is what you'll hear for this episode. Her story is wonderful and you'll get to catch some of the Q&A from the crowd as well.Other great aspects of the event:Bloody Marys from Cathead Vodka and Sister's Sauce Bloody Mary MixAll dishes served on beautiful and elegant pottery/dinnerware from East Fork — based in Asheville, NC

If you've lived in Atlanta for most of your life ….or even just a few days, you're more than likely going to walk through the front door of Ford Fry's restaurants at one point for another. Since '07, JCT has been serving incredible southern cuisine on the westside, The Optimist helped define oysters for Atlanta dining, true Tex Mex from Superica (Just found out we should all be pronouncing it Super-REE-cuh, friends), the burger from Marcel, pasta and ping pong at No. 246, and many, many more.Suffice is to say, this gentleman has helped to define much of what it means to be an eater here in Atlanta. As his restaurant footprint has grown to other southern cities, he has his team continue to support local farmers and growers, amazing organizations like Georgia Organics, and much more.Ford and I caught up at King & Duke in Buckhead for this interview. His story, if you don't know it, is really awesome you'll learn a ton about how each restaurant has come to be.

Dr. Sujit Sharma is a Harvard-trained pediatric ER doctor in Atlanta, Georgia who is also the CEO at Chuice, an innovative food company, and a member of the board of directors of Georgia Organics. I met Dr. Sharma at Forward Food conference a few months ago where we clicked immediately as I asked away about his passion in food innovation after trying for the first time Chuice - the awkwardly delicious juicy super salad drink. After many conversations with Dr. Sharma what still stands out the most to me is his dedication to underpromise and overdeliver in everything he does. Dr. Sharma is a powerhouse of knowledge in microbiome, he is also limitlessly passionate about creating functional solutions for addressing the health-crisis in this country. The more I learn the more respect I have for this knowledgable, dedicated, passionate and hip doctor who I now consider a friend. If you have not tried it yet, please check out the website at Chuice.com to get an idea of what we are talking about. We talk about the current state of healthcare and childhood obesity, we discuss what constitutes a healthy microbiome, and dive in in the story, evolution and plans for this lifestyle brand that Chuice is quickly becoming. Tune in to learn more and follow Chuice and Dr. Sharma on social media. https://chuice.com https://www.instagram.com/lovechuice/ https://www.instagram.com/drsujitsharma/

Sujit Sharma is an Atlanta-based pediatric ER doctor and CEO of Chuice, the innovative JuicySuperSalad redefining convenient snacks. He holds a Bachelor's in Philosophy from University of Michigan, received his medical degree and pediatric training at Wayne State University/Children's Hospital of Michigan, and served his three-year fellowship in Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Harvard Medical School/Boston Children's Hospital. He is currently Vice Section Chief at the department of Emergency Medicine, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite, and is on the Board of Directors for Georgia Organics where he's the moderator for the Food As Medicine committee. When Sharma is not practicing medicine, he's conducting medical research on respiratory viruses, cooking various worldly dishes, traveling with his wife and two children, and loves (theoretically) putting pen to paper to scribe Op-eds, including for CNN.com. In this conversation Dr. Sharma talks about striking current statistics of childhood obesity and its relation to food advertising and public policy. He draws a parallel with evolution of policies and behaviors around smoking. Dr. Sharma talks about the importance fiber, explains the difference in the benefits between smoothies, juices and Chuice; talks about the concept of gut health and what defines it. https://chuice.com https://chuice.com/blogs/news/how-we-advertise-food-as-bad-as-those-old-cigarette-ads

We talk about how much January sucked. Along the way, we cover the Durdens again, pod bizness, the one and only Waverly Minit Mart, Coop’s brother, Goodie Mob, late night cravings, the intangibility of fathers’ love, death, the Georgia Organics conference, small farmers, and more. This is probably our best episode yet. Lots of good truck sounds. A longer ride but it’s smooth and easy. Episode sponsored by @georgiaseagrill, @classicgeorgia, and the Bites & Bands fest on St. Simons on March 23.  Please smash that five-star rating, and we appreciate y’all for listening. Website is finally up! Look for show notes soon.   Websites:  www.streakofleanpod.com  www.thegrassrootsfarm.com  www.cooperagriculture.com  Social media accounts:   Streak of Lean Instagram — @streakoflean  Grassroots Farms Instagram — @grassrootsfarmsga  Grassroots Farms Twitter — @GApasturedbirds  Cooper Ag Services Instagram — @cooper_ag_services --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/streakoflean/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/streakoflean/support

Chef Zu is a Holistic Nutritionist, Urban Agriculturalist & Plant Based Chef who focuses on providing "Health & Wellness" to less fortunate communities through facilitating programs based around culinary arts, agriculture and nutrition. Chef Zu has a passion and love for studying the science of plant based foods and using the most nutritious ingredients to create amazingly flavorful vegan and raw cuisine. There is an unmentioned art to substituting plant based ingredients in dishes that were once made with meat and/or animal products such as milk, eggs, cheese & butter. Chef Zu is always looking to master this art. Chef Zu has facilitated innovated food programming for Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta Public Library System, Kirkwood Boys & Girls Clubs, Georgia Food Oasis, Morehouse College, Fulton County Commissioners Office, City of Atlanta Department of Sustainability, City of Atlanta Department Constituent Services, Carver Neighborhood Market, Frank McClarin High School, Gilliam's Community Garden, Lithonia Farmer’s Market, The Covenant House, Atlanta Housing Authority, Aglanta, Truly Living Well, Georgia Organics, Food Well Alliance and many more non-profits, community based organizations and initiatives. In this conversation, Chef Zu talks about his story, his passion and what drives him to do the work he does today. He talks about the concept of "living" food, and how educating people about the food they eat and how to prepare it, can empower them, gain confidence and experience abundance. He talks about the language of food, and ability to express love, unconditional love. We discuss the power of agriculture and the importance of buying food locally. And of course, Chef Zu talks about his food philosophy and shares some of the main tips and food staples for a nourishing, flavorful and living food options. Follow Chef Zu: https://www.instagram.com/kingsapron/ https://www.facebook.com/methuzulah.gem The upcoming event Food Waste in a Food Insecure World: https://calendar.gsu.edu/event/food_waste_in_a_food_insecure_world?utm_campaign=widget&utm_medium=widget&utm_source=Georgia+State+University+#.W7-jlaQpCEd

This week we welcome Will Harris, owner of White Oak Pastures, to talk with us about what it means to be a good steward of the food we buy and consume. We had so much fun spending the day with Will and the rest of the crew at WOP.  Will Harris is a fourth generation cattleman, who tends the same land that his great-grandfather settled in 1866. Born and raised at White Oak Pastures, Will left home to attend the University of Georgia's School of Agriculture, where he was trained in the industrial farming methods that had taken hold after World War II. Will graduated in 1976 and returned to Bluffton where he and his father continued to raise cattle using pesticides, herbicides, hormones and antibiotics. They also fed their herd a high-carbohydrate diet of corn and soy. These tools did a fantastic job of taking the cost out of the system, but in the mid-1990's Will became disenchanted with the excesses of these industrialized methods. They had created a monoculture for their cattle, and, as Will says, "nature abhors a monoculture." In 1995, Will made the audacious decision to return to the farming methods his great-grandfather had used 130 years before. Since Will has successfully implemented these changes, he has been recognized all over the world as a leader in humane animal husbandry and environmental sustainability. Will is the immediate past President of the Board of Directors of Georgia Organics. He is the Beef Director of the American Grassfed Association, and was selected 2011 Business Person of the year for Georgia by the Small Business Administration. Will lives in his family home on the property with his wife Yvonne. He is the proud father of three daughters, Jessi, Jenni, and Jodi. His favorite place in the world to be is out in pastures, where he likes to have a big coffee at sunrise and a 750ml glass of wine at sunset. http://www.whiteoakpastures.com

Guests: Tenisio Seanima, Abiodun Henderson, and Kwon Smith Shannon talks to two outstanding organizations that will have you thinking about how beautiful it is outside. Georgia Organics connects organic food from Georgia farms to Georgia families. The Come Up Project, especially through its program Gangstas to Growers, focuses on providing employment opportunities to formerly incarcerated persons in marginalized communities. Host: Shannon M. Turner

Dr. Sujit Sharma is a Harvard-trained pediatric ER doctor in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Sharma is also the CEO at Chuice and a member of the board of directors of Georgia Organics, a non-profit organization committed to environmental stewardship, farmer prosperity and community health. Early in his career, Dr. Sharma admits he thought he had a ‘great appreciation’ of health and healthy living. But he realizes that he was wrong. For complete show notes, please click here to visit our website. My conversation with Sujit is one that could have gone on for hours. His experience in the world of pediatric ER medicine, working with hundreds of thousands of kids over the years, and seeing their health slowly decline offers a revealing look at the massive long-term health problem facing us today.  His product, Chuice, is really the first of it's kind... an entirely new category of edible, plant-based beverage. If he gets his way, Chuice will find it's way into all the mini-marts and convenience stores all over the US - offering a new, healthy and convenient option for people everywhere. We cover a lot of ground in the episode... hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Nick Leahy and Steven Satterfield caught up with host Kat Johnson and taste some beers. Nick tells us about his new concepts Aix restaurant and Tin Tin winebar, both chefs reminisce about their recent James Beard dinners and cooking in New York City. Serving a globally inspired and locally sourced menu, Executive chef Nick Leahy helms the kitchen at Saltyard. Nick is originally from Bermuda and credits his diverse culinary style to his international travels growing up. He first began working in the restaurant industry in high school and honed his skills under Atlanta legend Chip Ulbrich at Food Studio. He then moved overseas to serve as Executive Chef at Daylesford Organic in London—a restaurant that solely uses local and organic ingredients from farms around the city. This experience fueled Nick’s passion for sourcing from small, nearby purveyors and farmers. James Beard award-winning chef Steven Satterfield is the executive chef and co-owner of Miller Union, a celebrated, seasonally-driven restaurant located in Atlanta’s Westside neighborhood. Since opening in 2009, the restaurant has received various honors on many national lists including Eater, Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, Esquire and James Beard Foundation. In 2015, Satterfield released his first cookbook, Root to Leaf, to broad critical acclaim. Satterfield remains deeply committed to Atlanta’s progressive culinary community and holds leadership positions with Chef’s Collaborative and Slow Food Atlanta. He is also a proud and active member of the Southern Foodways Alliance and Georgia Organics. Satterfield’s dedication to seasonal cooking and his unwavering support for local farmers is the driving philosophy behind his restaurant and everything he does. In 2017, Satterfield won the James Beard Foundation’s “Best Chef: Southeast” award and Miller Union was recognized as one of the country’s best restaurants by Eater National. Heritage Radio Network On Tour is Powered by Simplecast

Chefs Collaborative was founded in 1993 as a non-profit network focused on inspiring, educating and celebrating chefs and food professionals dedicated to working towards a better, more sustainable food system. For their 8th Annual Chefs Collaborative Summit, Growing Community – Owning the Future, food professionals from across the country gathered in Atlanta, GA on Saturday, September 9th - 11th for workshops, networking and engaging discussions on issues such as ethical seafood practices, food waste, meat matters and solutions for the future of sustainable food. Heritage Radio Network was there to capture the sights and sounds of the summit’s prominent speakers at an event hosted by New York Times food correspondent, Kim Severson. In part one of the summit, attendees heard from Paula Daniels (Co-Founder of the Center for Good Food Purchasing), Martha Mendoza (Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Seafood from Slaves), and Tunde Wey (author of Blackness in America). We also caught up with Alice Rolls (Executive Director of Georgia Organics). 0:08 – Kim Severson, New York Times (moderating throughout) 0:45 – Piper Davis, Grand Central Bakery 6:15 – Steven Satterfield, Miller Union 7:58 – Judith Winfrey, PeachDish 15:48 – Paula Daniels, Center for Good Food Purchasing 43:11 – Martha Mendoza, Pulitzer Prize Winning AP Reporter 59:30 – Tunde Wey, Blackness in America, and Julia Bainbridge, Atlanta Magazine 1:30:38 – Alice Rolls, Georgia Organics

There's no one better to interview a chef than another chef – that's why we welcomed guest host Robert Newton (of Willa Jean and Nightingale 9 in Brooklyn) to interview Steven Satterfield (of Miller Union in Atlanta). Satterfield is actively engaged with the progressive culinary community as an active member of Slow Food Atlanta, Georgia Organics, Community Farmer’s Markets, Chefs Collaborative and the Southern Foodways Alliance.

Lynn Pugh is the farmer at Cane Creek Farm in north Georgia. She has been sharing what she has learned in organic farming classes at her farm since 2007. She teaches adults from a curriculum she developed for Georgia Organics, introduces children to agriculture through farm camps and hosts a Lunch N' Learn series on a variety of topics related to food, farming and gardening. Many alumni of her classes are farming and gardening organically across the southeast.  Her background as a chemistry teacher and higher education degrees in plant pathology and science curriculum give her a good foundation for establishing an agricultural education program.

Jennifer Owens is the Advocacy Director for Georgia Organics. In that role, Jennifer conducts policy research and advocacy on issues supporting the expansion of organic farming production, healthy food access, farm to school, and community food initiatives. Previously, Jennifer served as the Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of Georgia where she focused on voter education and public policy advocacy in the areas of environmental protection, judicial election reform, tax reform, public education, and election protection. In 2008, Jennifer was honored as one of the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s 40 Under 40, one of the youngest recipients to receive this distinction. In 2012, the Georgia Conservancy’s Generation Green honored Jennifer with the Longleaf Award. Jennifer currently serves on the boards for Georgia Women for a Change and Georgia Conservation Voters Education Fund. Jennifer is a resident of Brookhaven where she resides with her husband, Colin, daughter, Elliot.  She enjoys eating, cooking, gardening and dancing to zydeco music with her daughter.