Farm To Table Talk Farm To Table Talk

A successful consumer brand can be built from the farm while prioritizing community well-being. Organic style farming existed long before chemical intensive farming became the norm.  Four generations of Matt Mclean's family were citrus farmers in Florida, beginning before federal organic certification became a law. Recognizing growing demand , Matt founded Uncle Matt's Organic.  Starting with one item sold locally in his backyard, it has become the oldest organic OJ brand in the US and is sold in over 15,000 stores nationwide. Matt's goal is to produce the highest quality products using sustainable organic methods while educating consumers and farmers about the benefits of an organic lifestyle.   www.unclematts.com

Economies of scale will continue to push farming operations to get bigger over time. While big farms getting bigger is not likely to change, value added farming is a different matter. Another decline in net farm income is projected  according to the Spring 2024 Missouri Farm Income Outlook released by the University of Missouri’s Rural and Farm Finance Policy Analysis Center (RaFF). Projections from the report suggest that declining market receipts and lower crop prices play a role in the estimated $0.8 billion decrease in net farm income says  Scott Brown, interim director of the center.

 



The new ways of raising livestock and meat production are increasingly drawing from old ways when pastures were more prevalent than large metal confinement buildings. Brittany and Bill Sullivan own and operate Sullivan Farms, just outside of Fayette, MO. Their primary business is pork. All their pigs are raised and rotated on fresh regenerative pastures, and fed NON-GMO grain, along with organic milk. They believe a highly quality of life for animals insures terrific, nutritious food on our dinner tables. Selling to  restaurants, butcher shops, at the farmers markets, and grocery stores.they have discovered there is a market for livestock produced on pasture an that you don't have to be a giant CAFO, concentrated animal feeding operation.



www.sullivanfarmsmo.com

Although funding and knowledge is available to create better food systems, it is the active choice of doing nothing that is impeding progress. We keep educating the public on the problem and offer no solutions says Zack Wyatt, CEO and founder of the Carolina Farm Trust. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, he's now driving change to improve access to affordable, healthy foods. The first stage is to open a distribution and food production center in west Charlotte, an area known as a food desert. The project includes working with farmers to get food from the farm to the tables, partnering with local chefs in the community and helping to build urban farms. carolinafarm.org.



 

Cities keep growing but that doesn't mean we don't want to be around a farm. In fact when you can't live in the country then how about bringing the farm to the city?  That's what Clayton Garrett shares is happening in Houston and other cities. It may be surprising to farmers who have experienced mixed results when city folks move to the country and become their neighbors. Clayton Garrett is a farmer and founding partner of Meristem Communities,  a Houston based real estate development company exploring how healthy communities are developed and nourished,  often with farming in its midst. indigocommons.com

Many Farm To Table Talk listeners somehow got a version of the Barons podcast that had the right intro but with a different podcast.  We're sorry about that and  just in case here is the real interview with Austin Frerick. Rodger Wasson