57 episodes
Choosing to Farm: New Generation Stories Jennifer Colby
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- Business
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5.0 • 19 Ratings
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Stories and interviews by first and returning-generation farmers and ranchers about why they’ve been attracted to farming or ranching for their livelihoods.
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Robert Friedman Raises Poultry Intentionally
I came into farming really, as I got into it, being like--I'm a grower. That's where I want to grow my expertise; how to be a better caretaker for these animals, how to be more efficient with my time, with the land that we're using. To lean on people who are in processing, lean on them because their resources, their expertise are in processing or on the kosher side, lean on those people who really know what is required for it, bring them in and have them apply their expertise. The growth for me has been really needing to not just understand those other pieces much
more, but also get much more directly involved.
Robert Friedman is the founder and owner of Robariah Farms. Located in the Connecticut River Valley of Western
Massachusetts, Robariah Farms specializes in local, pasture-raised, kosher-certified poultry and other meats.
Robariah Farms raises slow-growing poultry breeds that thrive on pasture. Sustainable pasture management practices, including daily rotation of mobile shelters, provide animals with continuous access to fresh pasture, sunlight, and clean air, supporting healthy, vibrant life.
For processing, Robariah Farms applies an ethical, humane framework through its kosher certification. Local, kosher supervising agencies oversee the slaughter, plucking, evisceration, salting/brining, and packaging of each animal, certifying a higher standard of quality for the meat.
Robariah Farms offers CSA meat shares directly to customers, as well as wholesale discounts to food co-ops, farm stores, caterers, and institutions across New England.
Robariah Farms email address
Robariah Farms Instagram
Robariah Farms Facebook
Top 7 Quotes of Gene Logsdon Youtube
New England Grazing Network web site
Christine Jones soil health tour link
Vermont Grass Farmers Association web site
More educational and transformational offerings from Jenn Colby
Whole Human web site
Choosing to Farm Patreon link
Leave us a review or buy us a coffee at Choosing to Farm!
The Choosing to Farm podcast is all about telling origin stories, learning from the journeys, and creating connection among first-and returning-generation
livestock farmers and ranchers across the US and the world. After nearly 30 years working professionally
in agriculture as well as being a returning-generation farmer myself, I’m here to share stories, tips and resources to help livestock farmers and ranchers heal our relationship with success. Want to help? Like, share or review this episode! Want to help even more? Join our Patreon to support the show or even buy me a cup of coffee at the Choosing to Farm web site!
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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/choosingtofarm/message -
Justin Bramhall and Vanessa Rose Are Part of the Solution
The occasional summer I would go to Arkansas for a few nights when my family would make the trip out there from
Dallas, Texas, they would only stay for a short period it was my aunt and uncle's Chicken farm. They were conventional growers for Tyson. It was a fun time out there, but I do remember thinking this is an enormous amount of hard work. My aunt and uncle never get to leave this farm and there's one thing I know for sure. And that's--I don't want to be a farmer.—Vanessa
Chickens can't be productive without a grain implement. The other thing is a lot of our farmland needs a lot more nutrients in the soil. This is an input into the system, but the intention is that this input is helping make our soils
more productive and more regenerative over time so that we can support more ruminant animals on a given land base. Hopefully that will help the farm be more productive and profitable and sustainable. —Justin
Our names are Justin and Vanessa and we're first generation farmers with a passion for healing our environment. Justin has a background in permaculture
design and education, and Vanessa is a graphic designer and marketer. We use our past experiences daily to grow our farm, and to help refine our customers understanding of regenerative agriculture, organic growing practices and how they can positively contribute to healing our food systems. We pride ourselves in providing high quality, fresh and healthy food from the land in a way that benefits the environment.
We deeply value our community, which makes our work rewarding, but we know food producers are facing some serious challenges (because of ongoing climate change) and we want to help face those issues head on. How our food is farmed can either add to the destruction of our
planet or it can do the opposite- creating abundance and resiliency across our communities.
Leaping Bear Farm email address
Leaping Bear Farm website
Leaping Bear Farm Instagram
Leaping Bear Farm Facebook
Vermont Land Trust web site
Real Organic Project
Vermont Farm & Forest Viability Program website
New England Farm Link website
Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust website
2022 USDA Ag Census website
New England Grazing Network web site
Christine Jones soil health tour link
Vermont Grass Farmers Association web site
More educational and transformational offerings from Jenn Colby
Whole Human web site
Choosing to Farm Patreon link
Leave us a review or buy us a coffee at Choosing to Farm!
The Choosing to Farm podcast is all about telling origin stories, learning from the journeys, and creating connection among first-and returning-generation
livestock farmers and ranchers across the US and the world. After nearly 30 years working professionally
in agriculture as well as being a returning-generation farmer myself, I’m here to share stories, tips and resources to help livestock farmers and ranchers heal our relationship with success. Want to help? Like, share or review this episode! Want to help even more? Join our Patreon to support the show or even buy me a cup of coffee at the Choosing to Farm web site!
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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/choosingtofarm/message -
Bruce Hennessey and Beth Whiting Level Up Their Business
It feels good that we're providing this product for people's nutrition, for their families. They keep coming back to us
and appreciating that. We are who we are; we're the face, we talk to them, we have them to our farm for tours. That's what people are looking for.—Beth
We both have a full time job figuring out how to move this business forward that that you can't get done if you're picking eggs and putting down bedding in the layer houses or fulfilling orders. Can't do it.—Bruce
Beth Whiting and Bruce Hennessey are the co-founders and co-owners of Maple Wind Farm, a diversified pasture-based farm and USDA processing plant located in Richmond, Vermont.
Maple Wind Farm email address
Maple Wind Farm website
Maple Wind Farm Instagram
Maple Wind Farm Facebook
Pasture Pet website
Vermont Land Trust web site
USDA Poultry Plant in a Box video
New England Grazing Network web site
Vermont Grass Farmers Association web site
More educational and transformational offerings from Jenn Colby
Whole Human web site
Choosing to Farm Patreon link
Leave us a review or buy us a coffee at Choosing to Farm!
The Choosing to Farm podcast is all about telling origin stories, learning from the journeys, and creating connection among first-and returning-generation livestock farmers and ranchers across the US and the world. After nearly 30 years working professionally in agriculture as well as being a returning-generation farmer myself, I’m here to share stories, tips and resources to help livestock farmers and ranchers heal our relationship with success. Want to help? Like, share or review this episode! Want to help even more? Join our Patreon to support the show or even buy me a cup of coffee at the Choosing to Farm web site!
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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/choosingtofarm/message -
Bruce Hennessey and Beth Whiting Climb Mountains and Diversify
I describe farming as really just one long extended expedition. It's very much like a mountaineering expedition where you wake up every day, you're working outside. You have problems, often new problems that crop up at least weekly. It's very much like being in a big mountain expedition where you're constantly working with the weather. You're working with the people on your team. You are focused on a goal. That takes all of your effort that you really have to commit to a hundred percent.—Bruce
It's very similar to being at a camp in a way, because we're managing people; a lot of young energy, a lot of people that need training and direction and they're coming to work on our farm,…and a lot of teaching. –Beth
Beth Whiting and Bruce Hennessey are the co-founders and co-owners of Maple Wind Farm, a diversified pasture-based farm and USDA processing plant located in Richmond, Vermont.
Maple Wind Farm email address
Maple Wind Farm website
Maple Wind Farm Instagram
Maple Wind Farm Facebook
Grit by Angela Duckworth
New England Grazing Network web site
Vermont Grass Farmers Association web site
More educational and transformational offerings from Jenn Colby
Whole Human web site
Choosing to Farm Patreon link
Leave us a review or buy us a coffee at Choosing to Farm!
The Choosing to Farm podcast is all about telling origin stories, learning from the journeys, and creating connection among first-and returning-generation livestock farmers and ranchers across the US and the world. After nearly 30 years working professionally
in agriculture as well as being a returning-generation farmer myself, I’m here to share stories, tips and resources to help livestock farmers and ranchers heal our relationship with success. Want to help? Like, share or review this episode! Want to help even more? Join our Patreon to support the show or even buy me a cup of coffee at the Choosing to Farm web site!
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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/choosingtofarm/message -
Haley Goulet Educates Her Community
Watching them [kids] come to the farm; at first, it can be quite challenging. There is definitely an arc of sort of comfortableness just with being outside doing chores, hard manual labor. That takes a minute for a lot of kids to adjust to. But as they adjust, it's so cool to watch them come out of their shells.--Haley
Hello my name is Haley Goulet, I am a livestock manager at a community farm and work to educate the public about livestock farming. I am passionate about teaching folks about the origin of their food and continuing to learn the best ways of ethically raising meat.
Haley Goulet email address
Haley Goulet Instagram
Haley Goulet LinkedIn
Natick Community Organic Farm website
Natick Community Organic Farm Facebook
UMass Amherst ASCI website
Trustees of Reservations website
Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) Model
New England Grazing Network web site
Vermont Grass Farmers Association web site
Your Transformation Story link—Click here to learn more!
Whole Human web site
Choosing to Farm Patreon link
Leave us a review or buy us a coffee at Choosing to Farm!
The Choosing to Farm podcast is all about telling origin stories, learning from the journeys, and creating connection among first-and returning-generation livestock farmers and ranchers across the US and the world. After nearly 30 years working professionally in agriculture as well as being a returning-generation farmer myself, I’m here to share stories, tips and resources to help livestock farmers and ranchers heal our relationship with success. Want to help? Like, share or review this episode! Want to help even more? Join our Patreon to support the show or even buy me a cup of coffee at the Choosing to Farm web site!
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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/choosingtofarm/message -
Toby & Melissa Malandrinos Pick Their Battles
I remember being seven or eight years old and drawing… having construction paper, big rolls of paper all over the
living room floor, drawing pictures of where my cows and my sheep and my chickens would go on my future farm.—Melissa
You pick and choose your battles for sure…do we want to focus on cleaning up all of our step-in fence for the sheep
and do all the outdoor stuff or are we going to focus on a house that we can bring friends into? So unfortunately, our game nights have taken a hit on not being able to invite people over, but our understanding of field management and what is required outside is more of a priority and we're appreciating that. Our decor is not the best, but whatever.--Toby
As Toby writes:
Melissa and I own and operate Three Square Farm. We do rotational grazing of our beef and dairy cows and meat sheep. We moved to Vermont 5 years ago and started our farming journey 3 years ago. Toby also does hay crops on almost 100 acres and is diving into precision ag. Through many challenges, lessons learned (some the hard way), and classes with NOFA, we have gotten our enterprise on a good standing. With many more years to come and the passion for agriculture ever blossoming within our selves we like to look back on the struggles of being newly married, a new location, and many other challenges we faced. This only makes us stronger and the love of this career richer. At this point we couldn't see ourselves doing anything else.
Three Square Farm email address
Three Square Farm website
Three Square Farm Instagram
Three Square Farm Facebook
NOFA Vermont Beginning Farmer programs
Todoist app
New England Grazing Network web site
Vermont Grass Farmers Association web site
Your Transformation Story program registration is open!
Choosing to Farm Patreon link
The Choosing to Farm podcast is all about telling origin stories, learning from the journeys, and creating connection among first-and returning-generation
livestock farmers and ranchers across the US and the world. After nearly 30 years working professionally in agriculture as well as being a returning-generation farmer myself, I’m here to share stories, tips and resources to help livestock farmers and ranchers heal our relationship with success. Want to help? Like, share or review this episode! Want to help even more? Join our Patreon to support the show or even buy me a cup of coffee at the Choosing to Farm web site!
---
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/choosingtofarm/message
Customer Reviews
For Non-Farmers Too!
I love listening to Jenn interview farmers. The podcast offers a platform for farmers to talk about how they came into farming, why they love it, and what the hard days look like. I’m not a farmer so the peek into the often untold part of folks’ story is really fun.
empowering & supportive
Great emphasis on “choosing;” in each relaxed interview Jenn draws out the decisions made along the way that have shaped the farms & the lives of the farmers. I like this framing because it feels empowering to be reminded of my own decision-making power, and feels supportive to hear others taking it seriously too. Thanks Jenn!
Great farming podcast
Melissa and I love listening to our farm mentor and even if we can’t meet in person we can now listen and learn from her on the go. Keep up the great work and we look forward to more great episodes.