The Organic BC Podcast

Organic BC
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The Organic BC Podcast

An educational resource for farmers, gardeners, processors and other members of the organic food & farming community in British Columbia & beyond! Featuring conversations with farmers, eaters, academics, scientists and authors about the philosophy, practice, and politics of organic food. A project of Organic BC, British Columbia's primary organic sector advocate and representative to 700+ certified organic producers and processors in the province for more than 25 years.

  1. 5D AGO

    The Main Principles of Rotational Grazing and Addressing the Skeptics

    This podcast was funded in part by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada through the BC Climate Agri-Solutions Fund delivered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC. This episode, part two of our miniseries on rotational grazing in collaboration with BC’s Small Scale Meat Producers Association. The first two episodes will cover the fundamentals of managed rotational grazing in the context of the home farm or ranch. In this episode, part two of my conversation with Dr. Woody Lane, in which we discuss what Woody calls the four principles of managed rotational grazing, and address some of the skepticism that Woody hears from farmers when he presents workshops on the subject. My guest for the first two episodes of this series is Dr. Woody Lane. Woody is a livestock nutritionist and forage specialist from Oregon. Woody has devoted much of his career to promoting the benefits of rotational grazing and teaching others how to implement successful rotational grazing techniques on their farms. He has written multiple books about management-intensive rotational grazing, including Capturing Sunlight: Skills & Ideas for Intensive Grazing, Sustainable Pastures, Healthy Soils, & Grassfed Livestock.

    31 min

  2. MAR 6

    The Rationale for Rotational Grazing & Some Basic Concepts

    This podcast was funded in part by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada through the BC Climate Agri-Solutions Fund delivered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC. This episode, we launch a miniseries on rotational grazing in collaboration with BC’s Small Scale Meat Producers Association. The first two episodes will cover the fundamentals of managed rotational grazing in the context of the home farm or ranch. In this episode, we’ll learn about the rationale for managed rotational grazing, also referred to as management intensive grazing, and the main concepts and tools that need to be understood in order for this approach to grazing to be effective. My guest for the first two episodes of this series is Dr. Woody Lane. Woody is a livestock nutritionist and forage specialist from Oregon. Woody has devoted much of his career to promoting the benefits of rotational grazing and teaching others how to implement successful rotational grazing techniques on their farms. He has written multiple books about management-intensive rotational grazing, including Capturing Sunlight: Skills & Ideas for Intensive Grazing, Sustainable Pastures, Healthy Soils, & Grassfed Livestock.

    59 min

  3. FEB 4

    GAP Miniseries Extra: Producing Carrots Efficiently

    The last four episodes of the podcast made up a miniseries about GAP Certification for small and medium-scale farms. The main focus of this miniseries was the work of Okanagan farmer Emily Jubenvil to obtain GAP certification for her carrots and beets in order  to preserve and expand her access to wholesale markets. The series is essentially done, but as I promised last week, I’m back with one more short episode that doesn’t have anything to do with GAP certification. At one point in my interviews with Emily we went on a bit of a tangent about becoming a more efficient carrot producer. I think this will be relevant to any small-scale farmer who’s considering scaling up one or more crops in order to sell bulk quantities to wholesale buyers...Emily does a great job summarizing the changes she had to make.

    13 min

  4. JAN 29

    A Shrug & A Grimace: Two More Gap Stories

    This is episode three of our miniseries about GAP Certification for small and medium-scale farms. So far, you’ve heard three episodes about Okanagan farmer Emily Jubenvil and her pursuit of GAP certification to preserve and expand her access to wholesale markets. If you’ve already listened, you know that Emily’s experience was largely positive and entirely successful. We thought we might end the series there, but then we decided to seek out a couple more perspectives about GAP certification from small-scale farmers to put listeners in a better position to judge how applicable Emily’s experiences are to other contexts.  First: Brandi Smith of Bessette Creek Farm in Lumby. Then: Anna Helmer of Helmer's Organic Farm in Pemberton.

    36 min

  5. JAN 23

    The GAP Audit and Emily's Final Thoughts

    This is episode three in a series about whether GAP certification is a viable option for small-scale farmers who want to gain, preserve, or expand access to wholesale marketing channels. This episode: The GAP Audit & Emily's Final Thoughts Referenced int his episode: BC's On-farm Food Safety Funding ***** This episode is part three of a miniseries about Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), a food safety certification designed for particpants in the fresh fruit & veggie supply chain. Increasingly, food distributors and grocery stores are requiring their suppliers to hold GAP certification. This requirement has concerned many small-scale fruit & veggie growers, who believe that GAP certification was designed with a bias toward large-scale farming systems. They argue that GAP is too expensive and too inflexible to the alternate ways that diversified, small-scale farms operate. The result, they argue, is that the requirement of GAP certification by retailers and distributors represents an unfair barrier to their participation in those markets. Access to wholesale markets is important to Emily Jubenvill, a diversfied small-scale farmer in the North Okanagan. In 2024, she applied for GAP certification in order to preserve her relationship with a few grocery stores in her region. In this series, we'll track Emily's effort to obtain GAP certification, and talk to a couple of other small-scale farmers who obtained GAP, as we try to either confirm or disprove the concerns about GAP outlined above. Optional background materials: A previous episode of The Organic BC Podcast on this subject Understanding the Safe Food for Canadians Regulation Canada GAP website

    39 min

  6. JAN 16

    In Pursuit of GAP Certification

    This is episode two in a series about whether GAP certification is a viable option for small-scale farmers who want to gain, preserve, or expand access to wholesale marketing channels. This episode: In Pursuit of GAP Certification. ***** This episode is part two of a miniseries about Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), a food safety certification designed for particpants in the fresh fruit & veggie supply chain. Increasingly, food distributors and grocery stores are requiring their suppliers to hold GAP certification. This requirement has concerned many small-scale fruit & veggie growers, who believe that GAP certification was designed with a bias toward large-scale farming systems. They argue that GAP is too expensive and too inflexible to the alternate ways that diversified, small-scale farms operate. The result, they argue, is that the requirement of GAP certification by retailers and distributors represents an unfair barrier to their participation in those markets. Access to wholesale markets is important to Emily Jubenvill, a diversfied small-scale farmer in the North Okanagan. In 2024, she applied for GAP certification in order to preserve her relationship with a few grocery stores in her region. In this series, we'll track Emily's effort to obtain GAP certification, and talk to a couple of other small-scale farmers who obtained GAP, as we try to either confirm or disprove the concerns about GAP outlined above. Optional background materials: A previous episode of The Organic BC Podcast on this subject Understanding the Safe Food for Canadians Regulation Canada GAP website

    27 min

  7. JAN 9

    GAP Certification: A Barrier & an Opportunity

    This episode kicks off a miniseries about Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), a food safety certification designed for particpants in the fresh fruit & veggie supply chain. Increasingly, food distributors and grocery stores are requiring their suppliers to hold GAP certification. This requirement has concerned many small-scale fruit & veggie growers, who believe that GAP certification was designed with a bias toward large-scale farming systems. They argue that GAP is too expensive and too inflexible to the alternate ways that diversified, small-scale farms operate. The result, they argue, is that the requirement of GAP certification by retailers and distributors represents an unfair barrier to their participation in those markets. Access to wholesale markets is important to Emily Jubenvill, a diversfied small-scale farmer in the North Okanagan. In 2024, she applied for GAP certification in order to preserve her relationship with a few grocery stores in her region. In this series, we'll track Emily's effort to obtain GAP certification, and talk to a couple of other small-scale farmers who obtained GAP, as we try to either confirm or disprove the concerns about GAP outlined above. Optional background materials: A previous episode of The Organic BC Podcast on this subject Understanding the Safe Food for Canadians Regulation Canada GAP website

    36 min

  8. 03/28/2024

    Silage corn then manure then a grass cover crop: considerations

    This episode of the Organic BC Podcast was funded in part by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada through the BC Climate Agri-Solutions Fund delivered by Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC. University of Wisconsin-Madison soil scientist Matthew Ruark joins us to talk about some research he co-authored on the use of cover crops to reduce nutrient pollution following a manure application, and how to limit the potential agronomic tradeoffs of this practice. You can read a summary of the research we discuss here.

    45 min
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About

An educational resource for farmers, gardeners, processors and other members of the organic food & farming community in British Columbia & beyond! Featuring conversations with farmers, eaters, academics, scientists and authors about the philosophy, practice, and politics of organic food. A project of Organic BC, British Columbia's primary organic sector advocate and representative to 700+ certified organic producers and processors in the province for more than 25 years.

Information

  • Creator
    Organic BC
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2025
  • Episodes
    61
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025 Organic BC
  • Show Website
    The Organic BC Podcast

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