American Family Farmer

Dena Hoff, Vice President of the National Family Farm Coalition, has farmed most of her life and has raised sheep, cattle, alfalfa, sweet corn, edible dry beans, and other crops on her farm in Glendive, Montana, since 1979. She is an active member of her rural community, serving on the Water Commission and the local food cooperative, as well as Montana-based Northern Plains Resource Council.  She represents NPRC to the Western Organization of Resource Councils and to the NFFC. With Doug, she discusses the relentless efforts by multi-national agribusiness and extraction corporations to control our food and agriculture system and what the NFFC is doing in the fight to sustain non-GMO, heritage and indigenous seeds and fresh, potable waterLearn more about her and her work with the National Family Farm Coaltion at www.NFFC.NET

Jackie Allenbrand started the PHARM Dog USA program in 2005.  PHARM stands for: Pets Helping Agriculture in Rural Missouri. She and her husband used dogs on their own farm to work the cattle and wondered if a dog could be trained for further farm use.  After meeting a farmer with a partial leg amputation and talking with him about his dog she decided to pursue the idea of training dogs for farmers dealing with an illness or injury.  Since developing the program the group has placed several dogs with farmers with a disability or illness that need the help of a 4-legged farm hand.  The program uses Border Collies for herding purposes and Labs saved from shelters or rescues for service work. Opening gates and retrieving tools are a few things dogs can be trained to do on the farm. PHARM Dog USA became a not for profit in 2012.Jackie and her husband Chris live on a farm in NW Missouri and have a cow/calf herd. Find out more at www.PharmDog.org

Jesse Laflamme, CEO of Pete and Gerry’s Organic Eggs, took over the family business from his parents, Gerry and Carol. He has raised the bar even higher with his with his commitment to small-scale farming, organic foods, humane treatment of animals, and conservation. Jesse and his wife Sandra love having their children help out at the farm in Monroe, NH.In the podcast, Jesse addresses egg labeling confusion and explains the differences between free range, cage free, organic and pasture raised eggs that many consumers are confused by. P&G’s prides themselves on handling their hens in humane ways, and explains how other egg producers can follow their lead and what food labeling regulators can do to stop misleading claims about eggs. Find out more about Jesse Laflamme and his company at www.PeteandGerrys.com

Wes King has worked on sustainability and food policy issues for nearly ten years. He staffs NSAC’s Marketing, Food Systems and Rural Development Committee. Before joining NSAC, Wes spent the previous six years at NSAC member organization, Illinois Stewardship Alliance, working on food access, farmers markets and working-lands conservation policy; and leading efforts to create a more risk and scale appropriate regulatory environment for farms and local food businesses. Prior to that he worked for the Illinois Environmental Council. Wes holds an M.A. and B.A. in Political Science from the University of Illinois.In this segment, Wes answers questions like - What kind of work does the NSAC do?-How does the NSAC influence farming and ag policy?-The next Farm Bill and how it will support local and regional food systems.-The current proposal to cut funding for USDA rural development programs -The decision at USDA to eliminate the Under Secretary of Rural Development and its impact Find out more about Wes and his wo

Melissa Miller is the education director of the Beginning Farmer Institute at the National Farmers Union. She is responsible for the planning, development, promotion and delivery of youth and adult educational and leadership programs and events. As NFU’s Education Director Melissa is passionate about giving all producers the educational resources they need to succeed, including women and beginning producers.Prior to NFU Melissa managed Common Good City Farm, an urban farm in downtown Washington DC.  At CGCF Melissa grew food for her local neighborhood as well as put on educational events throughout the year to connect community members to local food. Melissa is a first generation producer who currently owns Ladybell Farms in West River, Maryland. Ladybell Farms is a cut-flower CSA farm that also sells herbs and mushrooms.Find out more about Melissa and her work with the NFU at www.beginningfarmers.org

Phil and Juany Noble own and operate Sage Mountain Farm, where they are an active part of the organic food revolution that is sweeping across the country. Starting with a small garden, they ended up having some extra produce; not wanting to let anything go to waste they decided to sell it at the local farmer's market.  When locals asked for more and more produce, they decided to become regulars at the market and thus Sage Mountain Farm was born. All of their fruits and vegetables are grown on the family farm using sparkling clean natural well water and healthy organic processes. At the high desert property, they also use organic guidelines to raise steers, chickens and pigs. Motivated by their passion for bringing produce to the marketplace, and their love for the outdoors and farming, they planted fruit trees, fenced of the property and purchased some of the land adjacent to their original 5 acres.They now own multiple properties and have started Sage Mountain Beef, where they also offer green-fed beef and p

How do you make cheese? This was the question Bob and Ricki Carroll asked back in the 70’s before there was such a thing as home cheese making. Intent on becoming more self-reliant, the newlyweds welcomed two dairy goats Mary-Lou, and Dinah to their backyard farm in Ashfield Massachusetts, and began searching far and wide for supplies, ingredients and resources. Working with what little they could find, they began to experiment. Thus began the cheese making journey of a lifetime!Cheesemaking Made Easy, written by Bob in 1981, was later expanded by Ricki, renamed Home Cheese Making, and has become a bible for home and artisanal cheese makers alike, selling hundreds of thousands of copies.Since then, this little company has been featured in numerous newspapers and magazines, Ricki and Bob had an appearance on The Today Show, Ricki helped start the American Cheese Society, and, after attending one of Ricki’s classes, the acclaimed author Barbara Kingsolver wrote about the class in both Food and Wine magazine and

An Indiana native, Anne Hazelett is currently the Assistant to the USDA Secretary for Rural Development. She has worked on agriculture and rural issues for over fifteen years. Working in both the U.S. House and Senate, Hazelett has most recently served as Republican Chief Counsel for the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry where she was an advisor on many issues impacting rural America from Farm Bill programs to broadband and child nutrition. In addition to her public service in Washington, Hazelett was the Director of Agriculture for her home state where she managed the Indiana State Department of Agriculture and was an advisor to Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels on agriculture and rural issues.Doug gets to the bottom of what exactly the Rural Development Agency of the USDA does, as well as tackling the issues of what role the agency plays in working with small rural farms, how Rural Development is helping with the Hurricane Harvey disaster and how the UDSA RD is trying to tackle the nation

NFU President Roger Johnson was elected National Farmers Union’s 14th president during the organization’s 107th anniversary convention in 2009. A third-generation family farmer from Turtle Lake, N.D., Johnson previously served as North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner, a position he was first elected to in 1996. Johnson grew up in Farmers Union, participating in the organization’s youth programs, serving as a county president and chairman of the board of a local Farmers Union cooperative. As president, Roger is the chief executive and public spokesman for the organization.He talks to Doug about the NFU’s upcoming fly-in - When members of congress come back into town, NFU will have close to 300 members fly in to lobby their members of Congress. Also on the table is the depressed farm economy, health care, and NFU’s push for increased use of ethanol and advanced biofuels.

Pollinators, such as bees, butterflies, birds and other animals bring us one in every three bites of food we eat. Pollinators form the underpinnings of healthy and sustainable ecosystems that support a multitude of wildlife. For years, pollinator populations have been in decline and this decline is attributed most severely to a loss in feeding and nesting habitats. In addition, environmental degradation, the misuse of chemicals, pests and disease, and now climate change are all contributing to shrinking and shifting pollinator populations.Val Dolcini, formerly the Administrator of the USDA Farm Service Agency, is a fifth generation Californian, a passionate supporter of American farmers and ranchers, and a firm believer in the promise of our nation's rural places.  He is currently the President & CEO of the Pollinator Partnership, an organization dedicated to the support and protection of pollinators throughout North America. This year, Val and his team have collaborated with Blondie's Debbie Harry to lau

Bill Tomson has been an agriculture reporter for 22 years. He graduated from Central Michigan University and started his career as a correspondent for Knight Ridder in Sao Paulo, Brazil, reporting on soybeans, corn and wheat production. Bill also covered the automobile and telecommunications sectors there.Since then, Bill has covered ag for Dow Jones, Politico and now Agri-Pulse in Washington DC. Bill currently focuses on trade issues for Agri-Pulse, where he recently broke the story on the details of the U.S.-China deal to resume beef trade.The U.S. dairy sector is fighting harder than ever on several fronts to halt the European Union’s global efforts to block cheese producers in other countries from using names like Roquefort, Asiago and Gorgonzola on the products they export.“We can’t afford to lose this race with the EU,” Vilsack said. “Mexico is our number-one market … for dairy products, so clearly what happens here will make a difference to the nearly 42,000 (U.S.) operations that are producing product

Jonathan White, the son of a math professor and an editor, fell in love with cheese when,  as a twenty-one year old engineer, he had been shipped off to London to manage a project, where his local grocery had no less than forty types of cheese! (This was in 1977, when his US supermarket stocked three colors of the same cheese!)Twelve years later, after falling in love and marrying a young modern dancer named Nina, he moved with his wife and infant to the woodlands north of New York City. Nina had two young ballet students whose father, American musical legend David Amram, kept goats on his hobby farm. When little Alana and Adira turned their noses up at the prospect of drinking goat's milk, David turned to Jonathan and said "Pops, you like to cook, want to try to make something out of all of this milk?"After a few years of hobby cheesemaking, Jonathan realized that he liked his hobby better than his job.Twenty-four years later, Jonathan and Nina are making cheese and bread at their Bobolink Dairy and Bakehous

Tinicum CSA is a partnership between Bucks County native John Crooke and Minnesota native Stefan Streit, who met each other in 2012, while they were both working as CSA apprentices at Sisters Hill Farm in Stanfordville, NY.John grew up sharing the chores with his brothers on his parents’ dairy farm.  His interest in vegetable farming began at Cornell University, where he co-managed the student farm at Dilmun Hill.  He is a returned Peace Corps Volunteer from Paraguay, where he worked for three years in Agricultural Extension and Corps Member Coordination.  For his part, Stefan grew up in Minnesota, and not long after college, worked as an Americorps member for an environmental restoration non-profit in Seattle.  Together, John and Stefan have a shared vision for Tinicum CSA.  They believe there are four essential elements of Tinicum CSA.  First, they insist that what they do must be good for the members who participate in the CSA.  They  believe that what they grow is healthy, nourishing, and a good value for

Rob Larew, VP of Public Policy and Communications at the National Farmers Union, talks about NFU’s position on biofuels and Renewable Fuel Standards, as well as the farm economy, rural development, and health care. The National Farmers Union has been working since 1902 to protect and enhance the economic well-being and quality of life for family farmers, ranchers and rural communities through advocating grassroots-driven policy positions adopted by its membership.The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the Trump Administration’s first proposed set of volume obligations for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The proposal maintains the conventional biofuel amount at 15 billion gallons, yet lowers obligations for advanced biofuels, including biodiesel, and ultimately falls nearly 7 billion gallons short of the levels prescribed by Congress in the RFS statute.In response to the proposal, National Farmers Union (NFU) President Roger Johnson issued the following statement:“For the past year, Preside

JOHN WESLEY BOYD, JR. is the founder and President of the National Black Farmers Association, which he started in 1995. He is a fourth-generation black farmer from Baskerville, Virginia near the town of South Hill, Virginia. He has been chronicled by national media organizations including a Person of the Week profile on ABC World News Tonight, The Washington Post, and Roll Call newspaper which is influential on Capitol Hill. He owns and operates a 300-acre farm where he grows soybean, corn and wheat and currently raises a hundred head of beef cattle.He was an early supporter of Senator Barack Obama during the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries and played an important role organizing African American voters. He has been named one of the "100 Most Influential Black Americans and Organization Leaders" by Ebony magazine several times.THE NATIONAL BLACK FARMERS ASSOCIATION has been a national voice on the issue of farm subsidies, arguing that black farmers are left out of the massive system of subsidies provid

Scott Henry is the Business Development Manager for LongView Farms and is responsible for business growth, process management, and the implementation of precision technology. He is a 27 year old, 4th generation farmer, currently working alongside his parents and the rest of the crew at LongView Farms. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Business, International Agriculture, and Finance from Iowa State University. Prior to joining the LongView Farms team, Scott worked for Summit Farms near Alden, IA where he managed new construction and development projects within Summit’s livestock operations.Longview Farms produces Commercial Corn, Commercial Soybeans, Seed Corn and Seed Beans.Millennials will go back to farming, but wont settle for tradition -  is a story that Scott wrote for The Des Moines Register.Nearly 100 million acres of farmland will change hands between 2015 and 2019. For young farmers such as myself, it’s an extremely expensive barrier to entry into the farming world if you don’t h

BOB GARVER is the founder of Wicked Joe Organic Coffees and is a globally recognized coffee expert and barista Judge. It was while in the service, based in Turkey, that he learned the power of flavorful coffee as the bridge to conversations. He brought his new-found admiration for the powerful bean back to America. On leaving the service he started a coffee shop in Santa Cruz, California. Moving his family to Maine, with his coffee – Wicked Joe was born.WICKED JOE COFFEE is Located in Topsham, Maine. It is a family-owned company, committed to producing exceptional coffees, using sustainable business practices. The coffee is roasted in an organic certified, energy efficient facility and made with Organic and FairTrade beans, purchased directly from farmers and cooperatives across the globe. Keeping true to its mission of ethical and sustainable production, they built a new 25,000 sq. ft. sustainable roasting facility, that redefines sustainable coffee roasting.The facility is Certified Organic and Fair Trade,

JIM GOODMAN and his wife Rebecca operate Northwood Farm, a certified organic dairy farm that provides fresh milk to a local cheese producer. They also market beef directly from the farm and at the Dane County Farmers' Market in Madison, WI. Their cows are raised according to organic standards and are predomiantly grass-fed.Jim is also a frequent contributor to National Family Farm Coalition.On april 30th, he wrote: The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) must be replaced with a transparent trade agreement that ensures farmers in all three nations—Canada, Mexico, and the United States—receive fair prices for their production, that consumers are guaranteed the right to know the content and origin of their food, and that strong environmental protections are put in place to protect the sustainability of rural communities.While our government officials appear to be concerned about the well being and economic viability of Wisconsin’s dairy farmers, I wonder if they are really more interested in the viabilit

GAY GORDON-BYREN is Executive Director of The Repair Association at repair.org. She was born into a computer geek household and grew up around computer parts and designs. She wanted nothing to do with computers as a kid, but wanted to be a figure skater like Peggy Fleming or an opera singer, but didn’t have the right stuff.REPAIR.ORG believes that every time a farm equipment manufacturer inserts a computerized part into their product – they seem to take that as an opportunity to monopolize repair. Its wrong on every level – so it must be stopped. Farmers do own their equipment but they often give up those rights with a hidden agreement that states otherwise. MODERN FARM EQUIPMENT is very much like computer mainframes were in the 1970s.  When they break – it’s a very big deal.  There is little or no tolerance for downtime. They are expensive, bulky, and have to be repaired in the field. It’s as impossible to fix a modern tractor as it is a computer without the tools, parts, schematics, diagnostics and firmware

EMILY MEREDITH is the Chief of Staff at the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) in Arlington, VA.  Her primary responsibilities lie in the areas of strategic planning, organizational oversight and stakeholder outreach. She also oversees the National Dairy FARM ProgramTM, which assures consumers that milk and other products from American dairy farms are the end result of responsible animal care practices.  In supervising the exceptional FARM Program team, she focuses on other education and training modules that are identified as part of the FARM program, and assists in other areas of the regulatory department such as biosecurity and residue avoidance. The NATIONAL MILK PRODUCERS FEDERATION, established in 1916 and based in Arlington, VA, develops and carries out policies that advance the well-being of dairy producers and the cooperatives they own. NMPF is the voice of more than 32,000 dairy farmers in Washington. The members of NMPF’s cooperatives produce the majority of the U.S. milk supply, making NMPF