Farm To Table Talk

Almost 50 years ago the Agriculture Council of America started National Ag Day. Since then across America, agriculture has been recognized and celebrated on a day or all week in March of every year. It is based on the belief that everyone should:understand how food and fiber products are produced; appreciate the role agriculture plays in providing safe, abundant and affordable products; value the...

Country music legends and livestock on a farm in East Tennessee surprisingly have something in common.  Aliceson and Barry Bales own a family farm in East Tennessee where they raise grass fed and finished beef, pastured pork and chicken and their CEO (Chief Egg Officer) son has a pastured egg operation.  Aliceson has published a cook book and Barry is a long time musician with Alison Krauss and Un...

Local Butcher Shops are coming back as more consumers want to experience the craft, knowledge and quality assurance of old.  The new version of an old tradition provides local, humanely treated, pasture raised beef, lamb, pork and poultry. Expert butchers not only know how to cut meat, they can answer questions on production practices, menu ideas and cooking instructions. One of the leaders in thi...

Food insecurity is a reality for 16% of the public and 32% are waiting for their next pay check before they can buy food. Trends like this matter and are now being discovered by the Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability at Purdue University.  The Head of the Center and Head of the Purdue Ag Econ. Department, Dr. Jayson Lusk believes that to be successful in the food business you must...

The most hated chore on most farms is paperwork.  From her family farm in Nebraska Peggy Meyer thought there had to be a better way, so she created an app to help farmers manage their paperwork more efficiently.  She felt the pains of time management and record keeping and wanted to build something to help! Somehow between raising 6 kids and farming, she created \”Field Pocket\”.  Pegg...

When we think of pasture sounds, it\’s moo, baaa, or whinnies.  So why not quacks, clucks and honks.? Well poultry in the pasture is the gateway to farming since the aspiring farmers can start with just a few acres, as did Jeff Siewicki in South Carolina. He had to figure out how to start with low investment and no experience but with passion to spare. Ducks have become the poultry preferenc...

Some are concerned about whether or not the foods they buy contain GMO, genetically modified organisms, or what USDA refers to as Bioengineered. As a result of a 2016 Bill passed by Congress and signed into Law by President Obama,  USDA regulations have just gone in to effect  that specifies that foods that are bioengineered or contain bioengineered ingredients must disclose that information to co...

Technology in smart phones and watches help people identify current and emerging issues that Doctors can address. Do animals deserve any less?  Rapidly improving technology helps ranchers, farmers and their veterinarians know everything they need to about an animal\’s current condition and anticipate problems that are likely to occur.  Beyond monitoring, DNA technology allows all of the info...

Regenerative? Organic? Real Organic? Non GMO?  Sustainable? Biodynamic? Consumers understandably get confused by the terms when they just want to buy the best food for themselves and their families.  \”Best\” can mean everything from climate to nutrition but always includes taste.  On his \”Save Our Soil\” (SOS) farm in Australia, Mark Rathbone  is a firm believer in Biodyn...

President Biden has launched a well-funded action plan for a \”Fairer, More Competitive and More Resilient Meat and Poultry Supply Chain.  Jenny Lester Moffitt, the Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs says that the new program will effect the entire meat supply chain from farm to table by: expansion of independent processing capacity; jump starting independent processing pr...

There have been major, well-documented problems with child labor overseas in production of various food imports. These foods make their way into the US market–another reason consumers want to know who produced their food. Anne Ross with Charleston Pro Bono Legal Services emphasizes that it isn\’t fair for ethical farmers to have to compete with those who are using forced labor for prof...

Bacon crisis? Or not? Since Californians voted to require more space for pigs, chickens and veal calves, consumers have started to worry about  what it will mean for the price and availability of bacon.  The effects will not only be felt in California but nationwide for pig farmers, meat packers, food distributors, restaurants, supermarkets and consumers. UC Davis AG Economists, Daniel Sumner and...

“To make a living is not to make a killing. It’s to have enough.” says Wendell Berry  in many ways, in scores of books over the years. As we consider the future of the world we need to reflect on the counsel of Wendell Berry who reminds us that the world will take care of us if we take care of it; knowing and loving it.  If there was a poet laureate for agriculture, it should be Wendell Berry. A f...

With climate change what is the future of agriculture?  The author of The Dreamt Land, Mark Arax draws from his chronicles of California over the past three decades to consider where we\’ve been and where we\’re headed to address the future of agriculture in a time of climate change.  No writer has devoted more pages to the story of California agriculture—small farmers and big farmers,...

  Because ‘we are what we eat,’ the Native American food sovereignty movement is working to revitalize and perpetuate traditional food systems in order to promote good physical, cultural and spiritual health for Indigenous peoples. This is being done through the promotion of seed sovereignty and the reclamation and rematriation of Native heirloom seeds; through the work of Native chefs seekin...

Small holder farmer provide over 80 to 90 % of food production in Africa. However much more food is needed and farmers need to earn more money to lift them and their families  beyond subsistence, just getting by. Larta Institute has introduced Farm to Table Talk to OCP  a Moroccan based global plant nutrition company serving farmers on five continents. The potential for African farmers to improve...

Successful agriculture requires a continuous supply of new ideas and technology for farmers of all types to meet the demands of global and local markets, profitably. Over 100,000 from the farm to table global supply chain are once again making their way to the Central Valley of California to experience the World\’s largest outdoor farm show, the World Ag Expo.  Marketing Manager, Jennifer Fa...

  \”Green Washing\” is a better recognized term than \”Humane Washing\” but it\’s the same idea of claiming to be as good as your customers want to hear. Exaggerations or plain mistruths take liberty with the true facts of the matter.  Farm Forward is one organization that is watching and calling out retailers and others in the food chains that they believe are m...

  Food is changing. How will we eat? That’s the question posed in the Farm To Table Talk Clubhouse room to Troy Hooper a multi- business entrepreneur in the hospitality space with a consulting practice to build and scale emerging brands. Troy and Rodger Wasson are joined live in the Clubhouse room by a large group of members. Joining the conversation “on stage” are Chef Dr. Mike, a cardiologi...

Nothing less than the future of the world is the focus of the gathering in Glasgow Scotland, known as COP 26.  The California Secretary of Agriculture, Karen Ross was there to share the progress and goals of agriculture in California and from there talks with Farm To Table Talk host, Rodger Wasson.  

Beth Hoffman was living the good life: she had a successful career as a journalist and professor, a comfortable home in San Francisco, and plenty of close friends and family. Yet in her late 40s, she and her husband decided to leave the big city and move to his family ranch in Iowa—all for the dream of becoming a farmer, to put into practice everything she had learned over decades of reporting on...

The Chefs’ Manifesto is a chef-led project that brings together 1000+ chefs from around the world to help deliver a sustainable food system. As chefs bridge the gap between farm and fork, the Chefs’ Manifesto empowers chefs with a framework tied to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This framework consists of simple, practical actions chefs can take and are grouped in key areas. Pau...

COVID disruptions again showed that instead of dependence on a few global meat conglomerates, States and Provinces need more small-scale slaughter and cut-and-wrap facilities — creating  skilled jobs throughout rural communities.  The Biden Administration\’s commitment to increase fairness in livestock and poultry markets, and USDA’s new short-term funding for local meat processing, ar...

In our ideal world the best farming  finds its way to the best restaurants. One of those journeys leads to Allora in Sacramento where the best things in life belong together,  food and wine. Allora is the dream of a sommelier and a chef; husband and wife. Two partners who love Sacramento and are infatuated with Italy. Featuring over 250 wines, fresh pasta made daily, and a commitment to sustainabl...

\”Experience is everything,\” says  Gigi Berardi, Ph. D., author of Food Wise: A Whole Systems Guide to Sustainable and Delicious Food Choices , “We all eat, but we make different choices about what to eat and how.” Improving how we make these choices can mean the difference between continued frustration with what we put in our bodies and a more healthful, meaningful relationship with...