Grounded by the Farm

There is nothing that will wake me up faster or better than the smell of hickory-smoked country ham and bacon. And when I want to buy country ham or the "good bacon" (a phrase our family started when several of us showed up for a weekend get together and I brought bacon from Broadbent's while others brought grocery store bacon), it means Broadbent. Owners Ronny & Beth Drennan talk to us about the...

The smell of fresh lavender is something that will captivate your imagination for all sorts of things! Lavender farms may not be everywhere, but thanks to Long Row Lavender, just west of St. Louis, Missouri, it's an easy drive for much of middle America. Tracy Smith shares the lessons learned about growing lavender, cooking with it, and bringing the great look and scent into your homes!  See the v...

In the midst of most family farms, is a house called the home place. When you layer that with the appreciation of food, family and hospitality that runs so deep in western Kentucky, you get the Peery House at Springhill Farms! And in this episode, we talk to three generations of the family about changes unfolding over the years at their home place. Growing up it was home for Jerry Peery. While gro...

With a passion to build community and a love of agriculture, Will Kornegay has built a business that connects people, reduces food waste and provides access to fresh-from-the-farm produce. Based in rural North Carolina, Will saw a lot of produce was wasted on farms because there wasn't a market for it. Perhaps it was misshapen or got scratched up a bit during harvest. But it was still perfectly go...

Horseradish isn't a food that is in the forefront of a lot of food conversations, but you can't deny the burst of flavor can really add to other foods. Whether prime rib, oysters or bloody marys, horseradish makes othr foods better. This week we talk to Matt McMillan who takes us to a horseradish farm and talks to us about some of the reasons this root is something that some people want with so ma...

This week is the time set aside to focus on agriculture. And while we do that routinely with our episodes, we thought a great way to mark the observance is by hearing about weather conditions, field work and general state of mind for farmers across the US (9 different states!) & a few from outside the country too! You'll hear from farmers who have previously been on the show as well as some we may...

Tony White was doing marketing work with the Yellow Pages and found himself starting a business that was stressful so a friend suggested he start gardening. Over the years the garden and connections to chefs have grown to the point that if you want great tomatoes in the Midwest, you should know Tony Tomato! We talk with Tony about some of his favorite ways to enjoy tomatoes, the way he keeps great...

After doing the podcast for a few years, we thought listeners would enjoy hearing updates on three popular episodes of Grounded by the Farm. So in this week's episode, we touch base with three people we talked to some time ago about the latest happenings in their part of the world. Here's who we talked to and the background on each of them from previous episodes. Popcorn farmer Matt Helms about El...

As someone who loves an abundance of Asian cuisines, tofu may be on my plate or in my soup more than some Americans. But I haven't had many chances to sit down and talk to someone about growing tofu soybeans. We can check that off the list as the conversation with Jennifer "Jennie" Schmidt about her family's Maryland farm allowed us a chance to talk about diversification, how they determine what t...

Family farm transitions are tough to discuss. A lot gets wrapped into it.... not only are you talking about things like retirement or potential death of an older generation, but it means changes in how things are done, recognizing the contributions of younger generations. And many times all of this is wrapped up with generations of family legacy and how best to honor that. It's a conversation that...

The Arbogast family farms outside of Harrisonburg, VA. From the beautiful Shenandoah Valley, their chicken houses dot the farm as do cattle out on the pastures. Lauren talks with us about the chicken farm, explaining the way the chicken houses are managed and how chickens go from freshly hatched chicks to ready for the market.  Having a blend of generations, the Arbogasts have the benefit of both...

Growing up with cattle, Ryan Goodman got a good look first-hand at cattle care and feeding. But working cattle in half a dozen states and visiting ranches in the vast majority of the U.S., Ryan has had the chance to compare and contrast various environments and some of the things farmers and ranchers have to take into consideration. We talk with Ryan about the full spectrum of experiences he's had...

Sitting down to talk with This Farm Wife Meredith Bernard was pretty much like sitting down with someone I had known forever. And my guess is thousands of people feel similarly since more than 100k have subscribed to her YouTube Channel.  Meredith & her husband Lawrence farm along the North Carolina - Virginia line. Although towns are close by, with fences, woods & hills, all their neighbors have...

The Leonard family found themselves dealing with the challenges of urban sprawl and rising land prices. As they started diversifying to include agritainment, new challenges rose.  But there are lots of smiles now, photos with Santa, haunted mazes at Halloween and more!  Patty Leonard and her family have a long history of dairy farming. In fact, her grandparents were dairy farming in the area now c...

Farm stays on Maryland's Easter Shore may not be the first thing to come to mind when you think of Maryland or a vacation, but maybe they should. There is a lot of curiosity to be tapped there and I certainly enjoyed my visit! Those farm stays at Sugar Water Manor give people a chance to go deeper in their interest to learn more about how food is produced according to Dana Zucker. She says this ty...

The joy of discovery paired with the growing interest in where our food comes from makes food and farming a perfect way to enjoy learning. That's the mindset we are trying to create with the new farm and food curriculum. These educational materials accompany some of our podcast episodes to share farmers stories. And thanks to working with an amazing teacher / educator (Whitney Choate), we think we...

We didn't realize when I interviewed Paula Hynes that we were about to get so busy on a project it means all hands on deck! We have been working on a curriculum to bring these farm-to-table discussions to teachers, parents and students. There's a lot to get done and we hope subscribers understand the temporary shift on our end. Maybe you can use this time to catch up on episodes you may have misse...

There may not be many places in the world with more differences than the beautiful green rolling hills of Ireland  and the drought-ridden savannas of Kenya. Paula Hynes had the chance to leave Ireland for time with the Maasai people. It offered a whole new perspective on farming, but also on life more broadly.    In 2017 that Paula was fortunate enough to spend time with members of the Maasai peop...

If you have ever open the gold wrapped on Kerrygold Irish Butter, you may have noticed that it looks different from some of the other butters you buy. What is it that makes it different?  And who are the farmers connected to it? That's part of our conversation in this episode as we talk to dairy farmer Peter Hynes of Ireland's County Cork. Peter & his wife Paula have 150 cows they graze and milk y...

Although rice is probably the biggest constant in Filipino food, there are a variety of foods that many Americans may not be familiar with. And Albert Santos has worked in several areas of The Phillipines studying agriculture and working with plants and people across the way. And he has made sure that I got lots of opportunities to enjoy Filipino food & farms. Albert is originally from the Philipp...

For most people, canola oil is something you buy as an oil or a spray to cook with, but it is a striking vision with beautiful blooms that are numerous and totally light up the prairies mid-season. And it is incredibly Canadian because plant breeders in the country worked to improve the health profile and taste!  Canola farmer Lesley Rae Kelly joins us to talk about how this plant, that is part of...

In today's world, people talk about plant-based proteins as a dietary preference, or a way to deliver innovation. But when you think about that, how often does your mind turn to growing a plant-based protein in a desert? How often do you think about subsistence farmers, people who struggle to feed their family the most basic foods because weather strikes hard? That's both the challenge and the pro...

Have you got a favorite plant breeder or maybe not even sure what plant breeding is about? This episode is for you either way! We talk with Dr. Lee Hickey who has a plant breeding lab at Australia's University of Queensland about some of the cool science that helps advance the seeds farmers plant and the foods on out plates. I met Lee in the friendly confines of the vast wheat fields just outside...

Fish is a growing part of many diets as a good protein source, and people like Ugandan fish farmer Jean Kaahwa are growing fish for us! He farms tilapia in Africa's Lake Victoria. In this episode, we talk with Jean about Uganda and the role agriculture plays in the country as well as a wealth of projects he has started as he teaches fellow African farmers how to farm fish.  See video & photos at h...

Usually Grounded by the Farm episodes include us interviewing a farmer, talking about the food they produce. And in this second season, we are interviewing farmers in various parts of the world. But this week, we hit several obstacles for interviews and listeners were nice enough to ask the questions. That put our host Janice Person in the interviewee seat! She talks all about visiting farms while...