Grounded by the Farm

Whether you pick up a bouquet of flowers at a florist or a supermarket, you may well find alstroemeria in the bouquet How cool would it be to know a local farmer who grows those flowers? I have to confess, I'd never met an alstroemeria farmer til I came across British farmer Ben Cross through Clubhouse. In this episode, we talk about growing alstroemeria, about how to keep it looking fresh as long...

It's the sage ol' question that continues to perplex us - which came first? The chicken or the egg? For farmers like Dianne McComb it's the care of hens that deliver the incredible, edible egg ! So both stay front and center! McComb farms with her brother in Ontario, Canada fostering the legacy four generations have crafted. Taking care of thousands of hens means a lot of time with eggs and Dianne...

Pork is a major part of the German diet, a deep love for so many and farmer Marcus Höltkotter says schnitzel is his favorite way to enjoy it! Producing pork for his table are others is what drives his family. To get there, they care for the pigs on the farm, take the manure from the barns out to fields to fertilize the crops. Listen as he tells us about that as well as the Rhine countryside he cal...

Knowing the first episode of our second season would be published the first week of March, it was obvious we needed to talk about the Cheese-A-Day Challenge started by "Farmer Tom" in the UK had to be discussed! Getting to Know Farmer Tom Let's start with the reality that the farmer who started the Cheese-A-Day Challenge, a taste-sensation for the month of February isn't a dairy farmer! In fact, h...

Empowering others to produce food for themselves and their families came to Natasha Nicholes through her family history. She has been building a community garden, urban farm & the community for a years now. She started locally, growing a few plants at a condo and grew to a backyard before getting permission to plant lots on Chicago's South Side & online. Her community lives the moniker "We Sow We...

Black History Month is a time to pause and look at the many contributions black Americans have had on our country, our culture and ourselves. Lloyd Johnson talks through all of that as a back man who has been farming on a large scale much of his 80 plus years.  Mr. Johnson talks about the farm's history dating back to the days before Abraham Lincoln's presidency as well as some of the shifts he ha...

With mardi gras and Fat Tuesday on the horizon, crawfish is on the mind and I'm wishing it was on the plate! We sat down with crawfish farmers Bill & Janice Cheek at Stelly's Restaurant in Labeau, Louisiana. to learn all the things... did you know there were red & white crawfish? Interested in learning the history of growing them and how ponds are managed? That and talking about the joy of a crawf...

In this episode from the start of season 1, we talk popcorn with Matt Helms who started a popcorn business with his family's farm. A year later they are supplying via specialty shops, the website and have a test market with a local grocery chain. It's perfect for movie nights, watching the big game or just nibbling.  And I have found some great olive oils, chili oil & flavored salts in local shops...

As we round the foods on the holiday plate , it's time to talk about growing corn! Iowa corn farmers have reached a stereotype level of familiarity for many of us. But Dave Walton proves the stereotype is outdated as he grows numerous types of corn including blue corn and heirloom varieties that make a perfect polenta or tortillas! We talk so many types, varieties, colors, flavors and people that...

Todd O'Neal is a sweet potato farmer in Louisiana and his enthusiasm for the crop is electric. He talks to us about how sweet potatoes were considered something for poor people, as small farmers always had a patch to feed their family. But recently, the crop has been better understood as flavorful, nutritious and versatile. Todd talks to us for our holiday foods series about the ins and outs of gr...

Amber Bristow grows cranberries with family in Wisconsin -- they are some of the 700 family farm owners of Ocean Spray. Having taken some time away from the farm to work elsewhere, she said cranberry farming was in her blood and eventually she wanted to return to the marshes. She walks us through the process for growing cranberries, talks with us about managing the perennial vines, some of the pes...

Eating turkey is such an integral part of the holiday season in the US, that we knew our holiday series had to include a convo with a turkey farmer. John Peterson is the third generation to work Ferndale Farms & Ferndale Market. His grandparents, Fern & Dale, started the farm in Cannon Mills, MN more than 80 years ago and his parents still live on the farm. While his sister & he are evolving thing...

As holidays approach, farmers growing sugar are trying to wrap up harvest so it seems appropriate that others of us are shifting into baking cookies, making pies & cakes and more. That means bags of sugar, brown sugar, confectionary sugar and more!  Our latest episode features a conversation with Rebecca Larson , who just finished sugar beet harvest in Colorado. And while she's turned her work att...

Fall has arrived and we have a lot of holidays to look forward to.. starting with Halloween and pumpkins! Join us as we talk to Shannon Latham at Enchanted Acres in Northern Iowa today. Toddlers and other young children definitely enjoy the pumpkin farm, but Shannon says pumpkin patches offer something for everyone - bridal parties, engagement photo shoots and school groups all.  From carving and...

Growing onions is something I've never done. But if you have ever stood in the produce aisle looking at the various bays of onions and wondered which ones you should buy, I feel your pain. Shay Myers and his family have been growing onions & enjoying them for decades. Their farm -- Owyhee Produce -- packs and ships onions to  all 50 states from his home base in Idaho. And with that depth of experi...

The Farver family has been growing lentils in northeastern Montana for decades. But in the past few years, the family decided to make some changes at Farver Farms , says Shauna Ferguson Farver. First up? Value-added products that let the family sell mixes of some of their favorite recipes including a sweet lentil chili and fudgy lentil brownies.  Shauna talks us through the farm's progress and hel...

Lamb may not be a common dish on every table in America, but this red meat provides a great tasting addition to the menu. We talk to Nevada rancher Mike Compston about raising sheep, cutting meat and enjoying lamb.  Mike talks us through the way sheep are raised in the mountains, traditionally something Basque immigrants had done. Their influence continues in the area with the best in restaurant l...

Texan Terren Moore saw a lot of demand for vegetables locally while in high school. He started a backyard garden at the age of 15 & it wasn't long til he was expanding to use more land. He's now nine seasons into the business and investing in capital and improving the farm's environmental footprint. We talk about how as a young black man, he is creating multiple income streams for the future. He e...

Few farmers have a more captivating history or voice than Lloyd Johnson who grows corn, soybeans and wheat in Alton, Illinois. The Johnson family -- Lloyd's great grandparents -- bought the property in 1850, years before Abraham Lincoln would be president.  Lloyd talks with us about how he feels his path of being a farmer was part of a covenant made generations earlier. A covenant that ends with h...

Over the past several months, we have talked to several farmers including changes in light of covid-19. This bonus episode takes a totally different look at the world as we catch back up with Christian Spears at Tennessee Brew Works. Christian was featured in a winter episode about sourcing local grain for the brewery and that episode was accompanied by an interview with the wheat and barley farme...

Summertime wouldn't be the same without watermelon! It cools us down, hydrates us and brings smiles to faces! Few of us have had the chance to visit a watermelon farm or talk to a farmer, but Rachel Syngo's family has been "in the biz" of growing watermelons for generations. They proudly grow on multiple farms in southwestern Florida and work with farmers up the East Coast to provide the tasty fru...

Wondering what's on the minds of the people who listen to and follow Grounded by the Farm, we asked you to send us your questions and boy, did you all deliver! In this episode we get a quick look at a range of topics from international farm visits, unusual discoveries, misconceptions about farming, the impacts of covid on farmers and quite a few questions around meat & fruits / vegetables. Janice...

When you search for Dino GIacomazzi online, you find a farmer who is focused on the environment. You also read a lot about dairy farming, but last year, the Giacomazzi family sold the cows & shifted their focus to crops including the almonds they had nurtured for the past 5 years. Dino shares how that came to happen and how environmental sustainability learned in the dairy is leading to innovation...

You can learn a lot talking to a rice farmer about the way he works with the land to produce one of the world's most common foods. We talk with YouTuber & Matthew Sligar of Rice Farming TV. Matthew talks with us about the way rice is grown in California and we discuss some of the other ways rice is grown. Some of the things that people who enjoy eating rice may be interested in -- what's the diffe...

When you think of the many foods we love that are made of wheat -- pasta, breads, baked goods and so much more -- it's easy to think of wheat as a single thing. But reality is, there are many different kinds of wheat and what makes the best pasta but may not make the best noodles for another use or the best breads. Montana wheat farmer Michelle Jones talks with us about growing wheat, how the whea...