The Agri-Tourist, My Journey Back to Agriculture

Send us Fan Mail He is a nationally recognized biodynamic farmer, designer, entrepreneur, author, and educator. Daron Joffe—also known as Farmer D—was introduced to me by my friend Pattie Baker, who has long been inspired by his work and his mission. Farmer D is the author of the acclaimed book Citizen Farmers: The Biodynamic Way to Grow Healthy Food, Build Thriving Communities, and Give Back to t...

Send us Fan Mail She’s a young, inspiring agri-entrepreneur—and the CEO and Founder of Change Food for Good. Her name is Samia, also known as Sam Lemfadli. Sam is a Brooklyn native and technologist with a deep-rooted passion for sustainable agriculture. She founded Change Food for Good, a New York City–based nonprofit dedicated to making sustainable agricultural technology more accessible in commu...

Send us Fan Mail Her business is called Mandy’s Mushrooms - her name is Amanda Dye - and she is passionate about making the kingdom of Fungi more accessible to the general public through mushroom education.   Mushrooms are mysterious to me.  The more I read about  mushrooms and the more the world learns about mushrooms, the more we learn about the significant impact they have on controlling - actu...

Send us Fan Mail In the forward of his book, it states: “Growing Out Loud Captures the depth, breadth, height of a life that has loved and pursued knowledge, understanding, purpose, application, and service for the benefit of all and for the fulfillment of his god-given calling.  The Food Revolutionary has truly lived well.”  Keith Rashid Nuri is the author of Growing Out Loud, Journey of a Food R...

Send us Fan Mail Today’s guest is a filmmaker, community builder, and aspiring farmer who happens to be based right near me in Brooklyn — Maxine Simone Williams. Maxine uses storytelling, farming, and community engagement to illuminate how culture, food, and relationships shape our lives. I first discovered Maxine on Instagram. I come across countless amazing farming-related posts, but Maxine — a...

Send us Fan Mail So everyone should know my good friend Pattie Baker by now…author of Round America with a Duck and most recently Round Ireland with a Duck.   Pattie has become such a dear friend and has encouraged me to continue trusting the journey…and so I have!  It was Pattie’s inspiration that made me consider WWOOFing. ( World Wide opportunities on Organic Farms )  And when I thought about w...

Send us Fan Mail This is the 2nd interview I did while in Sicily.  This interview is with a dear friend Helen Cane Tarpinian.  Helen and I reconnected recently around the same time I was researching WWOOFing farms in Italy and landed an opportunity in Marsala, Siciliy, about an hour south of Helen's Terrasini home.  When I arrived at the Palermo Airport on Oct 11, 2025, Helen picked me up and...

Send us Fan Mail Ciao from Marsala, Sicily….and my first WWOOFING experience.  I did it!  I signed up for WWOOF Italy and found an amazing farm in Marsala, Sicily to spend a week volunteering.    The farm name is Orto Infesta - run by Gianfranco and Nino. I have never felt so welcomed and so instantly part of a family as I did with Nino and Gianfranco. Gianfranco and Nino are building something ve...

Send us Fan Mail I know we’ve gone rogue, off the normal podcast schedule.  And it feels kind of  liberating in a strange way!  But it’s also given me the opportunity to reset a bit.  I haven’t completely figured out how I want to approach the Agri-Tourist Podcast going forward, but it’s given me some time back and will allow me time to test some things out. One of those things is doing a video ed...

Send us Fan Mail This is a special episode for many reasons.  We hit 70 episodes last week!! I can’t believe how fast 70 episodes went by - 70 weeks of my life and yours!!!  This episode will be highlighting -  very briefly -  the top 3 most listened to podcasts.  And what do I mean by highlighting them - I am pulling out some of the most meaningful sections - the part of the conversation that lef...

Send us Fan Mail We have all heard about the impending cuts that will be impacting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - also known as SNAP.  SNAP is  a food program that provides assistance to more than 40 million people across America and also provide income to farmers who are able to accept SNAP.  The program impacts 2 sets of people  - those in  need of assistance AND the farmers tha...

Send us Fan Mail Today’s conversation is with an old friend, someone who’s been with me since my days in corporate america, has known my kids since they were really young, and someone who has been an active agritourist with me along my journey.  His formal name is Thomas Chandler Werbe III, but I call him Tim!  Tim and I were recently reflecting and reminiscing about many of our adventures togethe...

Send us Fan Mail Luis Angel Mendez’s journey at Red Tomato began 21 years ago. In 2001 Angel met Michael Rozyne, Founder, and Kate Larson, former Operations manager.. Michael and Kate were searching for two things, warehouse space, and a warehouse manager!   The potential Angel saw in Red Tomato outweighed any possible risk, he saw this organization was brand new, cultivating its path into the fut...

Send us Fan Mail Dana DiPrima is supporting hardworking small & mid-sized American farmers with small actions that have a big impact. She believes, and I wholeheartedly agree with her, that when farmers win, we ALL win.   I found Dana’s podcast, One Bite is Everything, on  Apple Podcasts a few months ago.  I have been an avid  weekly listener.  Dana is tapping into many of the same themes that...

Send us Fan Mail About 3 years ago, Mike & Ray founded Toasted Oysters… a venture that started over some research and a couple of backyard drinks.  And one that is also a part of the Farmer Veteran Coalition.  I have to admit, Until we spoke, I didn’t really understand what an oyster farm really meant - that it was a physical farm location in the water where the farm owners grow oysters.  Soun...

Send us Fan Mail I can’t resist a great conversation about chocolate and cacao farming. I had the pleasure of interviewing someone I met at the beginning of her cacao journey, a real powerhouse and innovator at the time whom I met on my first chocolate trip to Belize - the one with the howler monkeys and the jungle cabana!   Emily Stone came on the cacao scene in Belize in 2010, made a tremendous...

Send us Fan Mail Farm Trails was founded in the 1970’s to connect the public to local farmers, ranchers, producers and purveyors in Sonoma County CA and is still aligned with the same mission and going strong in 2025.  Over five decades ago, a group of forward-thinking farmers blazed trails in Sonoma County, creating a map & guide for local agriculture, inviting the public to meet their farmer...

Send us Fan Mail One of my best trips ever….exploring Costa Rica…with my youngest daughter Abby…for her 18th birthday and High School graduation!  This past April, Abby and I embarked on an adventure to Costa Rica….packed with ‘fake’ volcanic eruptions, ash clouds, rainforest hikes, stray dogs, serendipitous moments, magnificent sunsets, a cacao farm tour, chocolate and coffee tasting, delicious,...

Send us Fan Mail I had the opportunity to interview 2 extremely dedicated and super insipring people who are veterans, farmers, educators, PHd students, and mentors for so many veterans who are considering a career in farming.  This is career #2 for both of them. But Why did they pick Farming? With one-third of American farmers over the age of 60, there is a critical shortage of individuals enteri...

Send us Fan Mail On Agri-Tourist Episode #4 we hosted Shelby Watson-Hampton, author of Grace, Grit & Lipstick and co-owner of Robin Hill Farm & Vineyards in Maryland.  I was heading down to South Carolina and my half way point was Maryland.  I reached out to Shelby to see if she would be available to connect at her vineyard on a specific evening and, lucky for me, she was available, and so...

Send us Fan Mail On the Agri-Tourist Episode #4 we hosted Shelby Watson-Hampton, author of Grace, Grit & Lipstick and co-owner of Robin Hill Farm & Vineyards.  I was heading down to a wedding in SC and my 1st stop was Maryland. I always say that I want to visit and connect in person…and I really do mean it.  I reached out to Shelby to see if she would be available to meet at her vineyard. ...

Send us Fan Mail Shalom Farms is a nonprofit working together to build healthy communities by growing and sharing healthy food. The food they grow is distributed through their network of programs and partnerships in communities where access to healthy food is limited. Shalom Farms is the evolution of the work of the United Methodist Urban Ministries of Richmond (UMUMR) which has a long history of...

Send us Fan Mail We did not grow apples at my farm.  So during apple season we would purchase apples to have available for our customers.  Finding organic apples was impossible so after some research we found Eco Certified apples from Fishkill Farms - a farm that was about a 2 ½ hour drive from us.  However, it was worth the trip to stock up on healthier, more sustainably grown apples. At the time...

Send us Fan Mail Molly Comstock is now overseeing Many Forks Farm. Many from the Berkshires know her as the owner of Colfax Farm.  Molly’s passion and tenacity for farming and to be a farmer definitely comes through in her story. And her story has a significant focus on the issues surrounding farmers and land access  Molly didn’t own her land and had to move her farmland and business a few times. ...

Send us Fan Mail My conversation with Jim Sanders, farmer from Wildflower Lane Farm in NC, was far reaching.  HIs idea around having food advocacy groups who are purchasing produce from retailers and wholesalers shift those funds to pay local farmers to grow for them, has had a tremendous impact on many non profits in the North Carolina area.  Another one of the non profit organizations that Jim’s...