The Farm Report

In this episode of The Farm Report, host Erin Fairbanks brings in guest Shirley Richardson. Shirley started Vermont Chevon when she saw a window of opportunity to compete with the millions of pounds of goat meat that are imported into the US every year. Erin also speaks with Matt Birong, Chef and owner of the Three Squares Cafe in Vergennes, VT, and the three discuss why Matt has enjoyed using Shi...

On this week’s episode of The Farm Report, host Erin Fairbanks speaks with Bill Savage, owner of Pungo Creek Mills in Painter, Virginia. In 2007, Bill purchased a bushel of Indian corn from a man whose grandfather had been growing it since 1870 on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. After considering marketing the Indian corn for cornamental purposes, he and his father realized when grinding the corn t...

Symbiosis is a beautiful thing in the food world. This week on The Farm Report, Erin Faribanks is joined in the studio by Andrea Cascun, co-owner of Cascun Farms, and John Karangis, Executive Chef with Union Square Events. Recently, Cascun Farms and Union Square Events teamed up in order trade resources. Cascun Farms provides Union Square Events with chickens, and in return, they collect the pulp...

This week on The Farm Report, Erin Fairbanks gets hyper-local with Ben Flanner of the Brooklyn Grange! The Brooklyn Grange hosts two rooftop farms in Queens and Brooklyn and produces vegetables for local markets. Tune in to hear Ben discuss what he learned from his third growing season at the Grange. How do the physical constraints of rooftop farms dictate how and what urban growers can produce? L...

This week on The Farm Report, host Erin Fairbanks talks with Nicole Vitello, Banana Coordinator at Equal Exchange. On this episode, Nicole talks about the food and fair trade industry, and how large corporations are easily able to control the market, leaving the consumer with less choices, the farmer with less profit, and an upbringing of unnatural products. This has been an ongoing issue especial...

Jack Inslee takes the wheel for this week’s edition of The Farm Report to talk oyster farming with Chris Sherman and CJ Huck of Island Creek Oyster Farm. Tune into this program to learn about shellfish aquaculture, and why it’s the only form of protein production that actually benefits the environment. Learn how Chris and CJ seed oysters in Duxbury, and how the hand of the grower affects the final...

This week on The Farm Report, Erin Fairbanks talks with Mari Omland of Green Mountain Girls Farm about the resurgence of agritourism. Hear why Mari left her work in conservation non-profits in Washington, D.C. for her native Vermont to begin farming. Hear why Mari believes that experiences on farms are just as important as the food they produce. Find out how Green Mountain Girls Farm provides educ...

This week on The Farm Report, Erin Fairbanks is exploring the homesteading lifestyle! Hear from Gloria Varney of Nezinscot Farm- the first certified organic dairy in Maine! Learn why Gloria lost interest in her academic pursuits and began to focus on growing and producing her own food. What role does technology play in the life of a homesteader? Tune in to find out about Gloria’s other work agains...

Learn how GrowNYC’s Greenmarkets are distributing regional produce on this week’s episode of The Farm Report! Erin Fairbanks chats with Olivia Blanchflower of Greenmarket Co. about their mission to get products from small to mid-sized farms into local corner stores and bodegas. Find out why Greenmarket Co. is joining other produce wholesalers in Hunts Point in the south Bronx. Learn about the orga...

Learn about the Maine blueberry industry on this week’s episode of The Farm Report with Professor David Yarborough! Erin Fairbanks chats with David via the phone lines to discuss the differences between wild and cultivated varieties of blueberries. Tune in to learn how Maine growers manage pests and weeds, and how the former glacial landscape shaped Maine into a prime blueberry-growing region. Wha...

Today on The Farm Report, Erin Fairbanks catches up with frequent guest and Greenmarket fixture Mike Yezzi of Flying Pigs Farm. Tune into this episode to learn about the history of the farm, and why Mike decided to raise English rare breed hogs in a small farm setting. Find out why pigs are never wholly grassfed, and the demand for calories when raising pork. Hear Mike’s opinions regarding organic...

Margot Brooks started her farming career as a cheesemaker at Consider Bardwell Farm in West Pawlet, Vermont and then decided to start her own operation, Sugar House Creamery – an old Adirondack dairy farm that her and partner Alex Eaton have turned into a farmstead creamery. On this week’s episode of The Farm Report , tune in as host Erin Fairbanks chats with Margot about the process of starting y...

Beverly Bell discusses food sovereignty in the book she co-authored, Harvesting Justice . This week on The Farm Report, Erin Fairbanks talks with Beverly about the need to democratize the food system so it serves social interests and not those of corporations. Tune in to learn about food aid, and how it has the potential to wipe out local food economies in developing nations. Hear about the phenom...

Find out how Justin Rashid and American Spoon Fruit are preserving summer fruits on this week’s episode of The Farm Report! Erin Fairbanks chats with Justin about American Spoon Fruit’s line of preserves. Learn about the terroir of lake-area Michigan, and why some of the best fruits in the world come from that location. Find out how American Spoon Fruit helps fruit growers by buying specific selec...

Sarah Teale of the Adirondack Grazers Cooperative is committed to producing healthy grassfed beef, using localized distribution, and connecting chefs to quality products. On this episode of The Farm Report, Erin Fairbanks welcomes Sarah to the studio to talk about the history of Upstate New York farming. Learn about the state’s roots in dairy, and why so many farmers are also taking up beef produc...

What has the same amount of caffeine as coffee with twice the antioxidants of green tea? Guayusa! This week on The Farm Report, Erin Fairbanks is joined in the studio by Dan MacCombie and Tyler Gage, co-founders and co-CEOs of Runa. Runa is a company that makes guayusa-based beverages by working with Ecuadorian farmers, providing a fair price and sustainable business for indigenous people. Tune in...

This week on The Farm Report, Stewart Borowsky (The Union Square Grassman) joins host Erin Fairbanks to talk about greens! A big topic of this week’s episode includes wheatgrass, including how Stewart grows, produces, harvests, and eventually creates the amazing wheatgrass juice that contains the health-benefiting nutrients we love. Also learn how Stewart learned to become a farmer, and ended up t...

Mary Pipher is an American clinical psychologist and author, most recently of The Green Boat , which was published by Riverhead Books in June 2013. The Green Boat is a ground-breaking examination of everyday life, exploring how to conquer our fears about the major environmental issues that confound us and transform them into a positive force in our lives. Tune in to this week’s episode of The Farm...

This week on The Farm Report, Philip Ackerman-Leist phones in to talk to us about local versus large scale food systems, and its impact on agriculture today. What are the main benefits to growing and buying local foods? To answer this question, Philip Ackerman-Leist references his latest book, Rebuilding the Foodshed: How to Create Local, Sustainable, and Secure Food Systems. Laying out the princi...

We’re continuing our exploration into the Maine lobster industry on this week’s edition of The Farm Report. Erin Fairbanks chats with Robin Alden, the Executive Director of Penobscot East Resource Center, about the importance of diversity in the fishing business. Find out how climate change is affecting the oceans and the Maine lobstering business. Learn more about hatcheries, and why Maine fisher...

Welcome to the first of many lobster-themed episodes of The Farm Report! Erin Fairbanks begins the episode by calling Marianne Lacroix, the Executive Director of the Maine Lobster Council. Hear how lobster powers local economies in Maine, and how different parts of the crustacean are processed and placed in the market for restaurants and retailers. How can you be sure that the lobster you are eati...

Lorraine Lewandrowski is an advocate for commodity farmers in Upstate New York. This week on The Farm Report, Erin Fairbanks calls up Lorraine to talk about dairy in New York, and how the federal milk price system puts New York dairy farmers at a disadvantage. Hear why Lorraine believes that New York City food groups need to support commodity farmers, and why supporting these farmers should not be...

Sample some exotic meats on this week’s installment of The Farm Report! Erin Fairbanks is joined in the studio by Ben and Dan Del Coro of Fossil Farms. Fossil Farms began as an ostrich farm, and has come to be a one-stop-shop for all sorts of exotic and game meat: wild boar, bison, elk, and more! Find out why wild and game proteins are lower in fat than farmed animals, and hear why the demand for...

How do livestock protect the environment? This week on The Farm Report, Erin Fairbanks calls up Judith Schwartz, author of Cows Save the Planet to discuss erosion, carbon, and the health of the planet. Tune into this program to hear Judith talk about the natural grazing habits of herbivores like cows, and how these tendencies help keep the ecosystem in check. How do animals contribute to the biodi...

Spring is near and you know what that means – time to get that home garden into shape! Tune into a plant-based episode of The Farm Report as Erin Fairbanks is joined by Sidney Phelps, Directing Manager of Bonnie Plants. Bonnie Plants is a national plant wholesaler based in Alabama that supplies retail stores all over the United States. Bonnie Plants is a leading provider of plants for your vegetab...