Jordan Marr

The Ruminant: Audio Candy for Farmers, Gardeners and Food Lovers

Arts EN ↓ 111 episodes

For people passionate about farming, gardening, food politics, food security, and the intersections among these topics. Jordan Marr, a certified organic farmer in British Columbia, interviews farmers, gardeners, academics, and journalists about stuff farmers and food system nerds care about. If where and how your food is produced matters to you, this podcast is produced for you!

Author

Jordan Marr

Episodes

e.39: Farm Interns, Labour Laws, and Fair Compensation for Your Farm Help 04.03.2015 1:05:28

Herein: we talk about the legality and ethics of unpaid and low-paid farm internships, and some best (and worst) practices in hosting farm interns. In light of two recent cases of disgruntled farm interns suing their hosts for unpaid wages, The Ruminant delves into the matter. This jumbo-sized episode features four guests: Dennis O'brien, a farmer who was sued for unpaid wages in 2014; Mary-Alice...

e.38: Carol Miles on Commercial Dry Bean Production on Small-Scale Farms 25.02.2015 37:15

Are niche market dry beans a good bet for your small-scale farm? This episode, WSU Farming Extension Specialist Carol Miles returns to the podcast to talk about her vast knowledge of organic dry bean production, which has been a regular focus of her research. We discuss scale-appropriate tools, the best varieties to grow, and other considerations. Miles' WSU profile page WSU Resources for Niche M...

3.37 Lisa G.K. on Starting a Raw Millk Dairy on the 53rd Parallel 19.02.2015 31:31

Lisa Graham Knight's story begins like a lot of new farmer stories do: a kid in her twenties, high on idealism and extremely low on any actual farming experience, decides to apprentice on a veggie farm. But the veggie farm Lisa chose? It was in the Queen Charlotte Islands, which are clustered at the 53rd parallel, a twenty hour drive north of Vancouver, and then a seven hour ferry from Prince Rupe...

e.36: Rhys Pender on why wine matters 12.02.2015 38:58

Rhys Pender is a winemaker, farmer, writer, and holder of a rare designation: he is a Master of Wine. A while back, Rhys wrote this post for the blog WineAlign, in which he argues that North America's food and wine culture is poorly integrated, and that this is holding both facets of the culture back. I asked Rhys to join me on the podcast to talk about his piece. Herein, we discuss some of t...

e.35: Culinary Herb Production Done Well part 2 of 2 05.02.2015 33:49

Culinary Herb Production, pt. 2: Veteran farmer Chris Blanchard built a thriving culinary herb business on his Iowa Farm, and thinks you can, too. In this episode, which features the second half of our conversation, Chris talks about how to harvest your herbs in a way that strikes a balance between high production and low labour costs. He took his inspiration from previous experiences managing int...

e.34: Culinary Herb Production Done Well part 1 of 2 28.01.2015 35:31

Veteran farmer Chris Blanchard built a thriving culinary herb business on his Iowa Farm, and thinks you can, too. In this episode, which features the first half of our conversation, Chris makes the case for focusing on herbs, and discusses the proper sourcing, and subsequent propagation, of herb cuttings. Chris also oversees Purple Pitchfork , an educational and outreach organization dedicated t...

e.33: Nathanael Johnson on the GMO Debate 22.01.2015 1:09:18

In mid- to late-2014, journalist Nathanael Johnson wrote a series of blog posts at grist.org entitled Panic-Free GMOs. This was no minor foray into modern ag's most divisive topic. Nathanael's research was extensive, and the series topped thirty posts. Here are some of Nathanael's conclusions, which we discuss in our conversation: GMOs are relatively well-regulated The effects of GMOs on the...

e.32: Best practices for farmers selling to restaurants and chefs part 2 of 2 15.01.2015 29:15

Selling your farm goods to chefs can be lucrative, but there are idiosyncrasies to this type of marketing that a farmer should understand if she wants to keep and increase the business she gets from restaurants. This episode features part two of my conversation with two chef-owners of a high end catering business that has built its reputation for great cuisine on a devotion to sourcing and serving...

Two chefs on exclusivity and accessibility in the gourmet food context 13.01.2015 8:02

This is a short excerpt of The Ruminant's interview with Okanagan Chefs Cameron Smith and Dana Ewart of Joy Road Catering in BC's Okanagan Valley. Herein, Cam and Dana talk about the role chefs play in influencing food culture, and their response to the criticism that the work they do as high-end chefs is elitist. Part 1 of our full conversation can be found here. Part 2 of our full conversation c...

e.30: Krista Rome on Growing Grains and Legumes on a Small Scale 22.03.2014 44:57

Krista M. Rome runs a website called Backyard Beans and Grains , and has published a great manual on selecting, growing, processing and storing various legumes and grains, with a focus on small-scale production. From her website: The Backyard Beans and Grains Project (BBGP) was started in 2008 as a response to the challenge of incorporating locally-grown staple foods into the diet. Whatcom Count...

e.29: Matt Gomez on Online Marketing for your Farm Business 14.03.2014 43:50

This epsisode features a recent presenation by Matt Gomez, founder of Soilmate , a new website that aims to connect eaters with the local farms, wineries, and farmers' markets. Matt gave this presentation to a group of young farmers at an event in Kelowna, BC in March of 2014. He's got an impressive pedigree as a digital marketer and passes on a lot of practical advice for making the most of your...