Episode 312: From Grain to Grapes

03/08/17 • 40 min

This week on The Farm Report, Erin and Challey are joined by Greg Wade and Will Travis.

Greg Wade is the Head Baker at Publican Quality Bread in Chicago, IL where he collaborates with chefs de cuisine, farmers and retail owners to develop breads. As Publican Quality Bread’s Head Baker, Greg oversees the bread program for all of One Off Hospitality Group, with a focus on whole grains and fermentation. Apart from his day-to-day leadership, Greg is an active member of the local, regional and national farming communities – every July, you can find him leading a two-day Bread Camp along with Marty and Will Travis at Spence Farm in Fairbury, IL.

Will Travis is an 8th generation farmer from Spence Farms in Fairbury, IL where he works the land with his father Marty Travis and his wife Kris. They raise a large variety of products on the farm, everything from fruits and vegetables to Dexter cattle for beef, as well as small grains that are milled onsite. In 2003, Spence Farms began marketing directly to restaurants and now market and deliver products for more than 50 small family farms in central Illinois.

Greg and Will's work are profiled in the documentary Sustainable available at http://sustainablefoodfilm.com/ and streaming on Netflix.

And in the second half of the show, Chad Hendrickson of Lakewood Vineyards is in studio to transition the conversation from grain to grapes!

This week on The Farm Report, Erin and Challey are joined by Greg Wade and Will Travis.

Greg and Will's work are profiled in the documentary Sustainable available at http://sustainablefoodfilm.com/ and streaming on Netflix.

And in the second half of the show, Chad Hendrickson of Lakewood Vineyards is in studio to transition the conversation from grain to grapes!

Previous Episode

Episode 311: Why Real Olive Oil Stll Matters

What does it mean to be a small scale olive oil producer in 2017? Lorenzo Caponetti joins us from Italy to talk about his family's vineyards, the challenges of organic production and why American chef's like Michael Anthony of Gramercy Tavern and Untitled at the Whitney can't get enough of his oils.

Next Episode

Episode 313: John Flahavan & Meryl Williams

This week on The Farm Report, host Erin Fairbanks welcomes John Flahavan, the sixth-generation CEO of Flahavan's Irish Oats. The first family connection to the Flahavan’s name can be traced back to about 1785 when Thomas Dunn took over the mill. Dunn was the great-great-great-grandfather of John Flahavan who is the Managing Director of the company today.

After the break, we're joined by Meryl Williams, star of the forthcoming short film Biophilia. Meryl plays the lead role of Rachel, an herbalist/farmer who convinces her boyfriend to leave Brooklyn and make a go of farming on his family's abandoned sheep ranch, but things don't go well and she finds herself increasingly isolated under his controlling influence. When an animal dies under her watch, she is forced to take care of it alone and in so doing, grows a thicker skin.