Young Farmers Podcast

The Washington Young Farmers Coalition (WAYFC) takes over the Young Farmers Podcast to talk about resilience and community building in the time of COVID-19. Become a member of the National Young Farmers Coalition at younfarmers.org/join and sign up for our advocacy network by texting FARMERS to 40649.

Tracy L. Stewart is a mindfulness based mental health therapist at the Nile’s Edge wellness collective and activist in Seattle, WA. She currently serves on the board of SURGE, a BIPOC centered reproductive justice organization, Buddhist Peace Fellowship (BPF) – Seattle, and has served on three Social Justice Fund (SJF) giving projects. Elizabeth was able to get Tracy on the phone to help connect the dots between food-growing, uprisings for racial justice, and our mental health. Our conversation sprawls between rage and love, trauma and healing and does include explicit references to police brutality, internalized oppression, and other forms of harm. We acknowledge that some of this conversation could be triggering, and we encourage all our listeners to please take care of your needs. Tracy sees her role in community as working to create supportive, safe space for BIPOC folx in discovering their gifts through mindfulness practice and social justice awareness. Her cup is filled by the outside places, silly friends with microphones, passion for life, and folx sharing their good medicine with each other. “My focus is learning to be a good elder in order to support those out in the community fighting for all us to BE. In my work, I see a lot of suffering of black and brown folx who are warn from fighting to be their full selves. With Gathering Roots, the intention is creating a place where that burden can be released, people can fill their cups with joyful learning and the beauty of the Earth, witnessed and empowered to be all that they are.”

You can learn more about Gathering Roots at their website: https://gatheringroots.org/

Throughout the episode we make reference to the work of:

Reverend Angel Kyodo Williams : https://angelkyodowilliams.com/

Michelle Lee, Author of Working the Roots : https://kpfa.org/episode/the-herbal-highway-may-9-2019/ Llama Rod Owens: https://www.lamarod.com/

Leah Penniman: https://www.endoftheworldshow.org/blog/2020/5/6/apocalypse-survival-skill-4-braiding-seeds

My Grandmother's Hands: https://www.resmaa.com/books

Music credit to Made By Finja by Sascha Ende Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/6171-made-by-finja

This is the third episode of our 2023 Farm Bill series, digging into the farm policy that will affect the next generation of farmers and ranchers.

We’ve been asking how 1,000 pages of federal policy can provide tangible benefits and support to beginning and BIPOC farmers, our communities, and the environment. And in this episode, we're joined by Mario Holguin and Julieta Saucedo of La Semilla Food Center, and Ana Moran, Water Organizer at the National Young Farmers Coalition.

La Semilla Food Center, based in Anthony, New Mexico, has a mission “to foster a healthy, self-reliant, fair, and sustainable food system in the Paso del Norte region of southern New Mexico and El Paso, TX.” They do this work through a number of programs that Mario and Julieta discuss with Ana, including their Community Farm, farmer fellowships, policy and community development, and storytelling efforts.

Throughout their conversation Ana, Julieta, and Mario explore some of the ways that the 2023 Farm Bill can directly address the climate crisis, and what building climate resilience looks like across the Southwest. We know young farmers across the country are motivated by conservation and social justice. In our 2022 national survey 97% or respondents said their farm or ranch was using sustainable practices, and 86% identified their practices as being regenerative.

We end our episode today with a brief chat between Erin Foster-West, Policy Coordination and Management Director with the Coalition, and myself. Erin shares some exciting new bills recently introduced in Congress that would help small farms secure more accessible funding for conservation efforts and also support community support systems through farmer-to-farmer education opportunities.

Find the Young Farmers Action Center here.

Learn more about La Semilla Food Center here.

Learn more about the Farmer-to-Farmer Education Act here and take action and learn more about the Small Farm Conservation Act here.

Become a National Young Farmers Coalition member at youngfarmers.org/join for only $1/year.

Produced by Jessica Manly and Evan Flom.

Edited by Hannah Beal.

Original podcast art by SJ Brekosky.

Gratitude to Chipotle and 11th Hour for sponsoring our Young Farmers' land campaign and to the our many partner organizations for furthering this important work with us.

This is the first episode of a new six-part series focused on the one thing everyone in our network – from farmers to policymakers, organizers to corporate partners – seems to be laser focused on right now: the 2023 Farm Bill.

We're joined by Billy Hackett, Policy Specialist for the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC), for a high-level overview of the farm bill. We know... 1,000 pages of federal policy, how exciting, right?! But we’re here to convince you that this bill is the most important piece of legislation shaping the future of food in this country, and that it affects all of us.

The farm bill influences what you eat every day, who grows your food and how they grow it, what food you can afford to buy, and even what you put in your gas tank. And we want you to know that you can help us make sure that this bill supports all of us–our families, our communities, and the next generation of farmers and ranchers.

Find all the resources that Jessica and Billy mentioned during their conversation on Young Farmers' 2023 Farm Bill webpage and sign-up for NSAC's weekly newsletter here.

Sign up for our One Million Acres for the Future campaign today by texting LAND to 40649 or by visiting p2a.co/land.

Become a National Young Farmers Coalition member at youngfarmers.org/join for only $1/year.

Produced by Jessica Manly and Evan Flom.

Edited by Hannah Beal.

Original podcast art by SJ Brekosky.

Today we dive into the heady world of industrial hemp. Hemp is no longer just for Canadian cereal companies and scratchy beige t-shirts. This low-THC strain of cannabis, think of it as the well behaved fraternal twin to marijuana, is, as of the 2018 Farm Bill, a legal crop in all 50 states. And the hemp hype is real, mostly because of CBD, a hemp extract that's popping up in everything from $8 cans of seltzer, to medicinal tinctures, and even Carl's Jr hamburgers. But if there's such huge consumer demand for hemp, and it doesn't even get you high, why was the crop criminalized in the first place? And now that it's legal, what does this mean for farmers across the country who want to start growing it? We talk with Michael "Mr. Hemp" Bowman and Ben Banks-Dobson of Hudson Hemp and Old Mud Creek Farm.

Special thanks to our podcast editor, Hannah Beal, producer, Jessica Manly, Ben Banks-Dobson, and Michael "Mr. Hemp" Bowman.

More on industrial hemp and CBD:
https://nifa.usda.gov/industrial-hemp
https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrebourque/2018/12/17/how-hemp-and-the-farm-bill-may-change-life-as-you-know-it/#1bfcbe2e694c
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/06/us/cbd-cannabis-marijuana-hemp.html
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/05/14/magazine/cbd-cannabis-cure.html

Hudson Hemp:
http://www.hudsonhemp.com/

Michael Bowman:
https://www.agprofessional.com/article/how-serve-growing-hemp-market
https://www.agriculture.com/news/crops/what-farmers-need-to-know-about-growing-hemp
https://www.agweb.com/article/three-potential-paths-for-farming-hemp/

Show art credit: Hudson Hemp @hudsonhemp

Why should our next generation of farmers – and just about everyone who eats – care about the Farm Bill? Celize Christy, an Organizer at HEAL Food Alliance explains the basic details on what’s in the legislation, how it gets written, and how it impacts you. Then, Young Farmers’ Policy Campaigns Co-Director Vanessa Garcia Polanco lays out the path forward in terms of the most important issues this time around. And we talk to farmers KD Randall and Matt Hollenbeck about what they need from their policymakers in D.C.

Celize Christy, Organizer, HEAL Food Alliance

As an Organizer at HEAL Food Alliance, Celize facilitates connections among members, campaigns, and programs building collective power through HEAL’s multi-sector, multi-racial coalition. Celize comes to HEAL’s campaign and policy work by coordinating farmer-led education programming, advocating for BIPOC farmers in Iowa, and coalition building and organizing with sustainable agriculture organizations. At HEAL, Celize isn’t just an organizer; she’s a passionate agent of change, weaving connections and networks that celebrate the multifaceted voices of our food and farm systems. Read her full bio.

Vanessa Garcí­a Polanco, Policy Campaigns Co-Director, National Young Farmers Coalition

Vanessa García Polanco co-designs the strategy and implementation of Young Farmers’ policy campaigns, ensuring we are pursuing and advocating for equity-driven, farmer-centric research, policy, and programmatic interventions. She serves as the organizational council member and co-chair of the Farming Opportunities & Fair Competition Committee of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. She has previously worked with Food Solutions New England, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems, University of Rhode Island Cooperative Extension, and the Executive Office of Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. She is an alumna of Michigan State University and the University of Rhode Island. She is a James Beard Foundation Scholar, AFHVS Innovation Leader, and an Emerging Leader in Food and Agriculture. As an Afro-Dominican immigrant, she brings her experiences and identities to her policy and advocacy activities.

KD Randall, Farmer, Home Grown Farm + Young Farmers Land Fellow

KD is a returning generation farmer who developed a deep appreciation for the land and the ways that it constantly care for us. Inspired by the stories of their family, KD decided to pursue a career in agriculture, determined to contribute to the legacy and sustainability of southern rural agriculture. Recently, KD’s work has focused on healing and fostering remembrance, reconnection, and growth in all of the places they call home, grounding in their southern rural agrarian roots. This passion has inspired them to create Home Grown Farms, a small rural farm that is still blooming into its first form. A component of KD’s long-term vision is to explore ways to offer a diversity of wellness experiences through food, recreation, and spiritual services.

Follow KD @farmerinthekells.

Matt Hollenbeck, Hollenbeck’s Cider Mill + Young Farmers Land Fellow

Matt Hollenbeck lives and farms in Virgil, NY, and is the 4th generation steward of Hollenbeck’s Cider Mill. He has been a factory worker, cubicle jockey, geologist, outdoor adventure guide, worked on a small organic CSA farm, a butcher shop, and many other varied jobs before settling into continuing his family’s 90+-year-old ag processing business. He’s a first-generation orchardist with impostor syndrome, a staunch and vocal advocate for rural issues, smallholder agriculture, and appropriate technology. Matt is also a firm believer that family is the most important part of a family business. And a Luddite to boot!

Check out HEAL Food Alliance’s farm bill priorities here.

Learn more about Hollenbeck’s Cider Mill here.

Follow KD Randle @farmerinthekells

Learn more about the USDA’s EQIP program here, and the NRCS program here.

The Farm Report is hosted by Leigh Ollman and Alita Kelly, produced by Leigh Ollman, Evan Flom and H Conley, and edited by Hannah Beal and H Conley.

Audio engineering is by Armen Spendjian and H Conley. Music in the original episode is by Breakmaster Cylinder and Jangwa