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

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 Johnson and Robin Tunnicliffe, both long-time apprenticeship hosts with lots of good advice on who should and shouldn't be offering apprenticeships, and how to keep your apprentices happy; and Michael Ekers, a University of Toronto professor who has studied labour challenges and solutions on small farms in depth. In the episode I referenced SOIL Apprenticeships, a non-profit organization that helps connect aspiring farmers with farms willing to host and teach them.

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 Market Dry Bean Production WSU dry bean variety information

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 Rupert. During that apprenticeship, Lisa realized just how precarious her new community's food security was, so she did what any good farmer would do. She went back down South, learned animal husbandry, bought some cows, and returned to start the islands' only dairy. Recently, she told me all about her adventure.

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 the barriers to achieving a more integrated food and wine culture, and why such an outcome would be better for that culture, and even for food security. Rhys and his partner Alishan Driediger make wines that can be found on their website, littlefarmwinery.ca. He also has a project called Wine Plus+.

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 intensive rotational grazing systems. Chris also oversees Purple Pitchfork, an educational and outreach organization dedicated to helping farmers and their farm businesses. Chris will soon launch a podcast of his own, which you can learn about on his site. In our conversation, Chris references a culinary herb factsheet he has produced for Ruminant listeners. You can access it at farmertofarmerpodcast.com/ruminant

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 to helping farmers and their farm businesses. Chris will soon launch a podcast of his own, which you can learn about on his site. In our conversation, Chris references a culinary herb factsheet he has produced for Ruminant listeners. You can access it at farmertofarmerpodcast.com/ruminant Part two of our conversation airs in a week.

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 environment have been a mixed bag of benefits and losses There is a strong scientific consensus that GMO varieties of plants that have been approved for commercial use are safe to eat We should probably label GMO foods in the marketplace None of it really matters anyway This is a long episode. I recommend you listen to the fifteen minute segment about Nate's approach to research and writing these articles, but if you prefer to skip ahead to our discussions of his conclusions, tune in at the 21 minute mark.

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 local farm goods. Cam Smith and Dana Ewart of Joy Road Catering in BC's Okanagan Valley really want to support your farm, but they but they also insist that you take the customer service you provide them seriously. Herein, they provide some no-nonsense advice for how to approach and maintain restaurant customers. This episode: what chefs expect in terms of quality, how they like to be billed and when you should start to worry about unpaid accounts, and Cam and Dana's thoughts on the relationship between high-end cuisine and food security. Learn more about Joy Road Catering here.

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 can be found here. Access The Ruminant Podcast at theruminant.ca, iTunes, and other fine podcast directories.

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 County (and Western Washington in general) produces a large variety of vegetables, berries, dairy products, and to a lesser degree, fruits, fish and meat. The missing element, especially for vegetarians, those on low income, or those with dairy allergies, is a variety of storable, high-quality vegetable protein sources, i.e. dry legumes and grains. Our research is conducted for the benefit of all regional farmers and gardeners who wish to grow dry beans and grains. We record detailed information about varieties, plant spacing, dates, labor inputs, yields, harvesting and threshing techniques, seed-saving, and storage. We have self-published an instruction manual, entitled "Growing Dry Beans & Grains in the Pacific Northwest", which contains information on growing, harvesting, and processing dry legumes and grains tailored specifically for Pacific Northwest growers. In this episode, Krista takes me through the ins and outs of growing legumes and grains on a super small scale.

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 farm's website, social media accounts, and email newsletters.