Grounded by the Farm

Amber Bristow grows cranberries with family in Wisconsin -- they are some of the 700 family farm owners of Ocean Spray. Having taken some time away from the farm to work elsewhere, she said cranberry farming was in her blood and eventually she wanted to return to the marshes.

She walks us through the process for growing cranberries, talks with us about managing the perennial vines, some of the pests that can get in the way and ultimately helps us understand cranberries.

Photos/videos and more at https://groundedbythefarm.com/cranberry-farmer/

A video of cranberries being raked so they float on top of the water and a video of cranberry harvest.

Cranberry Recipes mentioned during this episode -- cranberry sauce, cranberry salad and the sangria. https://groundedbythefarm.com/cranberry-recipes/

Amber on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/cranberrychats/ and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/cranberrychats

US Cranberry Harvest Explained in Four Charts (National Geographic)

Forward Farming podcast on all things Wisconsin agriculture

Eating turkey is such an integral part of the holiday season in the US, that we knew our holiday series had to include a convo with a turkey farmer.

John Peterson is the third generation to work Ferndale Farms & Ferndale Market. His grandparents, Fern & Dale, started the farm in Cannon Mills, MN more than 80 years ago and his parents still live on the farm. While his sister & he are evolving things, John takes a lot of pride in honoring a lot of the past including offering outdoor environments for the birds.

This is the peak season for Ferndale, getting birds ready for sale through a range of suppliers and restaurants for the holidays. Luckily, we caught John in September so he could talk us through working with pulots (baby turkeys) in the spring just after they break through the egg shell to a range of market weights for our tables. He also offers insight on the differences in fresh and frozen turkeys, how to handle so food safety isn't a problem and he even offers tips for buying your Thanksgiving turkey.

Photos, video and a detailed, unedited transcript is available at https://groundedbythefarm.com/farming-turkey-farm-holiday-rush/

• Ferndale Market's website
• Ferndale Market on Facebook
• Ferndale Market on Instagram
• Video Overview of Ferndale Farms

• GroundedbytheFarm.com for photos, blog posts, show notes and more
• Ask the Farmers Facebook Page
• Groundedbythefarm_ on Instagram
• Grounded by the Farm on Youtube
• @groundedbythef on Twitter

As holidays approach, farmers growing sugar are trying to wrap up harvest so it seems appropriate that others of us are shifting into baking cookies, making pies & cakes and more. That means bags of sugar, brown sugar, confectionary sugar and more!

Our latest episode features a conversation with Rebecca Larson, who just finished sugar beet harvest in Colorado. And while she's turned her work attention to analyzing the yields and soils from the 2021 season, nights and weekends, she is full-scale holiday baking and planning. She helps us understand the various sources of sugar and offers some incredibly creative ideas for celebrating the holidays!

Photos and a full transcript is available at https://groundedbythefarm.com/growing-sugar/

Links Mentioned in this episode:

• Rebecca Larson on Twitter @sugaryfacts
• Her company's website: westernsugar.com
• sugar.org is a good resource for a full range of questions about sugar
• Recipe for graham crackers
• Etsy link for spidery cookie cutter
• Episode where we talked about carmelizing onions

Fall has arrived and we have a lot of holidays to look forward to.. starting with Halloween and pumpkins! Join us as we talk to Shannon Latham at Enchanted Acres in Northern Iowa today.

Toddlers and other young children definitely enjoy the pumpkin farm, but Shannon says pumpkin patches offer something for everyone - bridal parties, engagement photo shoots and school groups all. From carving and decorating, to picking your own pumpkin or simply choosing from the a stack, you will find something there that tickles your fancy.

And cooking with pumpkin is something she does so often that friends of her children call her the muffin lady! She shares tips with us on those favorite foods, recipes and cooking tips for the ages!

They plant dozens of varieties to offer the color, shape and intended use (cooking, decorating, carving or whatever!) as well as homemade jams and jellies. And with various activities featured each weekend -- including great photo opps like the how tall this fall backdrop.

Photos to accompany this post and a detailed raw transcript are available at https://groundedbythefarm.com/pumpkin-farm/ . This is the first in a series of holiday episodes of Grounded by the Farm.

As Shannon mentioned, she and her husband have a seed company. Here's a recent post I did on things you may want to know about seed.

• Taste of Home pumpkin seed recipes
• Pumpkin pudding (like pumpkin pie without the crust!)
• Pumpkin pie in a bag
• Shannon's kid's favorite pumpkin muffins
• Savory pumpkin recipe from the gourmet cooking club
• Sausage & Squash Soup
• Butternut squash bake

Facebook Enchanted Acres

Instagram Enchanted Acres

Website: http://www.enchantedacresia.com

• GroundedbytheFarm.com for photos, blog posts, show notes and more
• Ask the Farmers Facebook Page
• Groundedbythefarm_ on Instagram
• Grounded by the Farm on Youtube
• @groundedbythef on Twitter

Find out more about your favorite holiday foods here in the coming weeks

Growing onions is something I've never done. But if you have ever stood in the produce aisle looking at the various bays of onions and wondered which ones you should buy, I feel your pain.

Shay Myers and his family have been growing onions & enjoying them for decades. Their farm -- Owyhee Produce -- packs and ships onions to all 50 states from his home base in Idaho. And with that depth of experience, he knows a lot about buying and enjoying onions.

We talk through that purchase decision in the grocery, the differences in sweetness and pungency, how onions get rated through a measure called pyruvics, tips for storing onions at home and the way the lifecycle of onions from harvest & storage was really impacted by the stay at home orders.

Full post with photos, video & full transcript https://groundedbythefarm.com/growing-onions/

How to choose the onion you need https://www.instagram.com/p/CDSdsBBpaDy

The hot onion dip / soufle https://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Hot-Onion-Souffle/

After hearing his explanation of water sensitivity, I understand why I haven't tried to grow onions but that urban gardeners like Nastasha in Chicago may be willing to give it a go.

His description of harvest, not digging but cutting onions that sit atop the ground, makes sense but he's right, the video really helps! https://youtu.be/ggQaNmkA9HM

We also talked briefly about this video explaining the impact of shut downs of restaurants across the United States on farm businesses like his that supply a lot of restaurants with food. https://youtu.be/3cXYLhCYDqY

There were several links we mentioned in the episode -- including some of the social media sites Shay is active on!

• Tim Hammerich of the Future of Ag podcast spent time driving around Owyhee Produce. It's a bit of a farm tour.
• Shay Myers' appearance on the podcast Market to Market was produced as farmers were dealing with impacts of reduced restaurant demand for their products.

• LinkedIn Shay Myers
• Instagram @ShayFarmKid
• TikTok @ShayFarmKid
• YouTube Owyhee Produce
• Facebook Owyhee Produce
• Owyhee Produce website

• GroundedbytheFarm.com for photos, blog posts, show notes and more
• Ask the Farmers Facebook Page
• Groundedbythefarm_ on Instagram
• Grounded by the Farm on Youtube
• @groundedbythef on Twitter

The Farver family has been growing lentils in northeastern Montana for decades. But in the past few years, the family decided to make some changes at Farver Farms, says Shauna Ferguson Farver. First up? Value-added products that let the family sell mixes of some of their favorite recipes including a sweet lentil chili and fudgy lentil brownies.

Shauna talks us through the farm's progress and helps us understand the various kinds of lentils, tips for cooking them, finding good recipes and provides insight on some of the things farmers take into consideration to reduce the possibility of fire during the busy harvest season.

Find Shauna & the farm online:

• Get to know Farver Farms
• Shop Farver Farms lentils (meal mixes and snacks)

Shauna and her family also grow crops previously featured on Grounded by the Farm. Check out the episodes on growing wheat and growing barley aka our conversation with a beer farmer.

The website that Shauna mentions as a great source of recipes is Pulses.org. You can sort by type of recipe (breakfast, appetizer, entree, etc), by complexity, type of pulse and more. Some of the peas we mentioned in our episode with Terren Moore talking about purple hull peas.

Lentils.org is a website Canadian farmers fund that also has a lot of great information and recipes.

Tamar Haspel is the Washington Post columnist who is a major advocate for lentils. You can follow her on Twitter at @TamarHaspel.

A raw, full transcript of the episode can be accessed at https://groundedbythefarm.com/growing-lentils/

Lamb may not be a common dish on every table in America, but this red meat provides a great tasting addition to the menu. We talk to Nevada rancher Mike Compston about raising sheep, cutting meat and enjoying lamb.

Mike talks us through the way sheep are raised in the mountains, traditionally something Basque immigrants had done. Their influence continues in the area with the best in restaurant lamb offerings.

We also talk about the differences in mutton and lamb, how lamb sourcing differs from local butchers to US grocery stores, and he provides a depth of options in cuts and ways to prepare lamb.

Links mentioned in the podcast:

Find Mike Compston on social media:

• Instagram. MikeNVUSA
• Twitter MikeNVUSA
• Facebook Michael Compston

Sandi Brock's YouTube Channel featuring all things raising sheep as well as her Sheepishly.Me Instagram

Where to find Grounded by the Farm on social media:

• GroundedbytheFarm.com for photos, blog posts, show notes and more
• Ask the Farmers Facebook Page
• Groundedbythefarm_ on Instagram
• Grounded by the Farm on Youtube
• @groundedbythef on Twitter

Texan Terren Moore saw a lot of demand for vegetables locally while in high school. He started a backyard garden at the age of 15 & it wasn't long til he was expanding to use more land. He's now nine seasons into the business and investing in capital and improving the farm's environmental footprint.

We talk about how as a young black man, he is creating multiple income streams for the future. He explains his business that grew from his family's love of peas and how education, hands-on experience & customer service make the difference. And he shares his grandmom's secret for peas that he could eat everyday for the rest of his life!

Links mentioned in the show:

• Accompanying Post on GroundedbytheFarm.com including photos and video https://groundedbythefarm.com/growing-purple-hull-peas/
• Episode 122 -- The history of Being a Black Farmer, Johnson Family Farm Precede Lincoln's Presidency https://groundedbythefarm.com/black-farmer-lloyd-johnson/
• Video of Terren (on Facebook) https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=10156524953949167&extid=jLEjhqk8x2XMuCJX

• Where to find Terren Moore on social media:
  • Instagram Moore.Terren
  • Twitter @MooreTerren
  • Facebook Moore Farms & Insurance
• Where to find Grounded by the Farm on social media:
  • GroundedbytheFarm.com for photos, blog posts, show notes and more
  • Ask the Farmers Facebook Page
  • Groundedbythefarm_ on Instagram
  • Grounded by the Farm on Youtube
  • @groundedbythef on Twitter

Few farmers have a more captivating history or voice than Lloyd Johnson who grows corn, soybeans and wheat in Alton, Illinois. The Johnson family -- Lloyd's great grandparents -- bought the property in 1850, years before Abraham Lincoln would be president.

Lloyd talks with us about how he feels his path of being a farmer was part of a covenant made generations earlier. A covenant that ends with him he points out. The wisdom and life lessons extend well beyond what it is like to be a farmer to some of the things that make it a bit different since he is a black farmer. We ask him about advice for people looking to get into farming, about the creation of generational wealth, as well as some of the changes he's seen in his 80 plus years in the St. Louis metro area.

Post including show notes & photos:

https://groundedbythefarm.com/black-farmer-lloyd-johnson/

For more information about the The National Black Growers Council, see https://nationalblackgrowerscouncil.com/ , or connect on social media at:

Twitter https://twitter.com/NBGC100

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/NBGC100/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/nationalblackgrowerscouncil/

Find Grounded by the Farm

• GroundedbytheFarm.com for photos, blog posts, show notes and more
• Ask the Farmers Facebook Page
• Groundedbythefarm_ on Instagram
• Grounded by the Farm on Youtube
• @groundedbythef on Twitter

Over the past several months, we have talked to several farmers including changes in light of covid-19. This bonus episode takes a totally different look at the world as we catch back up with Christian Spears at Tennessee Brew Works. Christian was featured in a winter episode about sourcing local grain for the brewery and that episode was accompanied by an interview with the wheat and barley farmer they source so much from…. That wheat from Batey Farms is featured in their summer seasonal wheat beer I Walk the Lime too.

Christian's first words are about how much the world has changed since we visited in the winter. We talk through how the brewery has had to rework things in light of the pandemic. Some of the topics and timecode follow as we covered a lot of ground in 45 minutes!

Please support your local microbreweries, restaurants, etc. Look for their products, call for curbside service, order products for a couple of meals at once, buy logo'ed wear, share your experiences with friends, family and your social media networks.

02:46 Taking a total business approach

09:00 Wanting to help employees while protecting the company's future too

20:42 Where are you now? What can people do to help microbreweries and restaurants?

29:52 Introducing innovations to help contactless

33:31 New seasonal 100% wheat beer — I Walk the Lime

39:59 Supporting live music in Nashville as possible

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Christian Spears discusses local farm connectivity TN Brew Works has built over the years https://groundedbythefarm.com/crafting-a-beer-that-has-a-depth-of-local-flavor-connecting-to-farmers/
• Brandon Whitt, of Batey Farms, talksaboutgrowin barley& wheat for the microbrewery https://groundedbythefarm.com/ever-met-a-beer-farmer-that-malted-barley-has-to-start-somewhere/
• Video/ article providing background of TN Brew Works & Batey Farms https://groundedbythefarm.com/craft-beer-tennessee-brew/

Where to Find TN Brew Works Online:

• Brewery website: https://www.tnbrew.com/
• Instagram TNBrewWorks. instagram.com/tnbrewworks
• Facebook TNBrew. www.facebook.com/tnbrew
• Tumblr TNBrew. https://tnbrew.tumblr.com/
• Twitter TNBrewWorks https://twitter.com/TNBrewWorks

Connecting with Grounded by the Farm on Other Channels:

• GroundedbytheFarm.com for photos, blog posts, show notes and more
• Ask the Farmers Facebook Page
• Groundedbythefarm_ on Instagram
• Grounded by the Farm on Youtube
• @groundedbythef on Twitter