Over more than 30 years, Featherstone Farm has grown their CSA and wholesaling to the point where they are now growing on 135 acres and have scaled up some of their major crops- for one example, they are storing 120 tons or more of carrots every year. These are distributed through their CSA and wholesaling. Though Featherstone has gotten a lot bigger over the years, they have remained committed to high agricultural standards with a Real Organic Project certification and high standards for the nearly 50 farm workers that they employ.

Jack Hedin started the farm with his wife in 1994, and Abby Benson is the farm’s production manager and part of the leadership team. In this interview with host Katie Kulla, Jack and Abby discuss overcoming the production and logistics challenges that saw the farm grow from a much smaller size to having as many as 1400 CSA members in some years. Farming is never without a challenge, though, and they discuss how changing weather patterns are resulting in prolonged wet periods that threaten many of their crops with increased disease pressure, and how they are planning for other challenges to keep the farm healthy into the future.

Connect With Guest:

Instagram: @featherstonefarmmn
Website: featherstonefarm.com
 

Podcast Sponsors: Huge thanks to our podcast sponsors as they make this podcast FREE to everyone with their generous support:
 

Nifty Hoops builds complete gothic high tunnels that are easy to install and built to last. Their bolt-together construction makes setup straightforward and efficient, whether it's a small backyard hoophouse, or a dozen large production-scale high tunnels- especially through their community build option, where professional builders work alongside your crew, family, or neighbors to build each structure- usually in a single day. Visit niftyhoops.com to learn more.
 

BCS two-wheel tractors are designed and built in Italy where small-scale farming has been a way of life for generations. Discover the beauty of BCS on your farm with PTO-driven implements for soil-working, shredding cover crops, spreading compost, mowing under fences, clearing snow, and more – all powered by a single, gear-driven machine that’s tailored to the size and scale of your operation. To learn more, view sale pricing, or locate your nearest dealer, visit BCS America.
 

Farmhand is the all-in-one virtual assistant created for CSA farmers. With five-star member support, custom websites, shop management, and seamless billing, Farmhand makes it effortless to market, manage, and grow a thriving CSA. Learn more and set up a demo with the founder at farmhand.partners/gfm.

Anne Massie and Virginia Pleasant share how they’ve grown Region Roots Local Farm and Food Hub to increase opportunities for famers to feed their regional communities. “The Region” is how the area of Northwest Indiana where they are based is known locally. Both co-executive directors of the NWI (Northwest Indiana) Food Council, they tell us how they’ve rapidly grown their grassroots nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a just and regenerative food system.

They discuss considerations including how big of a population can be supported by a food hub, effective programs, how to get funding, and how they’ve been dealing with the cancellation of promised funding by the federal government this year. This food hub is really helping open up markets for farmers and getting more local food into the community, and the conversation emphasizes how to actually get community collaboration, farmer support, and public policy to work together to shape food policy.

Connect With Guest:

Instagram: @region_roots_food_hub
Website: regionroots.org
 

Podcast Sponsors: Huge thanks to our podcast sponsors as they make this podcast FREE to everyone with their generous support:

BCS two-wheel tractors are designed and built in Italy where small-scale farming has been a way of life for generations. Discover the beauty of BCS on your farm with PTO-driven implements for soil-working, shredding cover crops, spreading compost, mowing under fences, clearing snow, and more – all powered by a single, gear-driven machine that’s tailored to the size and scale of your operation. To learn more, view sale pricing, or locate your nearest dealer, visit BCS America.
 

Farmhand is the all-in-one virtual assistant created for CSA farmers. With five-star member support, custom websites, shop management, and seamless billing, Farmhand makes it effortless to market, manage, and grow a thriving CSA. Learn more and set up a demo with the founder at farmhand.partners/gfm.
 

Nifty Hoops builds complete gothic high tunnels that are easy to install and built to last. Their bolt-together construction makes setup straightforward and efficient, whether it's a small backyard hoophouse, or a dozen large production-scale high tunnels- especially through their community build option, where professional builders work alongside your crew, family, or neighbors to build each structure- usually in a single day. Visit niftyhoops.com to learn more.

Tilth Soil composts millions of pounds of food waste every year, and we’ve got their soil guy Josh Kruszynski on the pod this week to talk about how to build soil including not just compost, but also microbes, micronutrients, Ph and everything else we’re learning about how to encourage healthy soil. 

We talk about the markers of healthy soil as a starting point for evaluating our own soil and figuring out what steps to take to improve it. In this interview with host April Parms Jones we hear how healthy soils can help with many of the challenges farmers face, including erosion, water holding capacity, fertility and even pest pressure.

Connect With Guest:

Instagram: @tilth.soil
Website: tilthsoil.com
 

Podcast Sponsors: Huge thanks to our podcast sponsors as they make this podcast FREE to everyone with their generous support:
 

Farmhand is the all-in-one virtual assistant created for CSA farmers. With five-star member support, custom websites, shop management, and seamless billing, Farmhand makes it effortless to market, manage, and grow a thriving CSA. Learn more and set up a demo with the founder at farmhand.partners/gfm.
 

Nifty Hoops builds complete gothic high tunnels that are easy to install and built to last. Their bolt-together construction makes setup straightforward and efficient, whether it's a small backyard hoophouse, or a dozen large production-scale high tunnels- especially through their community build option, where professional builders work alongside your crew, family, or neighbors to build each structure- usually in a single day. Visit niftyhoops.com to learn more.

Growing up in Brooklyn with a career as an attorney, Diane Aboushi of Halal Pastures farm did not follow the most traditional path to becoming a farmer. However, researching how to provide the healthiest food for their kids prompted Diane and her family to start a meat business that eventually led to moving out of the city and adding vegetable farming to the mix.  

In this conversation with host Katie Kulla, Diane discusses the importance of halal food, the expansion of her business from meat to organic vegetables, and the significance of growing culturally important vegetable varieties for their customers. Diane emphasizes the role of education and community engagement in her farming practices, as well as the challenges of balancing family life with farm operations. She highlights the importance of organic certification, diversification for sustainability, and the value of direct marketing through building your own email list.

Connect With Guest:

Instagram: @halalpasturesfarm
Website: https://www.halalpastures.com
 

Podcast Sponsors: Huge thanks to our podcast sponsors as they make this podcast FREE to everyone with their generous support:
 

Tilth Soil makes living soils for organic growers. The base for all our mixes is NOP-compliant compost, made from the 4,000 tons of food scraps we divert from landfills each year. And the results speak for themselves. Get excellent germination, strong transplants, and help us turn these resources back into food. Try a free bag, and check our 2025 farmer pricing at tilthsoil.com/gfm.
 

Farmhand is the all-in-one virtual assistant created for CSA farmers. With five-star member support, custom websites, shop management, and seamless billing, Farmhand makes it effortless to market, manage, and grow a thriving CSA. Learn more and set up a demo with the founder at farmhand.partners/gfm.

Nifty Hoops builds complete gothic high tunnels that are easy to install and built to last. Their bolt-together construction makes setup straightforward and efficient, whether it's a small backyard hoophouse, or a dozen large production-scale high tunnels- especially through their community build option, where professional builders work alongside your crew, family, or neighbors to build each structure- usually in a single day. Visit niftyhoops.com to learn more.

Though their family has been farming in Ontario for over 200 years, success looks different in the 2020s than it did in the early 19th century! Hear how the Coopers changed their family farm in order to steward it into the future by becoming early adopters of the CSA model. 

Learn how the business has evolved over the years and how they manage a diverse range of products, both on the farm and the business side of things. The Coopers and host Katie Kulla also discuss the importance of succession planning, finding a balance between cashflow and equity building, integrating technology into the farm, and how to maintain a fun and positive environment on the farm to stay in it for the long haul.

Connect With Guest:

Instagram: @coopscsafarm
Website: www.coopersfarm.ca

Podcast Sponsors: Huge thanks to our podcast sponsors as they make this podcast FREE to everyone with their generous support:

Tilth Soil makes living soils for organic growers. The base for all our mixes is NOP-compliant compost, made from the 4,000 tons of food scraps we divert from landfills each year. And the results speak for themselves. Get excellent germination, strong transplants, and help us turn these resources back into food. Try a free bag, and check our 2025 farmer pricing at tilthsoil.com/gfm.

Farmhand is the all-in-one virtual assistant created for CSA farmers. With five-star member support, custom websites, shop management, and seamless billing, Farmhand makes it effortless to market, manage, and grow a thriving CSA. Learn more and set up a demo with the founder at farmhand.partners/gfm.

BCS two-wheel tractors are designed and built in Italy where small-scale farming has been a way of life for generations. Discover the beauty of BCS on your farm with PTO-driven implements for soil-working, shredding cover crops, spreading compost, mowing under fences, clearing snow, and more – all powered by a single, gear-driven machine that’s tailored to the size and scale of your operation. To learn more, view sale pricing, or locate your nearest dealer, visit BCS America.

Nifty Hoops builds complete gothic high tunnels that are easy to install and built to last. Their bolt-together construction makes setup straightforward and efficient, whether it's a small backyard hoophouse, or a dozen large production-scale high tunnels- especially through their community build option, where professional builders work alongside your crew, family, or neighbors to build each structure- usually in a single day. Visit niftyhoops.com to learn more.

On this week’s podcast Megan Ayers shares what she learned as she built Unvarnished Farm from a series of urban gardens into the farm in southeastern Indiana that it is today. A first-generation farmer, Megan focused on regenerative practices and soil health as she scaled her farm. She and host April Parms Jones discuss concepts that apply to farms of any size, including the ideal carbon to nitrogen ratio for farm soils, evaluating the quality of compost, cover cropping and how chemical fertilizers can harm microbial populations that could otherwise help plants.

Connect With Guest:

Instagram: @unvarnished_farm
Website: unvarnishedfarm.com
 

Podcast Sponsors: Huge thanks to our podcast sponsors as they make this podcast FREE to everyone with their generous support:

Nifty Hoops builds complete gothic high tunnels that are easy to install and built to last. Their bolt-together construction makes setup straightforward and efficient, whether it's a small backyard hoophouse, or a dozen large production-scale high tunnels- especially through their community build option, where professional builders work alongside your crew, family, or neighbors to build each structure- usually in a single day. Visit niftyhoops.com to learn more.

Tilth Soil makes living soils for organic growers. The base for all our mixes is NOP-compliant compost, made from the 4,000 tons of food scraps we divert from landfills each year. And the results speak for themselves. Get excellent germination, strong transplants, and help us turn these resources back into food. Try a free bag, and check our 2025 farmer pricing at tilthsoil.com/gfm.

Farmhand is the all-in-one virtual assistant created for CSA farmers. With five-star member support, custom websites, shop management, and seamless billing, Farmhand makes it effortless to market, manage, and grow a thriving CSA. Learn more and set up a demo with the founder at farmhand.partners/gfm.

BCS two-wheel tractors are designed and built in Italy where small-scale farming has been a way of life for generations. Discover the beauty of BCS on your farm with PTO-driven implements for soil-working, shredding cover crops, spreading compost, mowing under fences, clearing snow, and more – all powered by a single, gear-driven machine that’s tailored to the size and scale of your operation. To learn more, view sale pricing, or locate your nearest dealer, visit BCS America. 

Linley Dixon discusses some of the challenges facing organic farming, particularly the issues of greenwashing and the need for maintaining organic standards in this week’s podcast interview. Linley is the Co-Director of the Real Organic Project (ROP), in addition to running her own Adobe House Farm in Durango, Colorado. She emphasizes the importance of transparency in agricultural practices and the impact of lobbying by agribusiness to weaken organic standards. These issues have an impact even on farmers who are not certified organic, because when standards are not maintained, it causes consumers to doubt standards in general.

The conversation also touches on the role of fraud in organic certification, the need for accountability, and the importance of strong regulations to protect organic integrity. This is the second episode on maintaining organic standards; the first one with Dave Chapman focused on the issue of allowing hydroponics in organics, while this episode focuses on maintaining humane standards for organic livestock and combatting organic grain fraud. Linley also delves into her academic background in soil science and plant pathology, emphasizing the significance of soil health in sustainable agriculture.

Connect With Guest:

Instagram: @realorganicproject

Website: realorganicproject.org

Podcast Sponsors: Huge thanks to our podcast sponsors as they make this podcast FREE to everyone with their generous support:

Nifty Hoops builds complete gothic high tunnels that are easy to install and built to last. Their bolt-together construction makes setup straightforward and efficient, whether it's a small backyard hoophouse, or a dozen large production-scale high tunnels- especially through their community build option, where professional builders work alongside your crew, family, or neighbors to build each structure- usually in a single day. Visit niftyhoops.com to learn more.

Tilth Soil makes living soils for organic growers. The base for all our mixes is NOP-compliant compost, made from the 4,000 tons of food scraps we divert from landfills each year. And the results speak for themselves. Get excellent germination, strong transplants, and help us turn these resources back into food. Try a free bag, and check our 2025 farmer pricing at tilthsoil.com/gfm.

Farmhand is the all-in-one virtual assistant created for CSA farmers. With five-star member support, custom websites, shop management, and seamless billing, Farmhand makes it effortless to market, manage, and grow a thriving CSA. Learn more and set up a demo with the founder at farmhand.partners/gfm.

BCS two-wheel tractors are designed and built in Italy where small-scale farming has been a way of life for generations. Discover the beauty of BCS on your farm with PTO-driven implements for soil-working, shredding cover crops, spreading compost, mowing under fences, clearing snow, and more – all powered by a single, gear-driven machine that’s tailored to the size and scale of your operation. To learn more, view sale pricing, or locate your nearest dealer, visit BCS America.

Subscribe To Our Magazine -all new subscriptions include a FREE 28-Day Trial

Planning and siting have a lot to do with the success of a greenhouse project. Whether building your first or your fifth greenhouse, learn best practices for site prep, drainage, snow and wind management and more with Tomm Becker of Nifty Hoops. The company began as a community initiative to support local farmers in Michigan and now offers to build any of the greenhouses they fabricate entirely for growers, or they’ll help build along with friends and family as a “community build,” anywhere in the USA.

In addition to the process of building and installing greenhouses, we also talk about essential considerations like orientation, dealing with rocky soil and whether to cover with a single or double layer of plastic. We also discuss the status of the NRCS high tunnel grant program, which has not been affected as much as many of the other federal ag programs and is currently running more or less the way it has in years past. If you have questions about the status of the NRCS high tunnel program you can contact Nifty Hoops at the address below.

Connect With Guest:

Instagram: @niftyhoops
Website: https://www.niftyhoops.com

Podcast Sponsors: Huge thanks to our podcast sponsors as they make this podcast FREE to everyone with their generous support:
 

Tilth Soil makes living soils for organic growers. The base for all our mixes is NOP-compliant compost, made from the 4,000 tons of food scraps we divert from landfills each year. And the results speak for themselves. Get excellent germination, strong transplants, and help us turn these resources back into food. Try a free bag, and check our 2025 farmer pricing at tilthsoil.com/gfm.

Farmhand is the all-in-one virtual assistant created for CSA farmers. With five-star member support, custom websites, shop management, and seamless billing, Farmhand makes it effortless to market, manage, and grow a thriving CSA. Learn more and set up a demo with the founder at farmhand.partners/gfm.

Whether you already grow mushrooms or are looking to diversify your market offerings, Erin Hamilton of The Mushroom Conservatory tells us about the varieties and methods we should consider for mushrooms that can be cultured and grown for market. Erin, an expert mushroom grower and agricultural educator, shares her passion for mushrooms and their ecological significance, including how spent mushroom spawn can improve your compost pile. She discusses the role of mycelium in plant growth, types of mushrooms you can cultivate, and the ongoing debate surrounding golden oyster mushrooms.

Erin also provides practical advice on how to start growing mushrooms, focusing on oyster mushrooms and functional varieties. She provides a detailed guide on growing mushrooms, discusses the health benefits of functional mushrooms like Lion's Mane, and offers practical tips for selling mushrooms at farmers markets and building relationships with restaurants. This includes ways to dehydrate and package mushrooms that come back from market for sale later in this conversation with host April Parms Jones.

Connect With Guest:

Instagram: @themushroomconservatory
Website: https://themushroomconservatory.com
 

Podcast Sponsors: Huge thanks to our podcast sponsors as they make this podcast FREE to everyone with their generous support:

Tilth Soil makes living soils for organic growers. The base for all our mixes is NOP-compliant compost, made from the 4,000 tons of food scraps we divert from landfills each year. And the results speak for themselves. Get excellent germination, strong transplants, and help us turn these resources back into food. Try a free bag, and check our 2025 farmer pricing at tilthsoil.com/gfm.

Farmhand is the all-in-one virtual assistant created for CSA farmers. With five-star member support, custom websites, shop management, and seamless billing, Farmhand makes it effortless to market, manage, and grow a thriving CSA. Learn more and set up a demo with the founder at farmhand.partners/gfm.
 

Harnois has been pioneering greenhouse design since 1965, working with farmers across North America to deliver turnkey greenhouse solutions. Designed to withstand high snow and wind loads, their greenhouses optimize brightness, boost yields, and offer a rapid ROI. And in 2025, they’re introducing a new tunnel starting at just $2 per square foot- and as a GFM listener, you’ll receive an exclusive 5% discount on all new structures at Harnois.com.

Subscribe To Our Magazine -all new subscriptions include a FREE 28-Day Trial

Dave Chapman tells us about the origins of the Real Organic Project, and why preserving organic standards is important for all growers whether certified organic or not in this week’s podcast. Dave is the co-director of the Real Organic Project (ROP) and owner of Long Wind Farm in Vermont. The ROP is active in preserving the standards of the National Organic Program (NOP) in the face of lobbying by agribusiness to relax them, particularly in the areas of allowing hydroponics to be certified organic and enforcing animal welfare standards in organic production.

This is the first of a two-part conversation about the ROP, this one focusing on hydroponics and the forthcoming episode will focus on preserving animal welfare standards. Dave highlights the impact on consumer trust that comes from weakening the NOP, and the future of organic standards as corporations push for changing them. The conversation also touches on the challenges posed by container production and herbicide use in “organic” farming, the health impacts of chemical agriculture and the growth of the Real Organic Certification initiative.

Connect With Guest:

Instagram: @realorganicproject
Website: realorganicproject.org
 

Podcast Sponsors: Huge thanks to our podcast sponsors as they make this podcast FREE to everyone with their generous support:

BCS two-wheel tractors are designed and built in Italy where small-scale farming has been a way of life for generations. Discover the beauty of BCS on your farm with PTO-driven implements for soil-working, shredding cover crops, spreading compost, mowing under fences, clearing snow, and more – all powered by a single, gear-driven machine that’s tailored to the size and scale of your operation. To learn more, view sale pricing, or locate your nearest dealer, visit BCS America.

Farmhand is the all-in-one virtual assistant created for CSA farmers. With five-star member support, custom websites, shop management, and seamless billing, Farmhand makes it effortless to market, manage, and grow a thriving CSA. Learn more and set up a demo with the founder at farmhand.partners/gfm.

Harnois has been pioneering greenhouse design since 1965, working with farmers across North America to deliver turnkey greenhouse solutions. Designed to withstand high snow and wind loads, their greenhouses optimize brightness, boost yields, and offer a rapid ROI. And in 2025, they’re introducing a new tunnel starting at just $2 per square foot- and as a GFM listener, you’ll receive an exclusive 5% discount on all new structures at Harnois.com.