The Agri-Tourist, My Journey Back to Agriculture

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I had a very inspiring and deeply insightful conversation with Richard Andres, owner of Tantre Farm in Michigan.  Richard is a farmer, a philosopher, and former carpenter.  Well I say former carpenter but I am sure his carpentry skills come in super handy on the farm. Those are one set of skills I wish I had more of. 

So when I say my conversation was deeply insightful that is probably an understatement.  When I noticed in Richard’s bio that he worked with the Ann Arbor and Toronto Zen Buddhist temples, I figured that our conversation may go well beyond the economics of farming.  And it certainly did.  When I left the conversation with Richard, I felt a deep understanding about WHY he does what he does and why feeding people and connecting with people through food is at the foundation of everything he does…from a very successful CSA, upick, and meal program to the farm education…he serves his community through food. With his wife Deb by his side, they are such an positive force in their community and with everyone they touch.  

I left my conversation with Richard conveying to him that he needs to write a book…the world needs to hear his unique wisdom and philosophies about food and farming.  I encourage you to mindfully listen to this episode with an open heart.  It will help to fill you! 

Tantre Farm 
Thích Nhất Hạnh - Mindfulness
Eliot Coleman
Nourishing Traditions, Sally Fallon
The Aldo Leopold Foundation - Where Ethics Meet Earth
A Sand County Almanac
Wendell Berry - The Berry Center

Thank you for taking the time to listen to The Agri-Tourist Podcast, for supporting our inspirational guests, and for sharing my personal journey back to agriculture.  

• Agri-Tourist.com
• HeartBeet Farms
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• Global Agritourism Network

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Today I am chatting with Tracy Mitchell Griggs from AgVenturesUS.  Tracy is the ultimate connector when it comes to everything agritourism.  Growing up in south Jersey, Tracy developed a love of farmers veggies from local farmers markets. She also spent a lot of time on the eastern shore of Maryland where she enjoyed Chesapeake Bay Sailing adventures with her family.  Tracy spent time in California exploring and expanding her culinary skills and later returned to the Mid Atlantic where she studied the global aquaculture industry. 

Throughout her career, agritourism has become a significant theme, and Tracy is applying that knowledge, experience and her many agritourism contacts to build out some business concepts surrounding the arts and agriculture and a Mid Atlantic Agritourism Alliance. Learn about how Tracy’s diverse career, experiences and her knack for connecting people have come together to form these new and exciting ventures.

AgVenturesUS
Mid Atlantic Agritourism Alliance
Farm & Art Tour
South Carolina's Ag & Art Tour Embodies What AgriTourism Is All About
Fractured Atlas
Dig In Vermont

Thank you for taking the time to listen to The Agri-Tourist Podcast, for supporting our inspirational guests, and for sharing my personal journey back to agriculture.  

• Agri-Tourist.com
• HeartBeet Farms
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• About Jen Ross, The Agri-Tourist Podcast Host
• Global Agritourism Network

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I am so excited for you to hear from my very dear friend and fellow entrepreneur, Waldo Cabrera.  Waldo is an Emmy-Winning, Emmy-Nominated, and extremely talented video producer.  I have known Waldo for many years. We have collaborated on many work projects, I have conducted many interviews for a TV show he produced, and we have had many thrilling times like riding the Cyclone in Coney Island after a video shoot at the opening of a local community center.   

Waldo knew I have a passion for all things agriculture as he covered many of our farm events and innovations on his TV episodes.  And he also knew that I happened to love chocolate and traveled to Central America a few times to learn about the agriculture behind chocolate.  Well one day, to my surprise, Waldo just happened to mention that his family owns a 100 year old organic cacao farm in the Dominican Republic!!!  Why he withheld that fact from me, I will never know…and we joke about it to this day! But once I found out and we chatted about it, we turned it into a family media adventure to the Dominic Republic.  And what an amazing adventure it was…to immerse in the culture of the Dominican Republic and be part of a working organic cacao farm...and to be able to experience this with close friends and family….

I hope you enjoy my conversation with Waldo Cabrera. 

MyLITV
Holocaust Survivor Ruth Kohn: From Living in Hell To Living in Paradise in Sosua, D.R.
Broadway on Main
EMMY WINNER:  Laylas Dance & Drum's Black History Month with the Harlem Globetrotters
EMMY WINNER: Conversation with Director Barry Sonnenfeld at the Cinema Arts Centre
EMMY NOMINATION: Legendary TV Producer Norman Lear at the Cinema Arts Centre
Puerto Rico's 2020 EARTHQUAKES SITUATION ON THE GROUND AND APPEAL
No Dream is Too High: One on One with Buzz Aldrin at the Book Revue
Women Chocolate Makers Breaking Boundaries in Dominican Republic
Riding the Donkey to the Organic Cacao Farm
Dominican Dream

Thank you for taking the time to listen to The Agri-Tourist Podcast, for supporting our inspirational guests, and for sharing my personal journey back to agriculture.  

• Agri-Tourist.com
• HeartBeet Farms
• Instagram
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• Global Agritourism Network

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It’s not every day we see an agriculture professional turned banker! Today we will meet one! 

Many of us bank at some of the large banking institutions with branding we are very familiar with. If not one of the large banks, some bank with credit unions or invest in local and regional banking institutions. But do you think about how your money is used and invested after it is deposited into your current bank?  In all honesty, I didn’t…until I  learned about Walden Mutual Bank and had a conversation with CEO, Charley Cummings, agriculture business owner turned banking professional.  If you care about agriculture, farming, healthy food, sustainability, and our Earth, then why wouldn’t you consider investing your money in a banking institution that cares about the same things…where your deposits are invested back into agriculture, farming, food, sustainability and our Earth?  And if you are a growing company in any of these industries and are located in New England and NY,  Walden Mutual has financial options for you to consider.  

Enjoy my conversation with Charley Cummings from Walden Mutual Bank.  And even if you don’t move your money right away, research how your bank is investing its funds and whether it is in alignment with how you would want your money to be invested. 

Walden Mutual Bank
The Dirty Life: A Memoir of Farming, Food, and Love
Walden Local

Thank you for taking the time to listen to The Agri-Tourist Podcast, for supporting our inspirational guests, and for sharing my personal journey back to agriculture.  

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“It is never too late to take the first step toward our dreams, no matter how big or impractical - or seemingly outrageous.”  This is a quote from Jane Lee Rankin from her compelling memoir called Farm Family. This is a book about the adventure that created Apple Hill Farm in North Carolina. It’s all about how a solo mom with a broken heart and no farming or livestock experience created a renowned agritourism destination and thriving mountaintop farm. 

A chance encounter with an alpaca in the year 2000 at the Kentucky State Fair planted a seed for Jane (aka Lee) that grew into a big and life defining dream of wanting to raise alpacas. I have to admit that I know very little about alpacas but after reading Farm Family and interviewing Jane,  I want to drive down to her farm and meet these animals that Jane describes as having a deep “spiritual knowing.” 

To quote Jane - “A farm was the perfect environment to raise a young son. Through the challenges that arose on the journey it was Will and my faith that provided the strength to get up and keep moving forward. Somewhere along the way, I became a farmer, a lover of land, animals and plants, and a memoir writer….”

Jane recognized the importance of being in the moments with her son Will and, throughout the memoir, we had the opportunity to experience those important, memorable moments of love and learning. Jane’s connection to her son Will, the land, the animals, and the people she attracted to share in her journey, are truly compelling. 

Apple Hill Farm is open year round for guided walking tours to meet and learn about the animals. In summer they offer experiences such as:

• Barn quilt painting
• Goat yoga
• Knitting with the alpacas
• And more

They also have an Apple Hill Farm Store that sells all sorts of amazing items such as  yarn, alpaca socks, gloves, apparel, and honey.

And, in addition, Jane helps other farmers and entrepreneurs by offering classes on agritourism and educates people about farming, animals and where food comes from. Enjoy my conversation with Jane Lee Rankin from Apple Hill Farm.
Apple Hill Farm
Farm Family Book
Cook Book - Cookin up a Storm
Apple Hill Farm Store
Alpaca Dryer Balls
Agritourism Consulting

Thank you for taking the time to listen to The Agri-Tourist Podcast, for supporting our inspirational guests, and for sharing my personal journey back to agriculture.  

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There is nothing like the taste of a real, authentic New England maple syrup. This one is not located in Vermont - it’s located right in the Berkshires!  And I even had the chance to spend a few hours touring and tasting my way through this amazing farm.

Justamere Tree Farm is located in the town of Worthington MA.  The land was purchased in 1982 and owned by JP and Marian. They fell in love with a 26-acre wooded lot with a brook and hunting cabin and farmed the land for 38 years.  The woods became their livelihood, the earth their roots, and the trees their grounding.  

The farm is newly owned by three inspirational women - Kelly, Kim and Deb. It is now an all women-owned maple business that runs on clean, renewable energy. And it is situated on 60 acres of rolling hills filled with maples and birch.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Deb who spent most of her career as a biologist for the US Fish and Wildlife Service and lived in many places including Connecticut, Maine, and Alaska. She believes that private landowners and sustainable agriculture play an integral role in conservation. That is why she fell in love with Justamere Tree Farm and the ethic behind the business.

Her business partner Kelly grew up outdoors as a competitive ski and mountain bike racer who is passionate about a life focused on nature and the environment. After spending time in her childhood on a farm in Ohio, Kelly has now returned to her roots.

And Kim grew up riding horses through the fields and forests of rural Alabama. She lived in Alaska for over 20 years where, among other things, she did backcountry search and rescue with her dog. Her lifelong passion for the outdoors, and the beauty of New England drew her to this new adventure. 

Join me in learning about this special maple forest in the heart of the Berkshires and learn all about Justamere’s authentic and unique maple products, some favorites being the maple seasoning, maple hot cocoa, cinnamon maple sugar, and so much more.  

Enjoy my conversation with Deb, of the owners of Just- A- Mere Tree Farm. 

Justamere Tree Farm
Berkshire Grown
Berkshares
Great Barrington Farmers Market
Harold Grinspoon Foundation

Thank you for taking the time to listen to The Agri-Tourist Podcast, for supporting our inspirational guests, and for sharing my personal journey back to agriculture.  

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Today we are chatting with Donna Del Rey, owner of Relish Culinary Adventures.

Relish Culinary Adventures (love the name!) is a culinary program that brings together talented chefs and fabulous cuisine at a variety of captivating rural locations including farms and orchards, to create one-of-a-kind authentic cooking classes, culinary tours and excursions, and catering services.

Based in Healdsburg, California, in the heart of the Sonoma County wine country, Relish offers culinary events on a wide range of topics from wine country cuisine to ethnic specialties, cheese making to wild mushroom foraging - the mushroom foraging is one of my favorites! . In addition, Relish hosts activities that bring people together in the kitchen, such as private cooking parties and corporate team-building events.

Donna has such an authentic and transparent nature. Owning your own business is hard and requires a lot of resiliency, risk, leaps of faith, and strategic thinking and planning. But it sometimes requires you to react and do things that are not aligned with the initial vision and plan. And when you need to do this, you sometimes feel a sense of desperation, that you are doing everything to make your business survive, even if it doesn’t completely align with the vision.  However, I believe that pivoting and diversifying is sometimes necessary in order to survive and eventually thrive.  And that is what happened to Donna.  She pivoted, she diversified her income streams…she survived…and now she is thriving once again.  That is the real journey of an entrepreneur.  

And, although Relish Culinary and its mission to connect people to where their food comes from is at the forefront of our discussion, I think Donna’s openness about her business challenges and ability to be flexible, are truly at the heart of our discussion and is such an important story to be told.

I hope you enjoy my conversation with Donna! 

Relish Culinary Adventures
Relish Culinary Calendar of Events
Culinary Tours
Relish Culinary Instagram
Relish Culinary Facebook
Dry Creek Peach

Thank you for taking the time to listen to The Agri-Tourist Podcast, for supporting our inspirational guests, and for sharing my personal journey back to agriculture.  

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I have been doing a lot of local traveling, really digging into the northeast US where my agriculture focus seems to be currently taking me.  I visited a bean festival at a farm in Sheffield, Massachusetts (MA), located in the southern part of the Berkshires. The Berkshires or Berkshire County is located in Western Massachusetts, with New York State very close to the west, Connecticut to the south, and Vermont to the north. 

Before going to the festival I met a friend for lunch at the Berkshire Food Coop and explored the downtown area of Great Barrington, MA.  Kind of fell in love with the vibe of the whole area - the energy, the outdoor air, the agriculture focus….everything about it.   Of course I grabbed a few brochures related to farming and local businesses and came across something called Berkshares…a local Currency Program. BerkShares is the best-known contemporary example of a place-based currency. They have over 300 participating locally-owned and community-minded businesses that support Berkshares to keep money circulating in the region, thereby contributing to a greater local multiplier effect. My marketing and business development mind immediately recognized what a brilliant marketing and loyalty program that this currency program really is. 

I had the pleasure of speaking with Jared Spears, the Marketing Director of Berkshares.  Berkshares is a program that came out of the Schumacher Center for a New Economics. They work to envision the elements of a just and regenerative global economy, undertake to apply these elements in the Berkshires; and develop the educational programs to share the results more broadly, thus encouraging replication.  

Stay tuned for an interesting history on how the Berkshares local currency initiative got started and transformed out of some previous programs including Deli Dollars and Berkshire Farm Preserve Notes. Jared provided me with a good understanding of the local economics that contributed to the launch of this local currency.  Enjoy my conversation with Jared Spears.

Berkshares
Berkshire Community Land Trust
Farmstead for Farmers Initiative
Schumacher Center for new economics 

Thank you for taking the time to listen to The Agri-Tourist Podcast, for supporting our inspirational guests, and for sharing my personal journey back to agriculture.  

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We left New York and it was 27 degrees Fahrenheit and mild.  We arrived in Grenada a little over four hours later and it was 78 degrees, partly sunny and fairly humid.  Earl, our driver, was awaiting our arrival.  He drove us in his car to the ‘countryside’ on the north west side of Grenada.  The roads were thin and very windy with spectacular views of the Caribbean Sea.  Houses were located on both sides of the road – some on stilts overlooking the water and others embedded in the mountainside of green vegetation. This was the beginning of our agriculture adventure in Grenada…

An hour later, we arrived at Crayfish Bay Organics, a 200-year old, 15-acre cacao farm. We met Kim and Lylette Russell – owners of the estate and Crayfish Bay Chocolate. Kim, a very entertaining, determined, and hard working man of English descent, lived most of his life on the water in the Caribbean and most recently settled down in Grenada. Lylette was originally from Guyana, South America and lived a good part of her life in St. Lucia. Kim and Lylette connected online and live and work their estate at Crayfish Bay.

Their land produces cacao, bananas, plantains, oranges, nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, guava, mango, passion fruit, grapefruit, avocado, star fruit, and so much more. 

This trip to Grenada was truly an agricultural immersion and adventure…which included cacao growing, chocolate making, tree and farm to table food, spice tours, hiking, tons of exploring….and, most importantly, connecting with such dedicated people.  These are the things that keep people coming back and visiting Crayfish Bay year after year. 

Enjoy my conversation with Lylette Russell  from Crayfish Bay Organics. 

Crayfish Bay Organics
The Little House, Crayfish Bay Airbnb
The Tree House, Crayfish Bay Airbnb

Thank you for taking the time to listen to The Agri-Tourist Podcast, for supporting our inspirational guests, and for sharing my personal journey back to agriculture.  

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Brian Sullivan, Gayle Okumura Sullivan and son Patrick Sullivan purchased Dry Creek Peach in 2000 and are approaching 25 years with the farm.  Dry Creek Peach, located in the heart of Dry Creek Valley of Healdsburg in Sonoma County, California is surrounded by wine country. They are the last remaining fruit farm in the valley with 1000 peach trees. They are the only dedicated, certified organic peach farm in the county. 

The farm produces about 30 varieties of peaches between Memorial Day and Labor Day, some of which will make your mouth water as Gayle describes them in our podcast interview.

Gayle and Brian knew very little about farming and specifically peach farming when entering this business. But they quickly recognized the unique beauty and bounty of the farm, and they took the leap of faith. 

Well, almost 25 years later, they have fine-tuned and expanded the business, learning and adjusting as they go, tackling new and unique challenges every farm season, and leading with a focus and dedication to producing the highest quality peaches.  This focus has opened up unique marketing and distribution opportunities. It’s easy to see why their fruit is savored by famous chefs and food entrepreneurs.  

Picture yourself in Sonoma County, CA among the peach trees and enjoy my chat with Gayle and Brian. 

Dry Creek Peach
Russian River Brewing
Alley 6 - Peach Brandy
Relish Culinary
Dry Creek Valley Sonoma Wine Country
Outstanding in the Field

Thank you for taking the time to listen to The Agri-Tourist Podcast, for supporting our inspirational guests, and for sharing my personal journey back to agriculture.  

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