The Agtivist - A Citizen Farmers Podcast by Farmer D

In this episode, Farmer D digs deep with New York Times bestselling author and Modern Elder Academy Founder Chip Conley.  Chip shares his exciting new work of reimagining retirement and cultivating purpose driven wellness communities where soil, soul and communities thrive.

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Show Notes:

Modern Elder Academy

Wisdom Well

Farmer D's Guest Post on Wisdom Well

Paul Hawken

Additional Resources:

Citizen Farmers Resources 

Citizen Farmers Book

Credits:

Co-Produced and Recorded by Daron Joffe and Ben Bernstein

Audio Editing by Sarah Milligan

Music by Ben Bernstein

About Farmer D:

Farmer D is a nationally recognized biodynamic farmer, designer, speaker, entrepreneur and educator.

He is the author of the acclaimed book "Citizen Farmers: The Biodynamic Way to Grow Healthy Food, Build Thriving Communities and Give Back to the Earth" and has spent the past 25 years designing and building community farms and gardens all over the country.

Farmer D has worked on a wide range of public and private farm development projects ranging from residential “agrihood” communities like Serenbe and Rancho Mission Viejo to non-profit projects such as Coastal Roots Farm and Camp Twin Lakes.

About Chip Conley:

New York Times bestselling author Chip Conley is the boutique hotel entrepreneur who helped Airbnb's founders turn their fast-growing tech start-up into a global hospitality brand. Chip is the founder of the Modern Elder Academy, where a new roadmap for midlife is offered at a beautiful oceanfront campus in Mexico.

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In this episode, Farmer D digs deep with Travis Marcotte, the Executive Director of the Intervale Center, who shares over 30 years of lessons learned, programs developed and partnerships forged that has helped cultivate a model local food system that is good for farmers, land and community. Rich in resources, ideas and inspiration this conversation explores ways to preserve farms near cities, make them accessible to all, honor the past and create a vision for a healthy future for Burlington, the State of Vermont, the US and beyond.

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Show Notes:

Intervale Center

Vermont Land Trust

Additional Resources:

Citizen Farmers Resources 

Citizen Farmers Book

Credits:

Co-Produced and Recorded by Daron Joffe and Ben Bernstein

Audio Editing by Sarah Milligan

Music by Ben Bernstein

About Farmer D:

Farmer D is a nationally recognized biodynamic farmer, designer, speaker, entrepreneur and educator.

He is the author of the acclaimed book "Citizen Farmers: The Biodynamic Way to Grow Healthy Food, Build Thriving Communities and Give Back to the Earth" and has spent the past 25 years designing and building community farms and gardens all over the country.

Farmer D has worked on a wide range of public and private farm development projects ranging from residential “agrihood” communities like Serenbe and Rancho Mission Viejo to non-profit projects such as Coastal Roots Farm and Camp Twin Lakes.

About Travis Marcotte:

Travis Marcotte was born into a family of dairy farmers in Charlotte, Vermont. Prior to joining the Intervale Center, he worked in agriculture and community economic development in Central America and the Caribbean, where he focused on farm viability, food security and national policy in the agricultural sector. With a passion for working landscapes and a love of food, Travis deeply appreciates the opportunities and challenges that face our farms and our food system today. Since joining the Intervale Center over a decade ago, Travis has focused on the power of food to change the world. In 2010, Travis became Executive Director and directs his energy to deepening the Center’s impact, bringing our model to communities across North America and building a healthy, strong, and sustainable organization that reflects the values of the community food revolution.

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In this episode, Farmer D talks farm business planning and more with Rebecca Frimmer of Kitchen Table Consultants.

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Show Notes:

Kitchen Table Consultants

Harvey Software

Barn2Door

Additional Resources:

Citizen Farmers Resources 

Citizen Farmers Book

Credits:

Co-Produced and Recorded by Daron Joffe and Ben Bernstein

Audio Editing by Sarah Milligan

Music by Ben Bernstein

About Farmer D:

Farmer D is a nationally recognized biodynamic farmer, designer, speaker, entrepreneur and educator.

He is the author of the acclaimed book "Citizen Farmers: The Biodynamic Way to Grow Healthy Food, Build Thriving Communities and Give Back to the Earth" and has spent the past 25 years designing and building community farms and gardens all over the country.

Farmer D has worked on a wide range of public and private farm development projects ranging from residential “agrihood” communities like Serenbe and Rancho Mission Viejo to non-profit projects such as Coastal Roots Farm and Camp Twin Lakes.

About Rebecca Frimmer:

Rebecca has a passion for local, sustainable, and vibrant agriculture and food, and strongly believes in the power of food as medicine, and in the positive environmental impact of sustainable practices. At the intersection of her personal connection to keeping “good food” on the table, and the marketing and financial training of her career, Rebecca aspires to educate, enrich, and empower food business owners to "grab the wheel" and navigate their business to financial viability and long term success. Through KTC, we have supported over 250 businesses since 2009. In 2020 alone, we worked on 190 projects, impacting $123M in local food sales, and businesses employing over 1000 people over 16000+ acres; over half our clients are farms, and 30% are women and minority owned businesses. 

Rebecca's career began as a business owner in the hospitality industry, launching an event production company while attending college at Penn State, which evolved to General Management in the hospitality space. After pursuing her MBA in small business and entrepreneurship at George Washington University, she pivoted her career into specialty food e-commerce and retail, followed by years of General Management of Greensgrow Farm, a nationally recognized urban farm, CSA, market, and nonprofit organization in Philadelphia. She uses her financially focused approach as the foundation of her business coaching process, as well as drawing from various curriculum and tools that she’s developed from her one-on-one and cohort based work with farmers and makers. Rebecca and her family relocated to the West coast in 2016, and she loves living in Morro Bay California with her husband and 2 children, ages 2 and 4. When she's not working, you'll find Rebecca gardening, surfing, playing guitar, and painting surreal landscapes of the California coast.

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In this episode, Farmer D and Steve Nygren dig in to the origins of Serenbe and how it's grown from a seed planted decades ago into a model Biophilic community of the future.

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Our Partners:

Brilliant Marketing - A boutique marketing consulting collective helping passionate businesses create impact and achieve their dreams through mindful based marketing.

Show Notes:

Serenbe

Nygren Placemaking

Kiss The Ground Movie

Additional Resources:

Citizen Farmers Resources 

Citizen Farmers Book

Credits:

Co-Produced and Recorded by Daron Joffe and Ben Bernstein

Audio Editing by Sarah Milligan

Music by Ben Bernstein

About Farmer D:

Farmer D is a nationally recognized biodynamic farmer, designer, speaker, entrepreneur and educator.

He is the author of the acclaimed book "Citizen Farmers: The Biodynamic Way to Grow Healthy Food, Build Thriving Communities and Give Back to the Earth" and has spent the past 25 years designing and building community farms and gardens all over the country.

Farmer D has worked on a wide range of public and private farm development projects ranging from residential “agrihood” communities like Serenbe and Rancho Mission Viejo to non-profit projects such as Coastal Roots Farm and Camp Twin Lakes.

About Steve Nygren:

Fearing urban sprawl in 2000, Steve led the effort to create the Chattahoochee Hills Country Alliance to bring together landowners, developers and conservationists to find a mutually-agreed upon solution of balanced growth for 40,000 acres on Atlanta’s edge. This effort resulted in the largest land use change in the metro area’s recent history Compared to the 15 county metro Atlanta’s model over the last three decades, this land plan provides for 20% more housing while saving 70% of the land for agriculture and recreation. In 2004, the Nygrens began development of Serenbe the community to demonstrate these concepts. The result is reminiscent of century-old communities connected to current technology. Steve has chaired many local and state board and currently serves on three national boards dealing with environmental issues. He also serves on the Georgia Department of Community Affairs Board and chairs the Task Force for Comprehensive Planning for Georgia.

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In this episode, Farmer D interviews his long time collaborator Greg Ramsey to explore his influences, philosophy and tools for designing farm-based conservation communities.

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Our Partners:

Brilliant Marketing - A boutique marketing consulting collective helping passionate businesses create impact and achieve their dreams through mindful based marketing.

Show Notes:

Hugh Lovel

Community Land Trusts (CLTs)

Village Habitat Design

Conservation Communities

Additional Resources:

Citizen Farmers Resources 

Citizen Farmers Book

Credits:

Co-Produced and Recorded by Daron Joffe and Ben Bernstein

Audio Editing by Sarah Milligan

Music by Ben Bernstein

About Farmer D:

Farmer D is a nationally recognized biodynamic farmer, designer, speaker, entrepreneur and educator.

He is the author of the acclaimed book "Citizen Farmers: The Biodynamic Way to Grow Healthy Food, Build Thriving Communities and Give Back to the Earth" and has spent the past 25 years designing and building community farms and gardens all over the country.

Farmer D has worked on a wide range of public and private farm development projects ranging from residential “agrihood” communities like Serenbe and Rancho Mission Viejo to non-profit projects such as Coastal Roots Farm and Camp Twin Lakes.

About Greg Ramsey:

Greg Ramsey is a village and conservation community designer and planner that has been collaborating with Farmer D for twenty years. He has helped plan, design, and develop Agrivillages as Conservation Communities for master planned communities, conservation oriented developers, heritage and foundation lands, and intentional communities. While working with Farmer D, Greg brings his planning experience by integrating farms and natural habitats into the development of hamlets and villages and intentional communities.

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In this episode, Farmer D interviews his close collaborator Kasi to share their collective philosophy and practices for designing and cultivating thriving communities.

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Our Partners:

Brilliant Marketing - A boutique marketing consulting collective helping passionate businesses create impact and achieve their dreams through mindful based marketing.

Show Notes:

Coastal Roots Farm

Additional Resources:

Citizen Farmers Resources 

Citizen Farmers Book

Credits:

Co-Produced and Recorded by Daron Joffe and Ben Bernstein

Audio Editing by Sarah Milligan

Music by Ben Bernstein

About Farmer D:

Farmer D is a nationally recognized biodynamic farmer, designer, speaker, entrepreneur and educator.

He is the author of the acclaimed book "Citizen Farmers: The Biodynamic Way to Grow Healthy Food, Build Thriving Communities and Give Back to the Earth" and has spent the past 25 years designing and building community farms and gardens all over the country.

Farmer D has worked on a wide range of public and private farm development projects ranging from residential “agrihood” communities like Serenbe and Rancho Mission Viejo to non-profit projects such as Coastal Roots Farm and Camp Twin Lakes.

About Kasi Muñoz:

Kasi Munoz has cultivated a career focused on activating people, activating spaces, and activating change. Kasi practices landscape architecture to help build healthy communities. She has a background and experience in natural building, permaculture, urban farming and community engagement that has shaped her as a designer. At Farmer D, Kasi is working  across all projects as Director of Design and Operations, helping to build the company and team at Farmer D. 

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In this episode, Farmer D introduces Season 2 in an interview with podcast collaborator Ben Bernstein.

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Our Partners:

Brilliant Marketing - A boutique marketing consulting collective helping passionate businesses create impact and achieve their dreams through mindful based marketing.

Show Notes:

Vermont 

Bread And Butter Farm 

Agrarian Commons 

Dirt Capital 

Gather Film 

Additional Resources:

Citizen Farmers Resources 

Citizen Farmers Book

Credits:

Co-Produced and Recorded by Daron Joffe and Ben Bernstein

Audio Editing by Sarah Milligan

Music by Ben Bernstein

About Farmer D:

Farmer D is a nationally recognized biodynamic farmer, designer, speaker, entrepreneur and educator.

He is the author of the acclaimed book "Citizen Farmers: The Biodynamic Way to Grow Healthy Food, Build Thriving Communities and Give Back to the Earth" and has spent the past 25 years designing and building community farms and gardens all over the country.

Farmer D has worked on a wide range of public and private farm development projects ranging from residential “agrihood” communities like Serenbe and Rancho Mission Viejo to non-profit projects such as Coastal Roots Farm and Camp Twin Lakes.

About Ben Bernstein:

Ben Bernstein is a Music and Audio Producer based in Oakland, CA. He toured North America with the seminal jam band New Monsoon and now produces records, podcasts and other audible oddities.

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In this episode, Farmer D shares tips for growing your fall/winter garden from cool-season veggies and season extension to cover crops and seed-saving.

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Our Sponsors:

Netafim - Grow higher and better yields with less water. Every season.

Brilliant Marketing - A boutique marketing consulting collective helping passionate businesses create impact and achieve their dreams through mindful based marketing.

Show Notes:

Food Hubs

Row Covers

Cold Frames

Seed Saving

Additional Resources:

Citizen Farmers Resources 

Citizen Farmers Book

Credits:

Co-Produced and Recorded by Daron Joffe and Ben Bernstein

Audio Editing by Stephanie Lamond

Music by Ben Bernstein

About Farmer D:

Farmer D is a nationally recognized biodynamic farmer, designer, speaker, entrepreneur and educator.

He is the author of the acclaimed book "Citizen Farmers: The Biodynamic Way to Grow Healthy Food, Build Thriving Communities and Give Back to the Earth" and has spent the past 25 years designing and building community farms and gardens all over the country.

Farmer D has worked on a wide range of public and private farm development projects ranging from residential “agrihood” communities like Serenbe and Rancho Mission Viejo to non-profit projects such as Coastal Roots Farm and Camp Twin Lakes.

Support the show

In this episode, Farmer D discusses how to cultivate your entrepreneurial spirit to support your gardening passion.

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Our Sponsors:

Netafim - Grow higher and better yields with less water. Every season.

Brilliant Marketing - A boutique marketing consulting collective helping passionate businesses create impact and achieve their dreams through mindful based marketing.

Show Notes:

California SB-1383 Short-lived climate pollutants: methane emissions: dairy and livestock: organic waste: landfills

Kiss The Ground Movie 

Edible Landscaping

Horticultural Therapy - Merritt College Landscape Horticulture Certificate & Degree Options

Non Profit Farming

Additional Resources:

Citizen Farmers Resources 

Citizen Farmers Book

Credits:

Co-Produced and Recorded by Daron Joffe and Ben Bernstein

Audio Editing by Stephanie Lamond

Music by Ben Bernstein

About Farmer D:

Farmer D is a nationally recognized biodynamic farmer, designer, speaker, entrepreneur and educator.

He is the author of the acclaimed book "Citizen Farmers: The Biodynamic Way to Grow Healthy Food, Build Thriving Communities and Give Back to the Earth" and has spent the past 25 years designing and building community farms and gardens all over the country.

Farmer D has worked on a wide range of public and private farm development projects ranging from residential “agrihood” communities like Serenbe and Rancho Mission Viejo to non-profit projects such as Coastal Roots Farm and Camp Twin Lakes.

Support the show

In this episode, Farmer D calls us to action for growing more resilient, connected communities in these challenging times. He discusses solving economic, social, and environmental problems through collective farming and gardening.

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Our Sponsors:

Netafim - Grow higher and better yields with less water. Every season.

Brilliant Marketing - A boutique marketing consulting collective helping passionate businesses create impact and achieve their dreams through mindful based marketing.

Show Notes:

The Social Dilemma Movie

Michael Pollan - In Defense of Food

Additional Resources:

Citizen Farmers Resources -  Beneficial Organisms for Pest Control

Citizen Farmers Book

Credits:

Co-Produced and Recorded by Daron Joffe and Ben Bernstein

Audio Editing by Stephanie Lamond

Music by Ben Bernstein

About Farmer D:

Farmer D is a nationally recognized biodynamic farmer, designer, speaker, entrepreneur and educator.

He is the author of the acclaimed book "Citizen Farmers: The Biodynamic Way to Grow Healthy Food, Build Thriving Communities and Give Back to the Earth" and has spent the past 25 years designing and building community farms and gardens all over the country.

Farmer D has worked on a wide range of public and private farm development projects ranging from residential “agrihood” communities like Serenbe and Rancho Mission Viejo to non-profit projects such as Coastal Roots Farm and Camp Twin Lakes.

Support the show