2012 Conference Presenters
Many, many thanks to everyone involved in Southern SAWG’s 21st annual conference. Our supporters, vendors, staff, donors, board, and YOU, really made it happen!
Below is the list of our presenters from our 2012 conference. Details on our upcoming conference in January 2013 will be available in October.
PROGRAM ADDITION!
USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan will join us for a breakfast talk Saturday morning. Download pdf flier.
Each year conference participants tell us the great line-up of presenters with their practical experience is what makes our conference program so valuable. These people know their stuff and are willing to share their expertise. One older farmer said, “I sure wish I had access to this kind of expertise when I got started. I’d have gotten a lot further a lot faster!”
We have an outstanding array of presenters again this year. Successful producers and well-respected educators and organizers from around the region with extensive knowledge and most importantly, practical experience, will lead all conference sessions, pre-conference courses and field trips. Read on to see the incredible expertise our presenters are bringing to our program this year…
Will Allen (WI) son of a sharecropper, former professional basketball player, ex-corporate sales leader, and now farmer, has become recognized as among the preeminent thinkers of our time on agriculture and food policy. The founder and CEO of Growing Power Inc., a farm and community food center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Allen is widely considered the leading authority in the expanding field of urban agriculture. At Growing Power and in community food projects across the nation and around the world, Allen promotes the belief that all people, regardless of their economic circumstances, should have access to fresh, safe, affordable and nutritious foods at all times. Allen trains community members to become community farmers, assuring them a secure source of good food without regard to political or economic forces. In 2010, Mr. Allen joined First Lady Michelle Obama as she launched the White House’s “Let’s Move” campaign to address issues affecting American youth and the risk of obesity and was also recognized as one of TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. www.growingpower.org
Rita Anders (TX) owns and operates Cuts of Color in Weimar, TX. Rita began growing greenhouse tomatoes in 1979 when her grandfather retired. When she took over the business, she started with 4,800 square feet of greenhouse space growing only tomatoes. In 2005, she began to diversify and now grows cut flowers, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, herbs, and other seasonal vegetables in 26,000 square feet of greenhouses and two acres of outside flower beds. Cuts of Color sells at the Urban Harvest Farmer’s Market in Houston, TX, year round. www.cutsofcolor.com
Micah Anderson (OK) is currently a Market Development Coordinator who supervises the Plasticulture Program for the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture. Micah grew up on a farm in Muskogee County in Northeast OK, where his parents owned and operated a sustainable farm. Over the past six years, the Plasticulture Program has grown from twenty gardens a year to now assisting over seventy farmers and gardeners each year. Micah has planted his own demonstration plot for other farmers to see the effectiveness of plasticulture and drip irrigation. His hands-on experiences have proven to be a big part of the success of this program.
Michael Appel & Emily Oakley (OK) own and operate Three Springs Farm. Emily and Mike have been involved in sustainable agriculture for the past 14 years and have traveled to the Middle East, East Africa, South Asia, and Latin America to study innovative farming systems. After interning for several years on California farms, they moved to Emily's home state of Oklahoma to start a small-scale, diverse, and organic vegetable farm in the fall of 2003. They are passionate about generating awareness of conscientious eating and community involvement in local food. www.Threespringsfarm.com
Kozanno Bacio (TX) has volunteered and worked at the South Plains Food Bank farm since age 12. She participates in the Growing Recruits for Urban Business (GRUB) program and is currently a junior in high school. Kozanno plans to attend Lubbock Christian University and would like to become an author. www.spfb.org
Sue Baird (MO) owns and operates Sue Baird Organics, LLC, a professional organic consulting service. Sue Baird Organics conducts inspections and training for livestock, independent organic processors and organic producers and inspects and reviews certified entities. She is trained in USDA-NOP, EU 2092/91, JAS, IFOAM, CARTV and Canadian Organic Regime organic standards. Sue is the Executive Director of the Missouri Organic Association and has authored the “Organic Certification Manual,” published by the Missouri Department of Agriculture in 2003 and co-authored the Southern Organic Resource Guide, a project funded by ATTRA and IOIA. www.suebairdorganics.com
Chris Blanchard (IA) owns and operates Rock Spring Farm, with fifteen acres of certified organic vegetable, herb, and greenhouse production north of Decorah, Iowa, selling produce year-round through a 200-member CSA, food stores, and a farmers' market since 1999. Prior to 1999, Chris managed student farms, worked as an intern, packing-house manager, plant breeding assistant, farm manager, and provided consulting for a major organic processor, in California, Wisconsin, Maine, and Washington state. Under the banner of Flying Rutabaga Works, Chris' workshops about farm business concepts, food safety, organic vegetable production, and scaling up to farmers throughout the country have gained a reputation for fresh approaches, down-to-earth information, and honesty. He also co-directs the MOSES Organic Farming Conference. www.rsfarm.com
Charolette Bowie (AR) has worked with farmers in the Delta for over 17 years and currently serves as a State Irrigation Engineer for the USDA-NRCS. Her specialties include irrigation storage reservoirs, irrigation tailwater recovery systems, irrigation pipelines, and water control structures. She holds a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from Arkansas State University.
Greg Brann (TN) has 32 years experience with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). He is a Certified Crop Advisor and has a family farm of 800 acres home to beef cows, stockers, goats, hair sheep, tobacco, and Christmas trees. Gregg has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Plant Science from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
S. Gary Bullen (NC) is an extension associate at North Carolina State University in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics where his work focuses on developing practical educational programs in agribusiness management and marketing. He has developed numerous extension personnel trainings in finance analysis, marketing, and business development. Gary helps farm families evaluate new enterprises, and develop market plans. He has taught numerous business development and marketing classes in Eastern Europe and Africa. www.ag-econ.ncsu.edu/faculty/bullen/bullen.htm
Mark Cain (AR) has been farming organically in the Northwest Arkansas Ozarks since 1984. He was a student of master gardener Alan Chadwick in the late 70s, and apprenticed at the Farm and Garden Project of the University of California in Santa Cruz. Since the mid-eighties, he and farm partner Michael Crane have owned and operated Dripping Springs Garden, an intensively-cropped 5-acre market garden in Huntsville, AR. Their cut flowers and other crops are sold at the Fayetteville Farmers’ Market. Mark has given presentations around the region on cut flower production for years, and worked most recently as farmer trainer in SARE-funded organic workshops for the Natural Resources Conservation Service. www.drippingspringsgarden.com
Deborah Cline (TX) A native Texan, Deborah has managed the South Plains Food Bank’s five-acre farm, and the Growing Recruits for Urban Business (GRUB) program for the past ten years. Before working with the Food Bank she and her family had a small market garden, and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). www.spfb.org
Herbie Cottle (NC) owns and operates 90-acre Cottle Organics in Rose Hill, NC. A fourth generation farmer, Herbie has been farming his entire life. Cottle Organics grows 30 different crops and has been certified organic since 2007. They sell to Eastern Carolina Organics Co-op in Pittsboro and also support a 125-member CSA. http://cottletiptopfarms.com
Tom Cox, Sr. (AR) is Vice President of Farm Credit of Western Arkansas. His career has spanned 35 years. From his start as Loan Officer, to Branch & Regional Manager, then as a Commercial & Agribusiness Lender; to his current role which includes Sales, Training and Development. Tom joined Farm Credit Western Arkansas in 2001, and resides in Russellville, AR. He has a diverse farm background in dairy, beef and swine growing up on a 500 acre farm in Southwest Missouri. He holds a degree in Agribusiness from the College of the Ozarks, (Hard Work U), near Branson Missouri. http://www.myaglender.com
Chuck Crimmins (AR) has been the Natural Resource Coordinator and Agricultural Educator for Heifer International Ranch in Perryville, AR, for the past 17 years. He manages the natural resources and organic crops on the 1,200 acre premier educational facility in Central Arkansas. He utilizes sustainable agriculture techniques to educate and explore solutions to world hunger and poverty. In his time at Heifer Ranch, he has seen ~3000 volunteers come and help in all aspects of running the Ranch, including the organic fields. www.heifer.org/visit/heifer-ranch
Karen Mimo Davis (MO) is a Horticulture Specialist with Lincoln University Extension in St. Louis. She frequently provides workshops and training on cut flower production, making bouquets, and marketing. She has been a market flower grower since 1999. She previously grew over 300 types of flowers at WildThang Farms and supplied multiple florists in St. Louis, Columbia, and Jefferson City with her excellent quality flowers. Most recently Mimo was a finalist in Martha Stewart's local-eco hero contest, published in Whole Living Magazine.
Walt Davis (OK) is a fifth generation rancher with interests in southeastern Oklahoma and west Texas. He grew up on the Texas ranch working with cattle, sheep and goats. He attended Texas A&M College where he completed a BS degree in animal husbandry and eighteen months graduate work in animal breeding. In 1962 he took over as manager of the Oklahoma property and established a high tech operation using the “best” practices of soil fertilization, weed control, animal health and animal nutrition supplementation. Walt is a past president of both HRM of Texas and HRM of Oklahoma and works, since 1986, as a management consultant with clients in both arid and humid regions. He writes regular columns for the Farm Progress family of magazines and other publications. He has published one book How to Not Go Broke Ranching and has three others under way. www.kerrcenter.com/nwsltr/2004/summer2004/walt_davis.html
Paul Dietmann (WI) is Director of the Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection Wisconsin Farm Center and served as the Deputy Secretary of the Wisconsin DATCP in 2010. Paul was also a board member of MOSES (Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service) and served nearly 11 years as a University of Wisconsin-Extension Agricultural Agent and Department Head in Sauk County. In 2004, Paul was selected as the national winner of the Excellence in Farm and Ranch Financial Management Award presented by the National Association of County Agricultural Agents.
Ester Doolittle Jr. (AR) has owned and operated D&S Produce in Pine Bluff, AR, for the past 20 years. D&S processes and packages fresh purple hull peas for Wal-Mart stores regionally, and has participated in a special project marketing fresh vegetables to church organizations on the south side of Chicago for the past twenty years. Their produce facility became GHP (Good Handling Practices) Certified in 2011. Ester has a Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural education and has previously served as the marketing director for alternative crops for the Arkansas Economic Corporation and University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
David Douds (PA) has worked for the Agricultural Research Service since 1989 and has studied arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi since 1979. He received his Ph.D. from Purdue University in forestry/plant physiology in 1984. His research on AM fungi has spanned topics from basic physiology to applied field and greenhouse studies. Most recently, he and collaborators at The Rodale Institute have been developing methods for the on-farm production and utilization of inoculum of AM fungi. www.rodaleinstitute.org/20090806/gw1
Jeffrey Ferrell (AR) has been in the culinary field professionally since 2001. He studied Culinary Arts at New England Culinary Institute and worked in many different parts of the country, from Montana to New Orleans, to Chicago then Vermont and most recently Little Rock. In 2007 he took a hiatus from the industry and spent 9 months working at City Farms in Chicago as the purveyor there. During that time his passion for food production grew and after Chicago he embellished his experience by working at Pete’s Greens in Craftsbury, Vermont for 10 months as the field manager. Moving back into the culinary world, Jeffrey began teaching at his alma mater in 2008. After two and a half years of teaching and managing the student garden club, he has returned to the South to work in the local food movement by collaborating with farmers improving the communication and desires of the restaurants in the Capital Hotel.
Bill Fox (AR) is a Business Consultant for the Small Business Technology Development Center at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. As a business consultant, Bill works with clients on various types of business issues such as financing options, business planning, marketing, and financial management. Before joining the SBTDC, Bill was a former small business owner, having developed and operated a retail gift concept and a catering company. He also has lending experience as a banker/loan officer with Bank of America and has worked in higher education as director of a student enterprise program at the University of Pennsylvania, as coordinator for a disability services program at Broward (FL) Community College and as a job developer for Florida Atlantic University. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Florida Atlantic University and an MBA from West Virginia University.
Jay Fulbright (AR) owns Arkansas Natural Produce, a family-farm operation started in 1989. The farm has transitioned from a 50-acre "truck farm" wholesale business to a specialty crop greenhouse operation. The marketing focus has moved from wholesale to year-round direct marketing built around independent restaurants and groceries, and it now includes online marketing in its sales approach. The business offers a wide range of products to its customers, built around spring mix and other salad greens. The product mix now includes edible flowers, micro greens, herbs and seasonal crops, as well as mushrooms and fruits grown by other farmers. www.cafm.locallygrown.net/growers/show/556
Omar Garza (TX) is the principal founder and a current member of the Texas Mexico Border Coalition. The purpose of the coalition is to establish and maintain the health, social, environmental, economic integrity, and the survival of small rural communities along the Texas/Mexico border by being an advocate of change while focusing on the plight of rural communities. Omar was the chairman of TMBC for over ten years and has also been farming for 18 years. He is now a special program coordinator with the University of Texas-Pan American. www.tm-bc.org
Brian and Dawn Gotreaux (LA) The Gotreaux family raises tilapia in above-ground tanks, and use the nutrient-rich waste from the fish to feed their soil and vegetable crops. They also produce grass-fed beef, lambs, poultry and eggs on their 28-acre farm in south central Louisiana. www.gofamilyfarms.com
William Hale (VA) operates an OG-certified grain, seed, and commercial scale compost producing small farm in Louisa (Central) Virginia. Having "fooled around with" growing various grains and especially popcorn over 30 years on 35 acres while primarily supporting himself and his family in the construction and building design business, he decided to concentrate on compost after selling his interest in a general contracting firm in 2001. He has spent the last ten years developing the business, machinery, and understanding to create a sustainable enterprise providing high value nutrients to his customers and for use on his own crops. He sells most of his product in bulk, for pickup at his farm or delivery, but also bags and sells at farmers markets and wholesale. At the same time he has been developing a market for two varieties of organically certified heirloom popcorn and several types of cover crop seed, including southern adapted Wren's Abruzzi rye, forage soybeans, and lupins. He credits Edwin Blosser of MidWest BioSystems in Illinois for helping him begin to understand the compost process, and his neighbors at Southern Exposure Seed Exchange for introducing him to the potential added income of seed sales when growing popcorn and grains.
Deborah Hill (KY) is an Extension Professor at the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture in the Department of Forestry. Her primary areas of focus include development of forestry-related farm commodities, small woodlot management, urban forestry, international agroforestry, natural resource education, permaculture, and square foot gardening. She also owns a 25-acre farm where she grows primarily fruit crops and shitake mushrooms. Deborah holds a MFS in Environmental Science and PhD in Forestry from Yale University.
Paige Hill (TX) is the founder and executive director of Urban Patchwork Neighborhood Farms (UP) in Austin, TX. UP broke ground in an urban front yard on Independence Day, 2009. In just three years Ms. Hill has grown the organization to more than a dozen active gardens that provide food and educational experiences to hundreds of Austinites. Ms. Hill's leadership is driven by the belief that the power of community along with innovative tools and networks will increase food access and create real local food security by helping consumers become producers. Ms. Hill has a strong focus on knowledge-sharing and operates Urban Patchwork as a non-profit that supports neighborhoods who want to address food deserts and create a food culture through community-based food production. UP creates opportunities for garden-based education such as regular volunteer work days, workshops, school tours, and the Urban Farmer Apprenticeship, currently in development. www.urbanpatchwork.org
Alex Hitt (NC) and his wife Betsy own and operate Peregrine Farm in Graham, NC. They planted their first perennial crops in 1982 and their first quarter acre of vegetable crops for market in 1986. By 1990, both Betsy and Alex were full-time on the farm. They now have 4 acres in production and grow crops in the field, in unheated hoophouses and in field-scale high tunnels. They have decades of experience producing organic vegetables commercially. They have a highly diversified operation where dozens of varieties of vegetables are produced, as well as many other crops. They are skilled direct marketers, selling at the famous Carrboro Farmers' Market, and through other direct market avenues. They have been sharing their knowledge and mentoring new farmers through internships on their farms, workshops in their area and trainings around the South for years. In recognition of their pioneering leadership in sustainable agriculture, Alex and Betsy recently received the prestigious Patrick Madden Award given by the National SARE Program. http://peregrinefarm.net
Cody Hopkins and Andrea Todt (AR) own and manage Falling Sky Farm, a small diversified grass-based livestock farm, outside of Marshall, Arkansas. Together they raise and sell pastured duck, chicken, turkeys, pork, and beef. Andrea graduated from Earlham College in Indiana with a degree in outdoor education. Cody holds a physics degree from Hendrix College and also runs Conway Locally Grown. www.fallingskyfarm.com
Simon Huntley (PA) has worked with over 600 farmers on web marketing and technology through his company, Small Farm Central, since 2006. His background is both technical and agricultural: he grew up on a small farm in southwestern Pennsylvania and later managed a 130-member CSA vegetable growing operation. He looks at web marketing from the farmer's point of view and helps farmers maximize their marketing time by carefully choosing the right marketing tools. www.smallfarmcentral.com
Josh Jennings (KY) is the Community Outreach Coordinator for the Center for Health Equity, Louisville Metro Health Department. The Center for Health Equity works to address the root causes of health disparities by supporting projects, policies and research working to change the correlation between health and longevity and socioeconomic status.
Cassi Johnson (MN) brings a broad background in healthy food advocacy to her role as senior community prevention consultant for Invitation Health & Wellness and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Center for Prevention. Previously, Johnson led a food advocacy organization in Nashville, Tennessee, from its first year into a high-impact organization, providing program oversight that included a parent and student-led healthy school food advocacy initiative, an intergenerational community garden program and a healthy corner store initiative, among other projects. Johnson has also served as development and outreach director for a women’s food and agriculture network and has taught at the college level about sustainable food practices. Johnson received her bachelor of arts in geography from Indiana University, Bloomington, and a master’s degree in sociology and sustainable agriculture from Iowa State University, Ames.
Cathy Jones (NC) and husband Michael Perry own and operate Perry-winkle Farm in Chapel Hill, NC. In 1991, working a quarter acre, they took their first crop to market. Currently, they have about three and a half acres in production, and another couple of acres in pasture-based poultry. They sell at the famous Carrboro Farmers' Market, and through other direct market avenues. They have been sharing their knowledge and mentoring new farmers through internships on their farm, workshops in their area and trainings around the South for years. Cathy and Michael collaborate with the North Carolina Cooperative Extension, participating in on-farm research projects, hosting field days and farm tours. www.ces.ncsu.edu/chatham/ag/SustAg/perrywinkle.html
Earl Jones (LA) raises goats and lambs for meat on his farm, Louisiana Pride Meat Goats. He started raising goats twenty years ago as a 4-H project with his children. He later worked with Community Cattle, a group formed by Heifer Project International, to help fifteen other families get into the goat meat business by providing training, animals, and start-up equipment. Earl now has 75 breeding nanny and 50 breeding ewes and breeds goats throughout the year to provide a consistent meat supply to his customers.
Leif Kindberg (AR) is a Farm Energy Specialist for the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT). He provides technical assistance and works on projects related to bioenergy, micro-hydro energy, solar energy, lighting efficiency, climate change adaptation, and sustainable agriculture. Leif has a MBA focusing on Environmental Management and Policy and BA in Political Science. He was born and raised on a certified organic farm in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas.
Rochelle King (OK) is the owner of The Garden Spot, a certified organic operation in Spencer, Oklahoma. She gives tours and educational workshops to allow the public to view and learn from her experiences. Rochelle works closely with the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture in the plasticulture program. She has also shared her skills with students at a local high school to help them establish a garden, serves as a 4-H advisory board member, and received the Farmer of the Year Award from Langston University.
Russ Kremer (MO) is a diversified family farmer from Osage County, Missouri. He is a co-founder and president of Heritage Acres Foods, LLC, a network of 94 family farmers who raise heritage hogs under strict humane and sustainable protocols without the use of antibiotics or other growth enhancers. Heritage Foods is a regional and national processor, marketer and distributor of natural and organic pork products. Kremer also serves as president of the farmer owned Pleasant Hope Pork, LLC, which produces and processes highly differentiated pork products from its community based, eco-friendly plant in the Ozark region. He also owns and manages a diversified family farm and focuses on sustainable production practices and relationship marketing. www.heritageacresfoods.com
David Lamm (NC) has worked for the NRCS for 35 years, starting as a soil conservationist and District Conservationist in NE Indiana. In 2002 he moved to Georgia as the Assistant State Conservationist for Programs, overseeing all conservation programs for the state. While in Georgia, David began working with organic producers to help them solve resource problems on their farms. In 2008, David took a job at the East National Technology Support Center working on organic farming related issue for the agency. He has spent much of the past year helping develop the Conservation Stewardship Program.
Udi Lazimy (CA) manages a growing national grassroots network of farmers and helps them advocate for federal policies that support organic agriculture. Before coming to Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF), he ran the farmland preservation and agriculture outreach program for Cascade Land Conservancy in Seattle. Udi has also directed programming for nonprofit conservation and sustainable development organizations across the country and abroad. He holds a Masters in Public Affairs from the University of Colorado-Denver, and a B.A. in Conservation Biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In his free time, you'll find him going on hikes, gardening, doing yoga or swimming in the ocean. www.ofrf.org
Kenneth Lee (AR) A native Arkansan, Kenneth was born and raised on a cotton farm in Bradley, Arkansas. He has a Bachelor of Science in Agronomy from University of Arkansas Pine Bluff. He has worked for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) for over 30 years and currently serves as the Assistant State Conservationist. Kenneth administers the Environmental Quality Incentive Program, Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program, Conservation Security Program and the Conservation Stewardship Program. He has been married to Lekita Lee for 21 years and has two children.
Miriam Leibowitz (TN) has been a community organizer since 2002, working for labor, social justice and food justice organizations. She is currently the Healthy Corner Store Initiative coordinator with Community Food Advocates. Her past work includes www.restoringnashville.org, a campaign to create affordable, healthy food access within Nashville’s food desert neighborhoods; developing the community garden at Congregation Sherith Israel in Nashville; and successfully advocating for increased lay-off benefits and affordable housing transition loans while working for the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers. www.communityfoodadvocates.org
Laura Riccardi Lyvers (KY) runs the biodynamic program for Foxhollow Farm in Crestwood, KY, which raises grass fed beef on 700 acres of pasture and hay, a ten acre market garden and a CSA. Laura has a small business “Biodynamic Agricultural Resources,” providing biodynamic preparations and advisory to local farmers and gardeners. She has gardened using biodynamic practices for over 10 years. www.foxhollow.com/Home.html
Philip Lyvers (KY) runs Lyvers Farm, Inc., a large-scale grain and hog operation in Loretto, KY. Lyvers Farm is a hybrid operation of conventional design and size, implementing biodynamic and organic practices for 9 years. Philip has operated the family farm for 38 years including wildlife and woodland management with tree planting & forestry improvements on nearly 2,000 acres. He has gardened and homesteaded his entire life.
Ellen McGeeney (KY) currently serves on the Mayor's Food Policy Advisory Council and is the President of Grasshoppers Distribution in Louisville, KY. She has an extensive business background and an MBA from Yale University. During Ellen’s tenure, Grasshoppers shut down its wholesale business; evolved its consumer business from a CSA model to an all local, online grocery service; improved the flexibility, payment structure and convenience of purchasing local food; and passed the one million dollar mark in payments made to family farmers. Placing a high value on both environmental and financial sustainability, Ellen has also worked successfully to increase Grasshoppers’ base of farmers who employ sustainable agricultural practices, and to double Grasshoppers’ subscriber base and manage costs to achieve profitability. www.grasshoppersdistribution.com
Ron Morrow (AR) recently retired as the state grazing lands specialist with USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Arkansas. He presently raises beef cattle and direct markets grass-fed beef with Ozark Pasture Beef. Ron spent 20 years at the University of Missouri in the Animal Sciences Department where he taught beef cattle production, introductory animal science classes and classes in grazing management. His research focused on cow-calf management with an emphasis on grazing systems and interactions with body type in cattle. Ron also previously worked for the ATTRA project. www.ozarkpasturebeef.com
Steve Muntz (KY) Steve and his wife, Anne, raise Katahdin Hairsheep and pastured poultry on Firefly Farm in east-central Kentucky. Steve worked for over a decade with the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture in Poteau, Oklahoma, and for another 18 years as a Program Manager and USA Country Director for Heifer International. He has broad experience with a variety of livestock including, cattle, sheep, hogs, goats, horses, chickens and turkeys. He holds a B.S. degree in Agronomy from Texas A&M University.
Jenga Mwendo (LA) is the founder and director of the Backyard Gardener's Network, a nonprofit organization based in the Lower Ninth Ward neighborhood of New Orleans, whose mission is community building, neighborhood revitalization and cultural preservation through urban gardening. The BGN currently manages two community garden spaces, and a developing Garden Resource Center, in the Lower Ninth Ward that serve to bring neighbors together, encourage and support neighborhood gardeners, and re-integrate growing food into the community culture. Jenga is a 2010-11 TogetherGreen Fellow and a 2011-13 IATP Food and Community Fellow. www.backyardgardenersnetwork.org
Hana Newcomb (VA) is a second-generation farmer at Potomac Vegetable Farms in Vienna, VA. The 50 year old operation is owned by three women: Ellen Polishuk, Hiu Newcomb, and Hana. PVF includes two farms, a smaller space in the midst of the DC suburbs and a larger farm in semi-rural western Loudoun County. Each farm has its own crew, and they are completely different from each other. Fortunately, there are four full time managers to help keep it all going. Hana manages the smaller farm that is the hub for the 500 member CSA (using vegetables from both farms and at least three other farms). The CSA is in its 12th season, with new innovations and small improvements every year. www.potomacvegetablefarms.com
Rusty and Sue Nuffer (AR) manage one of the longest continuously operating organic farms in Arkansas in a remote area surrounded by the Ozark National Forest. Since the mid-70s they have tried it all, specializing in a number of vegetable crops and some fruit, producing outside as well as in high tunnels, and even using draft horses for a time. They helped organize a marketing cooperative in the 80s, sold at farmers markets in the 90s, and market through on-line sales to restaurants and individuals today.
Diana & Saul Padilla (TX) have owned and managed Yahweh All-Natural Farm and Garden in Harlingen, Texas, since 2004. They have a three-acre market garden and also raise free range poultry, rabbits, and pasture raised goats. The Padillas sell their products through a CSA and at the Brownsville and Harlingen weekly farmers’ markets. www.yahwehsallnaturalfarm.com
Daniel Parson (SC) has been farming in the South since 1998 when he graduated from Clemson University with a BS in Biological Sciences. First he interned and eventually managed production at Wildflower Organics in Dawsonville, GA. Next, he managed production at the Clemson Student Organic Farm while earning a Master's degree in Plant and Environmental Science. In 2004, he moved to Atlanta where he spent 5 years operating 2 acres of farmland called Gaia Gardens, located inside the perimeter in Decatur. He has just completed his third season at his current location in Clinton, SC, renting two acres to operate Parson Produce, selling through a CSA, farmers market, and restaurants. Daniel was named the 2009 Georgia Organics Land Steward of the Year. www.parsonorganics.com
Jason Patterson (TN) is the Youth and Outreach program coordinator for the Community Food Advocates, planning and developing youth advocacy and obesity prevention campaigns. Jason also is the co-founder of People United for Sustainable Living, a volunteer organization aimed to promote self sustainability through agriculture. Born and raised in the inner-city of St. Louis, Missouri, Jason enrolled in Dillard University in 2005, but was misplaced by the rapture of Hurricane Katrina. Jason instead attended Tennessee State University, where he founded Sankofa, an organization aimed to smooth the transition from high school to college for first generation college students. Currently Jason works with youth and community members in Nashville’s food system developing "Down to Earth", a national community and backyard gardens project educating and empowering people to take back their health. www.communityfoodadvocates.org
Tom Peterson (VA) is the Agriculture Education Coordinator for Appalachian Sustainable Development (ASD) — a regional not-for-profit organization that seeks to strengthen and diversify the rural economy in southwest Virginia and east Tennessee. He works to support the Appalachian Harvest network, regional farmers markets, and others interested in sustainable agriculture through developing workshops and farm tours and offering personal farm consultations. He is a founding member of the Appalachian Farmers Market Association. Tom has a B.A. in Geology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He and Denise (and their 16 year old twin boys Kaleb and Mason) also farm a one-acre market garden, Blue Door Garden, growing cut flowers, vegetables and herbs for the Abingdon Farmers Market, local restaurants and C.S.A. subscriptions in Kingsport, TN and Bristol, VA. www.asdevelop.org
Michael Pippen (LA) grew up on a cotton, soybean and corn farm just north of Tallulah, LA. In 1999, he moved to Ruston, LA and enrolled at La Tech University. He later graduated from La Tech with a bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering then went back to night school and obtained a MBA degree. He is currently enrolled in a degree program called Masters in Engineering Management and Technology. During his undergraduate days at La Tech, he began working at the Irrigation Mart. Currently he primarily works in a sales role, but also manages the Agriculture sales department. He holds an Irrigation Association Certification in Drip Micro Design and is a Certified Agriculture Irrigation Specialist. He is a registered Professional Engineer in the state of Louisiana, 2nd Vice Chair of the Monroe Chapter of the Louisiana Engineering Society, Member on the Irrigation Association Certification Board and church clerk at Temple Baptist Church. www.irrigation-mart.com/index.html
Katie Kraemer Pitre (TX) and her husband, David, have been running a CSA near Austin, Texas since 1994. Well-known in their area as leaders in the field, they raise organic vegetables for 200 full CSA shares. In addition they sell at two local farmers' markets and to restaurants and other delivery services. Through 18 years of CSA operations, they have learned the tricks of keeping the CSA business profitable, the customers happy, and the farmers (mostly) sane. Tecolote Farm's CSA customer retention rate is very high, and their customer base has typically grown by word of mouth. In addition to the CSA and general farm administration and marketing, Katie serves on the City of Austin's Sustainable Food Policy Board and enjoys her three kids. www.tecolotefarm.net
Ellen Polishuk (VA) is a lifetime farmer with a BS in Horticulture from VA Tech. She has been working on farms since she was sixteen years old, and managing Potomac Vegetable Farms in Purcellville, VA for the last 20 years. She owns the business with her two partners, Hiu and Hana Newcomb. Together they focus on growing food for people using the most eco-friendly techniques possible. The farms were certified organic from 1990-2003, then moved beyond certification to become Ecoganic. They serve hundreds of families in the Washington DC metropolitan region by producing tons of high quality produce, flowers and herbs. This past year Ellen has been transitioning out of day to day production management, and into full time teaching and consulting. She is now a lecturer and advisor for the Sustainable Agriculture Program at the University of Maryland. She is also a soils and farm consultant working with Midwestern Bio-Ag, and Advancing Eco Agriculture. www.potomacvegetablefarms.com
Lynn Pugh (GA) has been farming for ten years on Cane Creek Farm in Cumming, GA, where she markets through a CSA, on farm sales, on line farmers’ market and to restaurants. She taught high school and college science for 18 years as she and her husband, Chuck, raised their family. Lynn has a BS in biology and chemistry, MS in plant pathology, and EDS in science curriculum. This educational background provides a strong foundation for informed farm decisions and the educational workshops she offers to help others learn the scientific fundamentals of agriculture. Lynn’s on farm educational programs include field trips and tours for local elementary schools, one-day organic gardening workshops, and an intensive training course in organic farming/gardening. Lynn has also worked with Georgia Organics in the production of a marketing manual and curriculum on organic growing. www.canecreekfarm.net/index.html
Krista Sanders (TX) has volunteered and worked at the Carolyn Lanier Youth Farm through the South Plains Food Bank in Lubbock, TX, since age 13. She participates in the Growing Recruits for Urban Business (GRUB) program. Krista is now a junior at Texas Tech University and plans on becoming a chiropractor. www.spfb.org
Mark Schonbeck (VA) has worked with farmers in SARE — and other USDA-funded, on-farm research (organic reduced till vegetable production, cover crops, soil management, mulching) and developed training materials on organic weed management for the cooperative extension website. Mark serves on the Southern SAWG board of directors and edits the quarterly newsletter for Virginia Association for Biological Farming. He lives at Abundant Dawn intentional community in Floyd County, VA, and does enough gardening to understand the challenges of organic vegetable production. He also offers consulting on sustainable soil management.
Peggy Sechrist (TX) a student, teacher and practitioner of Holistic management for nearly 25 years, resides in the Hill Country of Texas. Peggy and her husband, Richard, were the first ranchers in Texas to create a certified organic, grass-fed beef operation in 1995; and added poultry for many years. She has served in various capacities with organizations such as SSAWG, APPPA, USDA/SARE, and HMI; and collaborated on sustainable agriculture programs with many agencies such as Texas A&M University, Texas Parks and Wildlife, Texas Wildlife Assoc, Texas Dept of Agriculture, and NRCS. Currently, Peggy and Richard operate a local food co-op called Earth DiVine. Structured similar to a CSA, they grow beef and their partner grows veggies and fruit for the 300 co-op members.
Rosa Shareef (MS) is a member of an 84-acre religious community in rural Sumrall, Mississippi, that is dedicated to agriculture and rural life. She uses management intensive grazing to raise poultry, goats, and sheep on 10 acres. Rosa and her husband Alvin helped found the Marion County Self-Help Organization (MCSHO) to reverse the loss of small-scale farms and the disparity of food distribution in their area.
Dove Stackhouse (AL) and her husband, Russell, own and run 15 acre Whirlwind Farm in Geraldine, AL. They currently have two acres in vegetable production and continue to be Certified Naturally Grown, using sustainable biodynamic methods to provide produce for their CSA. Dove is the manager of the Clean Food Network — a group of 17 farms offering online sales of meat, eggs, produce, and value added products with weekly delivery to Madison and Huntsville. The Stackhouses also grow seed for Sand Mountain Seed Bank, which they cofounded with Charlotte Hagood. www.sandmtnseedbank.org
Eddie Stephens (AR) has owned and operated Eddie Stephens Farms in Pine Bluff, AR, for the past 25 years. He produces sweet potatoes in Lee and Jefferson Counties and direct markets to grocery store chains including Brookshires, Piggly Wiggly, Mayflower, and other small locally owned grocery stores in Central and Eastern Arkansas. Eddie also has a GHP (Good Handling Practices) certified processing facility.
Jack Sundell (AR) and his wife, Corri Sundell, own and operate The Root Café, a small food and beverage establishment whose mission is “building community through local food.” Following three years of fundraising, catering, hosting community events, building a network of farmers, and teaching canning and food preservation workshops, the Root opened its first storefront in downtown Little Rock in June, 2011. Before opening the Root, Sundell received a bachelor’s degree from Hendrix College, worked in numerous food establishments, and joined the Peace Corps to teach English in Morocco. During his time abroad, he developed an interest in animal husbandry and local food systems that led him to the Heifer Ranch in Perryville, AR, where he worked with livestock for a year and a half. Sundell now lives in Little Rock with his wife, stepson, two dogs, three cats, and six chickens. www.therootcafe.com
Jon Taggart (TX) has been ranching in North Texas for over 30 years, managing cow-calf, stocker and feedlot operations before making the switch to pasture based systems. Since 1999, Jon and his family have owned and operated Burgundy Pasture Beef, a grass fed grazing and processing business. They produce pasture beef, pork and lamb, and operate a butcher market that sells exclusively pastured meats. They also market on-line and to other restaurants and grocery outlets. Jon graduated from Texas A&M University in 1979 and the TCU Ranch Management Program in 1985. www.burgundypasturebeef.com
Relinda Walker (GA) was born and raised in South Georgia and graduated from Emory University with a degree in mathematics. After careers in education and technology management, Relinda returned to her father’s Screven County farm where she has transitioned 67 acres to organic production. Onions are a major crop for Walker Farms, where Relinda grows salad onions and bulb onions as market crops and organic seedlings for other farmers. Walker Farms produces a wide range of vegetables for direct and wholesale markets and organic seed for cover crops such as rye and crimson clover. Relinda previously served as South Georgia Program Coordinator for Georgia Organics and on the Southern SARE Administrative Council. http://walkerorganicfarm.com/index.htm
Stephan Walker (AR) is a fourth generation farmer, raising traditional row crops (rice, soybeans, wheat) and vegetables. Stephan is employed by the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff as an Agri-Extension Associate working with the Risk Management Outreach Program. He has been involved with many farmer and farm related organizations as an advocate for the small farmers including the Southeast Arkansas Vegetable Growers Association, the Black Farmers & Agriculturist Association of Arkansas, and the Arkansas Food Policy Steering Committee, among others. He currently serves as the President of the Board of Directors for Southern SAWG.
Susan Webb (FL) is an Associate Professor of Entomology and Nematology at the University of Florida. Her research focuses on insect vectors of plant viruses and the ecology of insect-vectored plant viruses in vegetable crops, primarily cucurbits. She conducts research on managing insect pests of vegetables using multiple tactics, including cultural and biological controls, host plant resistance, and pesticides. She is expanding her research in organic and sustainable pest management.
Ann Wells (AR) graduated from Oklahoma State University School of Veterinary Medicine and has more than 25 years experience in livestock production, including producing and selling natural lamb and now grass finished beef. Besides managing her own herd, she was in private veterinary practice for eleven years and more recently began Springpond Holistic Animal Health, helping ruminant producers large and small develop health wellness management plans. Her philosophy is to focus on the health of the animal through controlled grazing management and stress reduction strategies. She feels that nutrition is the key to good health. In 2010, she became program director at Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture in Poteau, OK. www.kerrcenter.org
Alison & Paul Wiediger (KY), pioneers in the use of hoophouses for year-round production, have 15 years of experience growing in hoophouses and even wrote a book about it. Combined, they have over 70 years growing experience using organic methods which they use in both their hoophouses and outside production. Au Naturel Farm is a diversified farm, including pastured broilers and layers, greenhouse plant production and cut flowers along with their 10,000 square feet of covered and 2.5 acres of outdoor vegetable production. Their markets include a producer only farmers’ market that they helped to develop, and an email market for the “off” season. www.aunaturelfarm.com
Kent Williams (KY) is a beekeeper with a base operation in Cuba, KY and beeyards located in MS and KY. Kent currently owns and manages 1,500 +/- hives, producing honey, providing pollination, and producing bees and queens as a way of generating income. He also provides professional consultation services for two commercial operations, as well as overseeing the honeybee breeding program and production for a major beekeeper-supply company. Kent is a Certified Eastern Apiculture Society Master Beekeeper and was named KY State Beekeeper of the year in 2004 and 2010. He coordinates and conducts the annual Lake Barkley Beekeepers’ 4-day comprehensive hands-on beekeepers school in western KY each year and is a presenter at numerous regional beekeeper conferences, schools, and field days.
Terry Wollen (DC) is a veterinarian serving as the livestock and animal health advisor for the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance in the U.S. government. In this role, he assists with livestock health, husbandry and nutritional matters following natural and manmade disasters. Terry’s sense of animal welfare was developed as Heifer International’s Director of Animal Well Being, leading an NGO program in Armenia, developing veterinary pharmaceuticals, and as a part of a beef, dairy and equine veterinary practice. He also served in the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps immediately after getting his veterinary degree from Kansas State University.