Farm Foundation [https://www.farmfoundation.org/]’s Meet Your Farmer podcast featured Hannah Borg in season1, episode 5.

Hannah is a sixth-generation farmer from Wakefield, Nebraska. In 2019, she returned home to the family business, Borg Farms. She and her family raise crops, cattle, and chickens for Costco. She holds a degree in agricultural communications from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She is in the 2024 cohort of Farm Foundation's Young Farmer Accelerator program [https://www.farmfoundation.org/programs-overview/young-farmer-accelerator-program/]. 

In the episode, she discusses what it was like to grow up on the farm, navigating the transitions between generations, how she came to be raising chickens for Costco, among many other topics.

Find Amanda on Instagram: itshannahborg

Music: "Country Roads" by Sergii Pavkin from Pixabay

Reach us at communication@farmfoundation.org.

5. Farm Foundation's Meet Your Farmer Podcast with Hannah Borg

Farm Foundation’ [https://www.farmfoundation.org/]s Meet Your Farmer podcast featured A.G. Kawamura in season 1, episode 4.

A.G. is a third-generation farmer in Southern California and operates Orange County Produce with his brother. He served as California Secretary of Agriculture from 2003 to 2010. He is founding chair of Solutions for Urban Agriculture, which grows produce for area food banks. And he is involved in many other organizations, including as founding co-chair of Solutions from the Land, and with Farm Foundation as a Roundtable Fellow since 2011, and currently serving on the Farm Foundation Board of Directors. He also serves on the board of Western Growers.

In this episode, A.G. discusses what it means to be a landless farmer, his work to solve food insecurity, and some of the dynamics of the fresh produce industry that are not widely known.

Music: "Country Roads" by Sergii Pavkin from Pixabay

Reach us at communication@farmfoundation.org.

4. Farm Foundation's Meet Your Farmer Podcast with A.G. Kawamura

Farm Foundation [https://www.farmfoundation.org/]’s Meet Your Farmer podcast featured Steve Kaufman in season 1, episode 3.

Steve Kaufman is a fifth-generation farmer. He returned to his family's Idaho farm full time in 2014 when his uncles and father were ready to retire. He and his two brothers farm 14,000 dryland crop acres, growing primarily winter wheat, spring wheat, peas, garbanzo beans, and canola. Prior to that, he worked at Northwest Farm Credit Services while also farming part time. Steve is an alum of Farm Foundation's Young Farmer Accelerator Program [https://www.farmfoundation.org/programs-overview/young-farmer-accelerator-program/].

In this episode, Steve talks about how gratifying it is to produce enough grain for 30 million loaves of bread on his farm, the hard work of trying to balance life with young kids and farm life, and what the process was like to switch over to no-till.

Music: "Country Roads" by Sergii Pavkin from Pixabay

Reach us at communication@farmfoundation.org.


3. Farm Foundation's Meet Your Farmer Podcast with Steve Kaufman 

Farm Foundation’s Meet Your Farmer podcast featured Amanda Butterfield and her daughter, Evelyn, in season 1, Episode 2.

Amanda Butterfield is director of corporate partnerships at The Meat Institute, and she also owns and operates a farm in Pennsylvania. With her husband and daughter, they raise beef cattle at Maple Valley Cattle Company, a 180-acre cow-calf operation. The farm was recently selected as a finalist for the 2024 Pennsylvania Leopold Conservation Award, which honors farmers and forestland owners who go above and beyond in their management of soil health, water quality and wildlife habitat on working land.

At her farm, Amanda uses strategies like rotational grazing, cover crops, integrated pest management strategies, and has preserved the farm's woodlands and wetlands and native grasslands to improve soil health and support biodiversity.

The conversation covered some of the logistics of rotational grazing and land restoration on the farm, Amanda’s path to farming as a first-generation farmer, and what the future holds for young people on the farm today.

Find Maple Valley Cattle Company on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amcbutterfield2/

See the farm on this video by the Pennsylvania Friends of Agriculture Foundation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQhbW3MRfeo

Music: "Country Roads" by Sergii Pavkin from Pixabay

Reach us at communication@farmfoundation.org.

2. Farm Foundation’s Meet Your Farmer Podcast with Amanda Butterfield

Farm Foundation’s Meet Your Farmer podcast featured Klaas Martens in season 1, episode 1. Klaas is a third-generation farmer in New York. He operates Martens Farm and Lakeview Organic Grain Mill with his wife Mary Howell Martens and their son Peter. On 1,600 acres, he produces numerous crops, including corn, soybeans, spelt, wheat, einkorn, emmer, triticale, buckwheat, oats, barley, rye, cabbage, dry beans, and hay. He’s been farming since the 1970s and shifted to organic farming in the 90s. Klaas is a Farm Foundation Roundtable Fellow (since 2015) and also serves on the Farm Foundation Board of Directors. He also serves as a mentor in our Young Farmer Accelerator Program.

In this episode, Klaas discusses being the son of immigrant farmers, how his farming practices changed over the years, and one of his favorite things about wheat. He also shares some stories of how he has helped young farmers get into farming and the importance of community.

Video presentation referenced in episode: My Organic Grain Journey with Klaas Maartens (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsR00Y1N6Yg), recorded at the 0Grain 2024 Winter Conference.

Music: "Country Roads" by Sergii Pavkin from Pixabay

Reach us at communication@farmfoundation.org.

1. Farm Foundation’s Meet Your Farmer Podcast with Klaas Martens

Farm Foundation is excited to launch its first podcast, Meet Your Farmer. With each episode, get to know a little bit about the American farmers who produce the food, fuel, and fiber you use everyday. Do you have a question for your farmer? Send it to communication@farmfoundation.org.

Meet Your Farmer Teaser

The Meet Your Farmer podcast will focus on introducing audiences to the American farmers who are producing the food, fuel, and fiber they use every day. Each episode will feature a different farmer, helping listeners understand what it's like to be a farmer working in today's agricultural realm. 



Music: "Country Roads" by Sergii Pavkin from Pixabay

Ellen Prather

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