Farming Community

Food Chain Radio Podcast with Michael Olson

Farmer of the Year Tom Bros, Live Earth Farm, Watsonville CA

A while ago, I had a consulting contract on the island nation of Cyprus. The task was to find a crop with an economy sufficient to repopulate an agricultural plateau near the village of Akourdahleia, that had been depopulated by the jobs available in coastal casinos.

As I strolled the plateau with my hosts we came upon a village of Greeks happily harvesting their grapes across the way. Though they were too far away to hear what was being said, we could easily hear their laughter and sense their joy at being engaged at the task at hand. It was a living picture straight out of the Bible! “This,” my host said, “is what we want to bring back to Cyprus.”

I recently heard that same laughter and sensed that same joy while strolling the grounds of Live Earth Farm in Watsonville, California, and have been endeavoring to capture its essence with a three-part Food Chain series on what I call “Contrary Farming.” By contrary, I simply mean in opposition to the convention of the day.

The first show in the series, “Farming Children,” featured Jessica Ridgeway and the Farm Discovery Program, which brings children – many children – to the farm so they can reach down to the earth and harvest a living food.

The second show, “Farming Nature,” featured Jo Ann Baumgartner from Wild Farm Alliance and Sam Earnshaw from Hedgerows Unlimited, who, like modern day Johnny Appleseeds, travel around the countryside to bring nature, and her wildlife, back to the farm.

As you can see, both of these shows feature a contrariness to the industrial model of farming that makes one smile. And both also find a home in today’s show, “Farming Community,” in which we will ask:

Is it possible to succeed by farming for community?