Today’s episode comes to you from Lancaster County Pennsylvania in a town called Lititz, where we visit John and Peter Shenk of Shenk’s Berry Farm. While their farm may not ring a bell, you may have seen these guys at a trade show or recognize their side business especially if you are into strawberries as they also run the company of Hillside Cultivator.   John and Peter take me around their farm in early February and share their experiences growing strawberries for over 40 years. With that we get into the details of: Varieties, weed control, plasticulture vs. matted row, irrigation, weat ..read more

Today’s episode comes to you from Plainfield, New Hampshire where we visit with Pooh Sprague of Edgewater Farm. This episode is a bit of a ramble as a 50 year career in farming is expected to be! That being said in this episode Pooh Shares: How he got started in the early 70’s Selling bedding plants Labor challenges  100 acres, over 30 high tunnels, 7 H2A Tracking water usage FSMA Produce Safety Rule Climate Change  Resilience Soil stewardship Farm transition Knowing your market Not being organic Strawberries No-Till and cover crops Support the show Visit the website to see photos ..read more

This episode comes to you from South Royalton Vermont Where we visit with Geo Honigford of Hurricane Flats Farm. He’s grown mixed vegetables, popcorn, and hay for 26 years. He also made the decision to sell his farm just a few years ago and pursue a different career path. I thought this was unique and wanted to chat with him about this decision to sell and pivot to a new chapter in life.  We start off by learning his background and experience at the top of the episode. Then we spend a significant part of the conversation talking about popcorn as Hurricane Flats Farm is the only farm I kno ..read more

Today’s episode comes to you from Au Sable Forks New York where we visit with Becca Burke of The Meadow Farmstead. She’s managed a diversified vegetable farm and CSA for the last few years on the Vermont side of lake Champlain, but finally landed some growing space of her own over in New York. She hit the ground running and I visited with her at the tail end of the first season on this new farm. We discuss strategic investments, lessons learned from other farms to set this new garden up right from the start and she shares how she’s striving to provide affordable food for her community.   ..read more

Today’s episode comes to you from Hyde Park Vermont where we meet with Ryan Demerast and Genica Breitenbeck. They run two businesses off of their farm of less than 3 acres. Ryan runs Naked Acre Farm, and Genica runs a gardening service business called Home Front Gardens.  Together we sat down as they shared their winding paths into agriculture.  They share the challenges they faced finding access to land and why they decided to settle here in Vermont, all while making the decision to purchase by digging through the snow in the middle of winter to take a look at the soil. Ryan and Gen ..read more

Today’s episode comes to you from Underhill Vermont where I interview Paul Chamberlin of Chamberlin’s Garden & Farm Market. This episode hits close to home, because it is home. This summer I took a rainy Saturday morning and sat down to interview my grandpa and capture a few of his favorite farm stories and some of the history of our farm. Grandpa and my Grandma Joan purchased the property in 1976, and were planning to have a garden and raise their family.  The Farmer’s Share is supported by the Vermont Vegetable and Berry Growers Association, and the Ag Engineering Program of the Uni ..read more

Today’s episode comes to you from Underhill Vermont where I interview Paul Chamberlin of Chamberlin’s Garden & Farm Market. This episode hits close to home, because it is home. This summer I took a rainy Saturday morning and sat down to interview my grandpa and capture a few of his favorite farm stories and some of the history of our farm. Grandpa and my Grandma Joan purchased the property in 1976, and were planning to have a garden and raise their family.  The Farmer’s Share is supported by the Vermont Vegetable and Berry Growers Association, and the Ag Engineering Program of the Uni ..read more

This episode takes us all the way down to Mansfield Georgia where we visit with Monica and Russell of Love is Love Cooperative Farm. Myself and a few other colleges visited in October 2022 as part of a farm tour focused on wash/pack design and produce safety. This project is titled SCRUB, Sanitizing and Cleaning Resources for Your Business. From this project we were able to learned what market farmers needed in order to improve their produce safety and we either collated or created resources to help improve the cleanliness, and reduce produce safety risks. This visit was an honor, to see a far ..read more

Today’s episode takes us to East Dummerston Vermont where we visit with Jack Manix of Walker Farm. Jack is celebrating two major milestones this spring when I visited, the first being 50 years of marriage with his wife Karen; and the second milestone is this is also their 50 year farming. This interview gives us a tour of his farm and garden center which includes 25 varying greenhouse structures. Some of these are the earliest of designs with hoops and plastic and some of them are the highest of tech including fully automated glass houses. We then take a ride in the truck to set eyes on the fi ..read more

In this episode we take a ride in the tractor with Mark Fasching of Jericho Settlers Farm as he is incorporating a cover crop of winter rye using a speed disc. He explains how this piece of equipment works, and shares how he uses it to improve the soil health on their farm.  We first heard from Mark on episode 3 when he and his wife Chirista shared how they built their farm business.  Support the show Visit the website to see photos/videos from the visit: https://thefarmersshare.com Follow the show on Facebook and Instagram: @thefarmersshare Subscribe to the YouTube Channel: https ..read more