The Southern Soil Podcast

I’m speaking with Jon Jackson of Comfort Farms and we’re taking on the difficult conversation of suicide and mental health. We also talk about the regenerative work of integrated farming on both mind, body, soul and soil.

As with most of my interviews, we just jump right into the topic, so be warned that we discuss suicide at the beginning of this conversation and if this topic is something that may cause you distress, please make sure that you are in a safe place, physically and mentally before you continue.

I hope you’ll listen to this episode and use it as a way to spark conversations about mental health within your own circle. I truly believe that we all need to become more comfortable having discussions like this and normalize discussing the struggles that we as humans face in our daily lives.

I want to thank Jon for being a part of this conversation and if this episode can help just one person who has suffered a loss or is struggling with depression then it is well worth the effort!

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline has recently been changed to 988. If you are in emotional crisis and considering taking your own life, you are three numbers away from help any time day or night. Call 988.

Thank you to our awesome sponsors for this season! It is because of them that we are able to bring you content like this! Please check them out and give them your business! If you are enjoying our content and would like to directly support the work we do, we have a Tip Jar on our website where you can leave a token of appreciation! Every bit helps!

Morning Belle Farms

Chelsea Green Publishing

Savannah Hydroponics and Organics

Hey, thanks for joining me today as I talk to Ancil Jacques of Swampy Appleseed. I always enjoy talking with Ancil about mushrooms… not because I’m all that into mushrooms myself, but because he most definitely is!

I know you’ll learn a lot from this podcast and be highly entertained while you do.

Now, it’s time for a quick disclaimer. We do not condone, encourage or participate in the selling, buying, or cultivation of any controlled substance ... including but not limited to magic mushrooms. 

I hope you enjoy the conversation!

Thank you to all of our amazing sponsors who make it possible to share conversations like this one! Please take a moment to visit their websites.

Morning Belle Farms

Chelsea Green Publishing

Savannah Hydroponics and Organics

Morning Belle Farms

Chelsea Green Publishing

Savannah Hydroponics and Organics

Morning Belle Farms

Chelsea Green Publishing

Savannah Hydroponics and Organics

Morning Belle Farms

Chelsea Green Publishing

Savannah Hydroponics and Organics

Thanks for joining me for today’s episode with Hart Dairy founding farmer, Dr. Richard Watson. Hart Dairy is headquartered out of Waynesboro Georgia and they are, in many ways, setting an example as to how sustainable grass-based dairy farming can be done on a large scale here in the US. As you’ll pick up quickly from his accent, Richard ain’t from around here … but he has been living and working in Georgia and other parts of the Southern US for many years … bringing with him knowledge and training from his home country of New Zealand where all animal agriculture is primarily grass and pasture based.

I hope you’ll listen to this conversation because I think … regardless of your role in the food community … you’ll get something out of it.

Just a little explanation on what you’ll be hearing … the first part of this conversation takes place as Richard is driving me around the farm … initially I was intending to use this part of the interview for the article I’ll be writing for the upcoming issue of Southern Soil, but once we got rolling I felt like Richard did such a great job of clearly and concisely explaining the reasons that the dairy industry is largely a confined animal operation with corn as integral part of the diet … I asked if we include the interview in it’s entirety as the podcast.

So, through this conversation… you’ll ride along with in the truck and then we’ll move out into the pasture and hang out with the girls for the remainder… you will cows moving around and eating and there is a recurring mechanical sound from the central pivot which was nearby. It’s early enough in the morning there’s still a bit of a coolish tiny breeze… the grass is green, the sky is blue and the cows are happy.

Topics include:

Confined feeding for cattle - why it's the dominant model in the US for dairy farms 

Benefits of grazing cattle on pasture all year

Cows and climate change - are cows the problem or can they can be part of the solution?

Thank you to all of our amazing sponsors who make it possible to share conversations like this one! Please take a moment to visit their websites.

Morning Belle Farms

Chelsea Green Publishing

Savannah Hydroponics and Organics

In today’s episode I catch up with Jeb Bush on his last day as Director of Forsyth Farmer’s Market. Jeb started as Director of the market about the same time I was starting up Southern Soil and I’ve been able to see the market grow and flourish under his leadership. I know he will be missed by many but we wish him all the best as he moves on to a new position with Habitat for Humanity.

Jeb and I talk about some of the high points of his time with the Forsyth Market and some of the changes that have occurred in the local food scene over the past five years.

If you enjoy this episode, please leave us a rating and review. Also, be sure to check out our sponsors and give them a like as well!

Morning Belle Farms

Chelsea Green Publishing

Savannah Hydroponics and Organics

Morning Belle Farms

Chelsea Green Publishing

Savannah Hydroponics and Organics

Here are the links to some of David's shows including: A Fork in the Road, The Excursion and Pets Welcome Here. Be sure to check them out if you haven't already!

As always, THANK YOU, to the beautiful people and awesome businesses who support the work of Southern Soil through advertisements and sponsorships. Especially to our Season Two Podcast Sponsors:  Savannah Hydroponics and Organics, Chelsea Green Publishing and Morning Belle Farms! Also ... a big thank you to our Community Builders: Haylards Restaurant Group, Brighter Day and the Sentient Bean for their continued support over the years!

Season Two of the podcast is sponsored by Savannah Hydroponics and Organics, Chelsea Green Publishing and Morning Belle Farms! We're so grateful for our sponsors who make it possible to continue to shed light on the importance of local sustainable food systems! A big thank you also to our Community Builders: Haylards Restaurant Group, Brighter Day and the Sentient Bean for their support!

Season Two of the podcast is sponsored by Savannah Hydroponics and Organics, Chelsea Green Publishing and Morning Belle Farms! We're so grateful for our sponsors who make it possible to continue to shed light on the importance of local sustainable food systems! A big thank you also to our Community Builders: Haylards Restaurant Group, Brighter Day and the Sentient Bean for their support!

In today’s episode, I talk with Chef, restaurateur, cookbook author and now host of her own show - Katie Button. We talk about her early influences in cooking, the restaurant that she co-owns with her husband Felix in Asheville - Curate and, of course, her new show on the Magnolia network, From the Source.

I reached out to Katie after I watched the first season of her show because i was drawn to her enthusiasm and really enjoyed the attention that she brought to the people growing and producing the ingredients she loved to cook with. It’s a fun conversation with Katie whose energy is as infectious as her curiosity is compelling.

Katie Button is the JBFA-nominated co-founder and CEO of Asheville, NC’s beloved Cúrate, a collection of restaurants, online marketplace, wine club and culinary journeys designed to create exceptional and experiential access to Spanish culture. Before opening Cúrate Bar de Tapas in 2011 with husband Felix Meana, Katie honed her craft in the kitchens of some of the world’s best chefs. With over a decade of bringing the flavors and culinary traditions of Spain to guests, the Cúrate brand now includes La Bodega by Cúrate, Cúrate Trips, and Cúrate at Home and Cúrate Spanish Wine Club.

You can watch her show on the Magnolia Network or on Discovery plus.

Season Two of the podcast is sponsored by Savannah Hydroponics and Organics, Chelsea Green Publishing and Morning Belle Farms! We're so grateful for our sponsors who make it possible to continue to shed light on the importance of local sustainable food systems! A big thank you also to our Community Builders: Haylards Restaurant Group, Brighter Day and the Sentient Bean for their support!

Be sure to look for Kira's contributions with Southern Soil, but also check out her and her husband, Anthony's website - appropriately named the Homestead Kings - to learn more about their podcast and blog!

I want to take a quick moment to thank our Season One sponsors, Way Green, True Earth and SD Gunner Fund… your support has meant the world to me! I hope those of you listening will take a moment to visit their sites and learn more about these awesome local businesses and organizations.

If you would like to learn more about sponsoring one of our future seasons of this podcast, please contact me today at info@southernsoil.org

Jenn Colby is a livestock farmer in Vermont. Her farm is Howling Wolf Farm. She is also a fellow-podcaster who started her podcast Choosing to Farm, at about the same time I started this one.

Our conversation in this episode addresses a number of issues but we spend some time discussing the importance of balancing the true cost of food and farmers receiving a living wage for their work alongside the issue of accessibility to healthy foods for people at all income brackets. I think you’ll appreciate Jenn’s perspective and one of the inventive ways that she, as a farmer, has taken steps to address it within her own community.

If you get something out of this episode, please share it with someone that you think would also enjoy or benefit from it!

Listen to the end and you'll hear some Firefly fan talk (when you know, you KNOW); Nathan Fillion gets a mention (I wonder if he's ever been mentioned in a local food and farming podcast before...) 

We have awesome sponsors, please visit their sites and learn more about the amazing things they do and products they offer!

SD Gunner Fund is an amazing nonprofit that provides service dogs to veterans, children with special needs and first responders.

WayGreen is Southeast Georgia's local food coalition (and a group of super awesome farmers and just generally groovy people).

True Earth Co. is your source for medicine FROM the earth and medicine FOR the earth -  a truly exceptional local farm and business - a great source for high quality CBD oil and turmeric. 

This episode is part one of a two part series with Jenn Colby of Howling Wolf Farm in Vermont.

Vermont? You ask. Yes, Vermont.

I met Jenn online through a course that we are both taking from podcaster Cathy Heller, Your Turn to Podcast. I noticed a response one day on a group chat during the weekly Zoom call and this other person said something about local farmers. So, I jotted her name down and made sure to find her and connect with her, which I did!

In a group of around 400, we are - i believe - the only two who are doing podcasts around local, sustainable farming.

I thought it would be interesting for us to have a conversation and sort of compare notes on what we’ve learned through this process and what things about local food are different and which things are similar when talking about two states that are separated by more than just geography.

Jenn is herself a first generation farmer who, after retiring from her work with Extension offices is now farming full time. She recently launched her podcast, Choosing to Farm (which I highly recommend). She is not only passionate about encouraging more people to farm, but she wants ALL farmers to be able to actually earn a living doing the work they love. Wouldn't that be grand?

If you're enjoying the podcast, please SHARE!

You can learn more about Minority Outdoor Alliance at their website! Please check them out and follow them on social media.

Thanks so much for listening! If you like what you hear, please share it. Leave a review! If you don't like what you hear, please just go on about your day! :) 

We had a conversation a couple months ago that was intended to be a podcast, but I sort of forgot to hit record (which I only realized as our conversation was ended), so that will forever in my mind be known as the Podcast that Never Was. Since I didn't get a podcast out of it, but I really wanted to share some of Kristin's insights and practical approaches to activism, I wrote an article instead. You can read it here!

In that conversation, Kristin and I talked a lot about her early life and how growing up on a family farm in Kansas has had a lasting impact on her life. Though her parents (half jokingly) forbade her and her sister from becoming farmers or marrying a farmer… the family farm as an institution has always remained close to Kristin’s heart and has left an indelible impression on the ethos that governs both of her food-related businesses.

You can see her passion for reducing waste and supporting local farms and farmers on display through menu and business practices of the cafe she co-founded The Sentient Bean and in the subtle shifts and changes she has brought as the relatively new owner of the long-established health food market next door - Brighter Day.

Kristin has also left her mark on the local food community in many other ways including as a founding member of the Forsyth Farmers Market and a board member of Georgia Organics.

Kristin has a great perspective on local food and I always walk away from our conversations feeling inspired to keep making slow and steady progress toward a much better food system tomorrow than we have today!

Thanks for coming along today while Chef Francisco Jimenez and I talk about getting kids in the kitchen to cook… among other random food topics! I first met Cisco when he was head chef at Halyards on St Simons Island. He now works as a private chef and culinary consultant. You can find him on Instagram.

There are some people that are always just plain fun to talk to, Chef Cisco is one of those people. So, please just come along for the ride and enjoy the laughs. It's just possible you might also learn something and get inspired to get your kids (if you have them) in the kitchen with you to cook up some fun and create some amazing family food traditions.

To learn more about Marissa and her awesome farm... check out their website, whippoorwillfarmssc.com.

We are super grateful to our podcast sponsors: True Earth Co, WayGreen, Inc and SD Gunner Fund ... be sure to visit their websites and learn more about the amazing work they do!

A Big thanks also to our 2022 Advertising Partners: Brighter Day and The Sentient Bean!

Thank you to our awesome sponsors: True Earth Co, WayGreen and SD Gunner Fund!

Join me in a conversation with food blogger, Rebekah Lingenfelser, who has been a long-time contributor to Southern Soil. Her food blog, Some Kinda Good, has been going strong for 10 years and she recently published her first book under the same title! Rebekah and I talk about her wonderful food journey. We cover everything from working as a private chef to her television adventures and time as a contestant on the Food Network Star Season 14.

Rebekah is someone who is passionate about food and cooking and truly embodies her favorite quote from Julia Childs, "find something you’re passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it."

Pay attention until the end and you'll catch a blooper that might make you smile!

If you enjoy the podcast, please remember that caring is sharing! Share with a friend ... or two... or three!

Please take a moment to check out our fabulous sponsors True Earth Co, WayGreen Inc, and SD Gunner Fund!

Thanks so much for taking the time to listen! Check out our website for all kinds of great local food building content! www.southernsoil.org

I catch up with my friend Tara Ruby who I first met at the annual Boucherie Event held at Comfort Farms in Milledgeville Georgia - Le Pied Du Mont Boucherie Festival.

We refer to that event and the founder of Comfort Farms, Jon Jackson, several times throughout our conversation. As the farm, that event specifically and her friendship with Jon and others she met there… were the spark that started Tara down a journey of raising her own animals for meat. (If we piqued your interest in the boucherie and the work of Comfort Farms ... rest assured that as soon as the stars and our schedules align, Jon and I will be having a conversation to share with you here.)

Tara and I further connected through my work with SD Gunner Fund as she was a recipient of a service dog, Tango, through that organization. 

(If you've followed Southern Soil on social media, either the magazine or the podcast, you can't help but be aware that I have a dog Blue who is 90 pounds of awesomeness. What you may not know, is that Blue came to me through SDGF. He served two veterans, but through little fault of his own was not a good fit in either situation. Instead of trying for a third time, the decision was made that Blue should just be able to retire to his furever home and spend the rest of his days chillaxin....with me, of course!)

My friendship with Tara continued on several shared adventures as she was kind enough to lend her considerable talents as a photographer to enhance several articles in Southern Soil.

I think you’ll get some great insight into what it’s like to be a homesteader and some of the benefits and trials that go along with it.

You can follow Tara’s journey on social media at Ruby Roost and Ranch and be sure to check out her beautiful photography on her official sites, Tara Ruby Photography.

We have three short spots from our sponsors throughout this podcast, they are each 45 seconds or less and they make it possible for me to have and share these conversations that help build our local food communities. Please take a moment to get to know them better!  True Earth Co, WayGreen Inc, and SD Gunner Fund!

Chris is also doing some great work with other plants (but mostly okra) with his nonprofit, The Utopian Seed Project. This organization is devoted to improving seed diversity and regionally adapted crops to help safeguard resiliency of local food systems. We have a lot of fun talking about Chris' book and the work he is doing, but make no mistake that his work and the work of others like him is a very serious matter! As weather patterns change and shift and as corporations maneuver to control food production, seed sovereignty and seed preservation is inextricably tied to food security. And that is something we should all be paying attention to!

A big Thank YOU to our three Season 1 sponsors: SD Gunner Fund, True Earth Co, and WayGreen Inc.