When Sarah Wickers started Well Seasoned Table in 2014, she did it all. She grew produce, foraged wild greens, blended spices, and marketed her seasonings everywhere from farmers markets to retail locations. She even designed the website and packaging herself. She saw herself as the maestro of Well Seasoned Table because she had her hands … Read more
Farming can be a solitary experience where some people spend more time with plants and animals than people. But if you look closer, the food system is a web of personal relationships between people who are working toward common goals. Many local collaborations can be traced back to ASAP’s Business of Farming conference. Held each … Read more
If you ask the Creasman family to name their favorite apples, they won’t hem and haw. “My most favorite apple that we grow on the farm is a Swiss Gourmet,” says Dawn Cresman. “I like a Rusty Coat. It has its own unique texture on the outside, but it’s a really kind of sweet tart, … Read more
In last week’s episode, we took you to a dairy farm in Columbus, North Carolina. Jennifer Perkins from Looking Glass Creamery was standing on top of a grassy hill and imagining its transformation into an underground aging cave for their cheese. It was 2017 and Looking Glass Creamery had taken on a tremendous challenge. Jennifer … Read more
It’s 5:30 in the evening and the cows are already lined up at the gate. Alan Harmon of Harmon Dairy is getting the milking machine ready. How many times has Alan started and ended his day in the milking parlor? “I got started when I was a teenager,” says Alan. “Now I’m 61 years old, … Read more
As winter farmers markets open for the season, you might be wondering how those tender greens were grown during some of the coldest months of the year. Over the past several years, more local farmers have been using tools and techniques to extend the growing season, making fresh lettuce and greens available through most of … Read more
I’m hunting the ghost of tobacco farming with Taylor Barnhill from the Appalachian Barn Alliance. As we drive around the tight curves and steep hillsides of Madison County, we see dozens of old barns teetering on the edge of the road. The wooden boards are worn and faded, vines climb up the sides, and many … Read more
If you drive through the hills and along the river in Madison County, North Carolina, you’ll see a community in transition. Some fields are fallow, others are filled with hay, and around the bend, farmers are growing fruits and vegetables while chickens, pigs, and sheep graze on open pasture. Just a few decades ago, Ross … Read more
The ups and downs of 2020 have affected us all differently, but one thing we have in common is the daily task of eating. Being able to access food was one of the early concerns that many people shared, and that need continues along with the pandemic. Throughout it all, farmers and local food producers … Read more
It’s the end of the growing season and Harold Long is standing in front of a row of pole beans. The vines are withered and the pods are bone dry, but this seed’s journey is actually just beginning. Harold and his wife, Nancy Long, grow heirloom beans, corn, pumpkins, and heritage chickens at Long Family … Read more