Farms for Tomorrow

Corn breeder and researcher Walter Goldstein traces the long arc of corn’s evolution, from its Indigenous origins to modern breeding challenges. He explores corn’s deep history on the American continent, a story of the living relationship between people and plants. Walter describes his work at the Mandaamin Institute, where he breeds corn for organic farming with desirable qualities: high nutritional value, nitrogen-fixing capability through a relationship with bacteria, and resistance to GMO pollination. These excerpts are taken from Walter’s 2016 presentation at the American Dream Conference, hosted by the MaaViva Institute.

Calcium is a central and often overlooked crop nutrient. Using examples to illustrate how it works, soil consultant Jon Frank introduces Carey Reams’ Biological Theory of Ionization as a framework to provide full-spectrum plant and animal nutrition. These improvements have huge implications for food quality and farm profitability.

Rancher Sally Witkowski describes how she and her husband Jim Witkowski got their entire family into grass-fed, grass-finished organic cattle ranching. Includes a look at regenerative practices, humane animal care, revenue streams, market trends, and the importance of a mission-driven mindset.

Joe Scrimger connects the dots between nitrogen use on the farm, soil health and water quality.

Imagine a year-round, 7-day farmers market that sells only locally produced foods. With the opening of Argus Farm Stop in 2014, Kathy Sample and Bill Brinkerhoff made that happen, creating a win-win for the whole community: Customers have convenient access to fresh local food supplied by over 200 producers while producers receive 75 cents on every dollar sold by Argus on consignment. Listen to Kathy and Bill share about the farm stop model, which is now being replicated in other communities.

Organic no-till farmer Eric Kampe speaks to the practices that he and his farm partners have used to maintain the integrity and viability of small farm operations in their community.

Wali Via of Winter Green Farm in Oregon shares about farm leadership succession in the context of an LLC. The older farmers wanted to take a step back while ensuring the continuity of their successful land stewardship practices, and to remain in residence on site. The subdivision and sale of the larger business enabled stakeholders to balance economic benefits and responsibilities through contractually defined roles and written agreements.

John Bloom of the Yggdrasil Land Foundation talks about the role of the foundation in assisting the leadership transition on Krusen Grass Farm, located in Southeast Wisconsin. The foundation had a hand in supporting the farmer in finding a successor, provided financial backing, and helped integrate the operation into the local economy and larger community.

Bob Wills and John Thomson share the story of how shared vision, individual personalities and emerging circumstances combined to form the land ownership and farm management model currently in place at the Tablehurst and Plaw Hatch Community Farms Co-op.

Beginning with a discussion about how the scale of a farm enterprise impacts both its sense of community and economic viability, David Junghans then connects individual farms to big-picture questions about the emerging role of farms as centers for education and social change.

Farmer David Junghans shares about the importance of building a unified vision and how people's desire for quality food drives success on a community farm. “The word is agriculture and not agribusiness,” Junghans says. Consequently, the ethos of culture and care needs to be part of all decision-making on the farm.

Peter Brown describes how Tablehurst and Plaw Hatch Co-operative Farms evolved into viable enterprises through a community-driven model, why a shared vision is essential to the success of these farms, and why subsidization of the industrial model requires farms like this to seek other ways to capitalize their businesses.

Chris Marshall describes why community is essential in sustainable agricultural enterprise and land stewardship and outlines the organizational structure that Tablehurst and Plaw Hatch Cooperative Farms have used to safeguard the land while supporting farm operations.