These topics layout the major themes of the conversation that follows but touch only on the barest of the depth you’ll hear. Together  Joel and I explore land access for new farmers, living frugally,  agriculture based on skilled people, mentoring and apprenticeship, the nature of wisdom, and what it means to be well-read and with it well rounded: to be an interesting conversationalist with something to say and a provocative way to say it, so others find us and our message appealing.

I left this conversation thinking about the personal changes we can make now to become experts in our chosen field and how that serves as a model for others that continues the change that already began. Eventually, that daily change becomes the future we cannot imagine for generations to come.

Once you’ve given this interview a  listen, leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts. Or, you can also get in touch with me directly in the usual ways.

Giveaway: Everything I Want to Do Is Illegal

Resources

Polyface Farms

Eager Farmer

During the conversation Rob shares what brought him to the project, some of his choices along the way, just how strict he is when he says he grows or forages all his food, and the potential to accomplish these goals, of a 100% self-procured local diet, in other climates.

Find out more about Rob, his work and other projects, including those mentioned during his introduction, at RobGreenfield.TV. 

Two things continue to resonate for me as I edited this interview, and as I put the finishing touches on the show. The first is the project-based approach that Rob takes in these deep immersions, whether for this particular take on food, or when he wore all the trash he created as part of his bike journey, which you can see in the initial picture at his website RobGreenfield.TV.

This project-focused exploration is something all of us can use as a model to dive into a subject we’re interested in, whatever that may be. We can pick one thing and see what we can learn about it, how far we can go, and the lessons we can pick up in a fixed amount of time. Maybe we want to spend the rainy season for our location learning to harvest water. Or to take a growing season to explore a particular plant from seed to harvest in different conditions in our garden. Or to take a year and see how little electricity or fossil fuels we can use.

By creating conditions that test ourselves, we can learn more about our wants, needs, and limits, safely and productively which will, hopefully, lead us to better ways to honor the ethics of permaculture when our time with a given experiment comes to an end. The other side that sticks with me is from near the end where we talked about replicating this project in different climates.

Given that humans populated the globe long before the prevalence of agriculture and subsisted through hunting, foraging, and, to borrow the language from M. Kat Anderson, tending the wild, why can’t we procure all of our food from our local environment? Yes, if this were a full-time endeavor, as Rob is going through, it may mean we spend a lot more time on growing, gathering and preparing food, but what if we use that as an end goal and work our way back to where we are in the moment? To start by buying from our farmer’s markets and co-ops while learning what we can about wild and forageable foods. To take the suggestions of Sara Bir and look for the abandoned fruit trees in our neighborhoods, or ask our neighbors if we can harvest from what they have. Each step brings us closer to a local, nutritious diet.

If we find we cannot gain much of our food in this way, why not? What are the legal, environmental, or social factors keeping us from doing so? What can we do to change these limitations, personally and within our community? What are your thoughts on seeking 100% of your own food? Can you imagine doing this in your local environment? What skills or resources would you need to obtain to make these choices?

Let me know by leaving a comment below and we can continue the conversation.

Resources
Rob Greenfield Growing and Foraging 100% of My Food - Day 111 Update (YouTube)
National Farmers Market Directory (USA)
Trash Me
Green Riders
Free Ride
Orlando Permaculture Meetup Group
Shad Qudsi - Atitlan Organics  

This new book from Chelsea Green Publishing looks at intensive pasture management and animals on the farm. Though that is the subject of the book, which comes from decades of experience running The Sow's Ear Farm in Ohio and provides a holistic approach to farm management, we spend most of the conversation discussing the calling to become a farmer and what the lifestyle includes. We also discuss the impact that a single large ruminant, the cow, can have on a farm, and the role of milk in transforming the availability of nutrients, which reduces the need for off-farm inputs. As Beth says, animals turn yesterday's sunlight into today's fat and proteins. This is something we can accomplish with a few acres of grass, the sun, and a dairy cow.

Resource
The Independent Farmstead (Chelsea Green Publishing)*      

*This is an affiliate link. Purchasing using these links will benefit the financial health of the show.

My guest for this episode is Wayne Herring of Herrings Green Grass Farm, and two time guest on the program. His first appearance on the show was to discuss starting a sustainable family farm, and the second as a listener question and answer session about small scale farming. This time we talk about his transition away from his corporate life so that he can be near home on a regular basis, as well as starting his creation of a new home-based business, Herring Coach, which helps to provide a balance between family, farming, and income. He also shares with us his thoughts on farming, and paying farmers a reasonable salary for their work, the economics of farming, and the many hats he wears to get everything done. If after listening to this episode you would like to reach out to Wayne to learn more about his work as a farmer or so he can help you build your own professional permaculture niche, you can reach him at: w.herring (at) herringcoach (dot) com. We're also discussing, as you'll hear, about my returning when things get busy to do another conversation. If this is something you would like, please send questions to me through the usual ways. E-Mail: The Permaculture Podcast Facebook: Facebook.com/thepermaculturepodcast Twitter: @permaculturecst Postal Mail: The Permaculture Podcast The Permaculture Podcast (Episode: 2014-014)

Wayne spent the last several years growing his pasture based meat operation while also being a steward of the land. This has not been an easy path, as you'll hear, because, like some other farmers, he works off-the-farm during the week and returns to home each night to continue tending his animals. Wayne also happens to be my wife's cousin, so I got to speak with him about his farming and sample some chicken at a family event.

Ever since then I've wanted to interview him because he's doing the work of starting a stewardship farm from the ground up in the best way he can. In our conversation, we cover the early days and inspiration that bring us to this moment, and what it's like to continue the transition to farm full time. Along the way, we also talk about his inspiration to become a farmer, the truth of profit and loss in farming, and the role of the community in getting started and continuing to grow. As with all of my guests, I'm thankful for his candor in this conversation, his willingness to share the ups and downs of what he's doing, and what the life of a new farmer is like. Community support holds a great deal of meaning to me as I look beyond the visible structures of permaculture and to the invisible ones. While putting together this show I received Wayne's newsletter and in there he offered support and recommended his customers attend, a local farmer's market to help bolster the beginnings of the market. Throughout the independent and small-scale producers I see this mutual aid occurring.

As we take care of the earth and ourselves, do what is matters to us, raise ourselves up Maslow's "Hierarchy of Needs", and fulfill the first two ethics of permaculture, it becomes easier to have a surplus to share, and with it to help share our surplus and help the needs of others. We then offer a hand-up through our knowledge, experience, and gifts, that teaches someone how to grow food and live a better life. As we share the surplus, it's easier to limit consumption. You can make better choices that aren't drastic or hasty, and in turn, care for the Earth in a better way. Care for your self and your family and friends in a better way, freeing up more resources to share with others. Once this ball gets rolling down the hill it becomes ever more self-sustaining, which is important because it's easy to teach and understand the physical sides of permaculture, but those invisible ones, being intangible, are hard to grasp. I think the roots of the invisible rest most firmly in the ethics of permaculture.

Resources:
Herring's Green Grass Farm
Herring's Green Grass Farm Facebook Page
American Pastured Poultry Producers Association (APPPA)
Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA)