The Farmer's Share
Andy Chamberlin, Producer and host of the show
What is The Farmer’s Share?
A behind the scenes podcast where we visit with farmers and learn what it takes to be a sustainable produce grower across people, profits and our planet.
Who do you interview?
I mostly interview fruit and vegetable growers under 100 tillable acres.
Large or small you can always learn something from interesting people doing interesting things. I enjoy learning from those who’ve got a grasp on their business and have chosen a career in agriculture.
Do you have a theme?
Sustainable Agriculture.
Specifically learning how farmers are achieving the triple bottom line of sustainability which covers the areas of social, economic and environmental impacts.
In other words, learning about how growers are impacting people, earning profits and protecting planet.
There is no one way to be a successful produce grower so we learn from a wide range of farming models and methods including: certified organic, conventional, regenerative, cooperative, no-till, off-grid, market garden, CSA or wholesale operations.
What Motivates You?
Farmers wear so many hats that they are overflowing with lessons learned, trialing different systems and techniques to make it work in all aspects of life. I found these visits to be really inspiring, energizing and motivating. I also have observed that the average age of farmers is right around retirement age, and the best way to learn is from experience; or to glean that from your peers.
As a beginning farmer myself I am curious, and thrive on learning from the experts in the field, literally, in-the-fields of agriculture. I’ve also experienced the loss of some amazing farmers and have been reminded that life is often too short, and the experiences they have learned leave with them. Farmer’s don’t have the bandwidth to be educators, despite being excited to share what they’ve learned – so that’s where I come in. Attempting to capture just a snippet of the life lessons these role models have obtained to share with other growers and help the next generation of farmers.