The Urban Farm Podcast with Greg Peterson

Using your doctor as a valuable resource.In This Podcast:Having a background in construction, he was not your typical med student, but Dr. Ken Berry used his real-world experience to become a better doctor. Then when he realized he was becoming physically unfit while following the very advice he had been giving his own patients, he questioned his teachings and sought out better answers. He now helps people communicate better with their doctors and offers advice on diets to fight obesity and Type 2 Diabetes among other chronic illnesses.Ken is a Family Physician, Speaker and Author of the self-published book Lies My Doctor told me.  He has been practicing Family Medicine for over a decade. He is board certified in Family Medicine, and has been awarded the degree of Fellow, by the American Academy of Family Physicians.  Having seen over 20,000 patients of all ages during his career, he is uniquely qualified to write on both acute and chronic diseases. More and more, he has focused on the chronic diseases caused by the Standard American Diet and Lifestyle, and has made it his mission to turn the tide on the epidemic of Type 2 Diabetes, chronic inflammation and dementia. Ken has four children, 3 dogs, 2 cats and 7 peacocks. He, and his beautiful wife Neisha, live on their farm in Holladay, TN.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2018/04/07/342-ken-berry/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.Ken Berry on Discussing Health with Your Doctor.

Bringing awareness of the beauty of nature.In This Podcast: Connecting with nature is so natural to Mary Reynolds, that when life got  busy and bogged her down to the point that she forgot to make it a priority, she actually felt ‘squished’.  Mary’s story of winning the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show was told in the movie Dare to Be Wild. Here we learn more about her special relationship with nature and how she hopes to teach and inspire others to develop their own connection, for the good of all.Mary grew up on a small mixed farm in Wexford, in the south of Ireland and eventually set up her own company designing gardens in Dublin. A few years later, and having lost the will to live from constantly creating modern gardens, she realized that she could no longer continue shaping land in the same way and thus re-imagined her work to become nature rather than human centered.She brought her new, still relatively unformed ideas to be showcased at the Chelsea flower show in London where she achieved a gold medal, unusual at the time for a first-time effort. Since that time, Mary has built up quite a cult following in the world of garden design and is considered unique in her field.  She eventually decided it was time to rethink the whole relationship we had with land and re-examine what it truly means to design in harmony with nature. This led to her book ‘The Garden Awakening – Designs to Nurture Our Land and Ourselves’Special note: Her story is told in the film Dare to Be Wild, available on NetflixGo to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2018/04/03/341-mary-reynolds/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Telling a story of young environmentalists reaching for their dreams.In This Podcast: Becoming a scriptwriter had been a goal she set to the side while she worked her way into corporate finance law. However, when Vivienne DeCourcy heard the story of a young award winning garden designer’s journey, she found her way back. She shares how searching for a garden design consult then filled her need to connect to nature and introduced her to an amazing woman with an amazing story. This is the background of how the film Dare to Be Wild was completed. Vivienne came from a long family line of market gardeners, academics and rebels, yet somehow found herself having lived for 20 years in a Chicago high rise practicing corporate finance law. She really missed the landscape of her childhood - between Dublin and West Cork, and after getting breast cancer in her early thirties, she left corporate law, followed a childhood dream and started writing scripts.  She went back home and bought a small hill farm where her love for natural landscape, writing, and trying to make the farm hers, came together and gave her the opportunity to write the script for Dare to be Wild, released spring 2016.DARE TO BE WILD, is a romantic adventure based on the true story of two young environmentalists, whose quest is to show the world the power of wild nature as they reach for their dreams - one garden, one vast desert, at a time. SPECIAL NOTE:  This film opened on Netflix APRIL 1st, 2018.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2018/03/31/340-vivienne-de-courcy/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Optimizing the diet for backyard poultry.In This Podcast:Watching a bakery business fail, spending time in the navy on a destroyer, and then selling macaroni & cheese, might not seem like the background of a person managing part of a large poultry and egg business.  However, this is the path that led Frank Bergin to Eggland’s Best and helping them decide to offer their best proprietary feed to urban farmers.  He shares with us the reasons he joined the company as well as some significant statistics they found in their research and why they opted to put their feed on the shelves.  Frank is currently General Manager of Strategic Ventures & Innovation for Eggland’s Best, LLC. He has always wanted to run a food business since he was a teenager working in his family’s summer bakery.  After spending seven years as a US Naval Officer, the next eleven years he helped grow iconic brands like Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, Jell-O, Cream of Wheat, Post Cereals, Balance Bar and Ritz Crackers. In his final role with Kraft, Frank led the turnaround and rebirth of the Back To Nature natural/organic business.He went onto pursue his passion for building smaller, more entrepreneurial businesses and since joining EB in 2010, where he has help the company’s revenue triple. It was in looking for new ways to keep that remarkable pace of growth going that Frank and the Eggland’s Best team hit upon the idea of selling its proprietary feed directly to backyard chicken farmersGo to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2018/03/27/339-frank-bergin/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Reducing food waste in the supply chain.In This Podcast: After years of watching unused raw materials go to waste in his industry of nutraceuticals, Tim Intfen decided to do something about it. He figured out a solution that changes potential waste into back into a resource with value. He shares this unique business idea with us and tells why it can save time, money and nutrient resources. This free to use platform allows business to work together to avoid waste.Tim is the President and Co-Founder of InField Market – their mission…to reduce food waste and offer opportunity. InField Market is a unique business to business eCommerce platform that saves companies money and prevents waste.  Their market the - animal nutrition, food and beverage, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Their secure and free to use system features a robust real-time inventory and competitive pricing.Since 2004, he has worked in raw material distribution with principle manufacturers throughout the world. Tim is excited to bring InField Market as an opportunity based, game-changing solution to businesses throughout the globe.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2018/03/24/338-tim-intfen/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Bonus Episode 13: Seed Saving Class, November 2017A chat with an expert on seeds, Bill McDorman.In This Bonus Podcast: There is always a bounty of information available in conversations with Bill McDorman. This is the November 2017 episode with a Seed School Chat Class - continuing the conversation with an in depth discourse on grains and corns, an ancient potato, grain trials, growing all your groceries, and so much more.Bill McDorman is Executive Director of Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance, Ketchum, Idaho. He got his start in the bio-regional seed movement while in college in 1979 when he helped start Garden City Seeds. In 1984, Bill started Seeds Trust/High Altitude Gardens, a mail order seed company he ran successfully until it sold in 2013.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2018/03/20/bonus13/ for show notes and links on this bonus podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Taking school lunches very seriously.In This Podcast: When you have a passion for food and teaching and helping your community as well as being creative and you find a group that melds all three, then you are going to find great pleasure in sharing about this group. Chef Molly Beverly tells us about Slow Food USA and their concept of changing our mindset about school lunches. We hear about The Ark of Taste, Food Literacy, and the Slow Food Movement. Chef Molly is Prescott, Arizona’s creative food activist and teacher. As Prescott College Food Service Director and Chef for 9 years, she built the food service into a showcase of sustainable, educational, and tasty food.Molly has taught cooking since 1976 to adults and children at Prescott and Yavapai Colleges, most recently Edible and Delicious Science for Kids. She is a regular writer for Edible Phoenix and she operates a small organic farm and catering business. As Chair of Slow Food Prescott, she champions school gardens and sustainable food education.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2018/03/17/337-molly-beverly/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Bonus Episode 12: Kerry Audisho on the Tour De CoopsA chat about organizing a tour of backyard chicken farms.In This Bonus Podcast: We chat with Kerry Audisho about an upcoming Tour de Coops in Phoenix, and she helps us understand what this event is and why it is something every city should have. She tells us about how she got involved in running the Tour de Coops and how she is ready to help other cities start their own. We also learn about Easter Eggers, the benefits of chickens, a garden program for kids, and getting kids to try Swiss Chard then ask for seconds.  Kerry is a Dr. Sears Certified Health Coach, founder of Your Farm Foods, Friending Farmers, and the non-profit organization Garden Play. She has been a practicing health coach since 2011, and on the health seeking journey for over 15 years.In Garden Play, she and her team establish and maintain gardens in schools, as well as teach students how to garden, about the health benefits of eating fruits and vegetables, and how to prepare the foods they grow. Garden Play is also the organizer for the Phoenix Tour De Coops taking place on March 25th 2018.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2018/03/13/bonus12/ for show notes and links on this bonus podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Helping the community plant fruit trees successfully.In This Podcast: We catch up with Returning Guest Susan Poizner as she shares more about fruit tree care and the training that she offers through her podcasts as well as the courses at Niagara College.  She helps explain why pruning is important, especially when strong weather conditions come.  She has a lot of great information for anyone who is growing their own fruit trees.Susan is an urban orchardist in Toronto, Canada and the author of the award-winning fruit tree care book “Growing Urban Orchards” as well as the creator of an award-winning, online fruit tree care training course. In her in-person and online workshops, Susan has trained hundreds of students from across North America. Her students include Master Gardeners, arborists, and people who are completely new to gardening and fruit tree care.IF that was not enough, Susan is the host and creator of The Urban Forestry Radio Show and Podcast on RealityRadio101.com and an Instructor of Fruit Production Program at Niagara College in Ontario.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2018/03/10/336-susan-poizner/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.

Supporting local farmers with supplies and resources.In This Podcast: Having several years of corporate retail in his resume, and working at a books store, Bill Bezuk was intrigued when he noticed an uptick in the interest in books on raising chickens. He took this insight, combined it with his experience, and eventually opened a “boutique urban farming supply store” in Eugene.  Tailoring his store to fit the needs of local urban farmers, he has built up a dedicated customer base who have been coming for years. He tells us his story and includes a little story that Greg calls out as EPIC! Bill opened his store the Eugene Backyard Farmer in April, 2010.  There were already several traditional feed stores, yet he felt they did not understand the unique needs of the urban farmer. With that in mind, Bill created what he calls a “boutique urban farming supply store”, and has seen significant growth since opening.The Eugene Backyard Farmer helps people convert their back yard into a more sustainable and thriving place with supplies for small scale flocks, plus gardening and pollination items as well as chicks, custom feeds, garden plants, soil amendments, and bee hives.  Through his store, Bill shares knowledge and experience, and hopes to continue to be the center of the urban farming community in Eugene.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2018/03/06/335-bill-bezuk/ for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests.