farming tools

How much do you know about mechanical weeding? 

On this episode of the Thriving Farmer Podcast, we’re joined by Sam Oschwald Tilton who is the organizer of the upcoming Midwest Mechanical Weed Control Field Day in Ohio. After earning his Master’s degree in Horticulture from Michigan State, Sam has worked many roles in vegetable farming from tool development to teaching on sustainable horticulture. He currently serves as a Direct Market Vegetable Educator offering education and support to Milwaukee-area vegetable growers. 

Tune in to hear all about the latest in weeds and cultivation.  

You’ll hear:

• About Sam’s inspiration to get started in farming 1:40
• How a farmer would get started in mechanizing their farm work 4:03
• What is in Sam’s weed seed bank 8:56
• About the roles of extension offices in farming 23:24
• All about the upcoming Midwest Mechanical Weed Control Field Day 30:22
• About the many different weed control vendors that are attending the Field Day 35:09

About the Guest:

Sam Oschwald Tilton serves in a shared position between FairShare and UW-Madison Extension as a Direct Market Vegetable Educator offering education and support to Milwaukee-area vegetable growers.  He also organizes the annual Midwest Mechanical Weed Control Field Day. 

Sam has worked in many roles on vegetable farms in Wisconsin – as a field hand, running his own CSA, and managing an educational farm in Sheboygan. He has a Master’s degree in Horticulture from Michigan State, where he researched organic weed control. And for three years, he was an instructor of Sustainable Landscape Horticulture at Lakeshore Technical College. Sam especially appreciates sharing his love of plants with children in his community.

Resources:

Field Day Website - 2023 Midwest Mechanical Weed Control Field Day

FairShare CSA Coalition - https://www.csacoalition.org/about-us

This podcast is sponsored by Small Farm University, THE go-to resource for gardeners, homesteaders, and farmers around the world. Small Farm University delivers classes online and on demand, with training on how to grow crops AND how to grow a profitable farm business that serves you, your family, and your community well. 

Applying what you learn in SFU could save you countless hours and thousands of dollars. And, it can save you the agony of costly mistakes some make, just because they “don’t know what they don’t know.”

Delivered by real farmers with hands-on experience and expertise, it is unique in its approach, using the RIPEN method for growing and building a farm or farm business.

To learn more, visit:  GrowingFarmers.com today!

How do business acumen and regenerative farming practices shape tomorrow's agriculture? 

On this episode of the Thriving Farmer Podcast, we’re joined by Alex Miller who is the CEO and Chairman of the Board of Lick Skillet Farm in East Tennessee. Alex is a seventh-generation farmer and a chaired professor of Business at the University of Tennessee. Along with his children and grandchildren, he farms a 104-year old family farm using regenerative practices and is passionate about mentoring the next generation of farmers on business and sustainable agriculture. 

Tune in to hear how Alex merges business lessons and his farming experience to mentor tomorrow's farmers.

You’ll hear:

• About how their family farm got the name Lick Skillet 1:39
• Alex’s unique farming journey 4:00
• Why there is such a sustained loss of farms in the USA 6:23
• About the products Lick Skillet Farm sells 16:07
• How Alex sets up the different enterprises and crews on the farm 18:43
• What Alex thinks are the most important parts of farming 33:47
• If Alex could go back and change something about when he started in farming 44:20
• What Alex’s favorite farming tool is 47:53

About the Guest:

Alex Miller, PhD, is a seventh-generation farmer and a chaired professor of business at the University of Tennessee.  He farms a 104-yr old family farm with his children and grandchildren using regenerative practices and sells pasture-raised proteins direct to the public. If he’s not on the farm, he can usually be found at the University of Tennessee where he is a chaired professor in the Haslam College of Business. He holds degrees from Tennessee Tech, Dartmouth, and the University of Washington. He has been recognized as an outstanding conservationist and is a former Tennessee Cattleman of the Year. 

Resources:

Website - https://lickskillet.farm/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/lickskilletfarm/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/lickskilletfarmtn

Curious about how to go electric with your farm equipment?

On this episode of the Thriving Farmer Podcast, Reid Allaway is joining us from Quebec, Canada. He is the Director of Infrastructure and Machinery at Ferme Coopérative Tourne-Sol which has 9 members and about 15 employees who are all passionate about healthy food, gardening, seed production, and ecology. 

You’ll want to hear how Reid has converted many of the machines on their farm to electric while also spearheading their Elec-truck conversion campaign.

By working together and following agro-ecological principles, the team has succeeded in creating a democratic, diverse, and sustainable company. Their mission is to generate agricultural products of the highest quality that respect the standards of organic farming and the principles of agro-ecology; to build strong community ties in their region; and promote organic agriculture as a viable food production system.

Tune in today to hear all about this French Canadian farmer’s unique approach to his profession!

You’ll hear:

• How Reid got into farming 2:38
• How Reid got into the tooling and electrification aspect of farming 9:56
• Why rear-mount cultivation is not as effective 16:49
• When electric equipment stops being practical 34:16
• The challenging aspects of putting together electric wheel drive devices 45:09
• The crops they are growing with walk-behind cultivation 47:18
• Reid’s favorite farming tool 1.02:47
  

About the Guest:

Reid Allaway is a farmer, tinkerer and dad working at Tourne-Sol Co-operative Farm in les Cèdres QC with his wife and a multitude of co-workers and friends. Being part of a coop farm has allowed Reid to pursue his interests in appropriate technology for farmers and farming down the avenues of collaborative design and tool building and also the electrification of tools and machines for small farms. Reid also works with Thiessen Tillage Equipment on tool design and distribution of appropriate tools for small farms.

Resources:

Website: https://www.fermetournesol.qc.ca/en
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reid.allaway
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reid_in_qc/
Farm Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fermetournesol/

The Thriving Farmer Podcast Team would like to thank our amazing sponsor!

Real Organic Project is a farmer-led movement that provides an add-on certification held by over 1,000 certified organic, family-owned operations across North America. Real Organic Project strives to uplift farms working within the spirit, not just the letter, of organic principles. Real Organic certified farmers use practices that are centered around the foundational organic principles of soil-based crop production and pasture-based livestock agriculture. To remain accessible to all types of farmers, Real Organic Project fundraises year round to keep this certification available at no cost to farmers.

You can apply today at realorganicproject.org/thrivingfarmer.

What tools would you need in order to start a fruit farm? Join us and listen in on the second episode of the Beginning Fruit Farm Series!

In this episode, Olivia is joined by Suzanne Slack, Assistant Professor of Horticulture at Iowa State University specializing in perennial fruit crops, and Liv Meyer, a graduate student in the department of Horticulture at Iowa State University. Learn about the equipment you would need in order to get started with a small fruit farm and what you may need going a conventional route vs. an organic route!

Episode Links: 

• Registry for producers of commercial crops sensitive to pesticides: https://driftwatch.org/ 

• Registry for beekeepers and apiarists: https://beecheck.org/signup#beekeeper 

• Iowa Environmental Mesonet (IEM): https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/ 

• Newa Weather Monitoring: https://newa.cornell.edu/ 

• Midwest Fruit Pest Management Guide 2021-2022: https://store.extension.iastate.edu/product/Midwest-Fruit-Pest-Management-Guide-2021-2022 

• Great Lakes Expo: https://glexpo.com/ 

• Local Extension Specialists by County: https://www.extension.iastate.edu/staffdir/