Cultivating the Food Community in West Georgia by Building Bridges between Local Farmers and Early Care & Education Centers

Author: Laura Edmonds, with support from Kimberly Koogler 

Laura Edmonds supports Georgia Organics’ Community Collaborations work in West Georgia. She lives in Carrollton and is a farm and market crew member at two organic farms in the West Georgia area. Kimberly Koogler is Manager of Community Collaborations for Georgia Organics. 

“CAFI Farm Corner”, May 21, 2024

Wolf Pup Produce Market Day at University of West GA PreK, May 17, 2024

Since 2017, Georgia Organics has been engaging West Georgia families in learning about, growing, and purchasing local, healthy food. Recently, Georgia Organics has deepened its roots in the area with new partnerships and activities as part of its ongoing Farm to Early Care & Education programming.  

Over the past few months, Georgia Organics’ Community Collaborations team partnered with local farmer Terri Parmer of High Spirits Farm to work with students and staff at the University of West Georgia Early Learning Center and the Community Action for Improvement‘s (CAFI) Carrollton Head Start. Together, they grew seasonal vegetable gardens with turnips, kale, collards, lettuce, spinach, radishes, dill, strawberries, marigolds, and more. Every month, Farmer Terri spent hands-on time in the garden with students, read to classes about farming and healthy eating, and even brought in one of her hens, Ms. Betty, to visit. 

Community Action for Improvement’s Quinecia Styles-Smith with students in the garden at Carrollton Head Start

Farmer Terri Parmer and her hen, Ms. Betty, visiting students at the University of West GA’s PreK Program

Farmer Terri Parmer and students examine hakurei turnips growing in the UWG PreK Program’s garden

In May, students closed out the school year by hosting and inviting their families to a mini farmers market at each center where they could experience first-hand what the children had been growing and learning. To prepare for the market, Farmer Terri led students in harvesting and washing their produce. Each center then set up market displays and sold their products to their “customers,” feeling the pride of providing their community with local, healthy food they grew themselves. 

Students and their families choose produce to purchase with their “Head Start Bucks” at the CAFI Farm Corner

Carrollton Head Start student purchasing school garden grown lettuce mix at CAFI Farm Corner

Farmer Terri and UWG PreK students harvest carrots from their school garden

Students and their families purchase produce at the Wolf Pup Produce Market Day at UWG PreK

Students and families also visited a weekday pop-up market featuring farmers and local vendors from the Carrollton Cotton Mill Farmers Market. The market attracted over 200 visitors who enthusiastically shopped, participated in a scavenger hunt, and sampled seasonal produce. The event gave Georgia Organics and its early care center partners an opportunity to feature their work in West Georgia, including the West Georgia Family Farm Share, a low-cost, seasonal farm box subscription available for pick-up weekly at the local Head Start partner centers. A local chef held a cooking demo highlighting easy preparation methods for ingredients in the week’s farm share box.   

Through these events, farmers, students, staff, and families built a bridge between local food producers and early care and education communities. Forging this connection between families and the local farmers is a great way to encourage young children to become adventurous eaters and be a part of the local food movement, building a healthier and more sustainable West Georgia.

Georgia Organics Farm to Early Care & Education Programming in West Georgia is supported by Community Foundation of West Georgia’s Alice Huffard Richards Fund.

UWG PreK students and family members starting summer seedlings together at Wolf Pup Produce Market Day

Farmer Terri helping a UWG PreK student plant seeds at the Wolf Pup Produce Market Day

To learn more about High Spirits Farm, visit them on Facebook or in person on Saturday mornings at the Carrollton Cotton Mill Farmers Market.  

To learn more about Community Action For Improvement’s Carrollton Head Start, visit cafi-ga.org or follow them on Instagram at (@communityactionforimprovement) and LinkedIn at @community-action-for-improvement-inc-).   

To learn more about the University of West Georgia Early Learning Center visit their web page.  

 To learn more about Georgia Organics, visit georgiaorganics.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.   

Farm To School Month: Spinach To Win It! Highlights

By Olivia Mountcastle

Olivia served as our 2022 Farm to School Intern as well as the CDC Public Health Associate Program Fellow.

Thank you to all who participated in 2022 October Farm to School Month with our Spinach to Win It! resources, making it an enormous success! The creativity this year was unbe-Leafable! We are so excited to share that we reached…. Drumroll….. 

                          693,000 Students across Georgia with our #SpinachToWinit! Campaign 

Georgia’s Governor Kemp recognized the positive impact of statewide Farm to School work by declaring October as Farm to School and  ECE Month with an official Proclamation! This honor couldn't have happened without all of the amazing farm-to-school work YOU do.  

Georgia Governor Declares the month of October Farm to School/ECE Month state-wide.

We loved following our participants’ activities through the social media tag #Spinachtowinit. The spinach content shared by the students, teachers, faculty, and parents is entertaining and inspiring. You can find it all by searching #Spinachtowinit on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Choosing weekly winners was incredibly difficult—which is why we chose to pick more than one weekly winner.

Some of the innovative projects we saw included:

• Painting with spinach  

• 3-D printing Popeye 

• Spinach songs and raps 

• And so much more!

We’ve highlighted some of the amazing projects shared by compiling social media posts in a video. Check out all of the spinach fun from the month here.

Our October Farm to School Month, Spinach to Win it! content will remain available throughout the school year, and we encourage everyone to keep the fun going. Spinach season has just begun, so you can continue planting and harvesting spinach into the colder months. Thank you to everyone who participated in activities this month making this a wonderful Spinach-tastic success!

To learn more about our ongoing Farm to School programming, go to farmtoschool.georgiaorganics.org.

Thank you to everyone who participated in activities this month making this a wonderful, Spinach-tastic success!

Our October Farm to School Month, Spinach to Win it! content will remain available through the school year at farmtoschool.georgiaorganics.org/spinachtowinit. Past content from our annual October Farm to School Month campaigns is at gfft.georgiaorganics.org!

Visit georgiaorganics.org to see all of what we do and follow us on social media @georgiaorganics for updates and weekly happenings.

Small Bites, Big Impact: Spotlight on Erin Croom

By Caroline Croland

Farm field trips. Taste tastes. School gardens.

If your child has experienced in-depth farm to school experiences in Georgia, there is a good chance that they have Erin Croom to thank. Croom has spent her career studying, advocating for, and implanting farm to school programs.   

Courtesy of Small Bites Adventure Club. Photo credit: Kate Blohm.

“The day Erin Croom walked into the Georgia Organics office in the fall of 2006 was the day farm to school launched in Georgia,” says Alice Rolls, President and CEO of Georgia Organics. “She brought her Vermont farm to school experiences down South, and even though initially we didn't have money to pay her, her entrepreneurial spirit attracted allies and supporters in no time. Since then, literally millions of children have been positively touched by Erin's leadership and dedication to healthy foods, farms and families.”  

Croom was the Farm to School Director at Georgia Organics from 2008-2016 and has since founded Small Bites Adventure Club, a monthly subscription Taste Test Box for educators that help children discover their love for fruits and vegetables by giving them an opportunity to actively participate in the preparation of meals.  

Her work at Georgia Organics laid the ground work for our nationally recognized Farm to School and Farm to ECE programs.

Courtesy of Small Bites Adventure Club. Photo credit: Kate Blohm.

“I'm so proud of the work being done. The science supports it. And every dollar invested in young children around health and academics is paid back. I love seeing how Georgia has come out as a leader and how other States have used what we've created. I love getting calls from Hawaii and Alabama and North Carolina; other States that call and ask, ‘How did you do this, and can we replicate it?’ Croom says.

I sat down with Erin over zoom to talk about her Farm to School journey.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself, your background, and what drew you into your work in nutrition education/Farm to School? 

Absolutely! I'm a huge Farm to School fan and co-founder of Small Bites Adventure Club. I was born and raised in Mississippi.  After graduating from college, I began an apprenticeship on one of the first organic farms in Alabama and immediately fell in love. I loved the hard work, I loved just the magic of growing good food, but more importantly, I really loved the community that the farm created through the volunteers that came out and the CSAs we delivered to families. 

One of my responsibilities was to organize school field trips as a value-added program for the farm. I loved observing children on the farm discovering that food comes from plants and the magic of that interaction between kids, food, and agriculture. I knew that there was something powerful there and that I wanted to dedicate my life to this work.

I attended the University of Vermont to pursue a master's degree where I could focus my research on Farm to School programs. (I froze my toes off.)  At the time, Vermont had one of the very first formal programs in the country, and I had the opportunity to evaluate the program and observe their leaders. 

 So when I moved to Georgia, my very first meeting was with Alice Rolls! (This was when the GO office was based out of a tiny office in the YMCA) I brought every research paper and book I had on the subject and told her I’d love to start a program in Georgia.  After a couple of years of volunteering and grant writing, we finally got the program off the ground! 

You were the Farm to School Director at Georgia Organics from 2008 to 2016, can you talk about that experience? How did Farm to School education across Georgia grow or shift during that time?

I love how farm to school went from being fringe to a more mainstream movement in the last decade. 

I absolutely loved working as the Farm to School Director. It was such a big part of my life, and I will always think of Georgia Organics and the entire Farm to School community as my extended family. 

When we began this work, many people thought Farm to School would never work, and could only be successful in places like Vermont and California. But that never deterred me-- I just knew if people understood it, they would get behind it. And they did! 

We started really small with a pilot program in two schools. The teachers and parents were very generous with their time, and I know we made a lot of mistakes. But we did a lot of things right, too. We definitely moved from a place of creating programming and just seeing what sticks, to listening to teachers and school nutrition staff to understand their needs and ideas. 

The National Farm to School Network used to track all the states with farm to school programs. In the beginning, it was just a handful of states. Today, farm to school is present in all 50 states, tribal territories, and DC.  I talk to the leaders in Hawaii, Washington, Alabama frequently for advice and resource sharing. It’s a big family. 

Check out our 2020 digital celebration of Golden Radish below!

What was the impact of Farm to School programs on districts that you worked with? 

The early days of farm to school coincided with a lot of negative press about school meals. However, we would visit schools, eat lunch and see a very different picture--  salads, local apples, and kale chips.  One of the greatest impacts was being able to lend a hand in showcasing their best practices and helping to change the narrative that school districts can and do serve fresh local food, but also that kids really love it. 

Harvest of the Month programs were popping up, and school communities really rallied around that.  I remember one principal in DeKalb dressed up as broccoli just to get the kids to eat it and it worked!  

I believe one of the biggest accomplishments is that farm to school became institutionalized and part of the way schools operate. But we still have so much more to do! 

What inspired you to create Small Bites Adventure Club?

Small Bites Adventure Club is a social impact venture and our mission is to help children discover, love and eat their fruits and vegetables. Our product, Taste Test Box, is a turn-key nutrition education tool that we ship to schools, clubs, and preschools. 

The CDC reports that 9 out of 10 children don’t eat enough vegetables.  We know that poor diet can lead to poor health in later life -- many times causing preventable disease like hypertension, Type II diabetes, and some cancers.  So laying the foundation for healthy eating while kids are young is critical. 

Courtesy of Small Bites Adventure Club. Photo credit: Kate Blohm.

We created Taste Test Box because teachers were always asking for resources to help them teach students about fruits and vegetables.  But, there was nothing on the market that we could just send teachers.   Our kits include all the fresh, pre-measured local ingredients to create and taste a simple delicious recipe. Recipes include Summer Salsa Fresca, Power Smoothies, Sweet Potato with Honey Mustard Dip. During Covid-19, our kits are simpler - like Apple Adventure or Turnip the Challenge. 

We also are very intentional with our purchases, and at least 50% of the food we purchase is from women and black and brown farmers. It’s important that the children we serve see themselves in the materials we provide, and that we are actively celebrating diversity.

Small Bites Adventure Club is not singularly focused on nutrition, but also on the simple joys and discovery of fruits and vegetables. And we feel like, what's better than the best food on earth- grown with love right here in Georgia!

The premise of farm to school education is that food can be a powerful tool for learning that can also inspire a lifetime of healthy eating habits.  Any advice for parents or caregivers on how to get their children engaged around meal prep, taste testing, and healthy eating?

Take kids shopping! Take them to the farm! Let them plant a seed and watch it grow.  When I take my kids shopping (even online now), I ask them to find something green, a root, something with leaves.  Don’t worry if they don’t eat all of it- exposure is the most important part when they are young. And be a good example. Show them you love to eat your veggies, or at least try them! And whatever you do, don’t force a kid to eat anything. You will never win. 

Honestly, my most important teachers are Chef Asata Reid and Jenna Mobley- so my advice is to follow them on Instagram! Or subscribe to our Small Bites boxes. We’ll have home kits available soon and they will be all sorts of fun. 

On some level, we all realize that food is more than nutrients and calories. Food is about sharing love and carrying on traditions. One of the activities that we do a lot in our workshops has people close their eyes and think about their favorite food memory. For me, I remember the smell of fresh bread from my next-door neighbor in Mississippi. And I hope that some of my kids’  favorite memories are going to the farmer's market with me or snapping green beans on a hot summer day.  

Courtesy of Small Bites Adventure Club.

You can learn more about Small Bites Adventure Club by visiting their website. Be sure to sign up for October Farm to School Month to get fact sheets, recipes, lessons, and activities.

Caroline Croland is the Fundraising Coordinator for Georgia Organics. She can be reached at carolinec@georgiaorganics.org.

While Schools Are Closed, Evans County Students Learn to Garden

Photo courtesy of Evans County Schools

By Kimberly Della Donna

UGA Extension 4-H Agent, Stephanie Myers, greeted Evans County families last Wednesday with a plethora of pandemic essentials, including big smiles, fresh food and home gardening materials. Students and their families were delighted to receive the seeds and activities during the 8th week of school closures in the area. "The timing and weather proved perfect for promoting all of the physical, mental, social, and nutritional aspects of family gardening," said Myers, who joined a group of volunteers to help Evans County School Nutrition Director Tonya Beasley-Blocker, and her School Nutrition Staff, distribute meals to over 1,000 residents in the Evans County. Each Wednesday, the staff and volunteers distribute 7 breakfasts and 7 lunches- that is over 14,000 meals dispersed each week in one day! 

Georgia Organics partnered with The UGA Extension Service to create the educational resources and share the seeds, donated by the Captain Planet Foundation after learning about Evans County’s School Nutrition Director, Tonya Beasley Blocker's efforts to promote agricultural learning and the district’s efforts to include local food in the meal distribution program.  When Georgia Organics Farm to School Director Kimberly Della Donna first reached Beasley-Blocker she was arranging to include a quart of strawberries from RJ&G Farms in each family’s weekly meal pack. She's been working to include locally grown produce in the offerings each week.

Tonya Beasley-Blocker is just one of the many Georgia school nutrition professionals on the front line of serving the community during the pandemic. We're especially impressed that during this time of crisis and rapid change, our school nutrition professionals are going the extra mile to source local, fresh food and include educational resources for students and families. We offer our sincere gratitude to our school nutrition heroes like Tonya Beasley-Blocker and our community volunteers like Stephanie Meyers who support their efforts. 

Kimberly Della Donna is the Farm to School Director for Georgia Organics. She can be contacted by email at kimberly@georgiaorganics.org.

This Athens playlist will get you in the mood for Conference

Story by Corinne Kocher

Photos by Bailey Garrot

Shared Plates

Any night of the week, you might see Jeremy Scott, otherwise known as DJ Kountry Boy, rocking out at one of Athens' many venues.

"Athens is a music town, it can be a launching pad," he says. "There's a lot of big names here, from folk rock bands all the way to hip hop artists.”

And there's no shortage of places to see these local musicians. "There are a lot of smaller and bigger venues, getting both local artists and mainstream national artists," Jeremy adds. "I feel like venues can never really be limited in Athens - there's people playing all over the city.”

Jeremy grew up in Athens and nearby Oglethorpe County. Coming from a musical background, playing the drums in bands all the way through high school, Jeremy found himself more and more interested in collecting music as he got older. 

His love of music led him to start DJing, and today, Jeremy fuses his taste for multiple musical genres at venues, parties, and concerts. This year, you can catch him everywhere from Athens' Wild Rumpus Halloween celebration to the Lil Baby Live @ Athens Fairgrounds show.

For out-of-town visitors (and even locals!) coming to Athens for the Georgia Organics conference February 7th-8th, looking to get a taste of the local Athens scene, Jeremy shared some of the best Athens venues for live music. 

And if you're looking to get in the Athens mood before you visit? Read on to see DJ Kountry Boy's top 8 artists to check out to create that perfect Athens playlist. 

5 Live Music Venues to Check Out in Athens

40 Watt Club 

"The 40 Watt Club is one of the most famous and iconic music venues in the world… The club has served as a music home base for many of Athens’ most beloved bands over the last 35 years, including R.E.M., the B-52’s, Pylon, Love Tractor, Vic Chesnutt, Olivia Tremor Control, Five Eight, Neutral Milk Hotel, Jucifer, Drive-By Truckers, of Montreal, The Whigs, Maserati, and more."

Hendershot's

"Local coffee shop, bar, and 150 seat music venue that features local, regional, and national acts 5-7 nights a week... also hosts a monthly Jazz Jam and a weekly open mic night"

Live Wire

"Here, you’re with the band… Our high energy space allows for an electric atmosphere unlike any other, with music genres ranging from rock, electronic, to epic instrumentals. We host all kinds of shows setting the stage for a stellar concert experience for musicians as well as music fans."

Georgia Theatre

"This theatre... has served as a significant performance venue for emerging and established musicians from Athens and beyond… Many prominent national and local acts across all genres have performed at the Theatre, including rock, folk, country, indie, alternative, hip hop and electronic."

Nowhere Bar

"Nowhere Bar, located in Downtown Athens across from Georgia Theatre, is an old dive the locals love to frequent. Athenians young and old gather here every night of the week to enjoy a game of pool, a beer and live music in the company of good friends."

8 Athens Artists to Start your Athens Playlist

L.G.: "Local hip hop force in his own right… early-’90s smooth-rap and R&B sound, nicely situating it apart from the rest of the scene" -- Flagpole

Oak House: "Dark tonalities with liberal rhythmic experimentation while featuring driving rock-riffage and pulsing electronic undercurrents. ... psych-tinged indie rock" -- The Earl

Pleasure Point: "Hazed-out hybrid of murky hip-hop, smooth funk, contorted pop and whatever else the threesome have discovered swirling around their proverbial kitchen sink" -- Immersive Atlanta

Wieuca: "Proven themselves adept at mining abstract gems out of hazy psych rock and glimmering pop… it’s the music’s underlying melancholy and palpable sense of dread that I find most compelling" -- Immersive Atlanta

Partials: “Blurs the lines between humanity and technology... A fusion of vastly different elements, Partials thrive on this dichotomy, an artistic liaison that perpetually surprises.” -- Clash Magazine

Squalle: "Easily one of the most conscious and aware hip-hop albums out of Athens this year, the record is true to that original blend of lyrics that are clearly audible with beats that recall classic R&B with an array of jazz flavors, mostly pulling from fusion and easy listening" -- Flagpole

Caulfield: Flagpole Award for best hip hop 2019, "Atlanta’s trap scene called, and Caulfield answered. The rapper has carved out his own space in Athens hip hop" -- Flagpole

DJ Kountry Boy: Enjoyed this playlist? See more from the Athens and Atlanta-based on Instagram [@djkountryboy] to find out where he'll be popping up next. 

Corinne Kocher and Bailey Garrot are the writer-photographer team behind Shared Plates, a blog exploring food in the world and how it gets to the table. Read all of their work at www.shared-plates.com and follow them on Instagram @sharedplatesatl.

Payne and the Pigs

Photos by Gabi Rosenthal

By Porter Mitchell

Cathy Payne lives on a quiet street near Athens, Georgia, lined with mature trees and yards with trimmed beds of roses. Cathy is middle aged with short, bright silver hair and a welcoming personality. Her enormous cat, Chico, spreads out in a sunny spot in her kitchen as Cathy pulls out her phone to show photos of a charcuterie board from the famous 5 and 10 restaurant downtown. The usual spread of cheese and gherkins are there, along with a cut of cured Guinea hog—it's a deep, bloody red with a half inch cap of fat running the length of the top.

“We always call the restaurant before we go to ask if they’re serving Guinea hog,” Cathy said. “They always just do a beautiful job with it.” 

Cathy beams as she explains the different preparations, 5 and 10 uses with the Guinea hog, and how the chefs rave about its rich and complex flavor.

She’s too modest to say it, but she knows she’s one of the reasons the breed still exists. She’s spent the past twenty years researching, breeding, and promoting the rare heritage pig. 

Heritage livestock are like heirloom vegetables—they are not hybrid crosses of two or more different varieties, and they retain the original genetics of their line. They often are better suited for a specific environment and are generally more disease resistant and hardy than their more widespread counterparts.  Heritage livestock breeds—whether goats, pigs, poultry, rabbits, donkeys, or cattle—have historical roots in the United States and cultural significance.

“Livestock are a part of our shared history,” notes Cathy. 

And as diseases threaten to wipe out genetically similar animals like the common Holstein dairy cow (nearly all of them are descended from one of two sires) genetic diversity is becoming an increasingly large part of the conversation around livestock.  

Cathy’s work in livestock conservation began on her small farm, Broad River Pastures, roughly twenty years ago. Cathy and her husband John moved to Elbert, Georgia in the early 2000’s to begin farming and homesteading.

“Back then we had a lot of heritage livestock—mostly rabbits, but Gulf Coast Native sheep too.” Cathy heard that someone in her county was getting a rare pig shipped from Texas, and she went to investigate. “I met my first Guinea hog boar—he was so docile, he was so gentle. I was already involved with heritage livestock, so the seed had already been planted.” 

Cathy was hooked.

She spent the next several years learning everything there was to know about the Guinea hog, which didn’t amount to much back then. The breed almost went extinct in the 1980’s as factory farming became the norm. These new and larger farms demanded breeds that grew to enormous size quickly. There simply was no room for a small, hardy, slow-growing pig in the new ultra-industrialized world of pork farming. 

In the early 90s, a 14-year-old girl took on showing the breed for a 4-H project and establishing the Guinea Hog Association, but it didn’t gain traction. There were a handful of small Guinea hog herds registered with the association, but they were too closely related to provide the necessary genetic diversity to bring the breed back from the brink of extinction  

Cathy sits in an enormous wooden chair in her cozy parlor. She chides her cat for trying to eat the aloe plant again and continues: “There were rumors that there were other herds throughout the southeast and in Indiana, but no one knew where they were.”  

Cathy began looking, spending years as a de facto private detective traveling around the country looking for the lost Guinea hog herds, coaxing farmers to sell her their stock, persuading breeders to register with the official Guinea hog group to get an accurate census, breeding the hogs on her farm, and keeping careful records to ensure genetic diversity. 

“I found a farmer in Mississippi whose family had Guinea hogs for four generations—back to 1900,” says Cathy about her travels around the country. “I struck up a relationship with the farmer and his son, and one day the son called me. He said, ‘Daddy is dying, he wants you to have some of his herd.’” Cathy took the pigs home and added them to her growing herd, ensuring the lineage that had been in this farmers’ family for so long could continue. 

When asked about the pig’s name, Cathy explains patiently that no one really knows why they’re called Guinea hogs. She’s been asked this question over and over again. “Sometimes the word ‘Guinea’ was used as a diminutive to mean small, or the breed might have ties to Guinea in West Africa.” 

The Guinea pig is relatively small for a hog, topping out at roughly three hundred pounds. They have black skin and coarse black hair with a long snout, distinctive round cheeks, and triangular upright ears.  

“They were a poor man’s pig,” notes Cathy. “They could be raised in a smaller area and could forage most of their food.” Poor farmers and sharecroppers raised Guinea hogs throughout the South beginning roughly around the time of the Civil War through the mid 20th century. 

They relied on the pig’s meat for food and its thick layer of fatback to grease their machines and provide much needed extra calories after a long day of backbreaking work. Unlike commercially raised breeds, Guinea hogs have a strong instinct to forage—they'll find small plants, grass, tubers, acorns, nuts, and even snakes and rodents to eat. “They need roughly a fifth of the food that other breeds need,” says Cathy. “They’re a thrifty pig.” This, combined with their smaller size and docile temperament made them the perfect pig for poor farmers. The pigs were independent enough to find most of their food, but gentle enough to be handled without risking serious injury from a boar’s bite.  

Thanks in part to Cathy’s efforts, the Guinea hog has seen a surge in popularity amongst the homesteading community. The very qualities that made them a perfect pig for small Southern farmers make them perfect for today’s homesteaders as well. The Thrifty Homesteader, a popular website in the homesteading world, heralds it as “the ultimate homestead hog” with its small size, strong foraging skills, and docile personality.  

Cathy wrote the book on Guinea hogs, literally. She pulled out a copy of “Saving the Guinea Hogs: The Recovery of an American Homestead Breed,” the first written history of the breed and a practical guide to preserving heritage livestock.  

“We preserve our national forests, we preserve our historic buildings, and we should preserve our animals,” she explains. “Livestock are an integral part of our cultural history.” 

Check out Cathy’s book, “Saving the Guinea Hogs: The Recovery of an American Homestead Breed.” 

Learn more about the work of the Livestock Conservancy and heritage breeds by visiting their website.  

Porter Mitchell is Georgia Organics’ Farmer Services Coordinator. She can be reached at porter@georgiarganics.org.

"Embrace the Slime": Chris Smith's Okra Trials

Credit to Belle Crawford

By Corinne Kocher, Shared Plates

Chris Smith's book, The Whole Okra: A Seed to Stem Celebration, released June 2019, was only the beginning of his "ongoing okra journey.”

With Asheville-based nonprofit Sow True Seed facilitating the formation of The Utopian Seed Project, Smith explored the plant's vast varietal potential with 76 trial varieties of okra for the book. He has completed an additional 50 trials (and growing) since. 

"I feel like this might be okra's time," says Smith, a reluctantly-titled "expert enthusiast.”

He relates that his crop variety trials have not only helped him market and differentiate what he grows, but they have also allowed him to explore the wider food system. His experiments are fueled by a belief in both the rise of smaller producers, as well as the growing impact of climate change on farming. 

"I firmly believe we're going to find southern farmers returning to traditional southern crops," he says. "We've got to look to crops that thrive here, and in these conditions. Okra is drought tolerant, disease resistant, and highly nutritious… And on some level, the entire plant is useful.”

By exploring culinary applications and  organizing chef-centered okra taste tests, Smith aims to expand the narrow idea most people have of okra.

Lauren Cox, organic procurement coordinator for Georgia Organics' new Farm to Restaurant program, works to expand growers' markets as well. "I think that just the act of thinking about ways people can use and relate to food as the grower leads to creating a connection to your customer," she says. "It asks the farmer to put themselves in someone else’s shoes and I believe that ultimately, the power lies in the customer feeling that.”

"I would suggest that if a farmer is going to try a new variety or product, they should focus on the flavor of what they’re growing. Does it taste good? Does it tell a story?" asks Cox.

"Being open minded about what is a marketable crop, or what part of a crop is marketable, allows farmers to get creative," says Smith. "And we're at a point where customers are receptive to that.”

In his "Whole Okra" session, aimed toward both growers and chefs, Smith will expand on the value of pushing the boundaries of the stories we tell about certain plants. "Both farmers and chefs are so important to changing the food system," he adds.

Smith will be speaking on a second session, "Seed Saving and Seed Preservation,” which will teach the basics of seed saving for backyard gardeners to farmers.

"There's a perceived complication to it - but is very important that you save your seed, and it's very achievable," says Smith. "The aim is to have people walk away thinking "oh yeah - I can definitely save seeds.”

Smith's love and obsession with okra isn't ending with the publication of his book. Championing okra because "it needs a helping hand in this cruel world full of people who think it’s too slimy", Smith continues to experiment with different varieties and preparations of the plant.

"I've seen more and more people using okra creatively, and enjoying it," said Smith, laughing.

"My next t-shirt is going to say 'embrace the slime'.”

Need to Know:

Chris Smith will be presenting on two sessions at the Georgia Organics Conference.

Traditions Track, Session III (Saturday, 2/8): Seed Saving and Seed Preservation

Traditions Track, Session IV (Saturday, 2/8): The Whole Okra: A Seed to Stem Celebration

Corinne Kocher and Bailey Garrot are the writer-photographer team behind Shared Plates, a blog exploring food in the world and how it gets to the table. Read all of their work at www.shared-plates.com and follow them on Instagram @sharedplatesatl.

Amplifying the Sheats' Farm Restoration Project

Story by Corinne Kocher

Photos by Bailey Garrot

Shared Plates

Mike and Shyretha Sheats, the couple behind the multi-faceted The Plate Sale, spend their time juggling pop-ups, taking care of their 3-year-old daughter Luna, and working in Athens restaurants.

In recent months, they've added sanding floors to their list, working to update Shyretha's grandmother's home and farm.

The 12-acre Farm Restoration Project, located in Oglethorpe county (east of Athens), includes an old chicken yard, smokehouse, and heaps of wild plums, bamboo, and shiso. Shyretha's grandmother had lived on the property until she passed away in 2012.

Shyretha, who grew up on the property just next door, saw it as an opportunity to build on the hard work her grandmother had done. "The least we could do is come back and keep it up," adds Mike. 

"When you have that opportunity to restore something that's been in your family, everyone in this community is in good support of that," says Paul Sorah, farmer at Hearts of Harvest and member of the Athens Land Trust, who has advised the Sheats around the navigation of beginning farmer challenges.

As of October 2019, the Sheats have acquired their first cover crop, rye, in a pasture they plan to plant in the late spring. They're thinking about starting with crops like peas, beans, and leafy greens, in addition to cut flowers and herbs, to continue conditioning the soil. With combined experience in the culinary and agriculture world, as well as support from mentors in Atlanta and Athens, the Sheats aim to one day provide employment and housing on the farm.

The couple is embracing land ownership, and planning on running a business collective off of the farm. Showing us an aerial photo of the farm taken in the 1990s, Shyretha calls it "the blueprint.”

"Right now, the property is mostly overgrown," Shyretha said. "We have a vision for the project as a whole, but it's a process.”

Their goals are wide-ranging: "We want to grow things that are bountiful, that we can extend to the neighborhood," in a CSA or pay-what-you-can model, says Shyretha. Longer-term projects also include growing ginger for a ginger concentrate beverage, adding high tunnels, and, of course, a future brick-and-mortar restaurant.

With all their projects, the Sheats have the support of the local food community. "Down here, we're pretty tapped into the importance of local food systems," Sorah said. "Small farms are the backbone of the future of sustaining accessible food for communities. We all support each other, because we understand that we're much stronger as a collective together.”

The Sheats are well aware of their role in today's conversation. Nationally, the USDA reports that black farmers made up 1.4 percent of the country’s 3.2 million farmers in 2012. The same study reports that in Georgia, black farmers make up 4 percent of the state's total farmers.

"Here, our family could keep the land and build off of what has been done for 40-60 years," says Mike. Gesturing to Luna, playing nearby, he adds, "and we can pass it on to someone else - creating generational wealth.”

Mike is also interested in the using the land to showcase the food from this particular region. "Most of the spotlight on southern food is about low country cuisine or Appalachian food," he says, but "the Georgia woods are a totally different environment.”

The Sheats are aiming to secure a location for their restaurant by the end of 2020, as well as leasing out agricultural space on the farm. Currently, they're staying busy with opportunities networking for resources, sponsorships, and funding.

As members of the host committee for the Georgia Organics 2020 Conference & Expo in Athens, Mike and Shyretha are looking forward to the networking at the conference, connecting with progressive farmers to talk about the future of farming. 

"We're discussing how we can contribute, how to we fit in the scope of farming," Mike said. “It's about preservation, but it's about amplifying as well. It's making a statement, and using this as a voice to then tell the stories that we want to keep going.”

Corinne Kocher and Bailey Garrot are the writer-photographer team behind Shared Plates, a blog exploring food in the world and how it gets to the table. Read all of their work at www.shared-plates.com and follow them on Instagram @sharedplatesatl.

Organic farming's biggest challenge tackled in UGA's "Biology of Weeds" conference session

Story by Corinne Kocher

Photos by Bailey Garrot

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"The climate here in Georgia makes weeds and weed management one of our toughest production challenges," says Michael Wall, Director of Farmer Services at Georgia Organics.

Dr. Nick Basinger, Assistant Professor of Weed Science in UGA's Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, knows this challenge well - and he's ready to speak about it during his session, "Know Your Enemy: The Biology of Weeds" at the Georgia Organics Conference. 

With a background in the organic and biodynamic world, as well as years of research at North Carolina State and University of Georgia, Basinger has seen firsthand how much time these farms spent battling weeds.

"Growers have a lot on their plate in terms of production challenges, but for many organic growers, weeds are their biggest problem," says Basinger. "It's important to understand when to implement weed control practices, and the potential losses they could have if they don't.”

Basinger says that the timing of the Georgia Organics Conference is perfect for this discussion.

"Come February, farmers are going into a critical time of the year," he says. "If farmers can have weed control as part of their plan of action, they can essentially start with a cleaner field before some of the more challenging times later in their season.”

Basinger's approach prioritizes understanding the ecological factors behind why certain weeds are located where they are in the field. "Don't stick a bandaid on it and say we're going to cultivate these out - instead, get to the root of the problem," he explains.

Using timed tillage or planting, based on when weeds sprout, can have "a huge impact in the amount of weed control farmers have to implement," says Basinger. It's all about protecting crops when they are most vulnerable.

"A big focus of my program is talking about integrated weed management," says Basinger. "It's analyzing all the different 'little hammer' management practices to get to an integrated approach". This includes integrating controllable factors (row spacing, planting day, seeding rate) and uncontrollable factors (rainfall, temperature) to manage weeds most effectively.

Michael Wall agrees that this sort of advance planning. "Understanding more about the biology of weeds, when and how they will seed out and spread, can allow our growers to be much more proactive, and can let them deal with their weed problems before they get out of hand.”

"It's important to have an understanding of what weeds are going to be problematic when, and which weeds are the most competitive," says Basinger. To help farmers work on their weed identification, the first step toward understanding plant biology, Basinger will also bring resources from books to weed ID apps.

For the farmers who struggled with weeds last year, Basinger advises them to stay two steps ahead this year. "Weeds are pre-programmed to come up at a certain time, persist, and go to seed at a certain time," he adds. "But if you can understand their biology, you can understand what their Achilles Heel is.”

Need to Know: UGA Professor Nick Basinger will be presenting "Know Your Enemy: The Biology of Weeds" as the first session of Saturday's (2/8) Advanced Growers Track.

Corinne Kocher and Bailey Garrot are the writer-photographer team behind Shared Plates, a blog exploring food in the world and how it gets to the table. Read all of their work at www.shared-plates.com and follow them on Instagram @sharedplatesatl.

Long-Term Hoop House Research at Woodland Gardens

Story by Corinne Kocher

Photos by Bailey Garrot

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Celia Barss, owner of Woodland Gardens, a 12+ acre organic farm just outside of Athens in Winterville, Georgia, know the benefits and weaknesses of hoop houses firsthand.

With about an acre and a half of hoop houses, the oldest one at the 15-year mark, Barss recounts how her hoop houses started to suffer a decline in production, due to pest and disease pressure, around year ten.

One of the prime issues in Barss' hoop houses, which is common with most growers, is root knot nematodes, parasites that build up to large numbers in the beds and destroy root systems. "Everyone will end up having problems with it, because they're present in our soil - it's a matter of time," says Barss.

"Our hoop houses have been here for a long time, so we're seeing more of the problems," she adds.

Dr. Elizabeth Little, extension plant pathologist and associate professor with University of Georgia, has been working with Barss and Woodland Gardens for over seven years, and she backs up the grower's assessment.

"It's not just with Celia's - hoop houses are valuable territory," Little says. "They tend to be used extensively, and growers don't always do the same cover crops and long-term rotations that they do in the fields.”

"Most of the small, local, organic producers have at least one hoop house," adds Little. "But, they don't really come with instructions," she jokes. 

Little is evaluating different best management practices to keep issues like nematodes at bay, including cover crop rotations, non-host rotations, soil solarization in the summer, and different soil inputs. 

"There are challenges with the research. You can prove something and have results - but is it something that will work with the grower?", says Barss.

According to Barss, because many growers get their first hoop houses through NRCS grants, this is an important issue for everyone. For growers with only a few houses who will want to push production, "you invest a lot in these hoop houses, so you need to get production out of them and stabilize farm income," she adds.

Barss' moveable hoop houses don't experience the same level of nematodes issues, because the soil isn't being as used as intensely. As for her old hoop houses, "I'm not using them as intensively as I used to, and in my newer houses, I'm not pushing it as much," says Barss. "We're still having success, enough of a return… but we have to negotiate and manage the problem.”

Barss and Little will be sharing best preventative management practices that have come out of research and trials at their "Advanced Hoop House Soil Management" session at the Georgia Organics conference.

"Growers often aren't aware of soil-borne problems that build for quite a while," says Little. "It can help raise their awareness of potential issues, so they can take preventative measures as needed.”

On farm research is always a challenge, says Little, but "there's a need for more research on what works in organics in Georgia". But in partnering with Barss, Little can work to replicate results, providing critical research that is based on years-long, long-term trials. This research, says Barss, is about meeting the growers' needs, whether they are "new farmers or farmers eight years in."

Need to Know

Advanced Growers Track, Session II: Advanced Hoop House Soil Management 

(Celia Barss, Woodland Gardens; Dr. Elizabeth Little, UGA Associate Professor and Extension Plant Pathologist)

Corinne Kocher and Bailey Garrot are the writer-photographer team behind Shared Plates, a blog exploring food in the world and how it gets to the table. Read all of their work at www.shared-plates.com and follow them on Instagram @sharedplatesatl.

Regenerative ag research growing in Georgia: Rodale's Regional Resource Center

Dr. Andrew Smith, Rodale Institute

Story by Corinne Kocher

Photos by Bailey Garrot

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The South saw the most growth in organic farming from 2011-2016, and the Rodale Institute is looking to contribute to that expansion - through providing scientific research, economic models, and educational outreach at a Regional Resource Center (RRC), about an hour outside Atlanta in Chattahoochee Hills.

"There's some data to show that areas that have research and education tend to have a higher concentration of organic farmers," says Andrew Smith, PhD and Chief Scientist at Rodale. "We're hoping to use this center to spark a movement and start to expand the amount of organic farmers in the region.”

The RRC is located on the site of Rebecca and Ross Williams' Many Fold Farm, land formerly used for cheesemaking that also includes pasture-based livestock and forest. While the research site is starting on a small footprint of the 300+ acre farm, over time, Smith is hoping to expand. 

Georgia Organics Board Member Rebecca Williams is on the RRC board, helping facilitate some development work, and is excited to see what the RRC can do in the region.

"This RRC is so important because it will offer southern farmers the opportunity to see organic and regenerative agriculture from the farmer's perspective," says Williams. "It will provide answers for farmers to the real questions they have... questions southern farmers want answers to before they make a change."

Aiming to focus on vegetable production from the beginning, Rodale also hopes to take advantage of the farm's already-existing setup for grazing sheep to study the impact of integrated crop and grazing systems on soil health ."Rodale prioritizes long-term systems trials," says Smith. "Anything we do at Rodale, it has a focus on long-term soil health and regenerative agriculture.”

Things are underway at the center, starting with breaking ground on fields identified for research. Rodale is also prioritizing hiring someone from the southeast to design research that fits the warmer temperatures and higher rainfall of the region.

"Research done by the RRC in southern soils, in a southern climate, from within the specifics of the cultural and economic realities of the region will provide real support that will allow regenerative organics to take root here," says Williams. "I am excited to see new methods and techniques that can be used here in this region.”

With all of Rodale's activities in Georgia, Smith will be presenting at the Georgia Organics conference. Smith will be speaking about Regenerative Organic Certification labeling, for which he has helped with the soil testing standard. Smith is also particularly excited about his session "about the science behind the principles of what we call Regenerative Organic Agriculture", one of his areas of expertise. 

"The session could resonate with existing farmers, and also new farmers who are maybe thinking about organic for the first time and are planning the changes they might want to put on their farm," says Smith. "The farmers that I've met that are the most successful are lifelong learners," says Smith. "And it doesn't just have to be from a book - there's scientists, there's other farmers, there's people in the industry."  

"The more I get know farmers, the more I'm blown away by the amount of knowledge that they have, and the amount of learning that they continue to do." And with Rodale's new regional resource center, farmers in Georgia will have even more opportunity to learn and teach within their community.

Need to Know: Dr. Andrew Smith will be presenting at two sessions during the Georgia Organics Conference.

Afternoon Workshop (Friday 2/7): Really Really Organic: the Next Generation of Labels (along with Johana Mirenda, Organic Trade Association and Linley Dixon, Real Organic Project)

Forward Farming Track, Session IV (Saturday 2/8): Principles of Regenerative Agriculture

Corinne Kocher and Bailey Garrot are the writer-photographer team behind Shared Plates, a blog exploring food in the world and how it gets to the table. Read all of their work at www.shared-plates.com and follow them on Instagram @sharedplatesatl.