2022 Barbara Petit Pollinator Award Winner Robby Astrove

By Mary Elizabeth Kidd  

Mary Elizabeth is Georgia Organics’ Director of Communications 

 All photography by Ginger & Carrot Productions

The Barbara Petit Pollinator Award is named in honor of Barbara Petit, a remarkable community food advocate who served as Georgia Organics' past president. This award acknowledges individuals who are successfully advancing—pollinating—Georgia Organics' key tenants: farmer prosperity, healthy soil, and resilient communities.  

The 2022 Barbara Petit Pollinator Award winner is Robby Astrove, Preserve Manager at the Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve and the so-called “Johnny Appleseed” of Atlanta.  

“Robby is what I’d call a ‘creative instigator.’” 

Georgia Organics’ President & CEO Alice Rolls continues, “wherever he goes, he brings charisma, a smile, and a giving spirit.” 

When asked what drives his creative and connective work, Robby Astrove cites curiosity as one of, if not the key ingredients in his life and career, even from an early age. “Even as a little kid I was always looking out the window,” he says. 

Robby grew up in South Florida, playing outside and developing an early understanding of the ecosystems in his own backyard. “I can remember in the fifth grade we took a field trip to the Everglades and I was captivated by it. Not just the ecology, but also the freedom of learning in that space; the fact that we could be ‘in school’ and outdoors.” 

His love of the natural world only grew in high school and college. He jokingly references his high school science fair project on the “Fire Tolerance of the Silver Palm,” which read more like scientific research than homework. In college, he charted the course for a new interdisciplinary degree in Florida State University’s School of Geography. His subjects covered city planning, hydrology, native plants and more. 

The Florida Everglades and the Kissimmee River served as a natural home base for Robby. This was the site of his first “lightbulb moment” on ecological transformation; it was the topic of his 50-page college paper and was the place his career as an ecologist and educator took root. His first job was on the Kissimmee River where he provided topographical data that would eventually lead to the restoration of the river.  He returned to the Everglades watershed again after pursuing a graduate degree from Western Washington University.  In this role Robby planted cypress and pond apple trees with K-12 students in Lake Okeechobee.  All told, he served as an educator, survey technician, tree planter, and researcher for non-profits, universities, and environmental consultants in this formational stage of his career.  

Whether attending conservation conferences or educating Everglades visitors, Robby noted a gap between the urgent concerns of environmental scientists and the average person’s awareness and understanding of the current threats to the natural world and how anyone can affect change in conserving our natural resources.  

Within this space between science and citizen action, Robby recognized his role as a translator or bridge for systems change. “If behavior change doesn’t happen, species disappear.” 

In 2007, Robby relocated to Atlanta to become an Education Coordinator at Trees Atlanta, directing youth and adult programs on urban forestry restoration and environmental education. From there, his success as an Atlanta transplant in the conservation and local food movement would only grow exponentially. 

His lasting impact on Georgia’s food system and environment would only be cemented as he had founding and early roles in the Atlanta Local Food Initiative (ALFI), the ALFI Incredible Edible Fruit Tree Sale, The Orchard Project, and Concrete Jungle. He continues to serve as one of the city’s finest foragers and educates thousands of visitors in his primary job as Preserve Manager at the the Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve. 

“Robby has been a perennial champion in Georgia's good food scene and has led workshops for Georgia Organics and numerous other groups and communities over the past 15 years.  If Georgia Organics recognized Robby, people would come out of the woodwork to join with us and celebrate him because his spirit and passion move people and his track record is undeniable.” concludes Alice Rolls. 

Read more about Robby’s impactful Atlanta work here and here and here, but first, enjoy this short conversation with this year’s Pollinator Award winner, including his memories of the award’s namesake, the late Barbara Petit. 

Georgia Organics 2022 Pollinator Awardee Robby Astrove with 2021 winners Gwendolyn and Brennan Washington of Phoenix Gardens. Photo by Jenna Shea Photojournalism.

How did you bridge the space between environmental education and Atlanta’s local food movement? 

Around the time I came to Atlanta, I started seeing that the food movement around this time was almost one-upping the environmental movement, even tackling issues of justice and equity. The local food space felt more approachable and that it could make a difference. This was reinforced by seeing the success of folks like Erin Croom establishing Georgia Organics’ Farm to School program and Georgia Organics growing as an organization. 

Fruit trees really were the bridge between the environment and food spaces. While I was planting trees through Trees Atlanta, I got close to Ebrima Ba in the West End, who created the “Food, Clothing, and Shelter” documentary, and he advised me to start planting fruit trees instead; people were hungry.  

Where will Robby Astrove be in 10 years? And what is your hope for a future Atlanta and Georgia food system? 

I don’t have a crystal ball, but one thing you can count on is I’ll still be planting. I joked with a friend the other day that if ever I stop planting, they should come and shake me, something is wrong. 

As for the future Georgia food system, I definitely hope we have a different food system than we do today. I want to see farmers and growers more respected, but not only that, better cared for, both from inside and outside our industry. They need to be seen and revered more as mission critical members of our society. 

I also hope that consumers' choices change. And eventually, of course, policy. 

How does your current work feed into this future vision?  

I see my role as multipronged. I’m an educator, a connector—a cross-pollinator, like this award—and I finally feel like I carry some influence in this movement, like people can listen to me. This is also where mentorship comes in. I’ve spent a lot of time seeking out elders, mentors; I hope I can be a mentor, no matter what age folks are, I want to make sure we’re all carrying the torch forward. 

You shared in your awards video that Barbara Petit (see below), after whom this award is named, was instrumental in what you’re doing today. What are a few things/lessons you learned from her? 

My memories of working with her were really about witnessing her leadership and how she brought people together...She was someone with vision and incredible drive. I have so much love and respect for her. She is really who gave me the blessing, the head nod, to start the orchard project, and I was down to do it. 

It was Barbara who directly told me: ‘don’t stop planting.’ And that’s my plan. 

To hear more from Robby and learn more about the Barbara Petit Pollinator Award, click below. 

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Advocacy Efforts Bring Top USDA Officials to Georgia

By Michael Wall

Certified organic farmers in Georgia have been hit with a perfect storm of challenges over the past few months that have made organic certification even harder to achieve and maintain than ever before.

Those challenges include major disruptions to the Organic Certification Cost Share Program (OCCSP) that now force farmers to apply for cost share support twice, through two separate application projects.

The process prior to 2020 reimbursed farmers for 75 percent of their certification costs, up to $750, with only one annual application. In a move that surprised and angered many agricultural leaders in Congress, not to mention farmers themselves the USDA Farm Service Agency reduced the reimbursements to $500 with no public input and little warning to growers.

The FSA change to organic cost share came in the first few months of the Corona-virus outbreak, which was also a time of great marketplace upheaval for restaurants and growers alike. And while this was going on, some certification agencies raised their prices so drastically that many long-time certified organic growers contemplated surrendering their organic certificates.

In February of 2022, Georgia Organics Farmer Advocate Michael Wall was able to share these challenges with USDA Undersecretary of Marketing and Regulatory Programs Jennifer Lester Moffitt in a virtual coffee chat, prompting Moffitt to travel to Crystal Organic Farm in Newborn, Georgia and hear from Georgia Organics farmers first hand.

On March 2, Moffitt visited with Georgia Organics and farmers Russell Brydson (Narrow Way Farm), Celia Barrs (Woodland Gardens), and Nicholas Donck (Crystal Organic Farm) to discuss rising certification costs and easing the barriers to achieving and maintaining organic certification.

During the meeting Moffitt outlined a new USDA initiative that would offer additional support for organic growers, and the conversation ranged from reimbursements and cost shares to certifier customer service, and the lack thereof. Moffitt was also extremely interested in learning more about Georgia Organics’ Accelerator program, 200 Organic Farms work, and the many obstacles organic farmers face in Georgia and the Southeast United States.

Moffitt, who began serving as the undersecretary on Aug. 11, 2021, grew up on and eventually ran a certified organic family walnut farm in California. Mofitt now oversees the division of the USDA that administers the National Organic Program, and many others, including domestic and international marketing of U.S. agricultural products, plant and animal health, genetically engineered organisms regulations, the Animal Welfare Act, and wildlife damage management.

The USDA recently released more details on the organic transitioning program Moffitt alluded to. While more details are needed, the new Organic Transition Initiative appears to be a much-needed commitment from the USDA to level the playing field for farmers seeking to achieve organic certification.

Lastly, the interaction with Moffitt and subsequent USDA actions to support organic agriculture confirm that advocacy efforts, as requested by Georgia Organics’ constituents, are an important part of the organization’s commitment to organic farmer prosperity.

The Organic Certification Cost Share Program will remain one of Georgia Organics’ top advocacy priorities as 2023 Farm Bill discussions heat up. Georgia Organics will continue to push for meaningful advances in the Farm Bill alongside its allies, especially the National Sustainable Coalition, which provided Georgia Organics with a grant to begin its farmer advocacy efforts, and the Organic Trade Association, upon whose Farmer Advisory Council, Climate Change Task Force, and Diversity Council Georgia Organics sits.

G.O. Goes to Washington to Support Organic Farmers

By Michael Wall

Michael Wall is Georgia Organics’ Director of Advocacy and previous Director of Farmer Services.

Georgia Organics Farmer Advocate Michael Wall and Albany organic farmer and Georgia Organics board member Sed Rowe asked federal lawmakers for more institutional support for organic growers on a March trip to Washington, D.C.

During the Organic Trade Association’s Organic Week and Advocacy Day, Rowe and Wall met with lawmakers or their staff from the offices of Rev. Sen. Raphael Warnock​, Rep. Nikema Williams​, Rep. Sanford Bishop​, and Sen. Mitch McConnel.

Farmer Sed Rowe and Farmer Advocate Michael Wall with staff members of Rep. Nikema Williams office on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

The top priorities Rowe and Wall discussed with lawmakers included much-needed improvements to the Organic Certification Cost Share Program (OCCSP), which has been diminshed by recent changes enacted by the USDA Farm Service Agency. Also, they asked for the full amount of funding that has already been approved for the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE), program, the continuous improvement of the National Organic Program, continued funding for the OAO 2501 program and its support of BIPOC growers, and funding for organic research.

Farmer Advocate Michael Wall and National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Director Sarah Hackney, who has participated in and presented at numerous Georgia Organics Annual Conferences.

The meetings were either beginning or continuing important relationships that could benefit Georgia Organics’ farm members, especially during upcoming Farm Bill discussions, which have already kicked off with several U.S. House Agriculture Committee hearings.
In addition to the Capitol Hill visits, Rowe was also a panelist during a State Organic Network session and talked about his organic and hemp accomplishments achieved in partnership with Georgia Organics. And, Wall participated in several meetings as a member of OTA’s Farmers Advisory Council, Climate Change Task Force, and Diversity Committee. He also took the time in D.C. to meet with long-time partners at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC), which has worked hard for decades to forge the Farm Bill into legislation that puts organic farmers on equal footing with the rest of American agriculture.

To keep up with the Farm Bill and many other critical agriculture bills, sign up to receive NSAC’s weekly newsletters here, and learn more about the Farm Bill here.

Georgia Organics Launches Farmer Advocacy

By Michael Wall

Michael Wall is Georgia Organics’ Director of Advocacy and previous Director of Farmer Services.

As a non-profit, Georgia Organics updates its strategic plan every five years to ensure it remains on track with its mission, values, and farmer-focused programming.

Typically, the board of directors, key constituents, and important partners are interviewed to assess the changing landscape that Georgia Organics operates within, and the needs of the community that Georgia Organics attempts to serve.'

One of the surprising elements that emerged from these discussions in the most recent strategic plan was a strong direction for Georgia Organics to re-launch its advocacy efforts, this time with a singular focus on farmer prosperity.

To that end, and after months of conversations and planning within the Georgia Organics offices, Lauren Cox was promoted to Director of Farmer Services, and Michael Wall moved over to the new position of Director of Farmer Advocacy.
It must be noted that advocacy is not a brand-new effort for Georgia Organics.

Roughly 10 years ago, Georgia Organics had an Advocacy Director, Jennifer Owens, who addressed small-scale poultry processing, early Farm to School efforts, and many other important topics. Also, the Atlanta Local Food Initiative, another Georgia Organics initiative under the leadership of now Director of Programs Suzanne Girdner, also engaged in policy work that gave rise the City of Atlanta’s urban agriculture legislation and later the city’s first Urban Agriculture director position.

Wall and other members of the farmer services team, including Donn Cooper and Tenisio Seanima, and the board of directors, such as farmer Joe Reynolds of Love is Love Farm Collective, have worked on advocacy in the past, especially around the Farm Bill, SARE and NRCS funding, and the Organic Cost Share Reimbursement Program.

The strategic plan was approved by the Georgia Organics board of directors on Nov. 8, 2021, and includes several key themes that pertain to advocacy, partnerships, and movement building, especially around farmer prosperity, racial justice, and climate change.

For example, one of the plan’s goal states that Georgia Organics work would:
“Grow an influential network of advocates who champion organic and regenerative farmers.”

Other key themes from the Strategic Plan summary related to Farmer Advocacy work:

• Move from program building to movement building. Step fully into our role as a convening and advocacy organization. 

• Foster strong partnerships, and together pursue collective impact strategies.

• Become an integral part of Georgia’s climate change solutions.

A summary of the strategic plan is below.

So far, Georgia Organics Farmer Advocacy work has been based on strong existing partnerships and previous advocacy experience, especially around the Farm Bill with partners such as the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition and the Organic Trade Association. In March, Wall and organic farmer and board member Sed Rowe traveled to Washington, D.C., and met with federal lawmakers about the Farm Bill and the needs of Georgia’s organic farmers.

Georgia Organics and a handful of farmers also been hosted USDA Undersecretary Jennifer Lester Moffitt to discuss much-needed improvements to the Organic Cost Share Reimbursement Program, and the upcoming Organic Transitioning Initiative, which will have $300 million devoted to support farmers seeking organic certification.

Most importantly, Georgia Organics’ advocacy agenda will be set by its most important constituents: farmers. Over the Spring and early summer of 2022, Georgia Organics distributed a survey to more than 1,000 farmers to determine their highest policy priorities.

That survey will be finalized and analyzed over the coming weeks, and a report will be shared with Georgia Organics’ farmer members and partners.

2022-2026 STRATEGIC PLAN 

Key Themes and Shifts that Emerged from Internal and External Reviews:

• Champion diversity, equity and inclusion internally and externally, working towards becoming an anti-racist organization  

• Move from program building to movement building. Step fully into our role as a convening and advocacy organization.   

• Invest in farmers, especially Black farmers, and local food communities.   

• Refocus core programs by regionalizing/localizing work and centering on farmer prosperity.   

• Foster strong partnerships, and together pursue collective impact strategies. 

• Use the power of storytelling to recruit more advocates and members to the movement.  

• Become an integral part of Georgia’s climate change solutions.   

• Re-envision and reshape The Farmer Fund to increase impact.    

• Expand and diversify revenue streams, including unrestricted revenue and fee-based services.  

• Organize, invest in, and develop staff and board to ensure needed skills, aligning with the organization’s values and capacity to achieve goals.  

• Consider these delivery mechanisms and ways to build the movement: direct services; partnerships; investment; convening and peer-to-peer services; advocacy. 

VISION

All Georgia farmers nurture and heal the land, people, and communities.   

MISSION 

Georgia Organics invests in organic farmers for the health of our communities and the land. 

VALUES

Farmer Prosperity  

We believe that thriving farmers are the catalyst for a transformed world playing the central role in the interdependency between restored soil, thriving people, stronger communities, and healthier environment.   

Soil Health and Environmental Stewardship 

We believe agriculture should use soil-building farming practices, and steward our air, land, and water resources.  

Anti-Racism  

We believe in working intentionally, consistently, and collaboratively to transform our food system, our farming system, and our own organization to one that is anti-racist, multi-cultural, diverse, and just.  

Community & Collective Impact 

We believe in the inherent talents, passions, and wisdom that exist in communities and our partners in the local food movement. We believe working collectively is essential to transforming our food system to be healthy, local and organic. 

Climate Action 

We believe organic farming is a critical solution to sequester carbon in our soil and mitigate the catastrophic impacts of climate change on people and ecosystems.    

Public Health 

We believe that public health begins in the soil where our food is grown and raised and organic farmers are stewards of our health and should be recognized and supported accordingly. 

New Guest Post! School Garden-to-Market: Wonder Isn’t Just for Kids

By Dawn Grantham 

Dawn Grantham is a Partner in Education consultant at Columbus State University. 

Note: Because of its supportive principal, Dr. Dawn Jenkins, and its ingenuity in organizing a school garden with very little outside resources, South Columbus Elementary School (SCES) was one of two schools in Columbus, Georgia, selected to participate in a school garden-to-market initiative as part of a USDA Farm to School Grant awarded to Georgia Organics. The grant required schools to partner with a local farmer, whose charge was to guide students in the planting, growing, harvesting, marketing and selling of produce grown on the school campus.  

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” -Margaret Mead, anthropologist, recipient of the Planetary Citizen of the Year Award in 1978. 

One happy Market Day participant. Photo credit, all images: Jenna Shea Photojournalism.

We met in the school’s library. We sat in child-friendly chairs, that cut slightly across our lower backs, at child-friendly tables, where our bent knees either nudged the table underside or rested at the table edge. We talked. We planned. We brainstormed. We scheduled.  

Here, we gathered: the local farmers, the assistant principal and four classroom teachers, a supportive parent, the school district’s nutritionist, the grant representative, the local extension agent, and me. We formed the school garden-to-market committee, known as Eagles Go Green! (EGG!).  

For an hour, once a month from November 2021 to May 2022, we emphasized hands-on opportunities for students with the farmers, and we created lists of experts from the community to invite to the school to tie their knowledge of agricultural and environmental practices to curriculum state standards. In our meetings, we agreed to survey students and staff to direct our course. We reserved dates to dig, plant, harvest, play, and to celebrate.

For promotional purposes, we approved a kick-off event, video productions, scheduled photographers, and a t-shirt design. For fun, and because we valued fine arts, we outlined the integration of an art project. We met and we talked and planned and we brainstormed, and very early in our collaboration, we quickly forgot that cultivating a school garden is hard work.  

We let go, and we leaned in. We each yielded and stepped up into the ebb and flow of a collaborative process, trusting wherever it took us. Our personal visions retreated as the project took on its own life. And, whatever our initial apprehensions – perhaps, it was the time commitment, or the expansive scope of the school-to-market project, even the challenge of managing 313 students – they dissolved.  

Farmer Jenn Collins helps with a selection of seeds. Photo credit Jenna Shea Photojournalism.

Some small miracles occurred. Funding from the grant allowed the farmers to plant a campus orchard of fruit trees and bushes, an item that had been on the school’s wish list for years. In working alongside the farmers and through easy conversations and simple gardening instructions, students began talking about careers in agriculture.

Because of the students’ curiosity and willingness to participate, Assistant Principal Vicci Griffin noted that EGG! “extended the four walls of the classroom allowing a natural gradual release of learning”; Principal Dawn Jenkins shared that it “was a dream come true” because the development of EGG! brought her students and the school to a level of real-world learning.

What we all plainly saw as significant in the unfolding of the school garden-to-market experience was an element of awe not only among the students but also among the adults, who were brought back into the hold of wonder and learning. It's amazing how beautiful vegetables are when you truly see them again for the first time: color, shape, aroma, taste, texture. 

On Friday, May 13, 2022, a combined EGG! Market Day and Field Day took place at South Columbus Elementary School.

Jenna Mobley, photographer and Georgia Organics contributor, captured beautiful faces, focused efforts, and generous spirits of the market experience through her photographs.  

In collaboration with the EGG! student marketing team, coached by school paraprofessional, Jakira Palmer, Farmer Brad Barnes and Farmer Jenn Collins, the married team of Dew Point Farms, organized an attractive market display of produce from both the school’s garden and from their farm. The students made well over their monetary goal of $200. 

Across the sidewalk, art teacher Alexandra Countryman reminded students of their study of local artist, Alma Thomas, and then gave painting instructions while UGA Extension Agent, Ashley Brantley, and Jada Bone, Muscogee County School District’s nutritionist, fitted students into smocks. Shelia Brown, a master gardener volunteer, helped direct paint strokes on the two community canvases; Muscogee County School District's Content Specialist for Art Education, Dr. McCullough, offered district support. 

Principal Jenkins and 5th grade teacher Patrice Blassingame, with a bird's eye view of the field, kept the flow of shoppers, artists, spectators and athletes on schedule and in the right place. 

The SCES staff, led by their EGG! Committee colleagues, Amanda Joiner, Patrice Blassingame, and Deidre Howell, visibly supported the school garden-to-market project from beginning to end.  

And, Kimberly Della Donna and Kimberly Koogler of the Georgia Organics Farm to School program, were both on the EGG! Market Day scene to join in the celebration of farmers, young and seasoned. 

In organizing South Columbus Elementary School’s school garden-to-market experience, EGG!, it was easy to make an agenda and keep people to their speaking parts. We easily recognized that a garden’s success requires effort and time to experiment; it requires specific tools and materials and growing strategies, and it requires committed people. But, what was a little more challenging, and certainly out of any one individual’s control, was the development of synergy that came with the understanding and appreciation that the project was bigger than any one of us. Again, we learned to trust the process, and in doing so, we established an expectation, relied on the skill sets of new friends, and faced a daunting project together.  

The wonder of it all! 

Farm to School Innovation Mini-Grant Highlight: Addressing Health Equity through Farm to School Programs

By Kimberly Della Donna 

Kimberly Della Donna is the Farm to School Director at Georgia Organics   

Georgia Organics and the Georgia Department of Public Health (GA DPH) have partnered to establish the Farm to School Innovation Mini Grants Program. These funds support farm to school initiatives that:  

• Increase access to local, fresh, organically grown food,  

• Include culturally responsive food and education,  

• Increase local food procurement,  

• And/or benefit Georgia-certified organic farmers in other ways.  

To learn more about the Farm to School Innovation Mini-Grant Program click here.  

To financially support the Farm to School Innovation Mini-Grant, click here  

We are pleased to highlight Mini-Grant Awardee:

Douglas County School System (DCSS) 

DCCS Training and Development Manager Tempest Harris’ work includes championing an award-winning, district-wide farm to school program. Last summer, she created and developed the Farm to School Expo initiative with the help of internal and community stakeholders.

While DCCS had success for many years in infusing local foods in meals, promotions, and taste tests throughout the district, they recognized that not all schools in the district had comprehensive food education programs.

They developed a Farm to School Expo to address the inequity of that disparity and strengthen the farm to school program district-wide.  

Students were invited to participate in the First Farm to School Expo where they could meet various farmers from their community, learn about what they produce, explore animals, bees, butterflies, and composting, meet community partners who support agriculture education, and enjoy taste tests of traditional Ghanian foods such as Bissap, Jollof, and Kelewele. Students also received a “take-home bag" loaded with educational materials, seeds, guidance for growing foods at home, information on local farmers' markets and local farmers', and food resources. The resources empowered students to increase their knowledge of food sourcing and access points for fresh food. 

The exposure that the Expo offered administrators, staff, and students to the benefits of active farm to school programs increased interest in and demand for food and agriculture education in Douglas County Schools that currently don’t have those programs.

One attendee noted, “I would like to expose students to growing their own food. There are many agricultural paths that students can study to make our food better as well. Hopefully, students will see the importance of farming to our world.” With so many community partners and farmers involved in the event, community support seems ripe to satisfy the demand. In the words of one attendee “This was a wonderful experience for both the students and myself.”  

To learn more about Douglas County School Systems, visit dcssga.org/departments/school_nutrition  and follow them on social media  and at facebook.com/ douglascountyschools.

Accelerator Farmer Addis Bugg, July 18 Farmer Field Day

By Meg Darnell

Meg Darnell is a Farmer Services Coordinator at Georgia Organics 

Join us for a Farmer Field Day at Bugg Farm (Pine Mountain) on Monday, July 18. Register by Friday, July 15 at 6:00 p.m.!

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“Welcome to Bugg Farm where the sun shines brighter than anywhere else in the world.”

So it reads on the homepage of buggfarm.com. And after visiting their farm, where Addis grows produce and raises cattle on land that’s been in the family since 1874, it's hard to argue with that claim, it is indeed a special place. So special in fact, they were one of the ten farms chosen for our most recent Accelerator Program cohort.

We spoke with Addis Bugg Sr., owner and operator of Bugg Farm, about the rich history of his property and he shares his experience with the Farmer Services team’s Accelerator Program.

Learn more about the Accelerator program here. To meet the 2021-2022 Farmer Accelerator Cohort, read our blog post on The Dirt. You can also read about launching the Accelerator program in 2020 here.

Addis Bugg, Sr., all photos courtesy of Bugg Farm.

Below is our Q&A with Addis:

Greetings Addis! Thanks for taking the time to connect with us! First and foremost, can you give us an overview of the different iterations of this property over the years?

Well, that’s a long time, so I’ll just say I’m a fifth-generation farmer. It started with T.J. Bugg who started farming as a slave and when he was freed, he started buying up land any time he could. He built a church, was a pastor, built a school, and continued to buy land. I think he ended up with about 1000 acres.

And each generation one of the many children born into each family would continue to farm. My father, Cornelius Bugg, grew soybeans, sweet corn, field corn, peas, and all sorts of things.

Out of my dad’s five children, I seemed to be the only one who wanted to farm the land, so I grew up farming with my dad, but was recruited by the Marine Corp and did that until I retired in 2008. I worked in the civilian sector from 2008 to 2015 and then returned home to start a farm at the family property.

 What was starting a farm like for you?

I really hit the ground running. We got in contact with the NRCS and they helped us with a lot of infrastructure. We got a well, drip irrigation, a high tunnel, and a water pad for the cows.

From there, we heard about Georgia Organics and attended the conference in Columbus and then another in Augusta.

All the press we’ve gotten over the years has just been word of mouth; we never seek anything out. It seemed like, whatever I was doing on the farm, the word was getting around.

Filmmakers Christine Anthony and Owen Masterson did a short documentary about the farm and it just seemed like things were falling into place.

In 2021 we found out about the Accelerator Program so we applied for that.

How was your experience with the Accelerator Program?

Better than I thought! It was good, it turned out to be very informative. Lauren (Director of Farmer Services and one of four case managers) sat down with me and showed me the crop planning worksheet. For the first time in the 6 years since I’ve been farming, I was able to see which crops were profitable and how profitable they were.

 What infrastructure were you able to get through the program?

The Accelerator paid for our washing station and some tractor implements. Talk about day and night. I was breaking ground with an ancient harrow that I had to grease up every three rounds. This new tiller has helped out SO much.

Wash station at Bugg Farm

What are your biggest challenges in farming?

The unknown. For example, last March, my fruit trees were looking great and everything in the high tunnel looked award-winning; then there was a hard freeze. It damaged everything.

I basically run this whole farm by myself, I’ve designed it that way, so I don’t have the time to go cover every crop with cloth. My son has some cattle here and he helps out whenever he’s home from school, but most of the time it’s just me. Not being able to plan for certain things is difficult.

Bugg Farm customers Courtesy of Bugg Farm

What are your favorite things about farming?

I would say my faith. It runs through everything I do here.

To learn more about Georgia Organics, visit georgiaorganics.org, and follow us on social media @GeorgiaOrganics and at facebook.com/GeorgiaOrganics.

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Join us for a Farmer Field Day at Bugg Farm (Pine Mountain) on Monday, July 18.

Register by Friday, July 15 at 6:00 p.m.!

Fresh, Local Food for and by the Fox Future Farmers of Columbus

By Kimberly Koogler 

Kimberly Koogler is the Community Collaboration Manager at Georgia Organics.

On the western border of this great state, in a county called Muscogee, in a city called Columbus, in a neighborhood called Bibb City, is Fox Elementary School, where future farmers are learning and growing.

These young students are growing into stewards of the land as they learn to plant and care for vegetables in their school’s backyard.

The Georgia Organics Farm to School team had the great privilege and pleasure to facilitate and watch work unfold over the last seven months, thanks to fantastic Columbus partners and funding from the 2021 USDA Farm to School Implementation Grant.  

May 2022 UGrow Fox Future Farmers

Fox Elementary School’s faculty, administration, and community partners used these funds to engage students and their families in nutrition and agricultural education, connecting them to a hyperlocal source of fresh, organic foods found at The Food Mill and MercyMed Farm, just a five-minute stroll from the school.

Fox Elementary School is led by Principal Yvette Scarborough and their amazing community partners include Keith Sims at MercyMed Farm, Sarah Smith of The Food Mill and UGrow Inc., and the heaven-sent Till Tomorrow Team, led by Dawn Grantham, who facilitated the whole experience.

All of this great work kicked off in November of last year when the students took their first of three field trips to MercyMed Farm and The Food Mill. On any ordinary day, these two community gems partner up to offer a Medically Tailored Meal and Fruit & Vegetable Rx (FVRx) program to qualifying patients in the community. For Fox field trips, they partnered up to teach the students about growing food and the benefits of eating fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables.

Keith Sims teaching Fox students at MercyMed

After the first field trip, some students were already expressing that they wanted to be farmers when they grew up! By the third field trip on Earth Day of this year, they were selling vegetable seedlings that they had grown under the guidance of Farmer Keith and Food Mill Program Coordinator Sarah Smith (seen below, right) to their neighbors in the community. They raised $315 from these sales!

On that same culminating Market Day experience, they took reusable totes that they had painted just for this special occasion into the Food Mill and picked out samples of local produce to take home. On their way out the door, they tasted a smoothie that included kale they had grown in their school garden.

And that’s not all! Starting in December of 2021 and through the Spring of 2022, community guest speakers visited the school about once a month to do agricultural lessons on topics, including soil, germination, pollination, harvesting, and more. Weekly, Sarah Smith met with small groups of students from each grade level in the school garden to teach hands-on lessons and grow food together.  

To encourage Fox students and their families to return to the Food Mill for locally grown produce, the school has distributed farm to school educational activity sheets to all students that they can take home, complete, and bring back to the Food Mill with their parents for a free farm to school book of their choice.  

All of these efforts have made for a rich, well-rounded, real-world, practical learning experience for the students at Fox. These Fox Future Farmers are now more empowered with knowledge and skills to grow food, as well as an invaluable connection to community organizations that are providing access to fresh, locally and organically grown foods in their neighborhood.

Fox students selling seedlings, photo by Robin Trimarchi

To learn more about MercyMed Farm, visit mercymedcolumbus.com/mercymed-farm/, and follow them on social media @mercymedcolumbus. To learn more about The Food Mill, visit thefoodmill.org/ and follow them on social media @thefoodmillcolumbus. To learn more about UGrow Inc., visit ugrowinc.org/ and follow them on social media @ugrow.inc.  

To learn more about Georgia Organics, visit georgiaorganics.org, and follow us on social media @GeorgiaOrganics and at facebook.com/GeorgiaOrganics. 

2022 Land Steward Award Winner Juan Carlos Díaz-Pérez

By Mary Elizabeth Kidd  

Mary Elizabeth Kidd is Georgia Organics’ Director of Communications.

Georgia Organics created the Land Steward Award in 1997 to recognize and honor an individual or individuals contributing significantly to the organic agriculture movement in Georgia and demonstrating commitments to key tenets of organic agriculture, including soil fertility and biodiversity.  

The winner of the 2022 Land Steward Award is Juan Carlos Díaz-Pérez, a Professor in the Department of Horticulture at the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (UGA CAES), located in Tifton.

In late June 2022, we recognized Juan Carlos and other 2022 award winners with a celebratory farm gathering. Today, we’re sharing a Q&A with Juan Carlos along with his Awards Video. And, considering his recent feature by the team at UGA CAES (read at bit.ly/ugajuancarlos), here, we focus on what inspired and drives his work today.  

2022 Land Steward Award is Juan Carlos Díaz-Pérez accepts his award from 2021 Land Steward winner Chris Jackson of Jenny Jack Farm. Photo credit Jenna Mobley Photojournalism.

While Juan Carlos Díaz-Pérez has impressive credentials—B.S. in Agriculture & Plant Science (University of Guadalajara), Masters and Ph.D. degrees in Plant Physiology (University of California, Davis), author/contributor to numerous studies—to meet him, one is struck by his kind, energetic, and engaged countenance.  

Juan Carlos’ work has significantly impacted the proverbial field of sustainable agriculture. Georgia Organics' Director of Advocacy and former Farmer Services Director Michael Wall shares: "Juan Carlos Díaz-Pérez has been a patient, persistent force of progress for organic growers for decades. He is performing organic research longer than anyone else in Georgia and has advanced cultural and technical approaches from his experimental fields to wide adoption among organic diversified vegetable growers across the southeast.  

Wall cites an example of his decades-long pioneering work: experimenting with and proving the validity of plasticulture as a means of weed suppression, individually extolling its virtues to growers. Plasticulture is now recognized and implemented as an important tool used by organic and even some non-organic growers across the South.  

Juan Carlos also leads research into organic fertilization and cover crops to improve soil quality. He also utilizes cultural techniques to deal with emerging pest pressures created or exacerbated by climate change, including the dreaded whitefly.  

Put simply, says Wall: “Juan Carlos has the kind of tenacity it takes to move the needle from the inside of a flawed system.”  

“I have Native American, Indigenous heritage and have always had a lot of respect and appreciation for my ancestry, especially relating to Native Americans’ love and respect for Mother Nature and the soil; they are my masters, and I always keep that in mind when I do my work in sustainable agriculture.”  

Díaz-Pérez developed a love and understanding of plants early, from the garden and fruit trees in his family’s backyard in Guadalajara, where he was born and raised. As a college student, he developed an interest in vegetables from a next-door neighbor, a Spanish immigrant escaping World War II, who was a vegetable crops small farmer.

As a student, he first noted the harmful effects of conventional agriculture practices in his community, as his farming neighbors shifted away from ancestral, Indigenous farming practices to adapt to the modern marketplace. This first-hand observation of the impoverishment of the soil sparked his passion for researching and understanding how one can grow food while respecting Mother Nature.  

Juan Carlos was a professor, scientist, and horticulture writer in Mexico when he first met UGA representatives at an ag conference in the US and learned of the CAES job opening. It wasn't until he returned to Mexico that the value of the new opportunity sunk in. And just in time, too, the application deadline was for the next day.  

He gathered and overnight shipped his application to Tifton, and the rest is history.  

Photo credit Ginger & Carrot Productions

What is your advice to organic farmers, perhaps who are just getting started?  

My advice is that they must love their land and love their work. These farmers should be aware of new technologies and practices, but, very importantly, they should know the market and their customers.  

How does the American university system differ from that of Mexico?  

There are many similarities between the Mexican university systems, especially in the field of plant sciences research. You have to struggle a lot. In Mexico there are fewer resources at your disposal, so you have to be flexible to be able to do a lot of things. It’s not perfect here in the US; it’s still hard to find the resources and support for this type of research, but it is better.  

Photo credit Ginger & Carrot Productions

How does mentorship factor in your work? Especially as it pertains to international students?  

In my lab and my work, I want to give opportunities to all kinds of people. 

Whenever I get a student from another country, especially from different cultures, I give them every resource to help them feel comfortable and thrive. I had to go through the adjustment process by myself, so I know it’s not easy.   

How does that commitment play out in other areas of your life?  

Right now, I am part of a committee, a UGA Tifton campus International Committee, and our goal is to help new students feel comfortable in the Tifton community. I have also been involved in the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights (glahr.org/), which addresses issues of immigration and supports individuals in incarceration. For around five years or so, I was also active in another similar group in Tifton providing moral support like money for phone calls and clothes.  

What propelled your activism work?  

Being in South Georgia, I’m in touch with so many people, especially within the farming community. The vast majority of farmworkers in this area are from Mexico. We interact at church and go to parties together; we are a community. As a result, I saw so many of the challenges they face, especially related to the VISA program.  

I try to help these growers get established locally. Some have purchased land and continue to grow their farm business. One student-worker who I got to know and work with at the local community college has gone on to be a successful farmer in the Tifton area.  

How does farming factor into your personal life? And how do you unwind?  

At home, I have figs, citrus, and peach trees, similar to when I grew up. Some of these were established in our front yard to encourage sharing!   

To relax, I enjoy Netflix as well as playing the guitar, reading, and playing tennis.  

Considering your deep knowledge of food, do you enjoy cooking?  

I love cooking! At home, we eat a lot of Mexican food. Mexican and a fusion of other cultures’ cuisines. I like to mix things. I’m a lover of the world. And nutrition is very important. I believe good food has to be nutritious and appealing.  

What legacy do you hope to create?   

I hope to share the love of the land and the importance of stewardship. Both of these are really important, and we must pass this knowledge along.  

Enjoy this video on our 2022 Land Steward Award Winner created by Ginger & Carrot Productions:

To learn more about Georgia Organics, visit georgiaorganics.org, and follow them on social media @GeorgiaOrganics and at facebook.com/GeorgiaOrganics.

Farmer Field Day Review: Crop Rotation at Oxford Organic Farm

By Lauren Cox and Porter Mitchell (former Farmer Services Coordinator) 

Lauren Cox is the Director of Farmer Services and Porter Mitchell was previously one of two Farmer Services Coordinators.

In December 2021, Georgia Organics partnered with Oxford Organic Farm located at the Oxford at Emory campus in Covington Georgia to host an on-farm Field Day and crop rotation work session. Roughly 20 farmers from across the state—from Atlanta to Athens to Albany to Blackshear—gathered on the farm on a frosty morning.  

The day began with a tour of the farm led by farm manager Daniel Parson and his farm crew. Attendees walked the farm to see Oxford’s rotation in action and discuss the specific benefits of cover cropping. Parson also showcased the farm’s riparian buffers and shared his experience with using flowering cover crops to attract beneficial insects.  

In the second half of the day, attendees headed to a classroom with a presentation by Parson followed by a hands-on work session where farmers could work on their own rotations with help from Oxford Organic Farm and Georgia Organic Staff.  

Here are some key takeaways and a step-by-step process for beginning to create your own crop rotation! 

Courtesy of Oxford Organic Farm

Why have a rotation?  

A rotation is a key component of a sustainable farm. It is important to rotate between crop families, incorporate cover crops, and rotate heavy feeding crops (crops that have high nutritional needs or are in the ground for more than 60 days) with light feeding crops and short crops.  

Example of pest control hierarchy pyramid, courtesy of Penn State Extension.  

A crop rotation is a part of what sustainable, regenerative, and organic farmers call a “cultural practice.” This means that it is a foundational tool for a healthy farm and does not rely on chemical/biological inputs for fertility and pest/disease control. Cultural practices form the bottom of the pest control hierarchy pyramid, meaning it is the one you should use most often and as your first line of defense.  

A crop rotation can help prevent pest issues, replenish nutrients in the soil, create a healthy soil ecosystem, and can help defend against soil-borne diseases.  

Interested in organic certification?  

Having a crop rotation and using cultural practices as a first defense is a requirement for farms to earn and keep organic certification!  

Courtesy of Oxford Organic Farm

Building a Crop Rotation 101 

Step 1 (in the field): Divide your fields  

“You need to go out and measure your fields. I guarantee if you guess you’ll be wrong every time,” says Mary. Use a walking measurer to measure the length and width of your fields. 

Step 2 (in the field): Standardize, standardize, standardize!  

Try to make all of your bed sizes, rows, row spacing, and field sizes as identical as possible. If your fields are different sizes, divide them into similar units. For example, if you have three 50 foo50-foots and then two 100 fo100-foots, divide your hundred food fields in half to make 50 foot sections.  

Step 3 (on paper): Decide on your crops 

Write out a list of all of the crops you want to grow and the season when you will plant them. Even if you have sequential plantings, identify the season in which they’ll go into the ground first.  

Step 4 (on paper): Calculate how much space each planting with take up 

Think about the yield you would like from each crop. Then, calculate how many row feet you’ll need of that crop to grow your desired yield.  

Step 5 (on paper): Start to plug and play on a spreadsheet that represents your fields! 

Download this rotation template, based on the Oxford Organic Farm model or create your own in Excel. Begin placing crops in your fields based on when they will be planted in the ground. Divide your cash crops across all your fields and mix up the planting pattern (ex. Field 1 has a summer cash crop; Field 2 has a spring and fall cash crop. Do this until you have 75% of your cash crops in the rotation then move on to fill in your cover crops. Also, do not place crops from the same family or heavy feeders in fields near each other. 

Step 6: Plug in your cover crops 

Identify the date(s) you would like to harvest your cash crop (based on when you plant them in Step 5. Then, slot in an appropriate cover crop based on when you’d like the next cash crop to be planted in the field. *Your goal is to have the cover crop reach its full potential, sometimes this is right before flowering, sometimes this is based on height. IDEALLY, you would have 1-2 cover crops in each field per year. This may look like:  

Step 7: Return to filling in cash crops, taking the rest of your list and filling plantings in behind your cover crops.  

Guess what? Now, not only do you have your rotation, but you have your planting schedule too! 

Crop Rotation Tips and Things to Remember:  

• Update your rotation as needed. No one needs to tell a farmer that it’s an unpredictable endeavor. Life and Mother Nature throw all kinds of things your way! Update your rotation to account for changes like crop failures, adding new land, changing which cash crop to plant, etc.

• If you have short-term crops that don’t need entire beds, you can group them by how many weeks they’ll be in the ground and can pair them together within one bed, flip-flopping them as you clear the bed and then replanting. 

COVER CROPPING

Cover Cropping on Raised Beds by Kayla Williams

A crop rotation allows you to plan for cover cropping rather than treating it as an afterthought. There are cover crops for every season and for the different lengths of time you want them to be in the ground. With all cover crops, putting the maximum amount of nitrogen and bio-mass they offer back into your soils is key so use them wisely and based on how long they need to be in the ground before you plant your next cash crop. *This is true even if you crimp them and use them for mulch. 

• If you want to plant an early spring cash crop, then consider a prior winter planting of: winter oats, Austrian winter peas, or crimson clover. 

• If you want to plant an early summer cash crop, then consider a prior winter planting of: hairy vetch, winter rye *Abruzzi, and clover. 

• If you want to cover crop in the summer in a 1-1 ½ month window between spring and summer crops (for most Georgians this is in May), then consider using: buckwheat or millet. 

•  You can also do the same for the window between summer and fall.  

• If you want to cover crop in the summer for 2-3 months between an early spring planting and a fall crop consider using: sorghum sudan, cowpeas, or Sunn hemp. 

• A good rule of thumb for winter cover crops is to plant both a legume to increase nitrogen in the soil and a grass for increasing bio-mass and organic matter. 

You can always check your local ‘feed and seed’ for cover crops. Just make sure they’re untreated and not GMO. Otherwise, you can also find cover crops that ship from: Welter Seed Company, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, Seven Springs,

Want to learn more about cover crops? Check out the excellent resources at SARE: sare.org/resources/managing-cover-crops-profitably-3rd-edition/ 

And check out this episode of the “Tractor Time” podcast on cover crops, soil health, and no-till farming Tractor Time #65 Rick Clark on Soil Health.

To learn more about Georgia Organics, visit www.georgiaorganics.org and follow us on Instagram @GeorgiaOrganics, Twitter @GeorgiaOrganics, and at www.Facebook.com/GeorgiaOrganics. 

A Conversation with 2022 Farmer Champion Award Winners

By Kayla Williams

Farmer Champion Senior Coordinator

A Farmer Champion is a restaurant or chef that strives to strengthen and grow Georgia’s ‘good’ food movement. With verified weekly sourcing, Farmer Champions demonstrate a commitment to Georgia producers and serve as an example to other chefs and restaurants that sourcing locally is possible  

The Farmer Champion campaign was launched in 2019 by Georgia Organics to raise awareness about local sourcing, both by highlighting chefs and restaurants who walk the walk and by giving people new to the movement tools and opportunities to begin sourcing from Georgia producers.   

The 2022 Farmer Champion Awards celebrate these outstanding Farmer Champions in the following categories:   

Top 3 Organic Spend 

• Jarrett Stieber of Little Bear 

• Parnass Savang of Talat Market 

• Steven Satterfield of Miller Union 

Top 3 Local Spend 

• Jarrett Stieber of Little Bear 

• Emma and Sean Shacke of Evergreen Butcher and Baker 

• Terry Koval of The Deer and The Dove 

Farmer Champion Community Award (in partnership with Slow Food Atlanta)

• George Frangos of Farm Burger

We got to chat with the awardees about how they started their journey sourcing locally, their dream locally sourced dishes and more. 

How did you get into sourcing locally?  

Terry Koval: I got into sourcing locally at Canoe Restaurant in 2001.  Georgia Grown, a co-op of farmers at the time, and Laurie Moore from Moore Farms and Friends were bringing produce through the back doors. It was very eye-opening for me as a young chef to see this beautiful product come into a restaurant from folks who grew it! But it really expanded and became more of a passion when I joined the Farm Burger team in 2010! Olivia Sargent and George Frangos introduced me to a network of local emerging farmers and from there I have met some incredible people that have a passion for good food! 

Emma and Sean Shacke: It’s just been instilled in us throughout our careers! We’ve had a combined 30+ years of experience working under other chefs and bakers who also care deeply about local sourcing and cooking seasonally and regionally. Hopefully, we can continue to pass along the expertise and passion to the next generation of butchers/bakers/cooks who work with us at Evergreen. 

Parnass Savang: I learned from working at places that promoted locally sourced food like Empire State South, Kimball House, and Staplehouse. It wasn’t a fad, it was just something we did.  

Miller Union by Ginger & Carrot Productions

Steven Satterfield: I started sourcing locally over 20 years ago when I worked for Chef Scott Peacock in the early 2000s. Since we opened Miller Union in 2009, we continue to push ourselves to source more and more from local farmers and producers. 

Jarrett Stieber: I got into local sourcing when I worked at Abattoir and then Empire State South between 2010-2013 and saw the quality of the product, the variety of what grows here, and it made me want to continue doing it and commit even further to sourcing only local fresh products. 

George Frangos: Sourcing locally goes back over 30 years to two very influential restaurants and chefs I worked with.  First, I worked with Nora Pouillon at Restaurant Nora in Washington DC from 1992- 1995. Nora was an organic and biodynamic restaurant before the term "Farm to Table" was born. But it was then, over 25 years ago, when we were listing local farmers, and producers on our menu, that I was able to learn about the small organic farmers and foragers that came through our kitchen door every day. From 1998-2001 I worked with Chef Peter Hoffman at Savoy restaurant in NYC.  Savoy's menu was created from Peter's weekly shopping at the Union Square Farmer’s Market and his connection to local farmers in the Hudson Valley that would deliver to NYC.  We also hosted author dinners for some amazing food writers like Michael Pollan, Betty Fussell, Mark Bittman, and Mark Kurlansky before they were hip and popular. Both these experiences laid the foundation for a commitment to local sourcing. 

The Deer and The Dove by Ginger & Carrot Productions

What advice would you give a chef, butcher, or baker who wants to source locally or organically but doesn’t know where to start?  

Terry Koval: The advice that I would give is to go to the farms that you are interested in, plan a work day on the farm, see how they farm, and start that relationship! 

Emma and Sean Shacke: We’d just recommend reaching out to other industry folks who seem to care about the same things you do. When we were opening, that was our best resource, everyone in the community was very forthcoming and willing to help out to further the cause! 

Parnass Savang: I'd contact a chef you know who has been working with farmers and ask if they could connect you with some farms that you are interested in. 

Farm Burger by Ginger & Carrot Productions

Steven Satterfield: Visit your local farmer's markets, sign up for farmer availability lists, and pay attention to the seasons. You can start small by purchasing a little bit of something local to see how far it goes on your menu and then ramp up the quantities when you see the patterns of sales and pars. 

Jarrett Stieber: Go to farmer's markets and meet the farmers! Start there!  

George Frangos: The best way to start is to go to a local farmers’ market.   In the last decade, they have grown from almost non-existent to thriving marketplaces.   Start to talk to the farmers that are there.  Understand the best way to find their availability and delivery.  Talk with other restaurants and chefs that source locally.  We are all here to share information and support our farmers.  

What is your favorite thing to source from within Georgia and why?   

Terry Koval: I really love the mustard frills, they are spicy and can be eaten raw or gently cooked  

Emma and Sean Shacke: Probably tomatoes and peppers. We’ve lived in multiple regions throughout the country, and nobody can grow and have them taste the way they do in GA!  

Parnass Savang: Produce that you can't find in stores like pink celery from Woodland Gardens and green garlic from Snapfinger Farm 

Steven Satterfield: I love that we have a 12-month growing season - at this point, I just get excited about whatever is in season, and the most exciting thing is when something new comes in for the first time in a long while.  It always gets us inspired for a seasonal menu change. 

Jarrett Stieber: Peaches because Pearson Farm peaches are the best in the world, for one thing. But I also absolutely love Georgia root veggies (hakurei turnips, the sweetest carrots ever, rutabaga, parsnip, etc.). Feijoa is super fun, too, when it's in season for a short while in the summer, it provides a shockingly tropical vibe for a fruit grown in Georgia. *Feijoa is also known as pineapple guava and is native to South America, but grows in Georgia as well.  

George Frangos:   That is a hard one.  I have a soft spot for locally raised foraging pork and all the heritage breeds here in Georgia. The flavor is so fantastic. And then anything at the peak of the season.  Georgia strawberries are so amazing - I can crush two-three pints, no problem! I eat little sweet cherry tomatoes like candy. 

Farm-fresh ingredients arriving to Talat Market and the scene at their dinner service. Photos by Ginger & Carrot Productions.

Describe your dream locally sourced dish.

Terry Koval: We love White Oak Pastures duck! Pair it with some amazing local veggies! 

Emma and Sean Shacke: Anything that uses multiple goods from multiple farms. Example—fruit pies! Flour from Nathan at Dayspring Farms, fruit from Pearson Farm. Or smoked ham hock terrine—hogs from Jon at Comfort Farms wrapped in collards and speckled with pickled peppers from Paul at Hearts of Harvest.  

Parnass Savang: Bramlett Farm's Trout with green curry made with local turmeric, cilantro root, galangal, lemongrass, local Thai eggplant with locally harvested bamboo, Thai basil, and Bird's Eye Chili.

Steven Satterfield: Anything that reflects what is currently being harvested with little manipulation so you can taste the freshness of the ingredients. 

Jarrett Stieber: Peaches and tomatoes covered in a ton of sliced fresh chilies, herbs, and cultured buttermilk while they're all in season, with lots of flake salt on top! 

George Frangos: A big Ossabaw pork chop with strawberry mostarda and creamed collards.  

Jarrett Stieber and seasonal dishes (right) from Little Bear. Photos by Ginger & Carrot Productions

What are you looking for in working with farmers? Any qualities that make you especially interested in working with a farm?  

Terry Koval: Good communication and consistency. Knowing that they are farming for a cause and love what they do. Having the opportunity to choose the size of a vegetable is also a plus! 

Emma and Sean Shacke: When we can contact the farmer directly, and potentially have it delivered straight from them without having to coordinate with a middle man. It brings the personal touch back into doing business. And we can communicate with them about our needs, what we’re looking for, what they need us to purchase to help them out, etc. It’s also nice to be able to share with them what we’ve created with their produce when they come back for the next delivery!  

Evergreen Butcher and Baker by Ginger & Carrot Productions

Parnass Savang: I’m looking for consistency, clean vegetables, passion for what they are growing and anyone growing Thai vegetables! 

Steven Satterfield: Communication about availability and pricing, clear understanding of delivery days/times, well-groomed produce that is restaurant ready (not covered in dirt and good quality upon arrival). 

Jarrett Stieber: I'm looking for farmers who take growing and harvesting vegetables as seriously as we take preparing and serving them. I want to see super clean produce without lots of dirt still on it and stains from the dirt not being cleaned off soon enough. I want to see petit roots harvested while still sweet and tender, perky greens, herbs that aren't sad and wilt before they arrive... the details that show that the farmer knows what we're looking for and that they are willing to produce things that are worth the price that local ingredients cost. Simply being a farmer and growing veggies isn't good enough if you don't put effort into doing it right! Communication is also really important and I'm always more apt to work with the farmers who are organized, responsive and consistent.  

George Frangos: We look for passionate farmers that are committed to the land and soil they farm.  Farmers we can support and that we can continue to learn from. Communication is a very important quality.  We understand that harvest dates can change, and availability can change from sometimes less product to sometimes an abundance of product.  The more we know, the better relationship we can have. 

Check out our Annual Awards video spotlighting these winning Farmer Champions and some of the farmers they support!

Video by Ginger & Carrot Productions.

Goin’ West and Howlin’ Hello Local with the Wolves

By Kimberly Koogler 

Kimberly Koogler is the Community Collaboration Manager at Georgia Organics. 

The Farm to School team went west this spring to howl with the wolves!

What does that even mean?? Well, to “Go West” and howl with the wolves in Georgia Organics Farm to School fashion looks like infusing Farm to Early Care & Education and local food into the University of West Georgia (UWG) College of Education’s Early Learning Center’s Well Start for Early Learning initiative. What a mouthful!

After planning and preparing with our UWG partners, Dr. Chelsea Morris and Professor Melissa Brillhart, we began our journey west in early March with a Super Saturday of Farm to ECE trainings.  

This engaging, three-part training series began with "Growing Healthy Eaters" presented by Chef Asata Reid and Abbie Chaddick. Participants learned about how to involve students in hands-on nutrition education activities that meet Georgia Early Learning Standards (GELDS). 

Next, "Growing Socially Emotionally Healthy Learners", presented by Rachel Cochran and Shelly Roberts of Trellis Horticultural Therapy Alliance with Georgia Organics' Farm to School Director Kimberly Della Donna taught participants vegetable gardening basics and about how therapeutic themes like change, hope, and belief in the future connect to hands-on, gardening education.  

We wrapped up this most super of Saturdays with "Family Engagement through Farm to ECE," setting goals and making action plans to increase family and community engagement in Farm to ECE activities. Sixteen West Georgia pre-service and early childhood educators took home $75 in gift certificates to spend on fresh, local food at Carrollton’s local Cotton Mill Farmers Market.  

Later in March, we continued our UWG collaboration by engaging the Early Learning Center’s students and families in hands-on food and nutrition education during their Week of the Child festivities. On “Tasty Tuesday”, we sponsored a Small Bites Adventure Club taste test kit for each classroom. Students and teachers dipped locally grown carrots into a Groovy Green Goodness dressing that they prepared together.

On “Work Together Wednesday”, Professor Brillhart and her Nutrition students led a Howlin’ Wolf Chili interactive nutrition lesson and cooperative activity for the kids. Everybody worked together to prep and pass out toppings and tasted a sample of Howlin’ Wolf Chili, getting a sneak preview of the Hello Local meal kit they would take home on Family Friday.  

Family Friday was all about cooking up a delicious dinner with family. We partnered with The Common Market Southeast to source local produce for families to make the vegetarian Howlin’ Wolf Chili at home together.  

Between the UWG Early Learning Center and the Carrollton Head Start, we distributed a total of 177 of these meal kits to families!

The meal kit came with info about the farmers who grew the produce, as well as access to a fun demo recipe video, starring Chef Asata Reid and her daughter, in which they demonstrate how young children can safely help in the kitchen.

Turns out that Howlin’ “Hello Local” with the West Georgia Wolves was a blast! We look forward to partnering with the UWG Early Learning Center again in the future to provide Farm to ECE education and to ensure young children in West Georgia have access to fresh, local food, while supporting local organic farmers in West Georgia. 

To learn more about the UWG Early Learning Center, visit westga.edu/academics/education/early-learning-center/ and follow them on social media at facebook.com/COEEarlyLearningCenter.  

To learn more about Georgia Organics, visit georgiaorganics.org, and follow us on social media @GeorgiaOrganics and at facebook.com/GeorgiaOrganics.