Episode 109: From Urban Organizers to Organic Pioneers with Julie Rawson and Jack Kittredge

Regenerative Agriculture Podcast

AEA Marketing

Science, Natural Sciences, Earth Sciences

4.7 • 548 Ratings

🗓️ 14 March 2024

⏱️ 38 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Julie Rawson and Jack Kittredge are co-owners of Many Hands Organic Farm, an organic CSA farm that serves 150 families in Barre, MA. They met while doing community organizing work in Boston, and in 1982, made the decision to move out to the country to raise their kids in connection to the land and grow their own food. Julie and Jack share their farm's transformative journey from inception to becoming a model of regenerative, organic farming.

In this episode, Julie and Jack discuss with John:

Their journey from community organizing to farming and urban to rural living
The financial and physical challenges of starting a farm
The importance of soil remineralization, foliar feeding, and no-till practices
Their careers with the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA)
The release of their new book, "Many Hands Make a Farm"
Fostering community and the broader impact of their work

Additional Resources

Julie and Jack's book, Many Hands Make a Farm: https://www.chelseagreen.com/product/many-hands-make-a-farm/
Many Hands Organic Farm: https://mhof.net/

About John Kempf
John Kempf is the founder of Advancing Eco Agriculture (AEA). A top expert in biological and regenerative farming, John founded AEA in 2006 to help fellow farmers by providing the education, tools, and strategies that will have a global effect on the food supply and those who grow it.

Through intense study and the knowledge gleaned from many industry leaders, John is building a comprehensive systems-based approach to plant nutrition – a system solidly based on the sciences of plant physiology, mineral nutrition, and soil microbiology.

Support For This Show & Helping You Grow
Since 2006, AEA has been on a mission to help growers become more resilient, efficient, and profitable with regenerative agriculture.

AEA works directly with growers to apply its unique line of liquid mineral crop nutrition products and biological inoculants. Informed by cutting-edge plant and soil data-gathering techniques, AEA's science-based programs empower farm operations to meet the crop quality markers that matter the most.

AEA has created real and lasting change on millions of acres with its products and data-driven services by working hand-in-hand with growers to produce healthier soil, stronger crops, and higher profits.

Beyond working on the ground with growers, AEA leads in regenerative agriculture media and education, producing and distributing the popular and highly-regarded Regenerative Agriculture Podcast, inspiring webinars, and other educational content that serve as go-to resources for growers worldwide.

Learn more about AEA's regenerative programs and products: https://www.advancingecoag.com

VIDEO: To learn more from John Kempf about regenerative agriculture, watch this conversation between John and three AEA grower partners about how regenerative agriculture is changing lives and conventional farming: https://youtu.be/n9U6GwbYPDk

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hi friends, this is John. Welcome back to the regenerative agriculture podcast where we talk about all kinds of fun conversations related to
0:07.7	agronomy, plant nutrition, soil science, and really all the pieces that can contribute to regenerating
0:14.0	our food system, our general collective health, our livestock health, our ecosystems, and this beautiful planet that we live
0:22.2	on and that we call home. I've really been looking forward to this conversation. Today I have
0:26.2	with me Jack Kittridge and Julie Rosson from Many Hands Organic Farm. Jack and Julie have been
0:31.5	pioneers in the organic agricultural space and they have been working with some of our products on their farm
0:39.8	for, I'm not sure exactly how long, let's say roughly a decade or so. And I've been looking
0:44.7	forward to this conversation because of the very interesting pathway that they have been on,
0:50.4	the journey they've been on, and they also have a new book that is now available,
0:54.6	I think, for the last half a dozen months or so. Many hands make a farm. I would highly recommend it.
0:59.3	Jack and Julie, welcome. Thank you for being here.
1:02.2	Thanks for having us. Yeah, thank you, John.
1:04.9	When you asked me to review your book, and we were talking about that just a bit before I hit
1:10.4	the record button, and when I reviewed your book and we were talking about that just a bit before I hit the record button and when I
1:13.8	reviewed your book I of course am most familiar with your work in the farming context and it was a
1:20.4	delightful book to read but it was not very much about farming and so I'd love for you to both tell us a little bit about your journey,
1:31.1	your pathway, what got you to the work that you're doing today and what you found intriguing
1:35.4	along the way. Well, I was in my early 30s and Julie was in an early 20s when we met in
1:40.9	Dorchester, which is a community in Boston, we were both organizers.
1:45.0	Julie was doing community organizing.
1:46.5	I was doing more kind of state policy organizing.
1:48.9	But we were definitely out to work in causes and try to, as Julie puts it sometimes, try to save the world.
	...

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