Sound Bites: Debating ‘Don’t Let Your Children Grow Up To Be Farmers’

August 19, 2014 – Segment 3

On a live (call-in) episode of Sound Bites, we look at the state of small farmers today. As a follow-up to last week’s New York Times article “Don’t let your children grow up to be farmers,” the first question we ask is: Are small farmers able to survive and prosper off the land? With: Don Bustos of the Santa Cruz Farm in NM, an award-winning sustainable farmer who produces food on the same New Mexico land his ancestors have farmed for 300 years; Joel Salatin, who wrote a response to the Times article, is a full-time farmer in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley and author of Folks, This Ain’t Normal: A Farmer’s Advice for Happier Hens, Healthier People, and a Better World; and Jenny Hopkinson, who covers Agriculture and Food Policy issues for Politico Pro.

Following that discussion, small farmers weigh in and talk about their own experiences: Denzel Mitchell, Founder and Farm Manager, Five Seeds Family Farm and Apiary; Cheryl Carmona, Co-founder of Boone Street Farm in East Baltimore; Ted Wycall third generation farmer at Greenbranch Farm in Salisbury, MD; and Carole Morrison of Bird’s Eye View Farm in Pocomoke City.

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Written by Marc Steiner

The Marc Steiner Show currently airs on The Real News Network. The show covers the topics that matter, engaging real voices, from Charm City to Cairo and beyond. Email us to share your comments with us.