FARMER GRANDMA BROCK

Grandma Brock’s Country Farm is a 13-acre farm situated between Atlanta and Athens providing locally and naturally grown produce in Franklin County, Georgia. We grow on land which is Certified Naturally Grown (CNG) using biodynamic, natural and sustainable methods. We specialize in heirloom organic tomatoes and vegetables along with medicinal/culinary herbs and flowers. Our produce and herbs are …See More
General Information
The growing season has begun and our 2013 Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program is now open for registration:

** More share varieties – We’ve become a multi-farm CSA. Adding a grower enables us to provide you more variety in weekly produce share. Your produce share will include fruits such as strawberries, blueberries and apples.

** More share types – In addition to our produce share, we’ve added milk and egg shares in both full and half share options.

** More products – We’ve added artisan products such as goat cheese, grass-fed beef, baked bread, gourmet mushrooms, honey, and coffee. These products are from local GA growers. We’ve added these products in response to our customers need for a complete shopping experience. Products are available each week for purchase and pick up with your weekly share.

** More pick-up locations – We’ve added additional pick up location in Buckhead and Athens. As well a “Door-to-Door Group Delivery” option in Atlanta area.

Contact Debbie for registration details at csa@GrandmaBrocks.com

Q&A with FORAGER ALAN MUSKAT

What prepared you to be a farmer?
I don’t farm. I forage, partly because I am unprepared to farm. Farming requires commitment, i.e., quite literally, putting down roots. And I’m afraid of commitment. But foraging can be a commitment to “staying present” because foragers can’t be choosers: you have to take what you can get, i.e., “love the one you’re with.”
What is a unique feature and how many acres do you farm?
I forage mostly within a 45-minute radius of Asheville, which amounts to about four million acres. The unique feature of this “farm” is that it is the most biodiverse northern temperate ecosystem in the world.
Tell us about your main crops and how you chose the varieties.
I harvest mainly 5-7 plants and mushrooms, respectively. For mushrooms, these are: morels, lobster mushrooms,  chicken of the woods,  hen of the woods (a.k.a., maiitake),  chanterelles,  milk caps (Lactarius corrugis/volemus),  and honey mushrooms. For plants, these are dandelion, violet, nettle, chickweed, lambs quarter, burdock, and purslane.  I pick these the most often because they are the most common.
How much of food goes to farmers markets and or restaurants?
I no longer sell commercially. For 18 years, I sold exclusively to restaurants. This season I opened a booth at a farmers market and it is being taken over by my interns.
What challenges do you have as a farmer?
As a forager, a.k.a., scavenger, I am challenged to stay focused: I don’t always want something just because it’s free. That includes apparent business opportunities and girlfriends. I am also challenged to collaborate with others, sharing the wealth as well as the work involved.
Where do you see farming in the future?
Farming in the future must return to permaculture: working with, not against, nature, by growing what already thrives in an area, i.e., what’s wild. Agriculture is well documented as having been the most destructive thing humanity has ever done to the planet. It’s also the most unhealthy thing we have done to ourselves. Most of what we eat is not food; it’s entertainment. Carbs, for example, are drugs, and have equally damaging effects on our bodies and the environment. It’s not that wild food is good for you; it’s that anything but wild food is bad for you.
Where would be your ideal location for your last supper, what would be your meal & music and who would join you ?
I can’t think of a place other than home. I’d enjoy the foods of my Cuban-Jewish youth: chicken, plantains, beans & rice, stewed cow’s tongue, flan, and blintzes.  I’d play mid-70′s Van Morrision before dinner,  Getz and Gilberto during, and early 70′s Stevie Wonder after. I’d eat with my college roommate & girlfriend, my current housemate & girlfriend,  and a few other close friends.

Alan Muskat, philosoforager, stand-up mycomedian, and epicure of the obscure, has been going “out to eat” for nearly twenty years. He founded the first “forage-to-table” program in the United States and the first wild foods market in North America. Author of Wild Mushrooms: A Taste of Enchantment, he has popped up on The Travel Channel’s Bizarre Foods, The History Channel, PBS, CBS, and in The New Yorker, Southern Living, and Country Living. He’s even preached on Voice of America, ardently urging the masses to sample rather than trample the toadstools.

Muskat really knows how to pick ’em. For close to two decades, he sold hundreds of pounds of wild foods a year to over fifty restaurants and hotels, including The Biltmore Estate, Lantern, and The Grove Park Inn. Last fall, he took Andrew Weil out to harvest his first “hen of the woods.” He has taught thousands and hasn’t lost a customer yet.

In 2007, Alan co-founded The REAL Center, a school for relationship skills and natural living. He is also on the advisory board for OM Sanctuary, Asheville’s new holistic retreat center.  Author of The Haggadah Vita, Alan has led wild food Passover seder banquets for over twenty years. “Wild foods,” says Alan, “are a way of feeling at home in the world, i.e., that we are continually provided for and never alone.” Finally, his mother would like you to know that he graduated from Princeton.

With humor, warm-heartedness, and panache, Alan awakens nature’s wayward offspring to the beauty and bounty of their bioregion. Ask anyone who knows The Mushroom Man: when it comes to bringing out the fun in fungi, he’s the champignon.

Alan Muskat can be reached at  http://www.notastelikehome.org/index.php

What prepared you to be a farmer?  I have lived in Decatur all of my life. My dad sold vegetables from the family garden off the back of his pickup truck for years. As kids we always helped dad. By 16, I started taking gardening more seriously. I was pretty excited about the new rototiller. Ever since then I grew the size of that family garden until it got to be 1/4 acre, then 1/2 acre, then 1 acre….and in 2011 it’s almost 3 acres. In 2005, BesMaid Garden Essentials became my full-time career. The name came from an ice cream business where my father worked for almost 20 years.
What is a unique feature and how many acres do you farm? With a special piece of equipment on the back of my tractor,  I have been really happy with my raised beds which are now 285 to 300 foot long and is a benefit to the plant for water and to the soil.  Most of my soil is leaf compote but can’t give away all my secrets[wink].  In early 2000 I decided to go completely  organic and follow standard organic practices.. All the fertilizers used on the farm are Organic Materials Research Institute (OMRI) approved. I use certified organic fish emulsion and seaweed for fertilizer. In addition to the compost I make on the property, I also supplement with animal manure from local farms. I regularly use cover crops for “green manure” such as rye as a winter cover crop and Hairy Vetch, buckwheat, soy beans, and Sudan grass as summer cover crops.
Tell us about your main crops and how you chose the varieties.  Like most small farmers are now planting, we bring you heirloom varieties of vegetables that have never been seen in grocery stores. These varieties have not been genetically modified and were in common use in the southeast prior to War.Fall/Winter vegetables you can expect: Broccoli (Green Magic, Pac Man, Arcadia, Blue Wind), Cauliflower (Cheddar, Purple Graffitti, Romanesca, White Cloud, Green Panther), Brussel Sprouts (Bubbles), Collard, Turnip, and Mustard Greens,Pac Choi (Black Summer, Joy Choi, Red Choi),Red Koma Suna, Hon Tsai Tai (Japanese Spinach),Carrots (Nelson),Onions (Yellow Granix, White, Red, Shallots),Arugula, All-Star Mix Lettuce,Romaine Lettuce,Rainbow Chard,Herbs (Cilantro, Rosemary, Basil, Garlic)
How much of food goes to farmers markets and or restaurants? It use to be 50 to 50 but now I’m selling more to restaurants
What challenges do you have as a farmer?  Insects and weeds such kudzoo beetle.  This beetle was just introduced to Georgia 2 years ago and it sucks the water out of my bean plants. I use pyganic insect spray.
Where would be your ideal location for your last supper, what would be your meal & music and who would join you ? Scallops and grouper with a medley rock and roll bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd, Green Day, Collective Soul and Lincoln park.

BesMaid Garden and Bobby Britt can be reached at www.BesMaidGarden.com or 404.288.6972

Southern Swiss Dairy is a milk processing facility located in Waynesboro, GA that is family owned and operated. Our milk is natural and free of artificial growth hormones. We process and bottle milk products the same day our cows are milked, ensuring our customers will have the freshest milk possible

Q&A with Farmer Jimmy Franks

What prepared you to be a farmer? Born and raised on a farm and have always wanted to be a farmer. We go back 6 generations of farmers beef and crop and now I’m the first dairy farmer.  I chose dairy because we are more interactive with our animals and better cash flow.  I am happy to see that both of my children will be going to college this year and are studying agriculture engineering and animal and dairy science.

What is a unique feature and how many acres do you farm? We have 1000 acres and 675 acres is dedicated to our cows for grazing and crops.  Our unique bottling is right on the farm thus a lot fresher and non homogenized.  We regulate very closely what our cows eat to insure they produce the best quality milk. Brown Swiss milk has a high fat-to-protein ratio. This means that the milk is extremely rich. Our cows produce natural milk that is free of artificial growth hormones. When our milk is pasteurized, it is heated to 140 degrees or more. However, the milk is not homogenized. This allows the cream to rise to the top inside each jug of milk.

Tell us about your feed and how they live on your farm. We try to graze as much as possible but in the summertime our cows can’t take the heat. We have a freestyle barn with shavings and an evaportive cooling system with misters that blow water on them. We grow corn, soybean, hays and sorghum. . Varieties are more digestible and . .. Gates are open . 4:30 am and 3:30 in afternoon. 4 fulltime emplyees. We graze our

How much of food goes to farmers markets and or restaurants? 20% goes to restaurants and farmers markets including  Stateboro farmers markets, Buford Hwy Farmers Market and HighRoad Craft Ice Cream and Sorbet. The rest goes to cooperatives that re-distribute it.

What challenges do you have as a farmer? Not sure if I have enough room here as it will take a novel.  From permitting to cow nutrition, it changes daily.

Where do you see farming in the future? We need to be more efficient and be able to make more with less. It seems it is up to US to feed the world so we’ve got to continue advancing with technology but with a humane approach

Where would be your ideal location for your last supper, what would be your meal & music and who would join you ? On the farm with BBQ and vegetables listening George Straight with my family

What prepared you to be a farmer?       I had no experience in agriculture when I began this journey two and a half years ago.  I turned to books, seminars, spoke with chefs & other farmers, and spent way too much time reading farming blogs on the internet.  I remember one of the first farmers I heard speak at a conference in Savannah, Ga several years ago.  He was reluctant to hand over his farming operation to his son for fear that the son just didn’t quite have enough experience.  The father was in his early 70s, the son in his 50s, and both had been farming their entire life.  A true testament to the fact that you might never be ‘prepared to be a farmer.
What is a unique feature and how many acres do you farm?         I am very blessed that I get to farm land that is in my family.  The 3 acres that I cultivate are part of a larger farm which I am proud to say is managed exhaustively for wildlife habitat.  
Tell us about your main crops and how you chose the varieties.  If you have livestock, tell us about your feed and how they live on your farm.            There are staples that ever gardener and farmer grows: squash, tomatoes, peppers, etc. We grow a wide variety under each of those families; but what is fun I enjoy is growing new and different crops.  For the most part, customers love to try new varieties or experiment with a vegetable they have only read about.  In addition to our garden variety of vegetables we also grow shiitake mushrooms, muscadines & scuppernogs, a variety of flowers, Asian pears, and hops for a brewery in Atlanta.   As of now we have no animals on the farm save Delk, my 2 year old yellow lab.  Chicken ‘tractors’ are being built in preparation for chickens that we look forward to welcoming to the family soon.  

How much of food goes to farmers markets and or restaurants?      95% of our food either goes to restaurants or the farmer’s market.  Allocation changes on a weekly basis depending on demand.  The remaining 5% that does not pass quality standards goes to my kitchen or the compost pile.

What challenges do you have as a farmer?            Farmers are at the mercy of mother nature.  Extremes in temperatures, rain, strong winds, insects, diseases, and wildlife are just a few of the challenges that come across our desk on a daily basis.  Fortunately, I have the greatest customers any farmer could wish for.  Educated customers understand the challenges we face and truly appreciate all the work we put into bringing the freshest  and best tasting produce to market at a price that is fair to farmer and consumer. 

 Where do you see farming in the future?       My wish is that people see local and sustainable agriculture as a necessity for the long term well-being of our environment and the generations that follow.  
Where would be your ideal location for your last supper, what would be your meal & music and who would join you ?     No brainer. The top of a mountain in North Carolina in the foothills of the Appalachians.  For me, it does not get any better than roasting a pig over an open fire with my dog, a good group of friends, and some bluegrass in the background. Atlanta has several breweries producing some of the best beer in the world so of course I  have to bring a few of those along as well.

What prepared you to be a farmer? It is a family business and since many generation we were producer especially in olive oil and wine
What is a unique feature and how many hectares do you farm? around 700 (about 1700 acres
Tell us about your main crops (olives, grapes, etc) and how you chose the varieties.
Regarding the olives the varieties are Moraiolo, Frantoio, Leccino and Dolce Agogia. All these varieties come from century since some of the olive trees are more then 1.000 year old.  Regarding the grapes, we have been a producer for many centuries but in 1998 we planted 40 new hectares (100 acres) with: Sangiovese, Sagrantino (a unique grapes that only grows in Umbria), Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Syrah.
How much of food goes to farmers markets and or restaurants? Mostly we sell on line and many people come to buy at our winery since we believe that  is  very important that consumer could see where the products come from. We make our Zero CO2 emission tour with our Electric Jeep in our vineyard and Olive trees… It is a unique experience.
What challenges do you have as a farmer? Produce always the best you can with the goal to improve every year.
Where do you see farming in the future? To be a producer is very difficult to cover your cost, but I think there is only one way: quality, quality and quality
Where would be your ideal location for your last supper, what would be your meal & music and who would join you ?My love is to have a meal inside our farm with a beautiful bruschetta with fresh tomato, a piece of Parmigiano and a glass of red wine.  … the reason why we are Zero CO2 emission is because all the environment where we leave and produce our wine and olive oil has to be as pure as possible.  Not only do we want to breath fresh and pure air but also the olives and the grapes they start their quality breathing pure and clean air.

Lorenzo Fasola Bologna  is the CEO of Castello Monte Vibiano. After graduating in Business Administration from the University of Perugia he took over his traditional family business in Umbria growing olives, producing olive oil and wines from the Umbria region. The production comes from the beautiful hills around Castello Monte Vibiana Vecchio just outside of Perugia. Umbria have often been called the green heart of Italy with it’s panoramic hillsides with sceneries of sunflowers, vineyards and olive trees. It is considered one of the finest and best agricultural areas of Italy. Lorenzo started at 16 years old to organize sports events for the city of Perugia, then the region of Umbria and finally all over Italy. For many years he was a radio speaker and journalist until. 10 years ago he decided to return to his family business that he grew up in and focus on introducing his olive oil and wine on a worldwide scale. His unfiltered first press olive oil, produced and marketed frozen in small single portion bottles, is unique and is served in some of the best restaurants, hotels and first class airline catering, both in Europe and USA. It was recently named the best olive oil in the world by the International Olive Oil Competition “ARMONIA”. Several television programs have featured his green gold, among them the globally distributed CNN Traveller. Lorenzo modernized the wines of Castello Monte Vibiano Vecchio. Umbria is considered the next big wine region in Italy geographically, with some of the greatest of Italian wines, both white and red coming from the region. His reds wines have gotten rave reviews in the international press, especially the L’Andrea a unique blend containing the Umbrian grape Sagrantino and Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Sangiovese grapes. Lorenzo is a great enthusiast of Umbrian Cuisine and of course all of Italy. He has traveled all over the world to demonstrate the olive oil, food and wines from his home region. He has held numerous cooking classes of Italian and Umbrian food in his home, introducing amongst others journalists and his clients worldwide to the magic of Umbrian olive oil, food and wine. Those events have appeared in various TV shows and high style magazines in many countries. It’s thanks to Lorenzo’s great passion for the environment that on 5 February 2010 his company, olive oil and wine producing business “Monte Vibiano”, became the first farm in Italy and one of the first in the world to achieve 0 greenhouse emissions and to be certified number /0000001 in 2009 ISO 14064 from DNV. Two years after launching the ‘360 Green Revolution, an all-encompassing ecological plan that turned Monte Vibiano into an eco-sustainable company, and pledging to annul dangerous emissions by 2009, Lorenzo kept his promise: Monte Vibiano went from 287 tons of CO2 in 2004 to -764 tonnellate of CO2 . Not an easy task, but then Lorenzo is not the type to shy away from a good challenge. Webpage: http://www.montevibiano.it

What prepared you to be a farmer? Not sure I am prepared, though I was born on a farm in rural Limestone County, AL in 1941 and grew up absorbing by osmosis, the lesson that if one is to farm, certain tasks must be performed using certain methods at certain times, or things don’t work.  And if you are a subsistence farmer —- you and your family get hungry.  I think that lesson has stood me in good stead all of my life.  I have not farmed continually all of my life —-got sidetracked for a while and  have had a couple of other careers —- but that understanding works in most every venue.  City kids can and often do learn the lesson, but they have to learn it.  Most do, at some point in life, but until it is learned, they are disadvantaged.
What is a unique feature and how many acres do you farm? I suppose the most unique feature about the place is its’ location.  It is at the very top of a watershed so no pollutants (except rain and airborne ones) arrive on it.  If there is damage, I have to accept responsibility for it.  The place is 200 acres, but we have only about 20 percent of it in “cultivation”  Mostly it is deciduous woodland.  It grows timber well enough and would do little else on most of the land.  It lies atop and down the sides of what passes locally for a “mountain”.  It’s highest point is approximately 1600 feet above sea level.  Not much of a mountain actually, more of a molehill.  Most of the parts on the side of the “mountain” are very steep and not well adaptable for growing crops other than timber.  The very top is somewhat rolling terrain, so we have to be quite careful about erosion.  We plant with the contours and make sure that the swales (drainage watercourses) are planted to sod at all times.  These methods along with the fact that we never plow it up combine to improve it rather than cause damage.  The portions where we plant food crops are narrow strips, perhaps two feet wide.  Those we till (again on contour) and once the crops are planted and out of the ground, we mulch to help maintain moisture and keep down unwanted  vegetation. The areas between the rows are rapidly, regularly cut with a lawn mower.  This actually serves to kill many insects, and is far less energy intensive than tilling it all.  The method yields another side benefit, in that the whole is aesthetically pleasing and low maintenance.  If it has just rained, and there is work in the field to be done, one is not working in mud.
Tell us about your main crops and how you chose the varieties.  If you have livestock, tell us about your feed and how they live on your farm. Mainly, we grow vegetables and mushrooms.  I have an assistant who has many years experience at veggie growing,  and he is rapidly adapting to our methodology.  We do have some livestock —- most at the moment owned by my assistant.  There is a herd of alpacas,  Maybe eight or ten, there are a few goats, a few pigs, a donkey, a mule and some dogs and cats.  We plan soon to add a few cows and calves.  Every animal has a specific purpose, ( except the mule) so far, he is for entertainment.  Waste veggies are fed to the animals  and they  graze in their pastures and are supplementally fed as needed, and their droppings collected and composted along with the waste product from the mushroom growing for use as fertilizer. Varieties of veggies we grow are mostly Heirloom types, selected for quality of product rather than other criteria. How much of food goes to farmers markets and or restaurants? Virtually all of our production is sold to restaurants or fed to the animals or consumed by us, (or given to others).
What challenges do you have as a farmer?
Weather and other forces of nature — insects etc.  We do not use conventional pesticides.
Second challenge is making enough money to stay in business.
Third through 50 ‘th is trying to figure out how to improve production while improving the land.

Where do you see farming in the future? There are moves afoot, sponsored by Corporate agriculture to destroy small holder producers.  Silly laws are being written by people who are being lobbied by Corporate Organizations and who could not identify a garden hoe if they stepped on it.  I plan to live out my life doing what I am doing, and if I am made an outlaw for sustainably producing on a small scale, so be it.  I hope that when I am gone, someone will step in and take up my mantle.  Climate change may make this all irrelevant —- at least in this latitude.  The heat the last few summers has made production difficult.
Where would be your ideal location for your last supper, what would be your meal & music and who would join you ? I think it would be under a wild cherry tree on my farm —- probably a cookout —- with my children and grandchildren, many of my friends from the rest of my life and from the Restaurant Industry in attendance —- Probably cook some pork ribs on a grille, and have the traditional things that go with them – a fine green salad with chopped romaine and heirloom tomatoes–  some grill roasted sweet corn —- perhaps some al dente haricot vert, and some fine potato salad, deviled eggs  and baked beans.  Music would probably be rousing classical —- Maybe Beethoven’s Fifth — or Wagner’s Ride of the Valkries —- or the 1812 Overture—-.
Don Hardiman is age 69 and counting who’s previous career has been engineering assistant and photographer — technical representative, designer and manufacturer of fine custom jewelry and final career: Farmer and he hopes —inventor. Don Hardiman   — “The Geezer’s Garden” PO Box 278 — Gurley, AL 35748 , 256 603 0417

What prepared you to be a farmer?
I spent summers visiting my grandparents in southern Louisiana.  We would cream fresh corn and shell purple hull peas until our fingers were sore.  That’s where I developed a love for vegetables.  Simply prepared, but so delicious I just couldn’t get enough of them.   My father had a vegetable garden as well.  He would enlist my help to harvest, weed and stake up the summer tomatoes with my mom’s old panty hose.  I HATED helping him in the garden.  After graduating college, I started as a horticulturist at the Atlanta Botanical Garden taking care of the vegetable areas in the children’s garden.  Having a few more years of maturity under my belt, I found new joy in weeding, harvesting and staking tomatoes (I use vine tape now, not my mom’s old panty hose.)  When the botanical garden opened the new edible garden, it was a natural next step for me to take.

What is a unique feature and how many acres do you farm?
Our edible garden is approximately 3 acres.  It features an amphitheater that displays designed vegetables growing in raised beds that seem to surround the visitor as they walk through.  We also have A 9 foot tall vertical herb wall.  People enjoy touching and smelling sage, thyme, oregano, rosemary and other herbs that grow as low as their toes up to their heads and beyond.  Lastly we have a state of the art outdoor kitchen where we host cooking demonstrations, parties, and seated dinners.

Tell us about your main crops and how you chose the varieties.  If you have livestock, tell us about your feed and how they live on your farm.  Each year we have a cool and warm season plan that is designed focusing on color, texture and plant combinations.  We want to show people how beautiful edibles can be.  When I review the plans, I choose varieties that will perform well for out climate while keeping the design intent in mind.

How much of food goes to farmers markets and or restaurants? While none of our food goes to farmers markets or restaurants we do use it for our weekend cooking demonstrations.  We have 2 garden chefs that choose a vegetable from the garden to spotlight each week.  They craft a delicious recipe using the garden’s produce and visitors can sample their creations.  When there is excessive harvest, it is donated to the Atlanta Community Food Bank where it is used by partner nonprofits all around North Georgia to that provide food assistance to families and individuals.

What challenges do you have as a farmer? I feel like my challenges are a little different than other farmers barring the diseases and insects that we all have to manage.  The edible garden is a display and teaching garden that must look good.  We’re trying to inspire people to grow vegetables and show them how they can be as a part of the home landscape.  When a crop gets decimated by an insect, I have to remove and replace it with a new crop I have waiting in the wings.  Therefore, I have to be really good at planning ahead.

Where do you see farming in the future? I think that we’re going to see more homeowners “farming” for themselves.  People are recognizing that fresh vegetables from a local farm have a smaller carbon footprint, more vitamins and minerals, less pesticide exposure and just taste better than their grocery store counterparts.  With the American public becoming more health conscious, this realization alone can inspire the average person to plant a bed or just a few containers of veggies for their family. Where would be your ideal location for your last supper, what would be your meal & music and who would join you ?  My ideal last supper would be at my mom’s farm in southeastern Louisiana. My mom, dad, sisters, brothers-in-law, nieces and nephew would attend and we would make our own music singing to my sisters’ guitar playing.  Fresh tomato sandwiches (on white bread with mayo), field peas, and creamed corn would be on the menu.  We’d also have to have a pulled pork shoulder to satisfy the meat lover in all of us.  My mom’s pound cake with a dollop of sour cream would round out the meal.

Maybe it’s because her father has grown the same two vegetables for the last 20 years that has inspired her love of crop diversity.  Colleen Dudley oversees and tends the Edible Garden at the Atlanta Botanical Garden; growing unusual garden favorites and surprising food crops.  A degree in Horticulture from UGA and 7 years of experience professionally farming at ABG’s Children’s Garden have given her practical experience to helm the new Edible Garden.  A dream came true this year when she was tapped to teach a cooking class in the demonstration kitchen of her new territory.  Her quest this year— to grow rhubarb and artichokes from seed.

Cory Mosser started farming as an afterthought. After graduating from college, he hiked from Maine to Georgia on the Appalachian Trail and broke bread with several friendly farmers along the way. Upon his return, he was hooked and convinced that the secret ingredient to reinvigorate our communities was the sharing of food- produced and eaten locally!

Over the years, Mosser garnered many lessons of the whole food system. From managing a restaurant that sourced regularly from local farmers to managing Farmers Fresh Food Network, a co-op of sustainable growers in West Georgia and East Alabama and a stint at Destiny Organics, a wholesale distributor located at the State Farmers’ Market in Forest Park, Georgia.  All the knowledge he gained was put into practice in Savannah at Harvest Lake Farm, a project begun by Farmer D at Hampton Island Preserve.  He grew citrus, sugar cane, rice and even olives.

After two years at Harvest Lake, the opportunity to return to Atlanta was realized in the management of  an organic farm outside of Atlanta where he presently resides.

In July, Mosser welcomed his third daughter to the world, which completed his family’s all-female cast of 2 dogs, a cat, 30 chickens, and several thousand honeybees.  He is considering adding some billy goats next year just for the company.

What prepared you to be a farmer?I bumped my head a lot, and tried to learn lessons along the way. Being a parent has taught me patience, hiking the Appalachian Trail taught me resilience; a degree in history taught me context, and being married has taught me not to take myself so seriously…

What is a unique feature and how many acres do you farm? The farm currently consists of 16 cultivated acres that are certified USDA Organic. The most interesting aspect of this farm is that it is a true heritage farm- it has been in the same family since 1809. There are agricultural records that go back to pre-Civil War, so I can go back and look when the first planting of corn was done 150 years ago. That’s quite a tool to have as a farmer.

Tell us about your main crops and how you chose the varieties.  If you have livestock, tell us about your feed and how they live on your farm. We try to highlight the tradition of the plantation by growing heirloom and open-pollinated varieties whenever possible. Our 3-acre orchard contains Blackberries, Figs, Plums, Paw-paws, Persimmons, Pears and Blueberries. One notable crop is our heirloom Elephant Garlic- It was found growing wild near a long abandoned homestead on the property and we were able to cultivate it this past year. Some of the heads are the size of a tennis ball. It’s Fantastic!

How much of food goes to farmers markets and or restaurants? About 80%

What challenges do you have as a farmer?  I could write a book on this. Time is the big one. Learning to prioritize dozens of independent projects all occurring simultaneously within a small window of time takes a tremendous amount of organization, skill, and even more luck. Operating a truly diversified farm spread out over several square miles is kind of like juggling bars of soap in the rain- if it rains…

Where do you see farming in the future? On a global scale, the developing world will continue to adopt environmentally damaging methods of industrial farming as private businesses buy up huge chunks of land in Africa, South America and Asia. Farms of several thousand acres will be the norm.  Stateside the prospects are a little better, but there is the real danger of the local farm movement being co-opted just as the term ‘organic’ has been. The future viability of small independently-run farms rests solely on the ability of consumers to demand and differentiate the real thing from marketing-hype. Not that it would necessarily be a terrible thing, but I see in the not-too-distant future a Wal-Mart sponsored local farmer.

Where would be your ideal location for your last supper, what would be your meal & music and who would join you ?  Mountains, nothing fancy over coals paired with creek-chilled beer, crickets and frogs with some banjo accompaniment, close friends and family with guest appearances by John Muir, Thomas Jefferson, Wendell Berry, and Paolo Conte.