Clara Coleman

A sunset/moonrise skate with friends can make the long cold winters in Maine feel a little more joyful🌅🌝⛸️

Good news! Something I’ve been working on over the last few months is ready for release - Real Farmer Care @realfarmercare application for $100 self-care awards is now live!

If you are a farmer or rancher operating in the contiguous United States, including all U.S territories, and have never received a Real Farmer Care self-care award before, you are eligible to apply for the next round of grants.

Self-care is generally defined as the practice of taking an active role in protecting and improving one’s own well-being and happiness, particularly during times of stress, in the form of an inexpensive self-care activity.

Applications will be accepted for review until December 16th 2024 with all applications reviewed in the order in which they are received. Funds will be awarded while available and award distribution for the first round will begin in early 2025. Applications submitted after the initial window or beyond fund availability will be considered for funding in future rounds.

Visit link in bio for application. 💚

#realfarmercare

Pretty much sums it up. 🗳️🌱🌎

Side note - I created this veggie display at Four Season Farm during a harvest day on the eve of the last election. Timeless, I’d say! 🥕�🥔

#vote

What does Alice Waters, Red Hook, and a Peach have in common? Quite a lot, actually.

This past weekend I was invited to Washington, DC to attend Alice Waters’ Food Climate Hope event to promote School Supported Agriculture. Alice Waters @alicelouisewaters founded Chez Panisse Restaurant @chezpanisse in the 1971 and has been a pioneer of the farm-to-table movement, but her real passion has been improving good food access for children in schools and teaching students how to grow food through her Edible Schoolyard Project @edibleschoolyard. Her dream is to provide a free sustainable school lunch for all students K through 12; to buy food directly from farmers and ranchers who take care of the land and their workers; and to teach students the value of nourishment, stewardship and community. To accomplish her dream, we need both policy change AND individual action. With the people and speakers in attendance, from the farmers and ranchers to lunch ladies and Former Vice President Al Gore and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, I think this gathering captured the importance of both the people working for policy change and the on-the-ground individuals incredibly well.… Link in bio to read more.

🌱Exciting announcement!🌱

American Farmland Trust @americanfarmlandtrust Collaborates with Real Farmer Care @realfarmercare as Fiscal Sponsor to Support and Advance Farmer and Rancher Self-care and Well-being.

$100 & $500 self-care grants, along with future self-care programming stipends, will be available for farmers and ranchers across the country through Real Farmer Care.

Press release at link in bio to learn more.

#realfarmercare #americanfarmlandtrust #farmerselfcare #farmerwellbeing

With the aurora borealis last week and the comet tonight, I feel like I’m hitting the celestial jackpot. Thank you big beautiful universe. Forever in awe. ☄️💛

Wow. A spectacular Northern Lights show at the Western Promenade in Portland, Maine tonight. At first I was the only person there. For 30 minutes, from 7:10pm until 7:40pm, I got to experience cosmic magic ✨

#northernlights

Terra Madre 2024 - I feel so incredibly lucky to have attended Terra Madre Salone del Gusto in Turin, Italy from September 26th to 30th. For anyone unfamiliar with Terra Madre @slow_food_events, it is a biennial global celebration dedicated to good, clean and fair food, the environment and food justice. It brings together food producers, artisans, and farmers from across the planet to enjoy workshops, a huge food marketplace, networking, music, and the flavors of the world.

As a jury member of the Food Planet Prize @foodplanetprize, I was able to attend as a delegate and I joined the small and mighty staff of Food Planet Prize, including Magnus @magnusfaviken, Lina, Emily, Hannah, and Anya, to help their efforts to seek out new initiatives that support a resilient biosphere while feeding the world. With an annual prize of $2 million USD, it is the world’s biggest environmental award and past winners have included c40 @c40cities, ColdHubs @coldhubslimited, GreenWave @greenwaveorg, and The Land Institute @thelandinstitute.

I connected with so many interesting people and enjoyed delicious food from all corners of Italy and from around the world all contained within the relatively small footprint of Parco Doro. Both my belly and my heart are full! ❤️ Grazie Terra Madre! ✨

#terramadre #foodplanetprize #slowfood #slowfoodinternational #salonedelgusto

After almost three years of being buried in the earth, the insects and soil microbes did their magic and I got my beautiful 8-point skull back. 🦌💚

❄️Winter Growers Podcast episode drop!❄️ My LAST guests of Season 5 are Mark and Kristin Kimball of Essex Farm @essexfarmcsa in Essex, New York.

With over 20 years farming together, Mark and Kristin are known for their year-round free-choice whole-diet CSA model on 130 acres, with 22 acres in vegetables and access to 1100 acres for grazing, haymaking, and sugaring. Producing everything from veggies, fruit, grains, meat, dairy, eggs, maple syrup, fermented foods, and value-added products, their focus is on providing their local community with all their primary food needs. Kristin is also the author of two wonderful books featuring Essex Farm including ‘The Dirty Life’ and ‘Good Husbandry’. Our conversation centers on how they are able to accomplish and balance the complexities of a year-round whole-diet CSA model, and their unique approach to winter food on the farm by not just focusing on storage or fresh crops, but also the animals they raise who harvest the sun’s abundance in the form of grass, forbs, and legumes, and store it as nutrient-dense protein and fat. They believe that this is another form of ‘season extension’ and it is very complimentary to storage crops and fresh vegetable production. Such an insightful conversation with a lot of good information! We wrap up our conversation with the Lightning Round questions including, “What is one thing people don’t know or assume about you?”

Listen to our conversation wherever you get your podcasts (link in bio). As always, a big thank you to Farmer Jesse, Farmer Jackson and the crew @notillgrowers, and the show’s sponsors @johnnys_seeds, @rimolgreenhouse and @bcs_america for making this podcast possible.

Thanks for listening to Season 5! A Season 6 is in the works. Please comment or DM me with suggestions for future guests you’d like to hear on the show. Happy winter growing y’all!

#wintergrowerspodcast #wintergrowers #notillmarketgardenpodcast #winterfarming #moveablehightunnel #fourseasonfarming #essexfarm #thedirtylife #goodhusbandry

❄️Winter Growers Podcast episode drop!❄️ On today’s show my guest is Sara Patterson of Red Acre Farm CSA @redacrefarm in Cedar City, Utah.

Sara was just 14 years old when she started her first CSA on her parent’s land after they moved to Utah from California. Now 15 years later, she has built Red Acre Farm into a thriving 1-acre certified organic farm with a year-round full diet CSA, farm stand, farm kitchen, farm stay, along with hosting farm dinners, workshops, and other community events. She also founded the Utah Farm and Food Conference, now in it’s 8th year, and with her mom Symbria established the Red Acre Center for Food & Agriculture @redacrecenterut - a non-profit with a focus on farmer education and advocating for farmers on the state level. Since 2015, she and her mom have worked together to pass more than 19 bills directly related to small scale agriculture and artisan producers in Utah. Sara is a powerhouse of energy and drive to make small scale farming and local food accessible to all in her community, and to inspire others to do the same. We wrap up our conversation with the Lightning Round questions including, “How do you turn off farming? Or, can you/do you?”

Listen to our conversation wherever you get your podcasts (link in bio). As always, a big thank you to Farmer Jesse, Farmer Jackson and the crew @notillgrowers, and the show’s sponsors @johnnys_seeds, @rimolgreenhouse and @bcs_america for making this podcast possible.

Tune in each Monday this summer for a new episode. Next week we head to New York to hear our LAST guests of Season 5 - it’s a good one!

#wintergrowerspodcast #wintergrowers #notillmarketgardenpodcast #winterfarming #moveablehightunnel #fourseasonfarming

❄️Winter Growers Podcast episode drop!❄️ On today’s episode my guest is Kate Woods @a.katewoods, Farm Manager at Beetlebung Farm @beetlebung_farm in Chilmark, Massachusetts.

Kate, along with her partner Nick, are the co-managers of a 2-acre regenerative, year-round and primarily no-till farm on the island of Martha’s Vineyard. Before its current iteration, the land had a rich history in agriculture going back many generations, something of which has been important to carry on for the island community, as well as a commitment to year-round production and innovation. With only 2-acres, the farm focuses on direct retail through an onsite farm stand, farmers markets, and a handful of wholesale clients, plus on-farm tastings and educational opportunities for local school children and the larger island community. An onsite farm store, kitchen, and bakery are opening this summer, with a focus on the culinary creations of local island products - a passion of Kate’s. We cover how the farm started, her background, and her role in helping to realize a vision of a robust and nimble four season farm with a deep passion and mission to serve the island community. We wrap up our conversation with the Lightning Round questions including, “What would you be doing if you weren’t farming?”

Listen to our conversation wherever you get your podcasts (link in bio). As always, a big thank you to Farmer Jesse, Farmer Jackson and the crew @notillgrowers, and the show’s sponsors @johnnys_seeds, @rimolgreenhouse and @bcs_america for making this podcast possible.

Tune in each Monday this summer for a new episode. Next week we head back out West to an incredible little farm doing a full diet year-round CSA in Utah.

#wintergrowerspodcast #wintergrowers #notillmarketgardenpodcast #winterfarming #moveablehightunnel #fourseasonfarming

❄️Winter Growers Podcast episode drop!❄️ Today my guests are Max Smith and Katie Barrett at Winter Kissed Farm @yerfarmer in Stevi, Montana.

As their farm name suggests, Max and Katie grow vegetables with a special focus on the winter season. Growing on 15 acres and at 3500 feet in elevation, they use multiple high tunnels and caterpillar tunnels for production and sell their produce through a CSA, an online store, and to area restaurants. In recent years they’ve focused on winter and spring only sales, but with increasing demand for local year-round veggies, they are bringing back their summer CSA this year. With a crew of 5 full time employees and following the Japanese philosophy of Kaizen and the Holistic Goal Framework, Max and Katie are very intentional with their farm and business practices. Even in the face of recent personal challenges, they are flexible and mindful, and they are an inspiring example of how to work together as a team to build a thriving year-round farm. We wrap up our conversation with the Lightning Round questions including, “How do you relate to that which is out of your control?”

Listen to our conversation wherever you get your podcasts (link in bio). As always, a big thank you to Farmer Jesse, Farmer Jackson and the crew @notillgrowers, and the show’s sponsors @johnnys_seeds, @rimolgreenhouse and @bcs_america for making this podcast possible.

Tune in each Monday this summer for a new episode. Next week we head back east to another island farm off the coast of Massachusetts.

#wintergrowerspodcast #wintergrowers #notillmarketgardenpodcast #winterfarming #moveablehightunnel #fourseasonfarming #winterkissedfarm

❄️Winter Growers Podcast episode drop!❄️ My next guest is Elizabeth Keen at Indian Line Farm @indian.line.farm in South Egremont, MA.

Farming for 27 years, Elizabeth began her farm with her husband on land that was the birthplace of the CSA model popularized by Robyn Van En in 1986. Stewarding this important property, Elizabeth started her CSA with 12 member shares in 1997, which has since grown to 250 members, all from 5 acres of production. The farm is Certified Naturally Grown and Elizabeth is an active member of CRAFT, the Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training, a training program for future farmers. The farm has 3 high tunnels, which remain unheated in winter, and produce chard, kale, spinach, lettuce, scallions, radicchio, and cilantro as fresh winter crops. The farm is financially stable and viable with Elizabeth as the full time grower since 2003 and deriving her primary income from the farm. Not only is Elizabeth a seasoned farmer with a successful CSA model, she is a farmer who prioritizes community, family, self-care, and a healthy work/life balance. We wrap up our conversation with the Lightning Round questions including, “What do you feel is your gift to give on behalf of people and the land?”

Listen to our conversation wherever you get your podcasts (link in bio). As always, a big thank you to Farmer Jesse, Farmer Jackson and the crew @notillgrowers, and the show’s sponsors @johnnys_seeds, @rimolgreenhouse and @bcs_america for making this podcast possible.

Tune in each Monday this summer for a new episode. Next week we head out West to a really cool farm in Montana.

#wintergrowerspodcast #wintergrowers #notillmarketgardenpodcast #winterfarming #moveablehightunnel #fourseasonfarming

Incredible experience at @foodplanetprize final vote and award ceremony for 2024 winner @c40cities in Stockholm last week! Congrats to all the nominees and initiatives @c40cities @novfeed_tz @thetransfarmationproject @peecyclers ThermoSeed, Pumpkin Plus, and Aquagrain working to solve the challenges of the food/climate crisis on a global scale. Truly honored to be a jury member in this process where I offer my farming perspective in selecting a winner. Follow @foodplanetprize to learn more and nominate initiatives for 2025!! 🌱🌱🌱

❄️Winter Growers Podcast episode drop!❄️ My next guests are Ellie Goldstein and Dan Bryant of Small Holding Farm @smallholdingfarm in Morganton, North Carolina.

Recommended by a fan of the podcast as new year-round farmers, Ellie and Dan started their farm in 2020 during the early months of the pandemic. Ellie has a back ground in psychology and still works part time in the mental health field, and Dan is a certified arborist and carpenter, skills that have undoubtedly helped their recent transition starting a farm and homestead with a focus on year-round production and building a connected community.

Farming on 1 acre with three high tunnels, they prioritize building soil using primarily no-till methods and they experiment with finding the best ways that their bodies, the land, and their business can benefit and grow from these choices. We wrap up our conversation with the Lightning Round Questions including, “What do you long for and how does that influence how you farm?”

Listen to our conversation wherever you get your podcasts (link in bio). As always, a big thank you to Farmer Jesse, Farmer Jackson and the crew @notillgrowers, and the show’s sponsors @johnnys_seeds, @rimolgreenhouse and @bcs_america for making this podcast possible.

Tune in each Monday this summer for a new episode. Next week we head to MA to a year-round farm that is considered to be the birthplace of the CSA model in the US.

#wintergrowerspodcast #wintergrowers #notillmarketgardenpodcast #winterfarming #moveablehightunnel #fourseasonfarming

Grateful for good food that includes all the essential ingredients - friends, farmers, foragers, producers, vintners, chefs, servers, sourcers, distributors, (too many others to list!) and of course lots of love 💛 @nomacph @franconatoora

❄️Winter Growers Podcast episode drop! ❄️ My next guest is Aidan Feeney of Fogtown Farm @fogtownfarm, located on Nantucket Island, which is 30 miles off Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Growing up on Nantucket as an outdoor enthusiast and working in landscaping and tree work in high school, Aidan became inspired to learn about agriculture and ventured to Vermont and New York to work on farms. In 2019, he returned to the island to start Fogtown Farm on leased conservation land. Now five years later, he has 2 acres under cultivation and is expanding to an additional 3.5 acres on newly leased land. With a high demand for local year-round produce on the island, Aidan is adding more high tunnel growing space each season to meet demand. Along with his wife Natasha and their new son Arlo, Aidan is committed to year-round growing. We wrap up our conversation with the Lightning Round Questions including, “Who is an inspiring farmer or land steward, either living or deceased, you’d want to have as a dinner guest?”

Listen to our conversation wherever you get your podcasts (link in bio). As always, a big thank you to Farmer Jesse, Farmer Jackson and the crew @notillgrowers, and the show’s sponsors @johnnys_seeds, @rimolgreenhouse and @bcs_america for making this podcast possible.

Tune in each Monday this summer for a new episode. Next week we head south to North Carolina to a new farm started by a young couple during the early days of the pandemic.

#wintergrowerspodcast #wintergrowers #notillmarketgardenpodcast #winterfarming #moveablehightunnel #fourseasonfarming #fogtownfarm

Happy Sun Standing Still to all. Link in bio 💛

❄️Winter Growers Podcast episode drop!❄️
My next guests are Gabrielle Gosselin and Nate Drummond (📸 by Cass Ruth Artful Life Studio) at Six River Farm @sixriverfarm in Bowdoinham, Maine. As former apprentices of Paul and Sandy Arnold of Pleasant Valley Farm @pvfproduce, Nate & Gabrielle are now in their 18th year of farming. Starting Six River Farm in 2007 on 2.5 acres of leased land and utilizing a collective model with four farms sharing infrastructure, they have grown to 25 acres of vegetable production with 20 employees during the main season, 10 of whom work year-round. Currently farming on a mix of leased and owned land, they use 11 high tunnels and 11 caterpillar tunnels for their year-round production. Supplying a self serve farm stand, year-round farmers markets, and direct wholesale to natural food stores, they are a beloved farm in Southern Maine. We wrap up our conversation with the Lighting Round Questions including, “How will you grow old farming?”

Listen to our conversation wherever you get your podcasts (link in bio). As always, a big thank you to Farmer Jesse, Farmer Jackson and the crew @notillgrowers, and the show’s sponsors @johnnys_seeds, @rimolgreenhouse and @bcs_america for making this podcast possible.

Tune in each Monday this summer for a new episode. Next week we head off the coast of Massachusetts to a cool little farm on an island.

#wintergrowerspodcast #wintergrowers #notillmarketgardenpodcast #winterfarming #moveablehightunnel #fourseasonfarming #sixriverfarm

❄️Winter Growers Podcast episode drop!❄️ My next guests are Emily von Trapp of Von Trapp Flowers @vontrappflowers in Waitsfield, VT and Linda D’Arco of Little Farmhouse Flowers @littlefarmhouseflowers in Jay, New York and we get to talk flowers and winter blooms on this episode. Emily and Linda each operate their own cut flower businesses, with a focus on wholesale and winter bulb forcing, and they also collaborate together to teach flower farmers how to bring beautiful flowers to bloom during the coldest, darkest months of the year through their Tulip Workshop @thetulipworkshop. Their courses have inspired 100’s of flower farmers to grow local blooms during the dark winter months. We talk about their backgrounds, how they met, along with an uncanny list of similarities they share including a birthday, and some of the specifics of their farm infrastructure and growing systems. We wrap up the episode with the Lighting Round Questions including, “One piece of advice you wish you had starting out or something you wish you’d done differently?”

Listen to our conversation wherever you get your podcasts (link in bio). As always, a big thank you to Farmer Jesse, Farmer Jackson and the crew @notillgrowers, and the show’s sponsors @johnnys_seeds, @rimolgreenhouse and @bcs_america for making this podcast possible.

Tune in each Monday this summer for a new episode featuring an amazing lineup of guests this season. Happy listening!

#wintergrowerspodcast #wintergrowers #notillmarketgardenpodcast #winterfarming #winterblooms #wintertulips #moveablehightunnel #fourseasonfarming

❄️Season 5 of the Winter Growers Podcast launches today! ❄️ And it begins with the wonderful Ray Tyler of Rose Creek Farms @rosecreekfarms in Selmer, Tennessee.

Over the last 14 years, Ray has been passionate about developing growing systems to successfully grow and sell certified organic produce 52 weeks of the year in Western Tennessee. Along with his wife Ashley and six homeschooled children, Ray is committed to creating a family-focused farm that allows for a sustainable and healthy work/life balance. Using a meticulous system of 18 caterpillar tunnels on 1 acre, Ray is able to supply 3 farmer’s markets and a farm stand with produce all year round. His farmer’s market displays are called the ‘Salad Bar’ and they are always stacked high with a gorgeous selection of seasonal veggies. The early years, however, were a challenge for Ray and we speak about how he and his family persevered with a lot of trial and error to become the successful farm and business they operate today. We wrap up our conversation with the Lightning Round Questions including, “How do you define success on your farm and as a farmer?”

Listen to our conversation wherever you get your podcasts (link in bio). As always, a big thank you to Farmer Jesse, Farmer Jackson and the crew @notillgrowers, and the show’s sponsors @johnnys_seeds, @rimolgreenhouse and @bcs_america for making this podcast possible.

Tune in each Monday until mid-August for a new episode. It’s an amazing lineup of guests this season. Happy listening!

#wintergrowerspodcast #wintergrowers #notillmarketgardenpodcast #winterfarming #fourseasonfarming #rosecreekfarms

❄️Season 5 of the Winter Growers Podcast arrives in one month!❄️

Mark your calendars - first episode of Season 5 drops on Monday June 3rd and it’s a good one! Get ready for 10 new conversations with wonderful farmers and growers who are finding creative ways to produce both veggies and blooms during the winter months and/or year-round. In the meantime, catch up on past seasons (like Taylor Mendell of @footprintfarmvt pictured above) and listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Also, any requests for who you’d like to hear on the podcast for an upcoming Season 6? Comment below or send me a message. Thanks!

#wintergrowerspodcast #fourseasonfarming #wintergrowers #notillgrowerspodcast

New post on ‘How to be a farmer without a farm.’ Link in bio 💚

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@farmerclara

ABOUT

CLARA COLEMAN is a second-generation organic farmer, creator of Real Farmer Care, podcast host, jury member of Food Planet Prize, farm consultant, writer, TEDx and keynote speaker on sustainable four-season farming. From 2016 to 2023, Clara led and operated the farm business at her family's farm Four Season Farm.

Clara also conceptualized the ARC Farm model - an innovative and collaborative four season farm model for young farmers without access to land and limited capital. Other past experience includes co-founding Divide Creek Farm – an organic, intensively managed two-acre four season vegetable farm, previously located in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

clara coleman winter greenhouse vegetable harvest

Today Clara is passionate about caring for farmers through Real Farmer Care, contributing year-round growing knowledge through her Winter Growers Podcast, sharing reflections on all things farming and love on her Substack, and finding new ways to inspire and support the next generation of farmers to create sustainable and lasting farming legacies for generations to come.

Follow @farmerclara on Instagram

CONSULTING

Having grown up learning four season farming through osmosis and from her father Eliot Coleman, Clara has consulted and collaborated with many sustainable agriculture organizations and clients over the past 15 years including consulting clients Wegmans Food Markets, Maine Farmland Trust, Apricot Lane Farms, Beetlebung Farm, and collaborations with Johnny’s Selected Seeds and No-Till Growers Network.