Jeff Poppen, a Midwestern farm boy, helped develop an organic farm and Tennessee homestead in the mid-1970s, and ten years later began applying biodynamic principals and making the preparations to do so. His livelihood comes primarily from vegetable and cattle grown on the 250-acre Long Hungry Creek Farm, where cows, compost, and community keep the land vibrant and productive. Jeff advocates for a more peaceful agriculture by mentoring young farmers and gardeners, along with a bit of lecturing, consulting, hosting events, and facilitating a few new farm enterprises. His style of old-time farming comes from paying close attention to what elder farmers thought, felt, and did, and by studying how farms were managed before agricultural chemicals were first manufactured on a large scale over one hundred years ago. Like his animals, he gets his food from the farm.

The theme for this year's summit (2023) ~ Cultivating Cooperation

a few panels to participate in:

• Starting a cooperative business in Tennessee
• Lunchtime keynote panel, Dec 2nd, moderated by the co-director of Southeast Center for Cooperative Development.
• Building a Seed Commons

Keynote panel Friday, Dec. 1st - Building a Seed Commons from an Indigenous Peoples Lens.

As we enter into the holiday's here are some ideas on ways to reduce your footprint while still being festive and merry!

Jeremy Lekich was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee by two hippy parents who fostered a sense of reverence in him for the more-than-human world. In 2010, Jeremy founded Nashville Foodscapes and in 2021, transitioned the company to a worker-owned cooperative. In 2014, Jeremy co-founded Compost Nashville. Jeremy's journey as an entrepreneur and forest lover has inspired his work to leverage our current economic model (and lawns!) to create new ones that are more equitable and harmonious.

Natalie Ashker Seevers from Tennessee Local Food joins me in the ecogal studio to talk about food, grown locally. Why it's important to support local farmers, how one can access food directly by joining a community supported Agriculture (CSA) and how to go about finding the right fit for you.

Rachel Werbal, conservationist and sustainability consultant joins me in discussing what Earth Day means to her, learning about its origin, and sharing some ideas to celebrate this beautiful planet that provides everything for us to thrive and what we can give back to contribute to the well-being of Mother Earth.

Seema is the owner of Miel Restaurant where for the past 14 years she has championed the use of sustainably grown food and wine. Miel also uses the practices of sustainability on every level at the restaurant. For the past 11 years, her focus has added the topic of food waste and how Nashville as a city can divert this valuable resource from landfills and utilize it for its renewable qualities. //  The non-profit Seema founded called Resource Capture aka ReCap aims to educate about Dry Anaerobic Digestion and how it can be used for Nashville to process the food/organics waste into nutrient-rich compost and energy. In addition to working at numerous Dry AD facilities around the world, Seema earned a certificate from the US Composting Council as a certified Operator for Composting Facility in 2016. Seema’s experience from her past career in the field of community organizing, public relations & government relations has aided greatly in the pursuit of the Digester Project for Nashville.

Cam Terry is a vegetable farmer in Roanoke, VA.  His urban farm Garden Variety Harvests (GVH) for short has cultivated produce on a network of backyard lots for 5 years, selling at a farmers market and to area restaurants.  In 2022, GVH secured a deal with the Southwest Virginia Agrarian Commons to establish a farm headquarters at Lick Run Farm in NW Roanoke on a long-term equitable lease.  Here's Cam's story.