Finding Your Voice in the Ag Community: How to get involved if you don’t have a farm
Kendall interviews co-host Rebecca and Volunteer Manager Danielle Albano about different ways to can get involved in the Ag community if you are not a farmer. Danielle talks about the Master Gardener program at UNH Extension and volunteering on the Infoline. Rebecca discusses a variety of ways people can be involved with the Ag community including farmer’s markets, agritourism and the Natural Resources Stewards program.
Show notes:
2024 Farmer’s Market Directory
https://www.agriculture.nh.gov/publications-forms/documents/farmers-market-directory.pdf
Farmer’s Market Scavenger Hunt Sheet
https://extension.unh.edu/resource/farmers-market-scavenger-hunt
UNH Extension Info Line
https://extension.unh.edu/agriculture-gardens/yard-garden
NH Master Gardener Program
https://extension.unh.edu/resource/about-new-hampshire-master-gardener-program
NH Natural Resources Stewards Program
https://extension.unh.edu/resource/learn-about-natural-resources-stewards
UNH Cooperative Extension website
Kendall Kunelius 0:09
Welcome to this episode of Shared Soil, a podcast dedicated to creating community, honoring challenges and encouraging personal and professional growth for all people in agriculture. My name is Kendall Kunelius, and I'm a field specialist in the area of agricultural business management.
Rebecca Dube 0:26
And I'm Rebecca Dube and I provide technology and communication support to the field specialists of UNH Cooperative Extension.
Kendall Kunelius 0:33
And today's episode is gonna be a little bit of a unique episode. I don't know if that's the word I want to use. But I'm sitting here smiling at Rebecca and our guest Danielle over our Zoom call, because we record over Zoom. And usually I'd be seeing both of you in the office. So this is kind of like a unique format, because we all work together in the Hillsborough County office. But I'm I'm actually going to be interviewing you, Rebecca today and Danielle for a little bit of a switch on perspective to talk about finding your voice in the agricultural community. So before we jump way into that topic, Rebecca, you've kind of introduced yourself and listeners will know you from our previous episodes. But Danielle, do you want to tell us a little bit about who you are and your involvement in volunteering in the community?
Danielle Albano 1:22
Yeah, thank you so much, Kendall. My name is Danielle Albano, and I started with UNH Extension in my current role as the Education Center Volunteer Program Manager at the end of August last year, and I'm based out of the Education Center in Goffstown. I love working with volunteers, and I love anything to do with agriculture. So it's a great combo.
Kendall Kunelius 1:42
For sure. Today's topic, we're really talking about that finding your voice in the ag community. And I was really reflecting on the topics that we've hadvso far for this podcast. We've talked about tractors, we've talked about the history of women in agriculture, and chain saws. We talked about food as medicine, all kinds. But I also recognize that much of what we want to be exploring here is that idea of community. And I recognize that not all people who would desire to be in the garden or in the agricultural world actually have access to a plot of land, or a tractor or a chainsaw. Not everyone may be relating to the content we've already recorded. And yet they still want to be in the agricultural world. So today, we're going to be exploring ways that you if you are interested in agriculture, or farming, or forestry or anything like that - if you want to be in that world or in those communities, how can you do that in a way that's productive and fulfilling, but maybe not including planting a plant or something of that nature. So the first thing we're going to talk about is supporting through farmers' markets. I love that idea. I love that we've talked a lot about food already, but this is almost kind of like a new concept about it. So Rebecca, do you want to tell us about that?
Rebecca Dube 2:57
Sure. I mean, one part you can be part of the ag community is to support farmers markets. Go to that farmers' market near you. They're located throughout the state. And in fact, we'll include a link in the show notes to the 2024 Farmers Market directory, and that lists all the different farmers' markets around the state so you can find one near you. And they are great things to go to, not only for fresh local produce, but it is a community gathering. It's a community event. And so being a part of that, you can certainly go with kids as well as a family. We have a fun Farmers' Market Scavenger Hunt sheet, and we'll include those in the show notes as well, that can be done with kids or even on your own. I mean, I love a good scavenger hunt.
And it helps you explore the market and what it offers. But with a kid, you might ask them to find a vegetable that grew underground. Or what's the biggest vegetable? Or how about a food containing dough with fruits and vegetables in it. So they have to go around and look for those things in the farmers' market. And maybe you'll discover some new things like a vegetable that comes in two different colors, or a new way to use or, how about a food that would taste great on the pancake?
Kendall Kunelius 4:12
Is there a food that doesn't taste good on a pancake?
Rebecca Dube 4:16
And hey, you could try you know, let's put... You're right, I can't find one! I was like sweet potato, or avocado? No, those would all work on the pancake! So a lot of great things to do with a farmers' market because they offer so many different parts of a farm. You can buy meat products there, you can buy produce, there's baked goods, so all sorts of great things that you can find at a farmers market that makes you a part of that web of the ag community.
Kendall Kunelius 4:48
I have a question. I'm going to ask you first Danielle, and then I'm going to go back to you, Rebecca. So Danielle, I know you're a foodie. What is your favorite thing to buy at a farmers' market?
Danielle Albano 4:59
So this is not a traditional response for veggies and fruit! Years ago, so I live in Derry, there used to be a special cheese related vendor. So I'd buy unique cheeses and I can't remember exactly where in New Hampshire now that they're located, and they would make also homemade ravioli. Oh my goodness. So I would buy it frozen and just take it out throughout the season when I'd want it, but I do love veggies and fruit too. But I'm a cheese-a-holic, so definitely get the cheese.
Kendall Kunelius 5:36
Totally. Okay, Rebecca, same question to you.
Rebecca Dube 5:39
I have to be similar with Danielle in that it's not necessarily the fruits and vegetables. I'm a baker, so I love any kind of baked good. So that might be my favorite part of farmers' market. There's so many unique baked goods that you can get there.
Kendall Kunelius 5:55
Oh, I love that. Yes, I like to drool over. Okay, not drool on!. I love to look at and imagine how delicious those baked goods and ravioli and cheeses, taste. I can't have gluten. I can't have dairy. So I'm thrilled that you're both like - I'm living vicariously through you and your farmers' market adventures with pastries and cheese.
Rebecca Dube 6:15
So what's your favorite?
Kendall Kunelius 6:15
You know, interestingly enough, my favorite is honey, I went to a farmers' market this past season. And I found a food vendor who was selling whipped cinnamon honey. And I was like, wow, how interesting is that? It's like a jar, but the honey is obviously really creamy. It's almost a little more like maple cream. But yeah, I'd have to say if I'm going to a farmers' market, I'm I'm looking for the honey vendor.
There you go, so so many different aspects of the farmers' markets can bring to you. And it fits each person's individual tastes.
While you're saying that individual tastes and you kind of touched on that earlier, Rebecca, we were talking about how farmers markets and agriculture can bring people together and especially families together with that scavenger hunt. Can you say a little bit more about that family aspect to the agricultural piece?
Rebecca Dube 7:05
Sure, if you want to have a great thing to do with a family that involves a farm, you could visit a farm. They have all types of agritourism options for families or individuals to do as well. You can go and pick berries in season. I think we're in strawberry season right now, but that changes throughout. Pet the animals or take a hay ride as we come to fall. Or learn what the farmer does. I'm sure they're happy to talk about some of the practices that they have and what they do. There is a lot of educational things to be done in a farm. So that's a lot of fun things you can do as a family visiting. Of course, a lot of farms offer that ice cream option where they may produce their own, so they produce their own ice cream. And in New Hampshire you've got to find the place that does maple creamies. If you can have dairy, that's a wonderful thing to have. And if not, the maple syrup aspect. So many farms sell maple syrup and maple products. That's also a nice seasonal event that you can go to as a family in early spring when you're not really in that farm, you know, full-summer aspect. But it still gives you something to do at that time of the year.
Kendall Kunelius 8:18
For sure. So we talked about that idea of if you want to be in agriculture, but maybe you live in an apartment and you just have one little square foot of sunshine, that you can put a pot. What about in that case, when you want to be involved? How can I translate from, ooh I went to a farmers market and I tried this delicious thing, and now how do I make that happen at home?
Rebecca Dube 8:38
Container gardening! For apartments or a small plot, if you've got a little bit of land. At Extension we have all sorts of workshops on how to grow small fruits and berries, how to grow tree fruit, if you have a larger area, doing climate resilient gardens as our climate changes throughout time, lots of different things like that. And once you get going in gardening, you may find that you get the bug and you get really into it and have different aspects that you want to do. We mentioned in another podcast doing a salsa garden. So you grow all the things that you could make salsa with. Or if there are particular foods that you love, focusing on growing those foods because you don't need a lot of space to do that. But you could still be a grower. And if you're coming into this as a new grower or you have questions or anything like that, you can certainly reach out to Extension. And I'm gonna let Danielle talk about the info line that we offer and some of the aspects of that. Danielle?
Danielle Albano 9:38
Yeah, so the info line is a great resource for the home owners with any questions you have related to yard and garden. Typically every year we receive about 3000 calls, emails and walk-ins with the great variety of questions. Right now we're getting a lot of questions about starting a garden from seeds, starting a vegetable garden, how to correctly prune your fruit tree. So depending on the time of year, the questions do change. And we have a lot of frequent flyer homeowners that frequently will ask us questions. So it's, again, a great free resource for the public. And it is a service that we offer for community members throughout the entire state. But we also at times get questions out of state. This week, for example, received a few questions from Connecticut; over the winter we received a few from Canada. We're open and ready to help whoever needs help in the garden.
Kendall Kunelius 10:33
Yeah, so I want to just pause for a second and put all this conversation we just had into perspective, because we just covered a lot. If I'm someone who I live, maybe in a city in an apartment, or I just don't have access to tillable ground, but I'm really interested in food. I'm going to farmers market and one of my personal favorite sayings is "vote with your dollars or vote with your feet". So what farmer are you choosing to support based on their story? Maybe you've gotten to know them at their farmers' market; you find that they use practices that align with your values, or maybe they just have the best cheese. And you just want to support them, and you want to make sure that you can keep coming back and getting their cheese. So that's all well and good. But then what happens if you get really interested in that? So Danielle, do you want to tell us a little bit about who can answer your calls on your info line? Like if I'm just a really interested person, and I know a lot about the gardening or the cheese from talking with that farmer, how could I get involved with supporting the ag industry even though I just don't really have an opportunity to actually be the one gardening or doing the making of the product?
Danielle Albano 11:43
Yeah, so the info line right now - it includes Master Gardener volunteers and Natural Resources Stewards volunteers. The info line was first created in the early 2000s. The Master Gardener volunteers and Natural Resources Steward volunteers are really the glue that keeps the info line going. I'm going to focus on the Master Gardener program right now. But the Master Gardener Program is extremely popular for many people to be involved in. It first started in New Hampshire in 1993. It has really trained volunteers that are serving as volunteer UNH Extension Educator Ambassadors in their community with an enthusiasm for gardening. I just checked numbers today, because I was curious throughout the entire country, how many Master Gardeners are actively involved, and I saw the numbers: 86,000 volunteers throughout all 50 states. So it's an extremely popular program. And in this program, it is typically a 12-week in-person class. The next class will be meeting this fall, and it's on Thursdays from nine to four. Typically in New Hampshire, we offer this two times a year. And depending on the location, it may be in the northeast part in New Hampshire, southwest, which is where it'll be in the fall. And another great feature this year is that the Master Gardener Program is offering a hybrid class again. So this is the second year in a row that a hybrid class has been an option. So this is to support having more access for individuals that may not be able to take a full Thursday from nine to four, driving to a specific location. That hybrid class, it's a combo of asynchronous online learning, Zoom meetings and in person sessions, and the longevity of the hybrid class is a little bit more expanded. So if someone is working full time, or they live in an area that would be tricky for them to drive to a specific location on a weekly basis, it'll allow them to have more flexibility.
Rebecca Dube 13:43
So it's a virtual class, you can take? What you mean by asynchronous online learning?
Danielle Albano 13:48
The hybrid class, it's a combo of online, and throughout the year, they also have planned in advance in-person sessions. I am not the person that coordinates the hybrid class, but for my understanding, they've had, I believe, four sessions meeting in person, and it's broken up into seasons. And again, it's just to allow more time to plan in advance for when they'd be able to take, for example, maybe a Saturday or a Friday off to be able to participate in person.
Kendall Kunelius 14:20
I love that community aspect, that community feeling to that idea of - at Extension, we know how important it is to make sure that we're providing that sense of community for folks. And that seems like a really interesting way that we can get other people involved, who may not usually be in the ag industry or in that kind of realm, but it gives them an option to make a bridge between those people. So it's really neat.
Rebecca Dube 14:46
So Danielle, I hear tell that you yourself went through the Master Gardener experience. Can you tell us a little bit about that?
Danielle Albano 14:52
I was able to take part in the Master Gardener program in the fall of 2021. It was on my bucket list, I believe, since May of 2016. It was during one of my previous roles (I worked at a garden center). I heard about the program through a few of my co-workers. As soon as I heard about their experience going through the program, I knew it was something I would really love to do someday. So I was so excited and grateful to be able to take part in that program in fall 2021. I was extremely lucky, after talking with my current boss at the time, that I was able to take a specific weekday off during the week and just work one weekend day to make up for that time. Thursdays really were the days of the week that I looked forward to the most during that time. I know COVID the pandemic, that is something that I don't think the conversation will ever completely go away because it's still something we're dealing with today in different forms. But at that time, it really was just the way to build community with people - getting out and just meeting others throughout the state that had a passion for gardening and wanting to help others. So I really, really enjoyed it.
Rebecca Dube 16:03
I think a lot of people got into gardening more during the pandemic. We saw that big upsurge of it for both working with the soil and the self-sufficiency. But then eventually, like you said, the community aspect grew from that. And so it's really great to see the both of those come together and move forward as we move out of the as we've moved out of the pandemic.
Kendall Kunelius 16:26
Real quick, Danielle, can you give us a few examples of things that you learned or topics that you covered in that Master Gardener Program?
Danielle Albano 16:32
Yes, thank you for asking that. A few of the topics that were covered in the course - Again, it was one day per week for 12 weeks. So it was a lot of introductions to different subjects. But a few of those included introduction to botany, soils, fertilizer, plant propagation, pruning, landscape design, composting, specifically focusing on fruits and veggies. So there was a whole variety of topics that we covered. And once you go through the program in your first year, you have to volunteer 55 hours, 45 of those are in the community doing different projects and different events. And then 10 of those hours are continuing ed specific opportunities. So even when you go through the program, it is a requirement to brush up on your knowledge, potentially continue to learn different things through workshops, classes and beyond. So it's a great opportunity to continue to learn and to meet others.
Rebecca Dube 17:33
And so you said that some of these volunteers then go on to help with the info line that we mentioned before, that they use that learning that they've gotten from that to then help other people.
Danielle Albano 17:42
Yes. So in my specific role, I am focused in supporting the Education Center volunteers, which man the info line, and I absolutely love being able to connect with these volunteers. And as I've mentioned before, as of January of this year, it now includes Master Gardeners and Natural Resources Stewards volunteers. They all have such a diverse background, from their work experience, from any other previous volunteer opportunities. So I just love to learn from them and to learn new things together. And I do have a few tidbits - I reached out to a few of my volunteers last week just to get a few quotes about their experience with the info line. One person mentioned how they love working at the info line, because they feel as though they're helping people. The question that was important for the client, "the client asks an important question, I often find myself learning while doing the research". Another person said that volunteering at the info line is their "happy place", and it goes on. So I really, really appreciate all they do to make the info line so successful and to help people on a daily basis.
Kendall Kunelius 18:50
That is just so heartwarming. I have no doubt Danielle, that the reason that it's their happy place, and part is due to you and your supporting of these volunteers. And I think it's great that you've gone through the program, because you are able to empathize with them. You know what they're learning, and you're in that learning process together. So at this point, I want to transition, speaking of that learning process, to Rebecca. Because Rebecca, you are actually part of the Natural Resources Stewards program and not just part of it, you're a big part of it, and you have helped teach that program. So why don't you just tell us a little bit about that, which is like the companion program to the Master Gardeners, and then tie it all into how this fits into the greater ag and forestry community.
Rebecca Dube 19:33
Well, true because the other side of agriculture is conservation. The soil, water trees, plants, wildlife, they all work together in a web and that's what the Natural Resources Stewards is really all about. It's a program that offers comprehensive training and a volunteer support network for people who love the outdoors. They want to learn, explore and share the nature of New Hampshire. So in the Stewards program, you learn more about how soil water, wildlife, fungi, plants, and people are connected through ecosystems, and how outside influences such as invasive species and humans and among others, weather, impact their function. So you can gain knowledge, tools, skills to improve and restore ecosystems, whether in your communities, towns, or even in your own backyard. So many people own a little bit of land, that if they're all working on conserving in their backyard, you suddenly have a very large movement of conservation going on throughout the state. It's not just those big areas, it's everybody's little piece working together. So I've been through the program, I also teach an aspect of it that has to do with nature journaling, and field sketching elements of that. But our stewards go on to maybe work in their communities, they might be a part of the Conservation Commission, or get on their planning boards, work a lot with towns, do tree inventories, or identification. Other aspects of it are to work on the info line, because they have a lot of knowledge of how these aspects work together. They also offer a great perspective of information for people who call in on various aspects. So that's one way that they can get involved in the agricultural community. The class itself meets once a year in the fall; it's a 12 week program. It usually meets on Fridays between September and November. And it's primarily outside. It is on hold for 2024, but we'll be starting up again and working through in 2025. And going forward from there.
Kendall Kunelius 21:55
Great. I want to just comment briefly too, on both of these programs. So I haven't been through either the Master Gardener or the Natural Resources Stewards program, but I personally have felt the impact from the both of these programs. My husband runs the State Forest Nursery, and that functions very strongly within the forestry community and the ag community because it's really a cross-section of both. But he's very lucky that the volunteers from both programs come to support, and they count seedlings, and they sort seedlings during the springtime. The impact is so great, because those seedlings get shipped all over the US. So it's really cool to see how we have programs that give people an opportunity to learn and engage with the education and engage with the material, but then actually take that and expand that impact that they want to have out really past New Hampshire too. So that info line, like you were saying, Danielle, it's not just New Hampshire, it's so much broader, it's so much bigger. I think that Rebecca, the point you're making with conservation, it's again, so much bigger than just New Hampshire. Those good conservation and good treatment practices of everything around us really makes a difference, whether we're traveling to a new place, and somebody sees us recycling a bottle or something like that. Just our little actions, and just those little bits of awareness really do make a difference. So we've talked about how to become a master gardener. We've talked about how to become a natural resource steward, and what those kinds of things entail and what you can do with it. But what if somebody doesn't have access to those kinds of programs? Or it's not doesn't quite feel like it's the right thing? Is there something else or a different avenues that they can use with their existing talents to still help make their voice present in the agricultural world?
Rebecca Dube 23:45
Sure, we ask people to use their talents. That can be in any number of different areas that don't involve the actual planting and growing, but are still necessary to work in agriculture to help a farm to thrive. Maybe you're a whiz with marketing; a farm needs social media. It might be doing a newsletter for the farm or providing press coverage or getting that out there. So if you're someone who's really into that, that may be a skill that a farm desperately needs, and you can help out that way. Perhaps it's more in Business Administration, bookkeeping and records. That's a very important part of agriculture, working with that. Or maybe you're a tech whiz, and, I recently heard this term and I loved it, an indoor enthusiast. You might be an indoor enthusiast and that's fine. That's great, because you might be really into website building or someone very knowledgeable of software. And you still believe in agriculture and promoting it and being a part of it that way. So you can help a farm or someone else you know build a website. And it can even be about education, teaching about agriculture in schools, whether you want to do it in social clubs, the Boys and Girls Clubs, 4-H clubs. We know in Extension, working with 4-H, we have all sorts of different clubs that are about raising livestock and animals, we have some specifically about gardening. You can pick any number of topics that you can get involved with in education and helping kids come into that world and be a part of it.
Kendall Kunelius 25:27
Yeah, and thinking too, you know, talent - some folks really have a deep connection to their communities. So I'm also thinking of opportunities like being on your local conservation district, or being on your advisory council for your county. Those are both leadership positions within your community that are only enhanced if you are a Natural Resources Steward or a Master Gardener, or a volunteer, or somebody who really understands those finer points or those aspects of what Extension does. So I love that you've just mentioned all of those things. And yet, they still so innately connect back to this idea of, even if you don't want to be directly involved in the agricultural world, or you don't really want your hands in the soil, there's absolutely still something for you or some way you can be involved in this either on the periphery or more directly. And you can still have a voice or a say in your agricultural community, which I think is so important. That's true. So what else? What other thoughts anything else before we wrap up?
Rebecca Dube 26:28
Well, we just asked people to get involved. Yeah, there's so many ways to do it. There's no excuse to not be a part of agriculture. I mean, that's what makes it so that we can live. So you should be a part of the larger community that it entails. It's part of the web of everything. So find the way that works for you and get involved with it! Do you have anything to add to that, Danielle?
Danielle Albano 26:55
Yeah, I did just want to mention if anyone is interested specifically in the Master Gardener Program, Ruth Smith is the Master Gardener volunteer program manager. So if you have any other questions, please reach out to her. If you look up Master Gardener program on UNH Extension website, the active fall application is live now. And the deadline for that is July 19, or when full. And for the hybrid class, your point of contact is Judith Hull. And if anyone is interested in learning more about volunteering with the info line, I am your point of contact. And I really hope to see a few of you in the future.
Rebecca Dube 27:31
And we'll put some of the information in our show notes as well with links so people can look there. And also look on our website, where they talk a little bit more about Master Gardeners and the Natural Resources Stewards, what they're about, what you learn, so you can find out a little bit more if that's what you'd be interested in doing.
Kendall Kunelius 27:50
And as you guys are saying that, I'm thinking about this tagline that I saw. I went to a film festival recently, and their tagline is "Where action gets inspired". I think that's so true of both of your programs. Because if you're going to these programs, and you're learning and you're encountering, and you're seeing points where you feel you could make a difference. I guess the question I want to throw out there rhetorically to the audience or listeners is, what information are you learning today that turns into your actions tomorrow? And how are those actions fulfilling your life and think about those opportunities that you want to say yes to? And how can you make those "yes" opportunities happen for yourself? Well, Rebecca, so we've got other episodes coming up, but what else do we have for points of contact? We've got our Women in Ag newsletter, we've got our Food and Ag newsletter.
Rebecca Dube 28:42
We do, and once you are a Master Gardener or Natural Resources Steward, they provide their own newsletters out to members to keep them involved in that community. Both of these classes are very fostering of community. Once you're a Master Gardener, you've got a friend with all the other Master Gardeners out there, and same with Stewards. They continue to get together, whether it's for volunteer efforts or just to have a community together. They get together for campfires or other things like that. So there's a social aspect to these as well. They're both wonderful things to get involved with.
Kendall Kunelius 29:19
Well thank you both so much for being on the podcast today. I mean, I know Rebecca, you're like, you're part of this too. But Danielle, thank you for taking the time. I know you're like in the thick of it with info line questions right now, but we really appreciate you giving us a few minutes to share your experience in the Master Gardener Program and hopefully folks find some interests and get involved with any and both.
Rebecca Dube 29:44
Thank you, Kendall for being our interviewer today.
Kendall Kunelius 29:47
Oh, this was fun. I I feel kind of I love doing the sharing aspect of the shared soil and I enjoy being on the other side of the microphone, so to speak, and hearing other people's work perspectives too.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
