This week we bring you something a little bit different from our typical Meet Your Farmers profiles. Avia Hawksworth isn't a farmer. She's the forager for the newly-opened Farmstead Restaurant in St. Helena, California. That means she sources local ingredients for the always-rotating menu and educates diners on where they're food is coming. Chez Panisse was first to start a "forager" position back in the 1970s. More

In this week's Meet Your Farmers we chat with Carl Skalak, who owns and operates Blue Pike Farm, a working farm and CSA, in an industrial neighborhood in Cleveland, Ohio. After an afternoon of planting blackberries and blueberries, Skalak spoke with me about the challenges he faces raising produce in an urban environment. More

The last 20 years has seen leaps and bounds made in the theory and practice of low-impact, sustainably farmed seafood, oysters included. Perry Raso is one of these pioneering aqua-farmers; he tends a seven-acre shellfish farm in East Matunuck, Rhode Island, and runs a wildly popular local restaurant, Matunuck Oyster Bar, that overlooks the estuary and inlet that make up his farm. I spoke with Perry on the morning of Easter Sunday as he shucked oysters and prepared for the inevitable influx of locals at his restaurant. More

Four young farmers were chosen from a big pool of farmers vying for the right to start Langwater Farm, an 80-acre property nestled right in the middle of small-town Easton, Massachusetts. But they are finding out that it's not just the happy-in-the-sun theme songs and weeding images you might picture. More

I'll be honest, before I talked to David Wright and Corey Hinkel, I would have bet my life that you couldn't find something like the artisan dairy operation they run in a place like Northeast Alabama. But a conversation last week with the duo shattered my Northerner-biased expectations and has given me a mind to visit the Heart of Dixie. They're churning out Gouda, Cheddar, Abodance, and an Asiago cheese they call Wanda. More

In this week's edition of Meet Your Farmers, we meet David Falkowski, known to Long Island locals as "Mushroom Dave." He's been growing, foraging, and selling quality mushrooms in Bridgehampton, New York, since 2003. You also may recognize him from an episode of Barefoot Contessa when Ina Garten spotlighted his oyster mushrooms in her lasagna. More

"On average we need around 57 gallons of sap to make a gallon of syrup." [Photographs: Welch's Syrup] *Schoolyard Sugarbush wasn't able to send us syrup photos. Ah, late winter. A time when intrepid local eaters are sick of leftover beets and kale from the farmers' markets. But do not despair, things are starting to turn around! One of the most important and delicious signs that spring is upon us? Maple syrup season. All over the Northeast and Canada, sap is starting to flow, and thankfully people like Don Weed of Schoolyard Sugarbush in New Hope, New York, are there to harvest it and boil it down to pure, delicious, maple syrup. Yesterday was the first run of the season... More

[Photographs: Maggie Wood] The North Fork of Long Island may not be as glamorous as its southerly neighbor (the more famous fork, home to the Hamptons and Montauk) but it's an agricultural paradise with rich soil and an ocean-tempered climate that remains largely rural and committed to its agrarian roots. Traditionally potato country, the region is now home to more than 30 vineyards and is teeming with large and small-scale vegetable farms, berry patches, and orchards. In addition to the farmers' markets, CSAs, and roadside farm stands, you'll also find top-notch farm-to-table dining. (like the North Fork Table and Inn). So who's behind the bounty of good food coming out of the North Fork? I recently spoke with the... More

Don Lareau and Daphne Yannakakis run a 35-acre organic farm on the Western Range of the Rockies in Paonia, Co. More

Note: This week in Meet Your Farmers we meet KayCee Wimbish and Owen O'Connor two young (and awesome) farmers who are part of a blossoming organic industry in the Hudson Valley. [Photograph: Awesome Farm] Name: KayCee Wimbish and Owen O'Connor Farm: Awesome Farm in Tivoli, New York. How many acres? We currently lease 75 acres, but only use 30 intensively. The other 45 are for cutting hay and back-up grazing. We're looking for a new home base right now, so those numbers could change soon. Your crew: We hired folks to help us slaughter chickens this year. Dana Gentile and our our friends Jeff Bonhag and Tracey Potter-Fins logged a lot of volunteer hours. [Flickr: mizzell] What you grow: Grass... More