Viva Farms is a farm incubator for new and Latino farmers, but they also maintain a large production farm. Produce from the Viva farm and the incubator farms feeds into the Viva Farms "food hub" along with other local products, which is then distributed to a 1,200 member CSA and various wholesale accounts in the greater Seattle market. Chris oversees it all, helping to cultivate new farmers as a relatively young farmer himself. He has worked on farms and ecological preserves for over 10 years, farming in Montana, Ecuador, New Mexico and Washington. Chris is both a hardcore farmer and a teacher, managing production, interns, and a bilingual farm crew while troubleshooting in the field with new farmers. His experience and perspective would make for a great conversation about young farmers--particularly beginning Latino farmers! This program has been brought to you by Hearst Ranch.

"Most of the farmers in our program are Latinos that have grown up as farm workers, and now they have the chance to be farm owners." [8:00] -- Chris Elder on Greenhorn Radio

This week Unfiltered hits its 100th Episode! One of Heritage Radio's oldest running shows celebrates this milestone in style as hosts Erin and Brian and Lucy jare oined by Brent Young of Brooklyn's own The Meat Hook and open up a Barterhouse rarity on air: 2001 Dunn Vineyards Cab-Sav from Howell Mountain. Tune in to hear as they try other fine vintages and talk with Brent about his vision for the Meat Hook, nose-to-tail butchering, and his favorite wine pairings for everything from mortadella to steak to pate. This celebratory episode is sponsored by The Barterhouse.

"The real point of pride in The Meat Hook is our sourcing. We have really close relationships with our producers and farmers."

"Getting a fast food restaurant [like Rippers] off the ground with sustainable and locally sourced ingredients is not the easiest thing in the world."

--Brent Young on Unfiltered

This week on Straight, No Chaser, Katy Keiffer is joined by Congresswoman Chellie Pingree of the great state of Maine. Tune in for a lively discussion on all things related to food, agriculture, policy and the way we feed our nation. Find out what Congresswoman Pingree is trying to achieve with her Local Food, Farms and Jobs Act including incentives for fisheries, value added producer grants and improvements to school food programs. Hear more about the 2012 Farm Bill and find out how young farmers are changing the landscape of food production in our nation. This episode was sponsored by Cain Vineyard & Winery.

"Kids have a great palate, we just don't give them the opportunity to develop it."

"Patriotism used to be supporting family farms and communities, not shipping tomatoes on a truck from Florida across the country."

--- Congresswoman Chellie Pingree on Straight, No Chaser