This week on The Farm Report, host Erin Fairbanks checks in with Brian Shaad of Feeding Crane Farms in Sacramento. Brian talks about some of the challenges and benefits of being certified organic, including increased labor and improved quality of produce. Learn about the ins and outs of running a farm in Sacramento, CA including weather, irrigation and marketing. Find out what goes into deciding which vegetables to grow and how home chefs and restaurant chefs can equally benefit from the "culinary" produce they feature. This program was sponsored by Hearst Ranch.

"There is a cost to bear by going organic, and that is mostly labor. Labor costs are prohibitive, but what we get out of organic is a much higher quality with a much longer shelf life. What we found is that we can market what we sell mostly on it's quality, the organic label is secondary."

"We're very much the chefs farm and we treat that chef both as a home chef and a restaurant chef."

--Brian Shaad of Feeding Crane Farm on The Farm Report

Get to know the bison on a very informative episode of The Main Course as Patrick Martins explores the bovine animal with Patrick Fitzsimons, VP of Thunderheart Bison. Listen in as Patrick explains what make bison such unique (and delicious) animals and how Thunderheart Bison have genetics that trace back all the way to a herd from legendary Texas cowboy Charles Goodnight. Learn about some interesting cuts of meat unique to bison like the hump roast and discover why natural breeding is far more effective than artificial insemination when it comes to these creatures. Patrick Fitzsimmons also discusses his work with the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance (FARFA), an advocate for independent farmers, ranchers, livestock owners, and homesteaders. Later in the show, Patrick Martins checks in with Peter de Garma of PastaWorks, a lovely market on Hawthorne Ave in Portland, OR. Today's program was brought to you by Rolling Press.

"Bovine animals are designed to eat grass. They aren't desgiend to be in feedlots eating grain and going straight to the slaughterhouse. If possible - they need to be harvested right in the field - where they feel the least amount of stress." 05:00

"Most bison are very docile and happy to have you around as long as you don't pose a threat to them." 14:00

--Patrick Fitzsimons, VP of Thunderheart Bison

"Portland out Portlandia's Portlandia in many Portland ways." 47:00

--Peter de Garmo of PastaWorks

Anastasia started her career as a seasonal agricultural worker at the age of 17 when a series of fateful events led her to the blueberry barrens of Downeast Maine. She raked berries every year for the next 8 years, and also did some apple picking, morel mushroom hunting, and tree-planting which eventually became her primary occupation. This lifestyle kept her on the road for the better part of 13 years and enabled her to become intimate with many parts of the country. She has been based out of Tucson, AZ (the city of her birth) for the past 10 years where her home has evolved into an urban, desert farm. Anastasia has just earned a degree in Rangeland Ecology and Management from the University of Arizona. She is looking forward to integrating her experiences and skills in ways that will help to produce food and other products from the land while sustaining and enhancing natural and cultural resources. This program was sponsored by White Oak Pastures.

"I think what I really loved about it [seasonal agriculture] was the bizarre social scene that grew around it... I also got really into the physical aspects of it... grueling, repetitive work out in the hot sun... But I don't wanna paint a rosy picture of seasonal agricultural work because it's not that way for many people."

"The fact that we can make food from animal products without altering the land is really important to our food security." -- Anastasia Rabin on Greenhorn Radio