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

How do livestock protect the environment? This week on The Farm Report, Erin Fairbanks calls up Judith Schwartz, author of Cows Save the Planet to discuss erosion, carbon, and the health of the planet. Tune into this program to hear Judith talk about the natural grazing habits of herbivores like cows, and how these tendencies help keep the ecosystem in check. How do animals contribute to the biodiversity of plant species? Learn more about topsoil; what is topsoil, and how is it created? Listen in to hear how Judith hopes her book will inspire the future of consumers, and influence producers to adopt alternative land management practices. Tune in and learn how proper holistic land stewardship is a political issue, and how you can affect change. This program has been brought to you by Bonnie Plants. Thanks to Idgy Dean for today's music.

"The livestock functions as biological accelerators- they move this process forward. They keep the carbon cycle, the water cycle, etc. from getting out of whack." [13:50]

"For every ton of grain produced, seven tons of topsoil are lost." [17:50]

-- Judith Schwartz on The Farm Report

Saundra Ball is in her third year of farming, having first apprenticed on a vegetable farm in Texas before moving to the Hudson Valley, where she’s worked on several small scale diversified farms. Saundra now works on a small dairy in Columbia County, milking Jerseys for direct market sales of fluid milk. While she pursues farming, Saundra is supporting herself in the meantime with a career in humanitarian aid. She hopes to have her own raw milk micro-dairy and a flock of sheep one day. Tune into this episode of Greenhorn Radio to hear more from Saundra! Thanks to our sponsor, Hearst Ranch.

"80% of dairy farming is about pasture management. Pasture is what your cows eat, and what you put into your cows, you get out of your cows." [6:45] -- Saundra Ball on Greenhorn Radio