He takes us on a tour of the land, discussing every bed in the entire farm in great detail. Nuances of each vegetable. Like a painter commenting on pictures in a museum or a preacher standing over a dead body. Thousand-count bags of ladybugs prepare to work through the strawberry beds like soldiers. Worms and the great worm-master. Tales of the legendary black urban farmer and former NBA basketballer, also from Wisconsin, Will Allen. Handmade miniature fences to carry flowers toward the sky. At every bed, Todd submerges one of his hands into something. Dry leaves. Moist hay. Ground cover. A bushel of plant, shrouded with small buds. Hands that have toiled for 35 years. Restoring antiques. Building houses in a gothic holding of American pastoral. Cracked, muscular, rounded, and intimidating.

 The day is still blessed with low cloud cover. We walk before an unknown thunderstorm.  The kind of weather that you talk about. Todd says he has to be the eternal optimist of the good weather. His life is emerged into nature as is his financial sustenance. He needs the Saturday market to justify the endless amount of time and energy he gives into the cultivation of this food. He believes that even in a moment of rain, hail, and lightening bolts from an angry God: our people will come.

 He has faith. A ragged scarecrow nailed to a simple cross watches over his fields.

 He believes in the patrons of the farmers market. The people he has looked squarely in the eye.  People he cares deeply about. He goes on for a minute or two here about his theory of abundance, how he always wants his customers at the market to feel like they are getting more.  He really cares about people leaving the market feeling like they won. No bushels of carrots weighted heavy because of greens on top. Always an extra green onion if the gathering feels on the side of light.

 I once heard young worker at the Farmer’s Market refer to him as the “angry farmer.”  Though he admits to having penned a few disgruntled letters to the Olgethorpe Dispatch in his day regarding things of war and such (opinions for which receive spit-filled rebuttals from his neighbors) this, if anything, is an exhibition into the new generation of peoples coming up in America. Namely, how passion is ingested by folk often regulated behind computer screen communities.  I believe that Todd Lister is a passionate man in a world too quickly losing its understanding of real life communal passion.

 His voice is soft, crowded, and moves in parrallatic tonalities on various subjects like symphonies in hallowed music halls.   As he walks us around the land, he tells of history as someone who has cared to understand a sense of place as though it had purpose.  Purpose to drive a hoe into fleshy soil, purpose to restore abandoned gatherings of old wood, purpose to remain silent for moments above peoples who had come before where stones hold memory.

 In 2001, he bought five acres of land from the Burt family. Burt of Burt Methodist and Burt of Burt Road. Mr. F. Burt is buried in the back yard. Buried next to his wife and son A. P. Burt who was born in 1875. Three bodies buried on the land. Three tombstones. The miniature cemetery is set off in a shaded area far from where food is cultivated. A peaceful area of repose. These days it is illegal to be buried upon your land. I mention to Todd that I feel a sense of peace in being in the presence of people whom had once lived and now are resting. He comments that he too enjoyed the sense that the cycle of life was held in completion through this act and that he was sharing the land with another family another era. All three tombstones are engraved: “We Miss Thee Everywhere.”  

 I ask Todd if he has children. He feels as though he is still a child. A child of the spirit and that he will not give this spirit passing until he is moved from this land. Furthermore, this child-spirit embodied in a man of great strength and experience is fraught with the feeling that their remains not yet enough hope to cast another of his kind into this world and with this I do not feel sadness but a statement of refined thought and character that has come to embody Todd.   At one point he looks to the house and remarks, “The Cyprus still shows where the sun hasn’t got it.”

I have sat with Todd for countless board of directors meetings over the past three years for the Athens Farmers Market. He brings to the meetings a constant force of energy that is impossible to not let soak in. There are many nights in which I am led to the outer banks of laughter, frustration, and a long lost sense of envy for the possibilities buried amidst the land that Todd Lister tends.   It is something I believe that society is lonely for that it doesn’t even understand it’s lonely for.  A key line inscribed on a series of gravestones read over and over by one man.   A key mantra, trope, and allegory we forget to express enough while alive, the shared actions between one another that express during the time of living that: you are loved.

 It’s gonna take guts to make changes in America.  Guts, passion, and Montana sized balls.  I want to believe it’s out there.  For, to believe that if one is missed everywhere, then one is never missed and if the longing and struggle and heartache and stories still exist.  Then something very important is remembered. And henceforth and evermore, we’ve got something to continue fighting for.

Text: Ben Myers

Photo: Charles Ryan Barber

Hannah Berle - AFM Public Relations

Growers

• Buttercup Farm
• Field of Dreams -All Natural Straw Mulch
• Johnson Family Farm
• Front Field Farm
• McMullan Family Farm
• Greendale Farm 
• Bowman Produce
• Sundance Farm
• Mills Farm
• Sunrise Farm
• Hungry Gnome Gardenscapes 
• Fertile Crescent Farm & Garden
• Hickory Hill Farm
• Native Sun Farm
• Lazy Willow Farm
• Harvest Moon Garden
• The Veggie Patch at Bouchard Farms 
• Rhonda Blueberries Honea Farm
• Apiary and Gardens
• BPH Inc
• Jims Farm
• Roots Farm
• Blue Moon Farm
• Cedar Grove Farm
• Dancing Sprout Farm
• Veribest Farm
• Bee Factory

Food Purveyors

• Luna Baking Co.
• Alfredos's Bread
• Antonio's Fresh Pasta
• Big City Bread Café
• Miche Bakery
• Donderos Kitchen
• 1000 Faces Coffee 
• Farm 255's Farm Cart
• Empanadas & Other Favorite Things
• Rightous Juice
• Roots Farm
• Lazy Willow Farm
• Butter Cup Farm

Artisans and Craftspeople

• Nag n Pooch
• Green Partisan Originals
• NOMSA
• Sally Ross Photography
• Joy in the Making
• Beca Designs
• Glass Treasures
• Gatherings Garden
• Songbird Soups
• Tarangela Studios
• Verdae Skin Therapy
• Rain Maker Pottery

 Hannah Berle - AFM Public Relations



Angela Ielasi’s involvement with the Athens Farmers Market has nothing to do with growing crops or selling food. Instead, the Australian native has made her niche by designing one of a kind jewelry and handbags.

Angela and her husband Steve only moved from their Australian home about four years ago, when they settled in Athens. A former flower shop owner, Angela was burned out from long working hours, and picked up the hobby of making earrings.

This leisure pursuit began to build, and Angela decided to find an outlet to sell her many pairs of unique, handmade earrings. She applied for a booth at AFM, and decided to add tote bags and purses to her inventory.

Angela had all the aspects of a little business going for her—except a name! Reflecting on an old nickname of hers from high school, she went with “Tarangela Studios.” Tarangela stemmed from her fascination with spiders. A tarantula is still on the top of Angela’s list of desired pets (they don’t have them in Australia), but Steve is not yet on-board with the idea.

Tarangela Studios has been able to expand beyond AFM since her bags have been so popular. Now sold in a few stores around Athens, the bags are made from what Angela calls “rescued” upholstery fabrics. The reversible totes and purses are all slightly different because of the odds and ends she uses.

“I try to give fabric that would normally be discarded a new purpose,” Angela says. She finds her material from clearance bins, goodwill stores and factory off cuts. Like the bags, Angela seeks out unique beads from all over the world for her earrings.

Both Steve and Angela are grateful for the experience they have had at AFM. Angela explains, “When we came to here—to America— we didn’t know many people. In the last two years that we’ve been selling at the market, we’ve made new friends and enjoy meeting new people each week.”

With all her beautiful items, there are plenty of gift options for the holiday season—especially with the market extension into December! Angela is so welcoming to all visitors at the Saturday market, and encourages the community to bundle up and come check out her distinctive crafts, as well as all the other tasty goods offered! 

by Carly Nash - AFM Public Relations

 John and Susannah Carter are proud to claim Harvest Moon Garden as their own. Like many small growers, they have long had a dream of starting their own farm. This vision led to a purchase of farm land, and now the Carters are working full time trying to make a living off their "old-school" farming.

With Susannah’s teaching degree and John’s degree in visual arts and photography, the two seem like an unlikely couple to take on a farmer’s life. Susannah gave up her teaching job to support John’s passion, however, and their enthusiasm grew—along with their knowledge and experience.

 They began growing organically for themselves, but soon started selling their crops at their local Wilkes County Farmers Market, and quickly expanded into Athens during the market's first year: 2007. Susannah credits John as the growing expert, while she picks, markets, packages and delivers their crops.

 Each year, Susannah attends the Southeastern Animal and Fiber Festival in Asheville, NC. It was here where she saw other growers raising livestock in addition to crops. Her fearless attitude led her to the conclusion that, “I can do that!” And so a new passion developed.

 They now have a collection of 10 sheep, including Blue faced Leiceister, Corriedale, Finn and Shetland breeds. Along with their beloved sheep, the Carter’s have picked up another addition to their farm: Minnie Moo-Moo. Minnie is a milk cow, and thinks of herself as the leader of the sheep.

  Susannah has fallen in love with the sheep, and learned to hand spin wool. She also uses natural dyes to color the spun wool. The sheep have opened up a new demand and market for Harvest Moon Garden. While their current production suits the demand of Athens, Augusta and Wilkes County, they would like to expand.

 They work hard at growing organically, leaving technology behind. In the past three years, they have been enriching their land and adding hoop houses (greenhouses with a plastic roof wrapped over flexible piping).

 The Carters continue to make small improvements on their farm, and hope to one day be able to start experimenting with solar heating and electric power. For today, they just want to get off to a good start next season and stay on top of everything. As Susannah puts it, “The first words out of any true farmer's mouth are, “Next year..." We are looking forward to growing even better than before.”

The Caters invite everyone to come out to the market, especially the additional dates in December, and buy some wool to knit holiday scarves and hats.

 Susannah’s favorite fall food is sweet potato bread; below is her no-longer secret recipe, so go by and pick up a few sweet potatoes, too!

 Sweet Potato Bread

1 3/4 c. self-rising flour

1 1/2c. sugar

1 c mashed, cooked sweet potato

1/2 t. cloves

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. nutmeg

2 eggs

1/2 c. sunflower oil (scant)

1/4 c. milk (scant)

 Sift flour with dry ingredients. Mix all the rest in. Pour into greased and floured loaf pan or cupcake paper liners. For a loaf, bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a butter knife comes out clean; for cupcakes, bake about 20- 25 minutes. Enjoy!

by Carly Nash - AFM Public Relations



Baking has been a part of Alfredo’s life for as long as he can remember. Growing up in Mexico, he worked in his father’s bakery learning the basics of bread making.

 Working for different bakeries helped Alfredo refine his process, and now he’s proud to be self-employed and baking for the Athens community. While he loves being able to meet and sell to all of the “beautiful, interesting and fun people” that come to the market, his job is not as simple as you may think!

 In order to bring us, “beautiful people,” fresh and delicious bread each week, Alfredo works hard for many long hours. He shared with me a normal day of preparing for a Tuesday market.

 Preparations begin on Monday morning; the first thing is to establish the amount of bread he will make in order to check and restock supplies and ingredients. Once everything is accounted for, a little math determines how much starter is needed to build the amount of bread desired. By Monday evening, Alfredo builds these starters and must wait for them to rise. This waiting period only lasts until about 3 a.m.

 That is when the long day truly begins. A fresh brew of coffee gets Alfredo started. He first weighs the recipe’s ingredients: different flours, water, the starter and some salt. A few hours and a lot of mixing later, and the dough has started to proof, or rise.

 Now, at the late hour of 7 a.m., Alfredo can begin stretching and folding the dough. He does this a couple of times in intervals of one hour. This process helps the dough develop the gluten and volume needed to bake to perfection. Between working the dough, Alfredo attends to his own needs and fuels up with a good breakfast to prepare for the day of baking still ahead of him.

 By 9 a.m., the risen dough is cut into pieces and shaped into loaves. An hour later, these loaves are rising again, and final preparations are made to bake the bread. Alfredo scores—cuts the surface of the loaf to allow for expansion—each loaf with their respective designs and sprays them with water. This will help give them the golden, crispy crust we all look forward to!

 In the oven, the breads only bakes a few hours, and by 2 p.m. the baking is complete—Alfredo’s work, however, is not. He does make sure to squeeze in a few tacos for lunch while the bread cools. This cooling process is important, and the bread is not bagged until right before Alfredo leaves for the market.

 Now, 13 hours of laboring finally comes to an end, and Alfredo gets to enjoy his favorite part of the day: interacting with market visitors and sharing with them his extraordinary bread Alfredo became involved in the market long before he started selling his own bread; he has volunteered at various local farms and worked for current vendors. Now that he is selling on his own, he is “loving it!!!!!! I am so glad to be a part of this wonderful community,” he says.

 Whew! Who knew baking bread was so exhausting? To Alfredo, the process is well worth the outcome, and I think anyone who has tried his loaves would agree!

 Besides both the Tuesday and Saturday markets, Alfredo also sells his bread at The Daily Groceries CO-OP, Athens Locally Grown, Lindsey’s Culinary Market and The Healthy Gourmet.



by Carly Nash - AFM Public Relations

 Victor Jacobson is the sole proprietor, manager, marketer and grower of Bowman Produce. His unique life story includes growing up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin, attending a single-room grade school (many years as the only student in his grade), graduating from a small college, running off to New Mexico, marrying, and finally finding his way to Bowman, Ga.

 A man who enjoys attending Georgia basketball games and making homemade nachos, Victor has spent the past 30 years in construction. Dreaming of making a living out of his hobby of growing organic vegetables, it was not until this past year after being accepted into the Athens Farmers Market group, that he was finally able to fulfill his dream.

 Spending time on his grandfather’s farm as a child, Victor attributes hiscurrent farming philosophies to the methods used there. He recalls the rich, dark soil and superior crops of his grandfather’s farm—successful due to the organic matter, such as horse and cow manure, which was used to enrich the soil.

 Victor is proud of his organic ways, and thankful to be a part of a group of farmers who feel the same way. He says, “It is very hard to grow vegetables in this part of North East Georgia, so there are not a lot of farmers like me and my fellow AFM participants who grow their crops so naturally.”

 According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, while organic farming has been one of the fastest-growing segments of agriculture for more than a decade, it still only makes up less than 1% of the nearly 800 million acres of American agriculture. So, while organic growing is definitely increasing in popularity, it has not taken hold for most of our food sources.

 I was curious to learn from someone who has dabbled in organic growing for so long, how he feels about the recent shifts and trends of natural growing, healthy food and environmental awareness.“I think the movement will continue to grow thanks to promoters and educators of organic farming. Even those who still do not go out of their way to get naturally grown food understand what it is all about now.”

 As for being a follower of this trend, Victor thinks, “the AFM growers are more pioneers in the green movement, rather than the ones influenced by it.” This seems to be a bold statement for a man who has only been growing full time for one year, but his confidence was assuring.

 As for the future of Bowman Produce, Victor says, “Next year I hope to eliminate many of my first year mistakes, and use the knowledge I have learned about what vegetables are in demand so that I may utilize my time and energy in a more efficient way.”

 A humble man with realistic goals, Victor wants to maintain his one-man operation without many expansions. “I would like to develop some more raised gardens, however, and maybe try to grow some raspberry bushes.”

 With few desires and needs beyond sunshine, rain and decent climate conditions, Victor sees a promising future for Bowman Produce. He also wants to thank those working to establish the AFM movement, as well as the many people who come to support the growers on Saturday mornings. The greatest inspiration to his garden and produce production is the developing relationships he gains and the kind comments he receives from those at the market.

 VICTOR’S FAVORITES NACHOS:

Top Snyders’ restaurant style tortilla chips with Bowman Produce raw sweet onions, sweet peppers and hot banana peppers. Add black beans (cooked from dry beans-not canned), and cover with sharp cheddar cheese. Heat this in the oven until the cheese melts for a delicious and healthy snack or meal.

by Carly Nash - AFM Public Relations

 Food is more than just a necessity for life at Lazy Willow Farm—it is a passion, and one that extends beyond farming.

 Ben LeGette grew up watching his parents garden and cook their own vegetables, but the hobby was never meant to become a livelihood. After two years of studying civil engineering at Georgia Tech, however, Ben’s love for food led him to London, England where he attended and graduated from the culinary school Le Cordon Bleu.

Ben

Pops

  Upon returning to the U.S., Ben began growing vegetables of his own, with the intention of using them for his new catering business. It was here where the hobby of farming turned into a full time job. He explains, “I began to sell my excess veggies on Athens Locally Grown (an online farmers market), and made more money there than cooking.”

 It was not the end of the road for his culinary life, however. In fact, it is the love of cooking that inspires the farming. “Even though I’m not catering, cooking is still very important to my family. Because we cook what we grow, we only grow varieties that we value and like to eat.”

 And that is where the intriguing part about Ben’s story comes in: “the farm has been embraced by the family.” The pastime has truly become a family business, and one everyone is excited about and enjoys.

 Ben’s mom helps with all the plotting and planning, while his dad loves doing the big projects like building the barn and driving the tractor. His sister Melissa takes care of the online marketing, runs the website, and can usually be found at the farmers market helping out. “People have specialties,” Ben says, “but everyone helps harvest, plant and weed.”

 The operations at Lazy Willow Farm seem pretty picturesque—especially if you check out Melissa’s beautiful photos on Lazy Willow’s website—but, what is next for this young farm of only three years?

 “More vegetables and fewer weeds.” And in five years? “Lots of vegetables and NO WEEDS.” Realistic and straightforward. Ben says there is no intention of expanding the farm area because that would require more hands, and being able to do it all themselves, as a family, is important.

 Besides the family, and of course cooking, Ben and his family feel passionately about preserving genetic diversity of vegetable varieties, especially heirlooms. Ben explains, “Even though we grow butternut winter squash, we also grow a large assortment of Thai, Italian and Japanese winter squash that look very different, but are just as good—if not better—tasting than the butternut.”

 So many kinds of winter squash alone! It’s no wonder that Lazy Willow is a full-time job for the whole family. In addition to their crops, they raise most of their own meat, including lamb, pork and chicken (for eggs).

 This traditional family farm that would have once been seen as the norm, however seems unique in today’s world of individual success and corporate ladder climbing. It is truly refreshing to see a family working together towards a passion they share, and with only the desire to improve—not expand. The phrase quality over quantity comes to mind, and for that (along with the fact that a good chef always knows the value of good crops) Lazy Willow Farm stands out for their dedication to local and sustainable food.

 Find out more about Ben and the entire LeGette family on their website www.lazywillowfarm.com. Even their website is devoted to their love for cooking, heirloom vegetables and raising livestock, not to mention Melissa’s photography and writing is spectacular.



by Carly Nash - AFM Public Relations

Meet Ginni and Scott.  They are the proud owners of Fertile Crescent Farm and Gardens, selling fresh produce and (incredibly beautiful) flowers at both Tuesday and Saturday markets.  They tell a heartwarming and inspiring tale - a tale of ambition, land stewardship, and perseverance.

Circa 2000,  Madison County, GA, Ginni and Scott bought 40 acres of land  from their dear friend, Carlo.  Their  beginning days on the land were spent cultivating and harvesting a "big crop" farm.  Unfortunately, Fertile Crescent could only use  1/4 of thier newly acquired acreage - the remaining 30 acres had been used as a garbage dump by the previous owners. A mass portion of their inherited land was a damaged, inactive wasteland.  Scott claims that "No one in their right mind would buy this land", but Fertile Crescent had a vision.  And so their story goes.

Determined to restore the land, Ginni and Scott spent their earliest efforts reaching out to the EPD and the county - they had high hopes for a community-effort clean up.   Unfortunately,  nothing came out of this.   After a failed attempt to garner the public's support,  Fertile Crescent made the life-changing decision to pour their own labor and  financial resources into the massive land-cleaning effort. 

It was a demanding and intensive project.  Fertile Crescent brought in tractors to pull out big, cumbersome items. They used bulldozers to comb through the soil.   Scott says there was only so much they could do, and that it was the land's own self-preservation that did most of the work.  

A decade has passed since Fertile Crescent bought their land in Madison County and embarked on a land restoration journey.  Dedicated to their mission, Ginni and Scott have made tremendous progress over the years.    They have been presented with numerous awards, including "Stewardship Farmer of the Year" by the Georgia Forestry Service. A full acre of their land is blossoming with beautiful  flowers, and another couple acres is covered with rows of vegetables.  

Ginni, Scott, and their dear friend Carlo are as nice as can be.  Their AFM stand is lined with an assortment of flowers - blues, reds, pinks, yellows and every color under the sun.   Treat yourself to a bouquet, and support the Fertile Crescent Farm and Garden dream.