CNG Staff

We are thrilled to announce three new board members joining our grassroots team! They bring with them a true breadth of experience from all over the country. Join us in welcoming Christopher Peterson (Tennessee), Audrey Sekendur (Illinois), and Laurie Wayne (California).

Read on to learn more about Chris, Audrey, and Laurie!
Christopher Peterson
AOVS Urban Farm
Tennessee
Christopher Peterson has spent the last 9 years working in sustainable agriculture and food systems development, including small-scale vegetable production, multi-species managed intensive grazing, whole farm management, food policy, and community food systems development. He currently manages AOVS Urban Farm, a regenerative “low-till” vegetable farm in Memphis, TN that works with and for formerly homeless military veterans. He believes farming at its best requires creating systems where production goals can be met alongside management for pollinators, wildlife, native plants, and aesthetic goals. He previously served as Executive Director for GrowMemphis (now a program of Memphis Tilth) and has consulted on various other Mid-south food initiatives. He holds an MA in Human Value and Global Ethics and teaches locally as an adjunct professor in Philosophy and Anthropology.
Audrey Sekendur
Chicago Honey Co-op
Illinois
Audrey Sekendur is a dedicated stakeholder in Chicago’s local food system. She supports grassroots efforts to build healthful, just, and autonomous foodways in her community. During a three-year period, she worked in finance, operations, and community engagement at Dill Pickle Food Co-op to promote equitable economic relationships, positive environmental impacts, and inclusive practices grounded in co-operative values. As a farmhand at Earnest Earth Farm and Chicago Honey Co-op, a CNG beekeeping co-operative, she helps care for soil organisms, pollinators, and other cohabitators as a holistic strategy to nurture community members. Audrey graduated from Goddard College with a self-designed major in Food Studies and Immigrant Health. Her family immigrated to the United States in the 1950s from their homestead and bakery in Turkey where they thrived off food they grew and prepared in community. She is especially committed to mitigating the negative health outcomes associated with assimilation and the industrialized American diet.
Laurie Wayne
Open Food Network
California
Laurie left an awesome job in Silicon Valley to become an organic farmer in the high desert of northeastern California. She had no farm training or background, just a suspicion that everything starts and ends with food and integrity. While farming, she started and managed a food hub and farmers market, and co-founded a local food nonprofit in her remote community – these are all still going strong now. In the past few years she has worked to support the regional food system in Central Oregon, working with Extension and other nonprofits. Now she is working to grow the Open Food Network in the US. She believes that the Open Food Network’s values, way of working, and vision for a better world is achievable and worth working towards – as is the vision of Certified Naturally Grown.

Congratulations to These 72 Newly-Certified Farmers and Beekeepers
We are delighted to announce the most recent crop of Certified Naturally Grown producers who have met all the requirements for certification since October! They are listed below alphabetically by state and province. 

Little Halawakee Farm, AL
Red Barn Farm, AR
Smith Ranch, AR
Growing Vertical, AZ
Kern Valley Farms,​ ​CA
Lockewood Acres, CA
van der Kamp Vineyard, CA
Black Sun Farm, CT
Liepold Pond Farm, CT
Tree House Orchard and Farm, CT
Vibrant Farm, CT
Aliff Acres, FL
Blue Head Ranch, FL
Happy Tiger Honey, FL
New Green Organiks, FL
Flora Gothica Farms, GA
Great Greens Microgreens, GA
Little Foot Farm, GA
Nona Farm, GA
Qi Greens, GA
Quercus Farm, GA
Smokey Road Farm, GA
The Pastures of Rose Creek LLC, GA
Love of Life Farm, HI
Four Winds Farm, IA
Star Farm Chicago, IL
Arkenberg Farms, KS
Kelly Homestead Apiary, MA
Honey Moon Farm, MD
Sharp’s at Waterford Farm, MD
BeGreen Microgreens, MI
Lake Michigan Lavender, MI
Stillwind Farm LLC, MI
UP Gourmet, MI
Wandering Winds Farm, MI
Hope Blooms Farm, NC
Ivy and Oak Farm, NC
Kendall’s Garden, NC
Ocean Natural Farm, NC
Redwood Farm, NC
Sweet Betsy Farm, NC
Terra Vita Farm, NC
Tiny Bridge Farm, NC
Winding Stair, NC
Khalsa Family Farms, NM
Button Brook Farm, NS
Gatehouse Greens, NY
Gilded Farms, NY
Shoving Leopard Farm, NY
Nook & Cranny Farm, NY
White Feather Farm, NY
Ellsworth Acres, OH
Prairie Flower Farms, OK
Rare Breed Farms, OK
Zoom Out Mycology, OR
Little Croft Farm, PA
Fungified Farm, LLC, PA
Golden Farms, PA
Humming Hills Farm, LLC, PA
Warwick Furnace Farm, PA
Metanoia Bee Farms, PR
Bird Fork Farm, TN
Freesol Farm, TX
Whole Plate Farm, TX
Jolly Pond Farm, VA
Red Fern Farm, VA
Roots ‘n Shoots, VA
Vanguard Ranch Natural Gourmet, VA
Happy Ranch Farm LLC, WV

The Latest News

• Film SEEDs, A Farmer Learning Collaborative
• CNG Seeks Board Candidates
• Real Food Grown Right T-Shirts: Order by 4/19
• Our 1st Cohort of Senior Remote Inspectors
• Our 2nd Cohort of Senior Remote Inspectors

⠀Business Ally Updates

• Barn2Door’s Partner Benefits for CNG Members
• Small Farm Works Helps CNG Grow

Are there any new CNG members near you? Find out with our searchable map of CNG farms. 

This winter we launched Film SEEDs, A Farmer Learning Collaborative. Now that this series of six weekly sessions is complete, we wanted to share some participant feedback, and announce we intend to continue and evolve this dynamic online peer-to-peer learning approach.
For fun you can watch the trailer we made for our inaugural series. 
Film SEEDs was an ambitious project involving several elements:

• the creation of nine short educational films,
• five lessons on core topics in CNG production practices, and
• a dozen experienced CNG farmers who were featured in the “expert exchange” discussions and/or in the films
• CNG farmers throughout our North American network, plus those who joined via partner organizations. 
  Participants really appreciated this new initiative. Here’s some feedback we received:
• It was very helpful to interact with knowledgeable farmers from across the country and hear how their farms are going and how they respond to challenges. 
• The group breakout rooms really felt like a collaborative effort, like a group of people that know what they’re doing came together to share information and talk shop.
• I love thinking and talking about soil. Very rich discussion. 
• The farmer-to-farmer discussion has been very helpful, and the dynamic between farmers was great. I learned a lot of about cover cropping (and especially undersowing) and the importance of an agronomist!
• The videos were the perfect length and were very organized and informative. I really appreciate the list I was able to make of non-chemical pest management techniques based on the videos and discussion.
  Does this sound like something you’d like to do? You’ll be notified of upcoming offerings if you subscribe to our updates here.
   
  We are very grateful for the generous support of our film sponsors. 
  Small Farm Works sponsored Three Ways to Transplant.
  Ohio Earth Food and Earth Tools sponsored Bed Preparation.
  Want an invitation to sponsor future films? Be sure to register as a Business Ally. 
  Film SEEDs was made possible with funding from the Farmers Market Promotion Program, USDA-AMS. 
   

Video still from “Three Ways to Transplant”
Featuring Shazana Goff, filmed by Steven Merkel, both of Vegetable Power Farm in Germansville, PA

Is your wardrobe ready for summer weather? We are here to help with the re-launch of our t-shirt campaign!
Step out in style at the farmers market. Place your order today!
Our campaign ends April 19, then production begins. Shirts will be delivered April 28 – May 7th. 
These shirt were hand-designed by Aly Miller and come in five colors.
All proceeds benefit Certified Naturally Grown. Why not get one for each member of your farm crew or family? Thanks in advance for your support!
Photo of Jenna, CNG’s Program Manager, in snowy Rochester, NY where April 1 brought even more snow. She hopes to wear the shirt without the jacket soon!

As the growing season is upon us, farmers are focused on production, at last! But at some point every CNG producer needs to arrange for their annual peer-inspection. 
Farmers report gaining a lot from the inspections they give and receive, but we are striving to make them even more valuable, while keeping the process as streamlined as possible. In 2020 we developed an initiative to name highly qualified, experienced CNG producers to serve as Senior Remote Inspectors (SRIs). We announced our first cohort in November. 
Today we’re pleased to announce CNG’s second cohort of SRIs. This group of twelve long-time members includes several who have been with CNG for more than ten years. 
CNG’s Second Cohort of Senior Remote Inspectors
-⠀Clay Brady, Foster Brady Farm, GA
-⠀Sue Rekenthaler, Natural Farm Stand, IL
-⠀Chad Gard, Hole in the Woods Farm, IN
-⠀Tom Farquhar, Sandy Spring Gardens, MD
-⠀Peter Robertson, Natural Cycles Farm, MI
-⠀Tara Lynne Groth, Five Acres Honey Farm, NC
-⠀Rebekah Rice, Nine Mile Farm, NY
-⠀Jennifer Sharpnack, Family Roots Farm, OH
-⠀John Bailey, Woodtrail Graziers, VA
-⠀Robert White, Crickhollow Farm, VA
-⠀Seyra Whitney, Shalom Farms, VA
-⠀Amy Willoughby, Patchwork Family Farm, VA
If you are an experienced CNG farmer and have conducted inspections for at least two different farms, we encourage you to apply. Find out how at the bottom of our SRI Overview page. And you can see who was included in our First Cohort of SRIs here.
A Big Thank You!
Development of the SRI program was made possible with support from the Peer Inspection Impact Fund. Thank you to everyone who has contributed. Your gifts power improvements that help CNG to better serve the farmers at the heart of the good food movement!  Photo: @tulsafarmersmarket

Applications due May 10, 2021

⠀Click Here to Apply

The Board of Directors of Certified Naturally Grown (CNG) invites applications from individuals interested in serving this membership-based nonprofit organization. CNG is a well established and stable organization, yet there remains a great deal of untapped potential to positively impact our food and farming system. We seek passionate and engaged board candidates to help us increase our impact by reliably fulfilling the core responsibilities listed in the position description below while also contributing to the organization with particular strengths in one or more of the following areas:

• Marketing and communications strategy
• Fundraising (particularly corporate sponsorship) 
• 501(c)(6) and/or other membership-based organizations
• Financial management/investment capital
  In addition, we are particularly interested in candidates who bring a rural perspective; who identify as Black, Indigenous or a person of color; and who reside in Tennessee, Michigan, Arkansas or the West Coast (and, more generally, not on the East Coast). 
  CNG is rooted in the principles of Participatory Guarantee Systems as outlined by IFOAM-Organics International. All board candidates should be prepared to share in this commitment. 
  Who We Are 
  Certified Naturally Grown offers peer-review certification for farmers and beekeepers who produce food for their local communities by working in harmony with nature, without the use of synthetic chemicals or GMOs. CNG was founded by farmers in New York’s Mid-Hudson Valley in 2002, and today boasts nearly 800 producers throughout North America. CNG’s mission is to support our members by promoting sustainable agriculture through peer-review certification, grassroots networking, and advocacy. We envision a world where local farms thrive because of supportive communities seeking naturally grown food. 
  What We Seek
  Members of the Board of Directors, who work collaboratively with CNG staff, are responsible for guiding overall strategic direction, setting policies, and ensuring the organization’s financial stability. In addition to bringing their individual skills and knowledge, all board members accept the following responsibilities:
  General Expectations
• Serve a three-year term (two terms maximum). 
• Work collaboratively with a team of fellow Board members. 
• Prepare for and be actively engaged in board meetings (every eight to twelve weeks). 
• Serve in leadership positions, including one or more committee assignments.
• Identify and make connections to opportunities to heighten the profile of the organization in the farming community and among stakeholders and potential supporters.
• Remain actively engaged, including contributing approximately three to five hours per month.
  Strategic Direction 
• Identify opportunities for the organization to develop its capacity, have a greater impact, and better serve its members. 
• Participate in the development and establishment of policies through which the mission and work of the organization is accomplished.
  Finance and Development 
• Enhance the organization’s long-term financial stability and integrity.
• Adopt a fiscally responsible annual budget.
• Ensure that audits and other monitoring of the organization’s finances are conducted when necessary, and otherwise assist the Board to fulfill its fiduciary responsibility. 
• Understand and support the organization’s fund development efforts. 
  Integrity 
• Fully and promptly disclose information that would have significance in board decision making, including anything pertaining to possible conflicts of interests.
• Exercise the powers invested through board membership for the good of the organization rather than for personal benefit. 
• Uphold the confidentiality of sensitive information accessed due to board service.
• In keeping with the core legal responsibilities of any nonprofit board, apply obedience to the law of the governance documents and a duty of care and loyalty to the organization.
  Self-Assessment 
• Participate in the Board’s periodic assessment of its own performance and recommend improvement in such areas as composition, organization, tenure, retention, and responsibilities.

⠀Click Here to Apply

Interested candidates should complete an application no later than May 10, 2021. (We have included the questions below for reference, but please submit using the online form.) We intend to hold interviews in mid-May, and extend invitations to new members by June 1st. Direct questions about the application or about board service to Jasmine Nielsen, Board Development Chair, at jasmine@julepconsulting.com.
~~~
Instructions
This application is designed to help us get a better sense of you and your interests and experience. Please do not feel obligated to craft lengthy paragraphs. However, we are eager to get a sense of what you might bring to the board as well as what you would hope to get out of the experience. Thank you in advance for your time.
About You

1. Name
2. Occupation/Title
3. Organization/Farm
4. City, State
5. Phone/s
6. Email
   History & Affiliations
7. What, if any, is your relationship to CNG?
8. Do you currently serve on any boards? If so, which one(s) and for how long?
9. On what other boards, if any, have you served in the past?
10. Please list the names of other related organizations, besides the ones above, to which you’ve had some affiliation, and indicate the nature of that affiliation. (Alternatively, or in addition, you may upload a copy of your resume or CV below.)
11. [Upload resume or CV here.] Your Potential Board Service
12. What skills, connections, resources, and expertise would you make available to the organization if you were to serve on the board?
13. How does CNG’s mission speak to you personally?
14. What interests you about the prospect of serving on the CNG Board of Directors?
15. If you were to join our board, are there any experiences you’d like to have as a board member, or people you’d like to meet?
    Time Commitment/Availability
16. It is not unusual for board members to have multiple significant commitments. However, it is essential that a Director has the capacity to be engaged and fulfill their duties as a member of the CNG board. What commitments in your life could present challenges to participation as an engaged director? How do you anticipate overcoming these challenges?
17. Would your commitments routinely prevent you from participating in board meetings during any particular time frames (eg weekdays, evenings, weekends)? This wouldn’t necessarily be a problem, but it’s something to take into account. 
    Your Ideas
18. Based on what you know about CNG and the field in which we operate, where do you think there might be opportunities for us to grow?
19. What challenges do you foresee in the local food movement over the next five years, and how might CNG help to address these challenges?
20. Please feel free to share any additional information or suggestions
    Thank you for your interest in helping to nurture and grow CNG, and for taking the time to tell us about yourself. We really appreciate it and look forward to being in touch!

For many of us, “Stay Connected” captures how we have coped and adapted – and if we’re lucky, thrived – amidst the challenges of this past year. It describes how CNG members find strength through collaboration, sharing resources and stories while navigating new ways of life. And staying connected is one of the benefits of our annual peer-inspections, which continued, even if in a modified form.
Inspired by these values, and how they show up on farms, our designer Aly Miller set to work illustrating the inter-dependent relationships of the three sisters – Corn, Squash and Beans – with the many twirling tendrils that connect them, the height of Corn granting light to Beans, and the lush carpet of Squash leaves serving the triad by preventing weed growth. Nature shows the way.
This winter, we’re offering these bandanas as gifts for those who donate to the Grassroots Fund by February 28. For those who give $50 or more, we’ll send three bandanas, and those who give $35-$49 will receive two – in your choice of color.
The Grassroots Fund was established to lower the cost of CNG certification for beginning farmers and those hit by unusual hardship such as extreme weather or physical injuries.
Please chip in to the Grassroots Fund and help us all stay connected this year.

Film Series + Expert Exchange + Discussions
Please join us for this series of six live sessions, guaranteed to boost understanding of best practices for vegetable production according to CNG standards and connect you to our nationwide network of ecological farmers.  
Each dynamic 90-minute session will include:

• At least one short film, professionally produced by CNG
• Lesson by Gareth Stacke, CNG’s certification specialist and an experienced farming instructor
• Expert Exchange, live conversation between two experienced CNG farmers
• Participant Q & A with the Filmed Farmer, Experts, and Gareth, plus
• Small group breakouts to network with experts and one another
  Sessions will focus on the following topics.
• Seed Selection ~ Feb.8
• Weed Management ~ Feb. 15
• Pest Management ~ Feb. 22
• Disease Management ~ March 1
• Soil Management ~ March 8
• Bed Preparation ~ March 15
  The films and pre-recorded lessons will be made available in advance of each session to those who register for the series.
  Registration opens Thursday, January 21st and is available to all farmers. CNG members can access deeply discounted tickets using a code that will be sent via email.
  Register Here! 
  Sessions will be held Mondays at 4pm Eastern beginning February 8.

Certified Naturally Grown’s peer-review certification model is attractive to many farmers. Not because it’s easier – it actually can be a real logistical challenge. Rather, peer reviews actively foster valuable knowledge exchange and mutually supportive farmer networks. 
We have been exploring ways to boost the inherent value of our peer inspections, all while streamlining the process of identifying an appropriate inspector and navigating the logistical challenges posed by the COVID-19 epidemic.
Today we’re pleased to announce one outcome of this effort – CNG’s first cohort of Senior Remote Inspectors (SRIs). 
As the name might suggest, Senior Remote Inspectors are chosen because of their experience with conducting inspections – both remotely and in person – as well as for their farming history. Please join us in congratulating them. We are proud to have their participation! 
CNG’s Senior Remote Inspectors – Inaugural Cohort
-⠀Chuck Rutherford, Rutherford Farm, AR
-⠀Andrew Linker, Humble Vine Farm, GA
-⠀Liz Visser, Blandford Nature Center, MI
-⠀John Ward, Ward Vegetables, MI
-⠀David Harris, Star School Market Garden, MI
-⠀Denise Hayes, Hayes Farm, MI
-⠀Enrique Hernandez, Summer Solstice Farm, NJ
-⠀Stanley Chepaitis, Uncle Henry’s Garden, PA
-⠀Christopher Peterson, AOVS Urban Farm, TN
-⠀Janet Aardema and Dan Gagnon, Broadfork Farm, VA
-⠀Ted Ballweg, Savory Accents, WI
-⠀Michelle Cannon, Larryville Gardens, WI
Senior Remote Inspectors will prioritize inspections for two groups of farmers: 

1. Those whose last inspection was at least 14 months ago, and are therefore at risk of losing their CNG status, and 
2. Those new to CNG who are in the process of obtaining certification for the first time and are having difficulty arranging an in-person inspection.  
   SRIs agree to be available to conduct multiple inspections per year. In exchange, SRIs enjoy the opportunity to connect with CNG farmers throughout North America, to significantly strengthen our grassroots initiative, and to receive a reduction or full waiver of their certification dues. SRIs have an enhanced listing on the CNG website so that members who are qualified to receive a remote inspection can easily identify an appropriate SRI – one with the same certification type. For full details on the expectations and benefits of being an SRI, review the SRI Overview page.
   This initial cohort of Senior Remote Inspectors – a bakers dozen – is just the beginning. An additional 23 CNG members are in the process of qualifying to be an SRI. If you are an experienced CNG farmer and have conducted inspections for at least two different farms, we encourage you to apply. Find out how at the bottom of our SRI Overview page.
   The SRI initiative is designed to achieve several goals at once:

• Boost learning by pairing experienced CNG producers with those just getting started for their first inspection/s
• Enabling members to overcome logistical challenges with completing the on-farm inspection requirement. The logistical challenges are typically due to either:
  • a remote location,
  • a lack of appropriate CNG peer-inspectors nearby, especially due to rules against trading inspections and repeating inspectors, and/or
  • a need to avoid the risk of COVID-19 infection. 
    For background on remote inspections, see our August blog post Peer Inspections in a Pandemic. All remote inspections must be conducted according to CNG’s Remote Inspection Policy.
    A Big Thank You!
    Development of the SRI program was made possible with support from the Peer Inspection Impact Fund. Last December many members of our grassroots community generously established this fund in order “to help coordinate efficient inspections for busy farmers and maximize the learning that takes place once they happen”. Our grassroots community continues to build this fund with monthly and one-time contributions.
    Thank you to everyone who has contributed. Your generosity powers improvements that help CNG to better serve the farmers at the heart of the good food movement!

If you take a year off farming to live in Japan, you might just encounter a tool that small-scale diverse vegetable farmers in the United States would find extremely useful. That’s what happened to John Hendrickson, founder of Small Farm Works. 
Paper pots and paper pot transplanting equipment were originally pioneered by a major Japanese sugar company growing sugar beets more than 30 years ago. Since then, other types of paper pots and transplanters have evolved. Since John began importing the Chainpot Transplanter, many a farmer’s jaw has dropped when they first witness this incredibly efficient approach to putting seedlings into soil.
We spoke with John about his company and some additional farm tool innovations he’ll be introducing to American farmers. Welcome to the CNG Business Allies community Small Farm Works!
Are you interested in featuring your like-minded company on our blog? Certified Naturally Grown (CNG): How did Small Farm Works get started?
John Hendrickson (JH): My wife has been a student of Japanese language and culture for many years, so we’ve had a long history of being connected with Japan. We got married there while she was finishing up a two-year college scholarship, then returned to the US where we started our family and a small farm. Later we moved to Japan for a year with our two young sons. 
Nearly all Japanese farms are considered small scale by our standards. I was driving around seeing all kinds of interesting tools and equipment, and so I started looking for them online. I happened upon a website with a grainy photo of the paper pot transplanter. I was intrigued, but couldn’t quite tell what the tool was for, so I asked my wife to translate. Giving me her best literal translation, she said it’s a “vegetable seedling putting in the ground machine”. I had to learn more. 
It turns out the company that made the tool was right there in the town where we were living. We met at their R&D facility where they demonstrated the tool for me. My jaw dropped when I saw it in action. I told them right then that I could sell this tool in the US. Honestly, I think they said yes just to be nice to me. Their idea of US agriculture is huge combines – not small scale farmers. I don’t think they thought anything would come of it. 
But farmers did buy the tool! After a few years, I started Small Farms Works to sell the Paper Pot Transplanter, and eventually other farm tools designed to help small-scale farmers succeed. 
CNG: What are Small Farm Works’s core values?
JH: We want to make work easier and smoother to help farms succeed. The company name is a kind of play on words, where our values are embedded. “Works” is an old fashioned word for factory. Although we don’t have things made on the farm right now, I have some ideas in my head that I’d like to fabricate. Also, we want to help small farms work – to succeed as businesses. We do this by helping farmers both be profitable and to work without injuring their bodies, in a sustainable way, while taking care of the soil. 
CNG: How did you make the decision to support CNG as a Business Ally?
JH: It was a rather momentous decision to say yes to CNG, actually, because we have been fairly resistant to doing much advertising over the years. If you spend money advertising, then your customers have to pay for that. So when I see companies doing glitzy advertising, it’s a turnoff. But being a CNG Business Ally felt like a good fit. It’s more like a partnership, especially with the opportunity to be a film lesson sponsor, and support CNG’s farmer education initiative. I was actually a CNG grower for a year back in the early days. I didn’t continue with CNG because our coop board decided that all members’ farm products had to be certified organic.
CNG: How could Certified Naturally Grown benefit Small Farm Works’s customers?
JH: There’s a lot of conversation about how small scale sustainable farms have to have a place in the marketplace. Some worry that multiple labels can be confusing to customers. Perhaps, but I also believe it’s important to have choices, both for customers and especially for the farmers, so they can have their growing practices validated and represented in a way that’s authentic. I think CNG remains an important option, an alternative. This relates fairly significantly to my business, given the confusion – some might say controversy – about the use of paper pots on organic farms. Many certified organic farmers have been given mixed messages from their certifiers, but CNG has been a consistent supporter of this technology, and of the farmers who use it.
CNG: What are some exciting developments at Small Farm Works the CNG community can look forward to?
JH: We continue to scour Japan and elsewhere for unique tools and equipment to make available to small scale farmers here. I’ve been impressed with a few Japanese weed cultivation tools, and am excited to offer them this year. Now I’m focused on a new harvest cart I imported last year. It’s a tall platform on wheels that’s motorized. It straddles a bed and moves directly over your crop, which is much better than carrying heavy harvest crates across your fields. When we first looked at importing them we were not allowed to bring over the engine, because it doesn’t meet US emission standards. But we wanted this thing to be electric, anyway. A gas engine would be idling all the time, including when stationary in the field while harvesting. So we’re in the process of converting it to use an electric motor. It has great applications on small farms where you can spend a lot of time and energy moving things around. 
CNG: If you had a magic agricultural wand, how would you use it to improve farm systems in North America?
JH: I love this question! First, I would eliminate global warming. And related to this answer, I recall back when farming, my fantasy was a gentle 1 – 1.5 “ rain on Saturday nights. It would come just after market day, at night. And Sunday is a day to do a bit less than normal, so with the rain, you’d feel more okay not going into the field. I would also use the magic wand to pay off everyone’s mortgage, and last but not least, to return land back to Native American communities, because so much was stolen from them. 
CNG: Is there anything else we should know about Small Farm Works?
JH: Anybody who has actually called me on the phone with questions will know I love to talk to people, help them figure out the components of the paper pot system, and walk them through a smart purchase, rather than making a blind purchase through the website. My farm business has been put to bed so I’m not currently farming (though I still do some growing and selling) but I’m a farmer at heart. So I love to talk with farmers and share what I learned on my farm that might help them.
CNG: Thank you John for all you do on behalf of farmers and for supporting the work of Certified Naturally Grown.
 
…are you interested in featuring your like-minded company on our blog?