Souder Station Farm Podcast

Welcome to the Souder Station Farm Podcast. We're using this medium to better connect answer customer questions, discuss agricultural topics, and let folks in on our thoughts and feelings on the farm and in the world of agriculture. We raise pasture raised pig and chickens, as well as a few eggs layers. We keep bees and raise a small garden each year, and occasionally tap trees. We definitely belief in living a life that is based don being Happy, Healthy, and Strong, and want to welcome you in to our journey as we build our farm and place in the community.

Interview: Ben Nelson from Calkins Farm 07/25/2025

Interview: Ben Nelson from Calkins Farm We’re sitting down and chatting with my friend Ben Nelson of Calkins Farm in Hampden Maine. Calkins farm has been in Hampden Maine for over 100 years. Ben is the fourth generation of farmers continuing in his family's footsteps and we sit down to talk about the farm, changes over time, agriculture, and life. You can reach Ben at Calkins Farm at 207-862-3246. Timestamps of our Topics: Welcome to Calkins Farm John Calkins, Ben's uncle, was born, raised, and died on the same farm his whole life Trolley Lines down Main street. Ben’s Grandfather driving his teachers to school when he was 13 Growing crops and growing for yourself first Crops other than veggies? Livestock and the laying hens of the 70’s Egg Vending machine Apples and the Orchard The grocery store has twisted our perception of production and quality Moving forward with greenhouses, seedlings, and flowers How did Ben Nelson get started farming Haying and loss of farmland Future Plans Covid and the changing markets Tom Roberts of Snakeroot Organic Farm. “Pace of Life” a short film by Scott Julien. Pace of Life on Vimeo Farm Life Wreaths Future of small farms, covid, climate, and sprawl Finding happiness and purpose and paying the bills as a small farm Modern technology: Spray paint The seed industry Outsourcing seed production to other countries with cheap labor Encouraging folks to be more connected to the source of their food Getting kids in the soil! Reaching out to Ben at Calkins Farm. 207-862-3246 Calkins Farm Stand | Hampden ME | Facebook Timestamps are included both for ease of finding topics you're interested in, and to make it easy to return if you can’t finish the video in one sitting. /episode/index/show/souderstationfarmpodcast/id/37548590

SSF Interview with Garrett Richards. Talking Farming. 03/13/2025

SSF Interview with Garrett Richards. Talking Farming. In this episode of Agrarian Matters I’m catching up with my friend Garrett Richards. Garrett is a graduating student of the University of Maine’s Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Program. He’s worked on several farms, including helping out at Souder Station Farm. We got together to just openly ramble about farming thoughts on our minds. We covered a bunch of topics in this episode and it was a lot of fun. Looking forward to going deeper on these topics with Garrett in future episodes. /episode/index/show/souderstationfarmpodcast/id/35674395

SSF 012 Eliot Van Peski MeadowSweet Farm pt2 02/24/2025

SSF 012 Eliot Van Peski MeadowSweet Farm pt2 We visited Eliot at his farm, Meadowsweet Farm in Swanville Maine to check the place out and talk farming. Eliot has been interviewed previously, but we wanted to get together again and try and show some of his farm to everyone and catch up on things. We ramble a little bit, but the conversation we had was a good mix of topics. /episode/index/show/souderstationfarmpodcast/id/35410110

SSF 010: Interview with Eliot of Meadowsweet Farm 04/11/2023

SSF 010: Interview with Eliot of Meadowsweet Farm In this episode I had some time with my friend Eliot of Meadsweet Farm in Swanville Maine to sit down and talk casually about farming, sheep, worms, grass, and agricutlure in general. /episode/index/show/souderstationfarmpodcast/id/26510406

Podcast Interview with Jamie at 7 Stands Farm 07/29/2022

Podcast Interview with Jamie at 7 Stands Farm Jaime from 7 Stands Farm in North Carolina is joining us today. While on vacation we were able to link up and talk farming. After an entire morning talking we finally sat down to record. The conversation was meant to be more focused on pigs, but quickly I got distracted and began asking about bees. It was a great conversation filled with information on bee keeping, goats, and pigs. Not necessarily in that clean of an order :) /episode/index/show/souderstationfarmpodcast/id/23902983

SSF Episode 009: Societal Gene Therapy Compliance and GMO's 06/20/2022

SSF Episode 009: Societal Gene Therapy Compliance and GMO's This week we're discussing a few thoughts around gene therapies, genetic engineering, GMO's, Vaccines, Organic agriculture, farming, and societies relationships and acceptance of emerging technologies in our lives. Whether we want it or not. /episode/index/show/souderstationfarmpodcast/id/23483480

SSF Podcast 008- Problems with the State of Maine Department of Ag 07/19/2019

SSF Podcast 008- Problems with the State of Maine Department of Ag In this issue we're coming back from a long break away from the mic. There's been a lot going on around the farm, but recently we had a big issue with the State of Maine threatening to destroy our perfectly good smoked products on account of mislabeling issue. Listen to hear more. Originally recorded in conjunction for youtube, so apologies on the sound. /episode/index/show/souderstationfarmpodcast/id/10579346

SSF Podcast 007 Newsletter Sign Up Directions and Thoughts on 2019 Pig Production 02/02/2019

SSF Podcast 007 Newsletter Sign Up Directions and Thoughts on 2019 Pig Production We recently had some issue with the farm newsletter. This is just a real quick overview of instructions on how to go and get signed back up if you missed it elsewhere. /episode/index/show/souderstationfarmpodcast/id/8497775

SSF Podcast Episode 006 Pre-Kindergarten Q&A Responses for Families 01/24/2019

SSF Podcast Episode 006 Pre-Kindergarten Q&A Responses for Families On todays show we are answering questions form local Pre-K kids about what it's like being a farmer. They share with me what they know, and then have a bunch of questions. This episode is really geared for the parents who want to listen to what they learned in class. You can listen to this while your driving and dig deeper into farming and animals together. /episode/index/show/souderstationfarmpodcast/id/8380040

SSF Podcast Episode 003: Pigs, Mud, Bedding, Pastures, and Common Misconceptions 01/02/2019

SSF Podcast Episode 003: Pigs, Mud, Bedding, Pastures, and Common Misconceptions SSF Podcast Episode 003: Pigs, Mud, Bedding, Pastures, and Common Misconceptions. In this episode we're looking at why and when pigs need mud. Spoiler: it's way less than you think. Long term antiquated notions of pigs wallow in muck all the live long day are toxic to promoting Happy, Healthy, and Strong animals. Especially when placed within a pasture based system. Listen in as pigs and mud are the main topics today. /episode/index/show/souderstationfarmpodcast/id/8107808

SSF Podcast 004: Investing and Planning for an Orchard 12/12/2018

SSF Podcast 004: Investing and Planning for an Orchard In this episode of the Souder Station Farm Podcast I'm pondering the future of the farm and doing a lot of thinking about a nursery and orchard. The thing about an orchard that most excited me is the thought of putting in work now, that is going to give me return down the road. A small investment of time and energy now, could yield dividends for the next 100 years. That's a secure feeling. /episode/index/show/souderstationfarmpodcast/id/7892948

SSF Episode 003: Happy, Healthy, and Strong Meaning? 11/28/2018

SSF Episode 003: Happy, Healthy, and Strong Meaning? In this episode of the Souder Station Farm podcast I just want to give short overview for everyone one on why we have "Happy, Healthy, and Strong" under our logo. We encourage everyone to share what it means to them afterwards. /episode/index/show/souderstationfarmpodcast/id/7717463

Talking Turkeys, thanksgiving, and plans for the future with Head Farm Technician TJ Clark 11/22/2018

Talking Turkeys, thanksgiving, and plans for the future with Head Farm Technician TJ Clark This week on the Souder Station Farm Podcast we are talking with TJ Clark, the farms head field technician as we talk shop. This is a purely unscripted talk out in the barn as we ponder thanksgiving, turkeys, shops plans, and ideas for growing the farm into the future. /episode/index/show/souderstationfarmpodcast/id/7654142

SSF 001: Fall 2018 Farm Updates on Progress 11/13/2018

SSF 001: Fall 2018 Farm Updates on Progress The last several years of farming have had lots of ups and downs. Our current farm we bought 2 years ago, and it really feels like we're starting from ground zero. In this episode we give a rough overview of some past activities, what we're trying to accomplish now, and plans for the future. /episode/index/show/souderstationfarmpodcast/id/7545218

SSF 000: Welcome to Souder Station Farm Podcast! 11/13/2018

SSF 000: Welcome to Souder Station Farm Podcast! Welcome! In this episode we start things off by discussing WHY we are starting a podcast, what we hope to get out of it, and what we hope to offer with he new project. As always we always love getting feedback and ideas for growing and helping others, so let us know what you think and how we can make it better! Thanks /episode/index/show/souderstationfarmpodcast/id/7545173

Souder Station Farm Podcast

TOPICS