May 26, 2020
Who is advocating for the underserved and under-recognized women in the farming business?
Hailing from Wisconsin, Lisa Kivirist is an author, women-farmer, cottage-food activist, and highly-accomplished entrepreneur. So needless to say, she knows a thing or two about vocation diversification! Lisa is a Senior Fellow Endowed Chair in Agricultural Systems at the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture at the University of Minnesota, focusing on identifying opportunities to champion leadership development among female farmers and rural women. She founded and leads the Rural Women’s Project of the Midwest Organic Sustainable Education Service, an award-winning initiative championing female farmers and food-based entrepreneurs. We’ve got so very much to talk about here and not nearly enough time to do it, so don’t miss out on this info-jammed episode of the Thriving Farmer Podcast!
You’ll hear:
What lured Lisa into farming? 1:44
What Lisa was aiming for when she started an organic farm 3:52
How she transitioned from farmer to farmer *and* advocate 5:24
What prompted Lisa to write ‘Soil Sisters?’ 6:26
What specific challenges women face in farming 7:32
What advantages women have in farming 11:05
What (if any) funding options women farmers have 13:14
How the Soil Sisters event began 15:47
What MOSES In Her Boots is all about 19:09
Why Lisa focuses on collaborative learning 23:39
What Lisa’s book ‘Homemade For Sale’ is all about 28:44
What steps most states require you to take in order to go through with food product development 32:31
How Lisa ensures her products stand out in the market 34:00
Some of the cottage food entrepreneurs Lisa has worked with and their projects 38:18
What happened with Lisa’s lawsuit against the state of Wisconsin about the ban of baked goods sales 41:04
About the biggest opportunities for farmers in 2020 46:10
The biggest mistake Lisa sees newer farmers making 49:08
The scoop with Lisa’s new bakery 52:02
What Lisa’s favorite farming tool is 57:16
Where you can find out more about Lisa and her work 58:23
About the
Guest:
Farmer,
author, agriculture advocate, innkeeper, parent, passionate food
preserver and zucchini enthusiast. Lisa Kivirist thrives on wearing
multiple hats under the sustainable agriculture umbrella, deeply
rooted and based on her family's farm in southwestern
Wisconsin.
Resources:
http://www.innserendipity.com/
https://lisakivirist.wixsite.com/soilsistersbook
https://homemadeforsale.wixsite.com/homemadeforsale
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/lisakivirist/