Agrihoods crafted by actual farmers
As farmers, as co-principals in a community-focused farm nonprofit for five years (We Are All Farmers), and in Crystal's day job as a researcher and director keeping small farmers functioning, Edward and Crystal understand the full spectrum of requirements to keep a successful farm-centered enterprise and a farm family functioning.
Community is the key ingredient.
Crystal's mother grew up a sharecropper and the youngest of ten children. Both of her agrarian grandmothers were one of more than 9+ children. Back then, the family was the labor.
Edward and Crystal understand the balance of independence of spirit, commitment to nature, and engagement with entrepreneurship that it takes for most farm enterprises to last. They also understand what it means to need and be willing to offer the occasional helping hand.
Their method of agrihood development investigates and engages with interested participants and agrihood creators to fit the right model to the right place. As a trained qualitative researcher and experienced community-based program director, Crystal unveils the agrihood system that meets the needs of people and place. As a deep practitioner of land stewardship, Edward investigates place and the proposed or running farm as integrated systems and co-develops farm and enterprise design.
Community is the key ingredient.
Crystal's mother grew up a sharecropper and the youngest of ten children. Both of her agrarian grandmothers were one of more than 9+ children. Back then, the family was the labor.
Edward and Crystal understand the balance of independence of spirit, commitment to nature, and engagement with entrepreneurship that it takes for most farm enterprises to last. They also understand what it means to need and be willing to offer the occasional helping hand.
Their method of agrihood development investigates and engages with interested participants and agrihood creators to fit the right model to the right place. As a trained qualitative researcher and experienced community-based program director, Crystal unveils the agrihood system that meets the needs of people and place. As a deep practitioner of land stewardship, Edward investigates place and the proposed or running farm as integrated systems and co-develops farm and enterprise design.
The practiced agrihood consultants
Edward Marshall fell in love with farming back in the 1990s. Through that decade and into the next, he grew an organic market garden and pastured livestock and poultry. In 2002, he left the farm, took a 9 year hiatus, and returned in 2011 with Crystal Cook Marshall to reboot. In honor of the peoples who used to hunt and traverse this land, they searched for a Catawban connection and settled on renaming the site Pockerchicory Farms-- pockerchicory is an Algonquian word for "hickory" or "nut" as the farm is rich with black walnut and hickory. Covered over in trees and brush, with the soil underneath flopped out from the couple of hundred years this site grew tobacco and cotton, Edward and Crystal took several years to settle on the best farming methods to heal this land, to produce awesome food, and to bring in the much needed fertility to repair the soil. Pockerchicory Farms, Co-Owner, 2010-2015, 2017 - 2025. (40 acres in USDA Zone 7/8 in the Brushy Mountain Foothills, North Carolina; 36° 0'7.72", 80°58'5.61"W) Perennial crop production and planning. Compost production for greenhouse. Native, specialty, annual, and perennial starter plant production. Specialty mushroom production. Rotational grazing of pigs, goats, poultry, and sheep. Planning and conversion of early succession forest on a former heavily eroded tobacco and cotton farm toward silvopasture. Farm business planning and adaptation. Business planning for: professional specialty plant production, mushroom production, greenhouse production, agtourism, farm store. Principal sales--direct to clients. Managed grass and grazing of additional 20 acres at leased farm: sheep. Planned and used goats and sheep for land clearing for clients. Advised on livestock and poultry production for rehabilitation of former coal mined land and surface mined land. Co-director, We Are All Farmers Permaculture Institute, Union Grove, NC, 2012-2017.
Apprentice on what was then an Organic Valley cooperative dairy. Attended to all aspects of dairy cattle care. Milked. Devised and managed grazing program and plan for 150+ cattle. Permaculturist and Permaculture Instructor. Land management and assessment through systems design. Trained and train in food forest creation and management, agricultural systems, and land management. Entrepreneur/Organic Farmer/Market Gardner, USDA Zone 7 in the Brushy Mountain Foothills, North Carolina, 1992-2002; (3 Bucket Hollar, Union Grove, North Carolina, USA - 36° 0'7.72", 80°58'5.61"W http://tiny.cc/VFKCz) Owned & operated 35-acre organic farm. 4 hectares in pasture development with pastured poultry/pastured pigs/pastured goats. 60 - .80 hectares irrigated specialty vegetables/cut flowers & edible flowers/herbs. Through extensive cover cropping (buckwheat, annual ryegrass, clovers, winter wheat, rye & hairy vetch), composting, crop & livestock rotation, converted red clay soil to black & loamy soil suitable for organic crop production Biodynamics, Organic Agriculture, Permaculture
TRAININGS/APPRENTICESHIPS/ADDITONAL FARM AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE Currently learning Syntropic Agroforestry. Introduction to Holistic Management, Holistic Management pasture management course. Organic Valley field days. Hugh Karreman Cow Signals Training Rodale Institute. Elizando Sustainable Cattle Workshop. Black Soldier Fly Production, Living Web Farms. Organic Growers School, Jim Adkins Heritage Poultry Workshop. Part-time worker (apprenticing), Dobson Family Farm, Organic Valley Dairy. Ag Biz Planning Course, completed farm finances course through Carolina Farm Credit. Will Allen Urban gardening at Interfaith Food Shuttle, NC. Permaculture Teacher Training; Food Forest Design, Chuck Burr & Larry Korn, Southern Oregon Permaculture Institute. Hancock Permaculture Institute, Permaculture Design Course, Andrew Phillips, Hancock, NY, USA. Land Stewardship Project Farm Beginnings Farm Field Day, PolyFace Farm, Swoope, VA, USA. Sustenance Farm, Bear Creek, North Carolina, Harvey Harmon, Permaculture Workshop |
After a strong career in education, fundraising, fund management, and non-profit executive directorship, Crystal Cook Marshall returned to the region she was from to create spaces, institutions, businesses, partnerships, and conduct research committed to the development of regenerative agriculture and regenerative economies.
In the last fourteen years, she has: Co–founded a regional working group on agriculture and founded a non-profit in coalfield Appalachia focused on soil health and regenerative mountain agriculture, which led to co-writing a successful federal grant of $40m+ for a food center in Central Appalachia (https://www.appalachiarfbc.org/). Become trained in regenerative pasture management and become a master meat goat goatherd on their small-holding farm, co-developed a plan for fixing soil abused through 200+ years of monoculture, taught more than 80 people in permaculture (2012 - 2015), and co-managed a regenerative grazing online forum of more than 40K participants. Finished a PhD with a focus on systems and the Urban-Rural continuum and published an academic book that includes a draft National Sustainable Agriculture Policy for the US. Built strong working relationships with farmers and ag and economic development nonprofits. Rebuilt the agricultural safety and health program at North Carolina A&T State University, with a focus on underserved farmers, creating a culture of support for the whole farmer as part of the commitment to sustainable ag. Cook Marshall reinvigorated NC’s AgrAbility program and its partnerships, increasing the # of farmers served by 421% and expanded partnerships to support farmworkers in struggle. Developed two research strains focused on extreme weather, BIPOC farmer stress, and underserved farmer access to DIY regenerative farming technology. Raised more than $3m in seed funding or research funding for the preceding activities. This also included successful grants such as the NRCS’ Equity Conservation Outreach Cooperative Agreement ($701,658), a Healthy Food Financing grant ($184,000), and an Evans-Allen research grant ($630,000). Joined the board for the conversion of a defunct campus in Bristol, VA into a beacon for regenerative ag education and infrastructure. Cook Marshall loves working with and advocating for farmers, ag-centered businesses and initiatives, matching them with resources, and making farms, farmers, and farm support networks/orgs stronger and sustainable. Along with deep professional commitment to farms, farmers, and ag (rural and “asphalt”) economies she brings walk-the-talk passion, practical on-the-ground experience, and an ability to build trust and alliances in the boardroom or in the barnyard. |