Dive into the world of chestnut production on this week’s episode of ATTRA’s Voices from the Field podcast. NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist Tyler Jenkins talks with Michelle Ajamian, a network developer for the Appalachian Stable Foods Collaborative. Ajamian, based in southeastern Ohio, advocates for small-scale farming and discusses the challenges and triumphs of cultivating a chestnut market in the region.
In 2022, Rural Action received the SARE Partnership grant project Value Adding Culinary Chestnut Seconds Through the Development of a Marketable Fine Flour to develop value-added fine chestnut flour. Working with the Route 9 Chestnut Cooperative, Ajamian examined production practices, milling processes and consumer preferences to explore producing chestnut flour for the local community. Through her outreach efforts with the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association, Ajamian brought local farmers together in support of new regional chestnut markets.
This episode of Voices from the Field is one in a series co-produced by ATTRA and SARE that explores the different ways farmers are working to create new local markets for specialty and niche crops. Each partner episode will address a different production system or crop—from endives to small-grain value chains—and will feature farmers sharing their production and marketing strategies, challenges and successes along the way.
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