Food, Flowers, & Fun: Visits with farm women from around the world
This podcast celebrates the stories of women farmers around the world who are engaged in food production, ornamentals, and agritourism. Join us for some honest farm talk--and lots of laughter--about the unique challenges faced by female farmers as they try to balance their farm and personal lives, support their mental health and well-being, and sustain healthy relationships on and off the farm. The first season’s guests include a cassava grower from Cameroon, an agroforester from North Carolina, a ”chicken midwife” from California, the Grass Whisperer, and many, many more. You won’t want to miss an episode! Your host, Kristen ”K” Castrataro, is a fifth-generation farm kid from Rhode Island. She has a rich agricultural background as a producer, Extension Agent, and farm consultant. She is driven by the conviction that the people feeding our bodies and souls should NOT be starving themselves. K is the founder of Pen Light for Farmers, a business that helps farmers (especially farm women) build a farm life and relationships that meet their deepest needs and values. You can find her at www.penlightfarmers.com.
Episodes
Recording date: September 8, 2026
Welcome to the second season of Food, Flowers, & Fun: Visits with farm women from around the world! Episode thirty-eight features Diane McKenzie of McKenzie Hereford Farms Ltd. as we discuss:
- Women’s experiences with farm succession
- Women’s and men’s different roles in perpetuating the family farm
- Women as legitimate continuers of the farm legacy
- The increased need for re...
Recording date: September 8, 2026
Welcome to the second season of Food, Flowers, & Fun: Visits with farm women from around the world! Episode thirty-eight features Diane McKenzie of McKenzie Hereford Farms Ltd. as we discuss:
- Women’s experiences with farm succession
- Women’s and men’s different roles in perpetuating the family farm
- Women as legitimate continuers of the farm legacy
- The increased need for re...
Recording date: August 28, 2026
Welcome to the second season of Food, Flowers, & Fun: Visits with farm women from around the world! Episode thirty-seven features Kathy Puffer of The Biogas Education Hub as we discuss:
- Harnessing the benefits of agriculture for children with autism
- Using small-scale anaerobic digesters to power your home and farm
- Keeping your purpose in mind when making decisions in your farm life and busin...
Recording date: August 28, 2026
Welcome to the second season of Food, Flowers, & Fun: Visits with farm women from around the world! Episode thirty-seven features Kathy Puffer of The Biogas Education Hub as we discuss:
- Harnessing the benefits of agriculture for children with autism
- Using small-scale anaerobic digesters to power your home and farm
- Keeping your purpose in mind when making decisions in your farm life and busin...
Recording date: July 22, 2026
Welcome to the second season of Food, Flowers, & Fun: Visits with farm women from around the world! Episode thirty-six features Nicola Westlake of Westy and Worzel as we discuss:
- Finding the opportunities in “voluntary redundancy”
- Integrating into an established farm family as the “in-law”
- Negotiating farm rental agreements
- Creating new meaning and purpose post-farming
- ...
Recording date: July 22, 2026
Welcome to the second season of Food, Flowers, & Fun: Visits with farm women from around the world! Episode thirty-six features Nicola Westlake of Westy and Worzel as we discuss:
- Finding the opportunities in “voluntary redundancy”
- Integrating into an established farm family as the “in-law”
- Negotiating farm rental agreements
- Creating new meaning and purpose post-farming
- ...
Recording date: July 20, 2026
Welcome to the second season of Food, Flowers, & Fun: Visits with farm women from around the world! Episode thirty-five features Kate Bowen of Meadowdale Farm as we discuss:
- Managing Lyme as a musician, mother, and farmer
- Supporting veterans who want to transition into farming
- Overcoming physical challenges with AgrAbility
- Creating a farm life that adapts to differing levels of staffing and ab...
Recording date: July 20, 2026
Welcome to the second season of Food, Flowers, & Fun: Visits with farm women from around the world! Episode thirty-five features Kate Bowen of Meadowdale Farm as we discuss:
- Managing Lyme as a musician, mother, and farmer
- Supporting veterans who want to transition into farming
- Overcoming physical challenges with AgrAbility
- Creating a farm life that adapts to differing levels of staffing and ab...
Recording date: July 13, 2026
Welcome to the second season of Food, Flowers, & Fun: Visits with farm women from around the world! Episode thirty-four features Ajoke Lawon of Joks Snail Farm as we discuss:
- Comparing the life cycles of Giant Nigerian Land Snails and dairy cattle
- Starting snail farms in small spaces with minimal capital
- Learning from others’ mistakes…and your own
- Integrating family and farming
- An...
Recording date: July 13, 2026
Welcome to the second season of Food, Flowers, & Fun: Visits with farm women from around the world! Episode thirty-four features Ajoke Lawon of Joks SnailFarm as we discuss:
- Comparing the life cycles of Giant Nigerian Land Snails and dairy cattle
- Starting snail farms in small spaces with minimal capital
- Learning from others’ mistakes…and your own
- Integrating family and farming
- And...
Recording date: July 9, 2026
Welcome to the second season of Food, Flowers, & Fun: Visits with farm women from around the world! Episode thirty-three features Jo Sheridan of Owl Farm as we discuss:
- Developing youth-directed pathways into agriculture
- Elevating agriculture by expanding the understanding of ‘farmer’
- Exploring the intersection of people, ecology, and agriculture
- Creating more efficient livestock-ba...
Recording date: August 7, 2026
We’re celebrating a birthday! Food, Flowers, & Fun: Visits with farm women from around the world just turned a year old.
This special bonus episode features six of our podcast guests:
- Candace Clavin (Ep. 1.9)
- Elizabeth Collins (Eps. 1.17-18)
- Kathy Jentz (Ep. 2.16)
- Jess Evans (Ep. 2.29)
- Heather Meehan (Ep 2.3)
- Suzanne Beinlich (Ep. 2.32)
Join them (and some special participants) fo...
Recording date: August 7, 2026
We’re celebrating a birthday! Food, Flowers, & Fun: Visits with farm women from around the world just turned a year old.
This special bonus episode brings together three of our podcast guests—Connie Hunter Baptiste (Episode 2.28), Suzanne Beinlich (Ep. 2.32), and Nicola Westlake (Ep. 2.36)—to discuss:
- How their understanding of the relationship between farming, nature, and p...
Recording date: July 9, 2026
Welcome to the second season of Food, Flowers, & Fun: Visits with farm women from around the world! Episode thirty-three features Jo Sheridan of Owl Farm as we discuss:
- Developing youth-directed pathways into agriculture
- Elevating agriculture by expanding the understanding of ‘farmer’
- Exploring the intersection of people, ecology, and agriculture
- Creating more efficient livestock-ba...
Recording date: July 8, 2026
Welcome to the second season of Food, Flowers, & Fun: Visits with farm women from around the world! Episode thirty-two features Suzanne Beinlich of Triple B Farms as we discuss:
- Deciding when to let love conquer all
- Involving kids on the farm
- Transferring decision-making from one generation to the next
- Building a family-based fall enterprise
- And much, much more…
You will love this ...
Recording date: July 8, 2026
Welcome to the second season of Food, Flowers, & Fun: Visits with farm women from around the world! Episode thirty-two features Suzanne Beinlich of Triple B Farms as we discuss:
- Deciding when to let love conquer all
- Involving kids on the farm
- Transferring decision-making from one generation to the next
- Building a family-based fall enterprise
- And much, much more…
You will love this ...
Recording date: July 7, 2026
Welcome to the second season of Food, Flowers, & Fun: Visits with farm women from around the world! Episode thirty-one features Venus Corriveau of Little Dipper Farm as we discuss:
- Transitioning from education into farming
- Embedding yourself and your farm business in the community
- Experimenting with different growing practices
- Growing crops, managing a venue, and caring for family
- And much, muc...
Recording date: July 7, 2026
Welcome to the second season of Food, Flowers, & Fun: Visits with farm women from around the world! Episode thirty-one features Venus Corriveau of Little Dipper Farm as we discuss:
- Transitioning from education into farming
- Embedding yourself and your farm business in the community
- Experimenting with different growing practices
- Growing crops, managing a venue, and caring for family
- And much, muc...
Recording date: July 2, 2026
Welcome to the second season of Food, Flowers, & Fun: Visits with farm women from around the world! Episode thirty features Jody Wilhelm of Rural Route Bulbs as we discuss:
- Developing a U-pick tulip business
- Navigating the “switch tax” between diverse farm tasks
- Experimenting with different growing practices for greater yield and soil microbiology
- Timing your farm life to accommodat...
Recording date: July 2, 2026
Welcome to the second season of Food, Flowers, & Fun: Visits with farm women from around the world! Episode thirty features Jody Wilhelm of Rural Route Bulbs as we discuss:
- Developing a U-pick tulip business
- Navigating the “switch tax” between diverse farm tasks
- Experimenting with different growing practices for greater yield and soil microbiology
- Timing your farm life to accommodat...
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