Meet Our Farmer Training Students

Gigi Copeland

What brought you to Rodale Institute?
In November 2022 I had seen an advert on Facebook for the Rodale Institute Farmer Training program and thought at the time, if i didn’t need to worry about money, I would do this in a heartbeat.  I had been trying to farm on a small scale on my own and immediately understood how RIFT could help me be successful.  Two weeks later, I found myself out of a job and I applied for the program.

What areas within agriculture are you most interested in?
I am working towards doing mostly perennials – herbs, berries, fruit trees, as well as cut flowers and natural dye plants for fiber arts.  In the future will expand to agroforestry as I have three acres of woods to work with on the farm.

What are you hoping to do after graduating from the RIFT program?
I would love to be able to farm full time, but more realistically I will probably work for a few more years and then “retire” to my farm.

I am a co-owner of Boo Cat Farm, LLC and have 6.5a in the Oley Valley. The plan is to continue to expand on my property.

Location: Oley Valley, PA

Phone: 631-235-0273
Email: gigi@boocatfarm.com
Social Media: Find me on Facebook and LinkedIn as Genevieve A Copeland

Sydney Foreman

What brought you to Rodale Institute? 
Sydney Foreman is a recent graduate from Indiana University (IU) with a degree in Geography focused in food and agriculture systems. Over her baccalaureate career she studied the distribution of people, growers, food, and food acces through global commodity chains and resources. In the summer of 2022 she decided to try her hand at regenerative farming herself and did a 3 month work stay program on a diversified vegetable and livestock farm in southern Indiana. There she fell in love with the act of land stewardship and growing food for her local community. After this experience she knew that she wanted to take a pragmatic approach to her studies at IU and work to decentralize the food system while fostering a more food sovereign nation by becoming a regenerative farm and storefront owner — selling only truly locally grown and raised products. Sydney applied to the RIFT program to gain the practical growing and business skills that are central to the success of her future goals.

What areas within agriculture are you most interested in? 
Sydney is interested in creating an agricultural space that can act as a role model for regenerative farming. This meaning, a space that welcomes in the community with events such as classes, book clubs, or harvest parties to facilitate conversation and idea exchange about our current food system and food sources. Spreading knowledge about food origins and sharing food sovereignty skills is at the top of Sydney’s passions for becoming a grower. On her future farm she imagines a variety of products to be grown in a market garden style including pastured hens for eggs and vegetables including popcorn, okra, peppers, berries and more. However, to begin she imagines a dried herb business as she understands the holes in the local food market and gauges community interest in certain food based classes, events, and clubs.

What are you hoping to do after graduating from the RIFT program? 
After graduating the RIFT program Sydney hopes to find employment with a company who values equitable food distribution, education, and advocacy for a socially responsible future of our food system. In the meantime, she hopes to find the right piece of land and community to start her small farm business.

Location: Sydney is from the midwest but is open to relocating to wherever her agricultural knowledge and passions are most needed.

Phone: (317) 210 4910
Email: sydney.agriculture@gmail.com
LinkedIn Account

Kristie Polito

What brought you to Rodale Institute?
So many stars aligned for me to land at Rodale for the 2024 farming season. A mid-life awakening on many levels so to speak.  An unsteady world, broken food system and an exit from corporate America led me to a passion in agriculture and on a skill seeking journey to self-sufficiency. First stop, Rodale Institute Farmer Training program (RIFT).

What areas within agriculture are you most interested in?
My agriculture interests lie in regenerative practices around soil rejuvenation, market gardening and food forestry to include permaculture design principals. My focus is on veggies, herbs and microgreens with a staple crop of garlic…lots of garlic.

What are you hoping to do after graduating from the RIFT program?
I have so many ideas and plans after graduating from the RIFT program! I’d love to acquire sponsorship for two independent continuing educational programing projects for the RIFT 2024 cohort–ask me about both!

1.  JOY Soil Project

• Onsite Philippines
  90 Day mission to initiate soil remediation on Lynn Walker’s 20-acre farm in the Philippines
• See Lynn Walker’s bio to learn more about her farm and community mission.

2. 100 Acre Incubator Project

• A next step for this cohort to continue to work together in 2025 to implement what we’ve learned and apply to our individual farm plans.
• Pooling as a group to foster success

Next, establish “End of the Road Acres”—a retirement homestead community

• An 8-phase project to foster community, entrepreneurship and end of life care.

At the very least, I am working toward planting 1 acre of garlic this fall for a 2025 harvest—fingers crossed!

I invite you to follow my beginner farming adventures on Instagram at End of the Road Acres (@eotracres) and for anyone looking sponsor/partner with this bundle of magic or just chat it up about agriculture, email me at kp@endacres.com.

Location: My ultimate goal is Florida farming to be closer to mom but I am flexible and open to where the farming journey leads me to learn as much as I can.

Email: kp@endacres.com
Instagram: End of the Road Acres (@eotracres)

Kristen Thompson

What brought you to Rodale Institute? 
Before joining the RIFT program, I studied climate change and sustainable agriculture at school and worked in part-time and short-term farm positions while doing non-profit work. Through these experiences, I came to realize that more than supporting a movement of organic regenerative farming from a desk, I want to be on the ground working directly with the plants and soil that feed us.
Through Rodale Institute, I am learning the practical farm and business management skills I need to succeed in regenerative farming.

What areas within agriculture are you most interested in?
I am most interested in fruit, berry, and nut crops and agroforestry systems for Northern climates. I am also exploring perennial plant propagation and medicinal herbs. Additionally, I am interested in farms as a space for educational workshops and community gatherings.

What are you hoping to do after graduating from the RIFT program?
After graduating from the RIFT program, I plan to look for farm manager positions with organic regenerative farms whose crops and practices overlap with my mission and interests. In the long term, I hope to join or create a cooperative agroforestry farm focused on supporting the local community and climate resilience.

Location: New England

Phone: 201-245-7154
Email: kristenathompson@tutanota.com
LinkedIn Account

Garrett Tidler

What brought you to Rodale Institute?
I got into market gardening when the pandemic hit. I realized that no one around me was growing food. After a couple of years of starting seeds and get some small returns I realized that if I was ever going to become a good grower I was going to need some hands on mentorship. I found out about the RIFT program through a podcast with Jeff Moyer and one thing led to another. I look forward toward what Rodale has and will show me as I start on a new path.

What areas within agriculture are you most interested in?
My interests mostly lie in vegetables and medicinal herbs. I would like to create a line of shelf stable products, as well as selling to chefs. I might take a small foray into cut flowers later. Since coming to Rodale I have taken an interest in agroforestry and I hope to take part in farms that are making it happen.

What are you hoping to do after graduating from the RIFT program? 
After RIFT I am considering applying for the fellowship program to continue to practice and improve my skills. I will start a small business soon but hope to learn as much as I can about what is happening in the industry along the way.

Location: I am currently considering three options of where my future farm will be and that includes East Tennessee, Northeast Pennsylvania, and Central Indiana. Family and being somewhere with a lot of nature are key factors for me.

Email: garrtid@gmail.com

Daniel Belt

What brought you to Rodale Institute?
My name is Daniel Belt and I am here because I want to start to restore the relationship between the land and our culture. Whether that be through just my own farm or networking with others to create a sustainable, diverse and resilient food system for the region which I come from.

I am from the Ozarks, an Army veteran formerly of the 101st Airborne and also a C.H.H.C. (Certified Holistic Health Coach through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition). A published author on the subject of health, my book, Unlocking Eden has sold approximately 20,000 copies. I come out of the health field for the last 20 years mainly focusing on diet and nutrition. These last years were as the head of a  supplements company making whole food, organic supplements. After spending decades in the health industry I came to the conclusion that more important than any protocol or supplement is our relationship with our food and farms which is a sacred covenant that can not be traded. That all of our health is intrinsically tied to it. I am here in that spirit.

I found out about Rodale while searching for raw materials for the supplements company I was running and developing supplements for. I saw the training program was focused on veteran training and I knew this is what I wanted to do. I have long believed deeply in regenerative agriculture and have concluded it is the future of restoring our food and soil. Further, I am dedicated to doing justice to farmers and lifting up every aspect of our lives to revalue the way we look at food and farmers so that there is a dignified and healthful future for everyone. Our food and health are the same thing. Many years ago, I helped start the 1000 Gardens Project which was to put 1000 urban farms in the city I lived in.

What areas within agriculture are you most interested in?
My interests lie in soil remediation and generation which I want to make and sell. Tyson Foods blighted much of the land where I am from. I am also interested in (but not limited to) having an Apiary and Meadery, agroforestry, medicinal herbs and spices as well as fermented products.

Phone: 479-403-8815
Email: danielbelt74@gmail.com

Nick Henry

What brought you to Rodale Institute? 
I applied to the Rodale Institute because I want to learn a craft or trade that causes healing. Growing food using regenerative organic practices allows for this to occur.

What areas within agriculture are you most interested in? 
My agricultural interests lean towards Sylvopasture, Agroforestry, Alley cropping of perennial berries, fruit trees and herbs. As well as learning everything about tractor work with wheat and grains.

What are you hoping to do after graduating from the RIFT program? 
I’m looking forward to starting a homestead on a few acres of family land in Gallipolis Ferry, West Virginia. In the meantime I am open to gaining experience anywhere in the world for the first few years.

Location: Gallipolis Ferry, West Virginia

Email: nickpaulh@gmail.com
Phone: 614-804-7270

Warlinda (Lynn) Walker 

What brought you to Rodale Institute?
My mission is to improve people’s lives in an impoverished community in the Philippines. While joining the World Bank in 2006 in Washington D.C. as an investment banker, I also started my social and economic development in the Philippines.  The immense global experiences and skills I gained are adding value to my vision.

I retired from the World Bank to fully focus on my mission in the Philippines.  We have a farm that’s over 20 acres.  For many years, I was tenaciously seeking for an organic agriculture program that fits our community needs that would help alleviate poverty through agriculture employment program, improve people’s health and regenerate our chemically degraded soil. After seeking a quality organic farming program, I found Rodale Institute through the Farmers Veterans Coalition since I’m an Air Force veteran.

What areas within agriculture are you most interested in?
Within agriculture, I’m interested in improving our soil.  Our main crop is rice that is grown in 2 seasons per year.  The vast rice field is depressingly intoxicated with chemicals. Our farmers are so addicted to conventional resources and practices. Therefore, I want to improve our soil through cover crops, composting, energizing the microbes, and using organic pesticides.  In addition to my current vegetable production, I will expand our organic coconut, banana and moringa trees.

What are you hoping to do after graduating from the RIFT program? 
After graduation, I will transform my farm and share best practices of regenerative organic agriculture in the Philippines.  Since the hub of the 4-H club is in my farm, I’m now transferring knowledge to the younger generation. Furthermore, my farm has recently been designated as the organic center in my city by the Department of Agriculture. Hence, I will train about 7,000 farmers on what I learned at Rodale Institute.  Lastly, I teach children and young adults nature journaling. It’s a discipline that combines art, math, and science. I teach the participants the importance of being a good steward to the environment. With my added knowledge from Rodale Institute, I can incorporate it while teaching nature journaling to our community. Overall, my important mission covers the spectrum of healthy soil, healthy food, healthy people and healthy planet!

Phone:  202-460-6040
Email:  warlindawalker@gmail.com

James Yelverton

What brought you to Rodale Institute? 
After experiencing what real food, grown from some the richest soil on the globe, by the local indigenous people, is supposed to taste AND feel like, I began actively searching for ways and places to help me gain the knowledge and experience necessary to grow the kind of food that we’re all meant to consume.

What areas within agriculture are you most interested in?
Soil remediation, biodynamics, tropicals, and electroculture practices.

What are you hoping to do after graduating from the RIFT program?
I’m looking to be able to uses my ideas, along with the tools and resources gained from my time at Rodale, and implement them on any area of the planet that I feel called to go to.

Location: My desire is to land somewhere in Brazil. But, there are other parts of the world that have always been appealing to me, like India, the Caribbean, parts of Central and South America, a few European countries, and New Zealand. Domestically, I like either Florida, Oregon, or maybe California.

Email: jyelverton305@gmail.com
Instagram: @JayRio86

Robert Younkins

What brought you to Rodale Institute?
I’ve had a passion for farming since I was a teenage farm hand. I love animals especially, as do my wife and kids. Our mission is to start a homestead and supply as close to 100% of our own sustenance as possible. Rodale VFTP was an easy choice once a trusted Marine buddy recommended it to Marissa and I. I’m humbly grateful they accepted me. We plan to implement everything I’ve learned here from our trainers into an agritourism business at our homestead near Wilmington, NC.

What areas within agriculture are you most interested in?  
It’s the convergence of many things we love! I come from a military training background and Marissa is a masterful motivator and uniquely talented organizer. We absolutely LOVE helping people discover new skills and make meaningful change, while taking command of their lives. We plan to host and train individuals and groups interested in cultivating personal sovereignty via cultivating the Earth, as well as special events.

What moves you about farming? For me, that’s easy: I love cows! Despite my enthusiasm for cattle, they are most likely to happen a season or two down the rod. For now, I’m very interested in perennials! We’re getting some berries and trees in the ground right away at our new home. I’m also intent on replicating the fantastic beds of Asparagus we have here at Rodale down on our farm. Plenty of planning to do, and thankfully the RIFT program and staff are making sure we are taking a sound, businesslike approach to our ag dreams.
What are you hoping to do after graduating from the RIFT program? 
I’m interested in meeting fellow organic-minded people who aspire to kick off something meaningful and change their world.

My cell is 760-670-5200 and you can email me at rob.younkins@gmail.com—feel free to drop me a line if you ever want to shoot the breeze about farming (I have millions of questions!) or if you’re headed through Wilmington, NC. We have aspirations to build a national presence, so maybe we’ll see you in your hometown!

Location: Wilmington, NC

Phone: 760-670-5200
Email: rob.younkins@gmail.com