Jon Dinsmore's guest appearances

Jon Dinsmore

Grounded by the Farm

Open Field Radio

Farming For Dummies 

Jason Brown

Stephen Ritz

Michael Ruhlman

Dale Brisby

Mike Winn

John Deere

Rob Sharkey

Dave Walton

Meredith Bernard

David Rogers

Steve Lord

Susan Koehler

Simon Gilroy

Dan Sell

Daniel Carmichael

OwlTail

Calm

Grab your sunglasses and ranch as we head to the deserts of Yuma, Arizona. Otherwise known as the winter lettuce capital of the world. Today we interview Jon Dinsmore to learn all about the complete life cycle of a lettuce plant and what it takes to grow food safely on a large scale. Did you know they have to worry about coyotes pooping on your food? Jon also talked about water conservation in the desert, industry advocacy and what it takes to be a good steward of the land. If you enjoy a fresh salad or dad jokes this episode is for you!

Jon Dinsmore - Romaine Calm. It's Just Lettuce. 

OFR S1 | E1 This week on OFR, we spoke with Jon Dinsmore, a  4th generation farmer from Yuma, Arizona. We talked about his time with the Farm Bureau, the water situation in the desert southwest, and how the Ag industry is truly an open field.

Desert farmer and Instagram ag photographer.  Jon Dinsmore 4th Generation Farmer Yuma, Arizona

More information available on GroundedbytheFarm.com Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/2381122262203711/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/groundedbythefarm_/ Twitter https://twitter.com/groundedbythef Find Jonathan Dinsmore on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thefarmerjon/     Discussed in this podcast: Jonathan Dinsmore farms with his father in Yuma, Arizona. Dinsmore Farms produces head lettuce (iceberg lettuce), fresh romaine and romaine hearts, red &amp; green leaf mixed lettuce and alfalfa hay. Romaine and romaine hearts are frequently grown from the same seed but farmers like Dinsmore plant the fields that will be harvested as romaine hearts more closely together so the plants will remain more columnar. We talked a good bit about how his family looks at lettuce. Romaine hearts are a favorite of his but he loves a wedge salad with iceberg, his son agrees. But cultural issues early on for one of the kids means a funny story. He also throws romaine hearts on the grill.  Jon has enjoyed getting to know other farmers growing lettuce in Michigan, Florida and Colorado &amp;  they stand in touch via social media. He's especially a fan of Instagram where he is @TheFarmerJon. His love of photography has a family history too. Enjoys accounts like RAM628 (https://www.instagram.com/ram628/), Trevor Bales of @BalesHay https://www.instagram.com/baleshay/, and Jay Hill @HillJay45 https://www.instagram.com/hilljay45/. On the farming side, Jon is looking forward to doing more drip irrigation is a method of putting water right in the root zone. Food safety — there have been times when lettuce was having concerns. Jon stresses food safety and he sees the farmers in his area all looking at this. The Leafy Greens Marketing Association and the Yuma Safe Produce Council. These groups have been showing the kinds of water testing, employee training, field measures, etc. and now we are going further to sanitize irrigation water for 21 days prior to harvest. Irrigation water in Yuma comes from the Colorado River. It is valued, conserved and efforts made to limit foreign objects, and now they are sanitizing the water. Workers in the field have a number of precautions to take, including rubber boot, gloves, sometimes customers ask us to go above the standards too. Standards also require inspection for animal tracks, etc. They want to be sure vegetables going onto the plates are as safe as possible. That said, we should all always wash your lettuce.

More information available on <a href="http://GroundedbytheFarm.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">GroundedbytheFarm.com</a> Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/2381122262203711/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/groups/2381122262203711/</a> Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/groundedbythefarm_/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/groundedbythefarm_/</a> Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/groundedbythef" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/groundedbythef</a> Find Jonathan Dinsmore on Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/thefarmerjon/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/thefarmerjon/</a> Discussed in this podcast: Jonathan Dinsmore farms with his father in Yuma, Arizona. Dinsmore Farms produces head lettuce (iceberg lettuce), fresh romaine and romaine hearts, red &amp; green leaf mixed lettuce and alfalfa hay. Romaine and romaine hearts are frequently grown from the same seed but farmers like Dinsmore plant the fields that will be harvested as romaine hearts more closely together so the plants will remain more columnar. We talked a good bit about how his family looks at lettuce. Romaine hearts are a favorite of his but he loves a wedge salad with iceberg, his son agrees. But cultural issues early on for one of the kids means a funny story. He also throws romaine hearts on the grill.  Jon has enjoyed getting to know other farmers growing lettuce in Michigan, Florida and Colorado &amp;  they stand in touch via social media. He's especially a fan of Instagram where he is @TheFarmerJon. His love of photography has a family history too. Enjoys accounts like RAM628 (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/ram628/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/ram628/</a>), Trevor Bales of @BalesHay <a href="https://www.instagram.com/baleshay/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/baleshay/</a>, and Jay Hill @HillJay45 <a href="https://www.instagram.com/hilljay45/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/hilljay45/</a>. On the farming side, Jon is looking forward to doing more drip irrigation is a method of putting water right in the root zone. Food safety — there have been times when lettuce was having concerns. Jon stresses food safety and he sees the farmers in his area all looking at this. The Leafy Greens Marketing Association and the Yuma Safe Produce Council. These groups have been showing the kinds of water testing, employee training, field measures, etc. and now we are going further to sanitize irrigation water for 21 days prior to harvest. Irrigation water in Yuma comes from the Colorado River. It is valued, conserved and efforts made to limit foreign objects, and now they are sanitizing the water. Workers in the field have a number of precautions to take, including rubber boot, gloves, sometimes customers ask us to go above the standards too. Standards also require inspection for animal tracks, etc. They want to be sure vegetables going onto the plates are as safe as possible. That said, we should all always wash your lettuce.

Talking Lettuce Farming, Food and Family with Jon Dinsmore