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Last month the Accelerating Appalachia (ACAP) team got the chance to visit the Chesterhill Produce Auction in Athens, OH. It serves as a hub for southern Ohio and West Virginia producers where annual sales have exceeded half a million dollars with 84% of produce revenue going directly to the farmers. There we met farmers selling their locally grown produce, locally raised livestock, and locally made wood products at wholesale to other businesses in the region, including restaurants, schools, hospitals, pop-up markets in rural areas with limited fresh food access, and individual buyers who can and preserve. A number of the pallets of food we saw were tagged like the picture below:
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Here GAP stands for good agricultural practices. Items at the auction tagged with GAP trained similar to this pictured Blue Dynasty Cabbage, were produced from farmers who have been trained in GAP focusing on food safety and sustainable farming. Produce that minimizes the risk of microbial, chemical, and physical contamination from the farm to the consumer and at an affordable price? YES!
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2 pecks of summer squash that sold for $4, scored by our COO, Paul Patton. He is still canning as we speak.
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Mike Hansen, Owner of Ozark Akerz Regenerative Farm
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Meet North Carolina farmer Mike Hansen of Ozark Akerz Regenerative Farm, where he and his wife, Sue Meyer, have been raising beef and breeding stock regeneratively since 2014. At the heart of their operation are their Heritage Pineywoods cattle—like Rocky (pictured here with Mike)—a hardy, heat-tolerant breed that have not lost their instinct to thrive on diverse forage including wild herbs, shrubs, vines, and trees. The Pineywoods cattle are a key part of ecological forest management, they help clear understory brush, strengthen native tree growth, and even control invasive species like kudzu (which they love to eat!).
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3 yearlings on Mike’s fenced-line.
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As leaders in regenerative agriculture, Sue and Mike are deeply committed to practices that heal the land. Through their participation in our farmer funding program, they’ve been able to take that work even further. “With the help of funding provided in part by the USDA and Accelerating Appalachia,” Mike shares, “we are expanding the Pineywoods range into an additional 65 acres of forest. Culvert and surge stone has been installed in some of the steepest sections of our forest fence-line. This will help reduce erosion and prevent our fences from being washed out during heavy rains, which there seem to be more of recently.”
Mike and Sue are honored to have the guidance of Native American friends Linwood Watson and Chris Dorsey Linwood and Chris have inspired in them to care for their land and animals in ways that are both innovative and rooted in original indigenous regenerative principles.
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We Want To Share Your Story!
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Would you like to be featured in future publications or on our platforms? We’d love to hear from you! Share your experience with us here.
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Technical Assistance Feature
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Alley cropping is a regenerative farming practice that involves planting rows of trees or shrubs at wider spacing intervals, creating “alleys” where annual or perennial crops can be cultivated. This integrated approach combines agricultural production with tree or shrub establishment, offering a range of long-term benefits. Trees and shrubs act as windbreaks, reduce soil erosion, provide shade, fix nitrogen, and contribute to overall soil health and land resilience.
It’s one of several regenerative practices we’re proud to incentivize through our farmer funding program, supporting producers who are building healthy, resilent agricultural systems. If you are a farmer in our program who is implementing alley cropping, we would be interested in featuring your farm. Reach out to us at hello@acceleratingappalachia.org.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Lately the question that we have most frequently received is, “When will I receive my soil sampling kit?” ACAP expects our program to be fully operational by late September as we finalize our pending changes to transition to the USDA’s Advancing Markets for Producers initiative. Producers can expect to learn more about the timeline for soil sampling in the Fall.
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The ACAP team at The Ridges in Athens, OH in July 2025.
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As always, we’re honored to stand alongside you in building a more regenerative and resilient future. From innovative grazing practices to creative market solutions, your work continues to inspire us. Thank you for growing this movement with heart, purpose, and perseverance.
Warm Regards,
Le’Shae Robinson, Chief Communications Officer, and the Accelerating Appalachia Team
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