The History of Organic Farming in America is the title of an oral history project undertaken by Anneliese Abbott. The impressive collection of recordings and transcripts she has gathered will eventually be archived in the Agriculture Collection of the Wisconsin Historical Society.

S. McFadden circa 1985

I was happy and also honored to be one of the subjects interviewed for her project. Here’s a link to the just-published transcript of the interview that Anneliese conducted with me earlier this month. While I do share some general observations about organic farms and food, and CSAs, the interview covers a wide swath of my life experience.

Of note, Annelisse is based at Malabar Farm, reknowned as the most famous farm in the world in the 1940s for its pioneering sustainable systems. The farm is located in the Pleasant Valley of Richland County, Ohio.

To round out some of the stories related in the interview, I’ve added an archival photo from ‘back In the day’ — the 1980s when I was writing the weekly Organic Outlook newspaper column for The Monadnock Ledger in Peterborough, New Hampshire.

And to round out the theme of author interviews, I offer this link to an interview that covers not just farming, but also conversation about the general trajectory of my writing career, and other subjects that have drawn my attention.