Chris Kerston - Community VIP

Chris Kerston ranched full time for nearly 15 yrs before joining the Savory Institute. With a longstanding passion for regenerative agricultural and better food distribution systems, Chris has dedicated his life to helping connect ranchers with consumers in ways that create synergistic value for both sides. With formal training and instinctive talent, Chris utilizes media in concert with traditional marketing techniques to help ranchers share their stories and build long lasting relationships with partners based upon common goals. For 6 years Chris co-managed a 2,000 acre diversified farm based on holistic grazing and permaculture in the Sacramento Valley. The farm is comprised of old growth olive orchards, heirloom stonefruits and citrus groves, and also raises grassfed cattle, sheep, goats, and pasture-raised chickens for both meat and eggs. Through creative positioning, the farm quickly attracted national notoriety and the attention from public figures such as Joel Salatin and Michael Pollan. Chris has also been recognized as a leader in the emerging agri-tourism market and he facilitated a partnership with a European-based hospitality company and the farm he managed. The resulting farmstays provided urban dwellers a recreational, but also educational, outlet to see first-hand how food could be produced in abundance outside the realm of conventional industrial systems.Chris has become a recognized public speaker championing for stronger connections between grower and eater and providing training to help build those connections. He has been on the forefront of the collaborative process with state and federal regulators, advocating for the recognition of alternative agricultural models as well as the consumers’ right to access healthy local foods. Chris is also very enthusiastic about developing opportunities for young ranchers. Fostering creative solutions to removing barriers of available land and capital will ultimately help cultivate the next generation of holistic land stewards. You can find Chris at www.savory.global, FB: https://www.facebook.com/savory.global, and Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_Wqhf3phh3GTEIPM-WX6uQ. This episode is hosted by Dr. Shawn Baker MD. Find him at https://shawn-baker.com