Ask a Marbleseed Organic Specialist

Marbleseed Organic Specialists are experienced organic farmers and organic farm inspectors who can answer your questions about organic farming practices and organic certification.

Submit your question using the form below or check out the Ask a Specialist Answer Directory to see if your question has already been answered.

Farmers seeking immediate answers can connect with an Organic Specialist by calling the Organic Answer Line at (888) 906-6737 ext. 1 or emailing specialist@marbleseed.org . For gardeners, we recommend the University of Wisconsin Extension’s Ask an Gardening Question.

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Meet the Specialists

Rodrigo Cala

Vegetables
rodrigo.cala@marbleseed.org
ext. 717
Rodrigo Cala owns and operates Cala Farm Origenes with his brother. They sell certified organic produce in the Twin Cities. Rodrigo grew up farming near Mexico City and moved to Minnesota in 1996. In 2005, Rodrigo began farming at Big River Farms before purchasing his own farm in western Wisconsin in 2008. Rodrigo is a farmer-owner of Shared Ground Farmers’ Co-op and an agricultural trainer with the Latino Economic Development Center. Rodrigo advises farmers on organic certification, food safety, land access, loan applications, farm finances, farm machinery, and greenhouse production.

Naima Dhore

Vegetables
naima.dhore@marbleseed.org
ext. 711
Naima hails from Somalia. She is a farmer and the founder of the Somali American Farmers Association. Naima is a garduate of Big River Farm's training program and farms with her family in Alexandria, MN. Naima wants to strengthen the foundations of Somali and Horn of Africa farmers to contribute to the future of agriculture in Minnesota and the Midwest.

Carmen Fernholz

Grains & Row Crops
carmen.fernholz@marbleseed.org
ext. 715
Carmen has been growing certified organic grain and forage crops at A-Frame Farm in western Minnesota since 1975 and has a wealth of knowledge on production, cover crops, and weed and fertility management. Carmen is involved with research at the University of Minnesota. He and his wife, Sally, were the 2005 Marbleseed Organic Farmers of the Year.

Beatrice Kamau

Beekeeping, Vegetables, & Urban Farming
beatrice.kamau@marbleseed.org
ext. 718
Beatrice was born in Kenya and has lived in Chicago, IL for over 20 years. For the last four years, Beatrice has grown vegetables that are popular among African immigrant communities. She is also beekeeping through Farmers For Chicago, (FFC), a farmer training program offered by Urban Growers Collective, and presented on beekeeping at the 2020 Marbleseed Organic Farming Conference. Beatrice is the co-founder of an international network of beekeepers called African Women in Beekeeping. Beatrice is knowledgeable in business management and accounting, composting, growing mushrooms, food safety, vegetables, and microgreens. She is also a licensed practical nurse.

Kevin Mahalko

Dairy & Livestock Grazing
kevin.mahalko@marbleseed.org
ext. 714
Kevin Mahalko has an organic dairy herd in Gilman, WI, producing milk for the Organic Valley Grassmilk program. Kevin is president of Grassworks, a grazing educator for River Country RC&D, and an educator for the Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship Program.

Chiang Rai Lor

Hmong Language Specialist
chiang.rai@marbleseed.org

The son of HMoob (Hmong) immigrants, Chiang Rai grew up around small-scale farming and selling his family’s produce at farmers’ markets around Northeast Wisconsin. Having experienced the challenges of being a grower from an underserved population, he is excited and proud to be part of FairShare’s work in providing support to underserved growers, especially HMoob growers, through the Aggregation Coordinator position. In his free time, he loves to go outdoors and enjoy nature by playing disc golf!

Contact Chiang: (608) 709-0177