Grits and Eggs Podcast

Episode 115 - Black Farming w/ Wayne Swanson

Host: Deante’ Kyle
Guest: Wayne Swanson (Swanson Family Farm)
Date: January 23, 2026

Overview

This episode dives deep into the Black agricultural experience, generational knowledge, and the realities of Black farming in America. Host Deante’ Kyle converses with Wayne Swanson, a multi-generation farmer and entrepreneur, about reclaiming land, community building, the everyday realities and myths of modern farming, and the intersection of business, history, and Black identity. The discussion is raw, uncensored and full of lived wisdom—shaking up misconceptions about agriculture, Black wealth, and rural life.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Roots, Migration, and Black Generational Wealth

• Wayne’s Background:

  • Grandparents from Georgia (great migration to New Jersey); family always owned land—even pre-slavery
  • Wayne’s upbringing alternated between farm life, suburbia, and city streets
  • Reinforces how land and entrepreneurship are family legacies, not just new trends
  • Quote: “My people are kind of free. So when you free, you don't mix well with mediocre folks.” (10:22)

• Southern Black Land Legacy:

  • Many Black families still own land, particularly outside the city; not always registered with USDA

2. The Path to Farming as Freedom

• Departure from Corporate America:

  • Wayne left insurance and corporate success, choosing self-sufficiency through farming
  • Realized food is freedom and material needs are often manufactured
  • Quote: “The best feeling I ever had was the day I was sitting there, I was like, man, I got cows, I got a garden. I can literally eat. Food is freedom.” (10:50)

• Struggle, Minimalism, and Mental Wealth:

  • Surviving droughts, poor market trends (“Oprah said she don’t eat beef no more, sales went through”) led to tough times
  • Adversity prompted new skills and opened up perspective
  • Quote: “I don't need half of this stuff I got… The more active I got, the less concerned I was with the TV.” (12:32)

3. Realities of Day-to-Day Farming

• Dirty Work and Dignity:

  • Romanticized ideas of farming don’t capture the hard, sunup-to-sundown work and messiness
  • Freedom is actually in the “dirty work”—not just in aesthetics
  • Quote: “Dirty work is where the freedom is…farming is sun up to sundown, never stops.” (14:29)

• Modern Executive Farmer:

  • Wayne delegates more now, but stresses routine in animal care, the importance of fences, and emotional attunement with animals
  • “They [animals] talk to you, your dog talks to you, birds, everybody talks to you…if you’re in tune with your farm, they will tell you if something’s off.” (16:29)

4. Black Business Models and Community Economics in Farming

• Collective Prosperity:

  • Prefers buying from and supplying Black-owned stores and partners; invests in community prosperity
  • Business is not a zero-sum “drug split,” but about securing everyone—especially long-term
  • Quote: “We as a community tend to find our comfort in the struggle…it's hard for us to talk about the success.” (15:46)

• Scaling and Partnerships:

  • Mentors other small growers; shares best practices and offers premium for quality, local product
  • Emphasizes importance of being a collaborative partner, not a parasite
  • Quote: “If you look from a distance, you can’t tell the difference between a parasite and a partner…You got to get up close.” (36:00)

5. The Myth vs. Reality of Buying Land

• Land Speculation & Instagram Trends:
  • Warns that “just buy land” advice is misleading; land-use restrictions, ordinances, and soil science matter
  • Suggests due diligence, study of soil ecology, and knowing future land-use maps
  • Quote: “We were bought here as consumer products…The moment you…start telling everybody to buy land without context, they're watching. They're just going to raise prices.” (39:44)

6. Working with Nature, Not Against It

• Indigenous Knowledge and Harmony:
  • Farming isn’t about imposing will on land, it’s about learning from the land, respecting animal intelligence, and working with natural cycles
  • “You can’t beat Mother Nature. You just need to learn to work with her…Just listen. Slow down and listen. That’s the Blackest shit you can ever do.” (49:20)

7. Urbanization, Food Deserts & Black Disconnection from Land

• City as Capital Hub:

  • Urban life uproots traditional foodways and the skills of self-sufficiency
  • Food deserts and homelessness are part of the city’s exploitative cycle
  • “Homelessness…boils down to not being able to clothe, feed or shelter yourself. Most people who make money in the city don’t live in the city.” (57:19)

• Restoring Food Forests:

  • Initiatives like Atlanta’s Browns Mill Food Forest are bringing back urban agriculture and food access

8. Farming as Service, Not Just Business

• Humanity for Animals & Ethical Farming:
  • Instead of the exploitative, maximal-profit model, Wayne advocates for humane, slow, rotational grazing and using every part of the animal
  • Critiques fast food, factory farming, and grant-motivated “non-profit” exploitation

9. Lessons on Failure, Resilience & “Failing Forward”

• Personal Stories of Setback:
  • Losses (like losing a farming lease after a dog killed a cat) turned into even better opportunities
  • “Fail forward”: Be open to what failure can teach and where it can redirect you
  • “The universe paired me all the way down…now that you have success, you realize…I was wasting money.” (20:20)

10. Black Identity, Cowboys, and Reclaiming Agricultural Heritage

• Reframing Stigmas:
  • Embraces crops like cotton and watermelon proudly—rejecting narratives that demonize Black agricultural roots
  • Cites Jordan Peele’s cowboy documentary as reclaiming space for Black cowboy identity
  • “There is nothing more black than being in tune with nature.” (46:45)

11. Community, Mentorship, and "The Farming Tree"

• Intergenerational Approach:
  • Patrick Muhammad’s K-8 agri-charter school, Black mentorship and advocacy for ag-centric businesses
  • “I don’t want to sit at nobody’s table. We got everything we need to build all the tables we need to build.” (75:16)

12. Racism, Local Politics, and Resistance

• Encounter with White Supremacy:
  • Tells story of his activism and leadership at Nash Farm Park, confrontation with the Sons of Confederate Veterans, and white supremacist threats (guns, doxxing, intense intimidation)
  • Memorable Quote: “You want to get in front of this man who would do something to your family?...It was one of those moments, like, I’ve been waiting for this my whole life.” (92:51)
  • Stood firm for transparency and equitable land use
  • “Business is business” but service to people must come first

13. Navigating Identity as a Black Farmer—Urban and Rural

• Within and Outside Atlanta:

  • Black Atlanta pride can provoke resentment from both white and Black rural folks, but Wayne asserts his competence and confidence
  • “They are offended because you ain't supposed to be that. This is mine...I'm operating in it.” (88:44)

• Adapting and Thriving Everywhere:

  • Both host and guest talk about traveling, blending in respectfully, and the freedom of being yourself in “the Blackest city in America”

Notable Quotes and Moments

• On finding freedom in farming:
  “I call it a regenerational farmer. We lost two generations in ag, so I’m bringing people back to ag. The start for me, it wasn’t anything unique. I was just doing what my family did.” (09:58)

• On the nastiest work being most valuable:
  “Oftentimes, the dirtiest thing is the most freeing thing.” (13:43)

• On partnership vs. parasitism:
  “From a distance, you can’t tell the difference between a parasite and a partner.” (36:00)

• On Instagram ‘buy land’ movements:
  “Don’t look at anybody else’s farm…you need to be intimately understanding and knowing this farm that you’re on…That’s the Blackest shit you can ever do. Because that’s what we come from.” (48:49)

• On farming as humanity, not hustle:
  “If the animal can’t live the way God intended, I’ve got problems with that.” (60:04)

• On resilience:
  “When a level hits and the universe sees that you’ve accepted and you’re ready, it’s coming.” (31:46)

• On Atlanta as Black mecca:
  “This Atlanta, this is Wakanda. This is the center of the Black universe. 100 years from now, they’re going to talk about this time in Atlanta like we talk about the Harlem Renaissance.” (75:17)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Family land legacy, migration: 04:43–09:16
• Leaving corporate America; food as freedom: 10:21–12:32
• Real day-to-day farm life: 15:16–17:48
• Business, partnerships, and long-term Black wealth: 18:31–20:19
• Failing Forward stories: 33:22–36:20
• Debunking ‘just buy land’ hype: 39:44–42:19
• City vs. country, food deserts, restoration: 57:19–58:43
• Nash Farm Park, white supremacy threats: 89:47–97:43
• Mentorship, the Farming Tree, and schools: 72:45–74:30

Final Notes: Tone and Takeaways

• Tone is candid, unapologetically Black, nurturing yet no-nonsense, blending humor, realism, and historical reference.
• The episode is a blueprint for reconnecting Black communities with legacy skills, autonomy, and economic power—rooted in the land and self-sufficiency.
• “We ain’t asking nobody for no seat at the table—we building our own tables, and we bringing people to eat with us.”

Guest Information

Wayne Swanson

• Owner/Operator, Swanson Family Farm
• Website
• Products available at Nourish and Bloom market locations (Trilith, Grady Hospital, Atlanta BeltLine; as of February 2026)
• Instagram and social links in episode notes

For more episodes and Black excellence in every field, subscribe to the Grits and Eggs Podcast.