Mike has spent 40 years in agriculture working primarily with orchards and vineyards. He has a BS in Horticulture from Virginia Tech (’86) and a MS from Cornell University in Fruit and Vegetable Science (’92). A dedicated passion for sustainable agriculture developed early on and over the years evolved into a profound dedication to the principles and practices of ecologically-focused, biodynamically-driven farming. After years in commercial apple production, Mike now consults with holistic, organic and biodynamic fruit growers through Know Your Roots LLC – an orchards to herbs holistic business he co-owns with his wife Debbie. He has worked with the Josephine Porter Institute for Applied Biodynamics since 2016 and is in his second term as Board President. His private orchard, Apostrophe, is where he works to better understand and engage in leading-edge orchard practices that could lead to broader adoption of holistic and biodynamic protocols. Mike lives with his wife Debbie, their son Mathew, and Cayde, the dog, in Trumansburg, NY.