The South Florida community has taken notice of this modern-day farmer. His TV-friendly good looks have made him a regular contributor at a local Palm Beach County CBS station, and he’s been invited to give a couple local TEDx talks about sustainable gardening. He’s also a regular at the weekly Delray GreenMarket, where, depending on the season, he’s presenting responsibly grown kale, lettuce, arugula, tomatoes, peppers, turnips, radishes, beans, fennel, different herbs, mulberry, oranges and passion fruit, among a multitude of other produce from his farm.

When speaking with McCobb, it’s hard not to buy into his message. Soft-spoken and easygoing in his delivery, he remains persuasive about these ideals, so much so that he started a farming course for young students called Jr. Sprouts. Sponsored by Chipotle (the owner of the restaurant chain began his career with Alice Waters), Jr. Sprouts features an eight-week course designed to teach children how to compost, look for good bugs for the garden and more, all in the hopes of inspiring the next generation of sustainable farmers.

FARMERS MARKET: Farmer Jay is photographed here at Farmer’s Table in Boca Raton, where he’s installed several raised bed gardens.

“It’s not that difficult,” McCobb says of farming. “Plants are living organisms, and they are a lot like us: They need water, sun and to be taken care of. If you put the right ingredients into the soil, the plant will be healthy, too—just like our own bodies.”