Farm Small Farm Smart (The Modern Grower Podcast Network)

Rome Julian of Lake Tilly Acres talks about starting his farm on the side, growth challenges, and how he has time to run the business, work another job, and have a family.

Follow Rome:

https://www.instagram.com/laketillyacres/

Growing Your Microgreens Business Course with Chris Thoreau: http://www.permaculturevoices.com/microgreens

Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram: http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

In this episode, host Diego and Farmer Alec talk about farming in transitioning seasons. Farmer Alec talks about the difference between growing his usual crops in the spring versus in the summer and the challenges that go along the changing seasons. They also touch on hypotheticals around farm expansion and using tools to improve efficiency on the farm. 

Get time and labor-saving farm tools at shop.modern grower.co

Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network:

• Farm Small, Farm Smart
• Farm Small, Farm Smart Daily
• The Growing Microgreens Podcast

Check out Diego's book, Sell Everything You Grow, which is only $0.99 on  Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Sell-Everything-You-Grow-Homestead-ebook/dp/B0CJC9NTZF

Entrepreneurship 101:

Why You Will Fail, Flail, and Falter & How You Can Succeed Despite It (A 25+ Part Series)

Episode #14: Rigidly Adhering to Ideology

Each week on 15 FOR LIFE, I cover a straightforward business lesson to carry forward for life.  

When your business runs better and smoother, your life runs better and more seamless.  I hope sharing my tips and experiences can help everyone in your life and your business benefit.  

Diego Footer hosts the podcast - a work-at-home, home-schooling dad trying to run a growing business and be the best teacher, father, and husband he can be.  Not always perfect, but still trying.

Follow Diego on IG https://instagram.com/diegofooter
Follow PaperpotCo on IG https://instagram.com/paperpot

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

In this episode of Farm Small, Farm Smart, we’re talking to Joel Konrad of Konrad Farm Markets who primarily sells pumpkins. 

Joel’s business model is both interesting and simple: he rents out spaces on busy streets and sets up self-service farm stands made of repurposed metal trailers. Despite the model’s simplicity, a few things go into the planning: choosing a well-populated street, choosing a property with good visibility, enough space for multiple cars to park at a time, and a safe spot to turn around.  When it comes to pricing, their method is equally as simple: eyeballing—largely dependent on the sizes rather than the weight.

Connect with Joel:

https://www.instagram.com/konradfarmmarkets/

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow Diego on IG https://instagram.com/diegofooter
Follow PaperpotCo on IG https://instagram.com/paperpot

Podcasts by Diego Footer:
Microgreens: https://apple.co/2m1QXmW
Vegetable Farming: https://apple.co/2lCuv3m
Livestock Farming: https://apple.co/2m75EVG
Large Scale Farming: https://apple.co/2kxj39i

Small Farm Tools https://www.paperpot.co/

While the prospects of starting a small market farm that grosses over $100,000 is lucrative and attractive, it's not for everyone or possible in every location.

And that's the topic of today's episode with Blake Cothron of Peaceful Heritage Farm....

A lot of what you hear about in the small scale farmer movement are the uber-successful small farmers that are grossing 1, 2 or $300k per acre.  They are inspiring stories, but those stories all share one thing in common, their markets.  Typically small farmers grossing big dollars are able to do that by selling their produce into larger, higher end urban market streams - market streams which will pay top dollar for microgreens, salad mix, and baby root veg.

What if you don't live near one of those large urban markets?

What if you don't have high end farmers markets and restaurants to sell product too?  

What do the prospects of your rural farming career hold?

Today, I am talking to a farmer who faced that exact problem, making farming work in very rural Amish Kentucky without high end restaurants and with a sleepy farmer's markets.  
 
In this episode Blake Cothron of Peaceful Heritage Farm located in very rural Crab Orchard Kentucky will share his story.  

It's an inspiring story about a husband and wife making a small farm work, by approaching farming in a very smart way.   A necessity, when your local customer based is used to buying vegetables at prices like 3 for $1 or $1 per dozen sweet corn.

If you're interested in farming, but you are nowhere near a large city, then this episode is for you.

Learn more at www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart

Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support

Farmer and educator Jodi Roebuck of Roebuck Farms in Taranaki, New Zealand jumps on the show to discuss how they grow microgreens as part of their market garden operation. Farmer Jodi shares some interesting ways they leverage microgreens as a way to expand their product offerings, such as enhancing existing salad mixes and picking up the slack by filling in production gaps when field crops are having issues. 

Learn more about Farmer Jodi and Roebuck Farm on Instagram and their website. 

Get time and labor-saving farm tools and microgreen seeds at shop.modern grower.co

Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network:

• Farm Small, Farm Smart
• Farm Small, Farm Smart Daily
• The Growing Microgreens Podcast
• Carrot Cashflow Podcast
• In Search of Soil

Check out Diego's book Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Sell-Everything-You-Grow-Homestead-ebook/dp/B0CJC9NTZF

Chris's online course Growing Your Profitable Microgreens Business https://microgreens.teachable.com/courses

Associate Professor Dr. Ben Hoover of California Polytechnic State University shares some of the biggest advancements in agriculture and the nuances behind creating the optimum substrate for your plants' needs.

 Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights! 

 Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower.

Follow Modern Grower:
 Instagram
 Instagram

Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network:
 Carrot Cashflow
 Farm Small Farm Smart
 Farm Small Farm Smart Daily
 The Growing Microgreens Podcast
 The Urban Farmer Podcast
 The Rookie Farmer Podcast
 In Search of Soil Podcast

Check out Diego's books:
 Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon 
 Ready Farmer One on Amazon

**** Modern Grower and Diego Footer participate in the Amazon Services LLC. Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Episode 4 in The Lettuce Grower Series is a dive into protected growing. What are the benefits, and why you should consider growing under cover. Ray discusses the various ways to protect your lettuce crop from the elements and the advantages of doing it.

This 10-part series is hosted by Diego Footer, from @paperpotco, and the presenter is farmer Ray Tyler from @rosecreekfarms.

Get Ray's book, The Farmers Guide to Growing Organic Lettuce. You can get the book here.

Ray also has an online course dedicated to growing lettuce. You can learn more about the course here.

Get tools to help you grow lettuce at Paperpotco.

Can you accept in the beginning that what you are doing may not work?

Because, guess what, it might not.

But as long as you keep trying something will..

You just have to be willing to continue on until then. And if you are willing to accept that, then save yourself the time, money, and stress and quit now.

This path isn't for everyone and that's fine.

Regardless of what decision you make, just be content with you own decision.

Do yourself a favor and think about this long and hard, because it is a life changer. 20 years from now, do you want to look back and say you went for it, or regret not going for it.

Hopefully this show will lead you down the path of no regrets, and make your journey a little bit easier.

Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram:http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

In Episode 6 of The Profitable Mini-Farm farmer Jodi Roebuck @roebuckfarm discusses considerations for setting up your wash pack building.

Learn more about Jodi:

https://www.roebuckfarm.com/

@roebuckfarm

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow Diego on IG https://instagram.com/diegofooter
Follow PaperpotCo on IG https://instagram.com/paperpot

Get high-quality farm tools in Australia and New Zealand at https://www.activevista.com.au/

Joe Naiman-Sessions of N Bar S Microgreens in Helena, Montana shares his microgreen growing journey, from reaching out to other microgreen growers in the area and selling to grocery stores, to broadening their product offering to include edible flowers, to their success in selling live cut microgreens at farmer's markets. Joe also shares his edible flower cultivation methods, his plans to expand to market gardening, as well as how he effectively keeps on top of bookkeeping and cashflow management. 

Get time and labor-saving farm tools and microgreen seeds at shop.modern grower.co

Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network:

• Farm Small, Farm Smart
• Farm Small, Farm Smart Daily
• The Growing Microgreens Podcast

Check out Diego's book Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Sell-Everything-You-Grow-Homestead-ebook/dp/B0CJC9NTZF

Chris's online course Growing Your Profitable Microgreens Business https://microgreens.teachable.com/courses

Max Becher shares some strategies that he used to find new customers very quickly including Facebook ads and email campaigns.

Connect with Max: http://www.ojaifarmstand.com

Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram: http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

Entrepreneurship 101:

Why You Will Fail, Flail, and Falter & How You Can Succeed In Spite of It (A 25+ Part Series)

Episode #5: Running A Business Like a Hobby

Each week on 15 FOR LIFE I cover one simple business lesson to carry forward for life.  

When your business runs better and smoother, your life runs better and smoother.  I hope sharing my tips and experiences can help everyone in your life and your business benefit.  

The podcast is hosted by Diego Footer - a work-at-home, home-schooling dad trying to run a growing business and be the best teacher, father, and husband he can be.  Not always perfect, but always trying.

Follow Diego on IG https://instagram.com/diegofooter
Follow PaperpotCo on IG https://instagram.com/paperpot

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Stewarding the Land offers insights on a holistic view of all aspects of caring for the land. This is a platform to share the stories of biologists, farmers, foresters, ranchers, conservationists, indigenous people, faith leaders, and anyone else involved in this work. We will discuss the most innovative, creative, and practical methods of restoring landscapes while making sure human needs are met in rural America.  Listen to more episodes: https://anchor.fm/noah-poulos/

Farmer Erich Schultz joins me to talk about lessons he has learned after moving his farm several times over the past 10 years.  Along the way, Erich has streamlined his farming operation to use fewer tools and use simpler processes.  He also talks about partnering with developers to gain access to land.  

Follow Erich https://www.instagram.com/steadfastfarm

Follow Diego on IG https://instagram.com/diegofooter
Follow PaperpotCo on IG https://instagram.com/paperpot

Podcasts by Diego Footer:
Microgreens: https://apple.co/2m1QXmW
Vegetable Farming: https://apple.co/2lCuv3m
Livestock Farming: https://apple.co/2m75EVG
Large Scale Farming: https://apple.co/2kxj39i

Small Farm Tools https://www.paperpot.co/

Episode 6 in The Lettuce Grower Series goes deep into the details of transplanting and direct seeding. When is it advantageous to direct seed? When should you transplant? Ray will discuss why they use landscape fabric on their farm and the savings it gives them. We also consider when saving time and labor using the Paperpot Transplanter makes sense.

Diego Footer hosts this 10-part series from @paperpotco, and the presenter is farmer Ray Tyler from @rosecreekfarms.

Get Ray's book, The Farmers Guide to Growing Organic Lettuce. You can get the book here.

Ray also has an online course dedicated to growing lettuce. Learn more about the course here.

Grow a great lettuce crop with the Jang Seeder, Paperpot Transplanter, and Kwik Klik seeder.

Find tools for direct seeding, transplanting, and the nursery at paperpot.co.

The first two episodes of Carrot Cashflow will air here on Farm Small Farm Smart.  You can listen to the rest of the episodes by subscribing to the podcast.

iTunes:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/welcome-to-carrot-cashflow-trailer/id1616506647?i=1000555599534

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/7yWbI4WFF0ZixQT8kEwukL?si=aa0dfe257c654e04

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Farmer Jeremy Tolley discusses why they go above and beyond to service their farm customers.  He shares the extra steps he takes to really make customers feel like they are getting something special.  He shares how he built his customer base using the website NextDoor.   You will also hear his thoughts on why these decided to start aggregating products from other farms.

Follow Red Thread Farm @redthreadfarm

Our new book Ready Farmer One - The Farmers' Guide to Create, Design, and Market an Online Farm Store comes out in April!

Make farming easier with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow Diego on IG https://instagram.com/diegofooter
Follow PaperpotCo on IG https://instagram.com/paperpot

All in Curtis produced about 17,500lbs of product off of his farm this year. That's a lot of food coming from a small space. Remember Curtis is only farming off of 15,000 sq.ft. which is spread out over 5 plots. And this year he made the most of it producing over 17,000lbs of produce on those 5 plots. 

Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram:http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

In this episode we talk about acquiring new farm land. What it takes to get new land, how land deals are structured, and what information you want to know from a land owner before entering a land deal.

We also discuss how you convert a conventional lawn over to a production urban farm plot. What are the steps involved?

It is week 9 of the urban farm season - May 12, 2015.

Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram:http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

This episode of Farm Small Farm Smart features Module 13 in the Sattin Hill Market Farming Course, where Josh Sattin discusses why you should direct seed crops, temperature, moisture, using a precision seeder, and other tips. https://www.paperpot.co/josh

Watch the Sattin Hill Farm Course: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIuQBEr4pd4

This week we will get into how Curtis went about getting his very first piece of urban farm land over 5 years ago. We will talk about what worked and what didn't work when he was just starting out and trying to gain access to land.

The unique part here is that this was all happening in the beginning. Before Curtis had built any social capital from being an active urban farmer. There were no demonstration sites or track record to refer to, it was only one person saying this is what I am gonna do, are you interested in helping.

As you will hear Curtis eventually found his first piece of land to farm. That got the ball rolling and from there he never looked back.

It is week 15 of the urban farm season - June 23, 2015.

Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram:http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

In this episode, host Diego and farmer Alec talk about the mental struggles, challenges, and hardships of running a business. While making a living from a business can be both fulfilling and exhilarating, it can also get all-consuming and mentally exhausting, especially when financial uncertainty comes into play. Diego and Alec also talk about some practical strategies for handling anxiety and maintaining well-being, as well as the importance of having a support system in keeping mental calm. 

Click here to check out farmer Alec and Crop Culture Farm.

Get time and labor-saving farm tools at shop.modern grower.co

Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network:

• Farm Small, Farm Smart
• Farm Small, Farm Smart Daily
• The Growing Microgreens Podcast
• Carrot Cashflow Podcast
• In Search of Soil

Check out Diego's book, Sell Everything You Grow, which is only $0.99

When it comes to this world of farming small, what is this world?

Is it a bunch of small farms each operating independently?

For the most part, I think the answer is yes.

Given that, what's the next step.

Is it more small farms operating independently or is those small farms growing to be larger small farmers.

Now I am not talking 1.5 acre farms scaling to 100 acres, I am talking about 1.5 acre farms scaling to 10 acres.

If small farms do that, what does that look like, both for this world of farming small and for each independently operated farm?

Is that scale manageable on a people powered biointensive level? Or does this style of farming not scale?

It's a question being asked by one of the leader in this movement, JM Fortier.

A few years ago JM Fortier left his 1.5 acre farm behind to start working on an experimental 10 acre farm to test the idea and validity of scaling these types of farming methods.

It's project which has produced some answers, but one which has also produced a lot of questions, some of which are the focus of our show today.

It's all about the future of market gardening in this episode with farmer JM Fortier.

Get JM's audiobook version of The Market Gardener at www.permaculturevoices.com/audiobook

Nikolay Georgiev joins me to talk about the process of breeding hybrid tomatoes.  We get into the science discussing what is possible in terms of disease resistance and what problems breeding could solve.  You'll also learn how a farmer or gardener could create some localized resilience by breeding their own seeds.  It's everything you ever wanted to know about breeding tomatoes.

Learn more about Geosem Select's seeds: https://geosemselect.com/en/

Follow Diego on IG https://instagram.com/diegofooter
Follow PaperpotCo on IG https://instagram.com/paperpot

Podcasts by Diego Footer:
Microgreens: https://apple.co/2m1QXmW
Vegetable Farming: https://apple.co/2lCuv3m
Livestock Farming: https://apple.co/2m75EVG
Large Scale Farming: https://apple.co/2kxj39i

Small Farm Tools https://www.paperpot.co/

Ray Tyler joins me to talk about his online store that runs on Shopify.  We get into what he likes about the platform and how going online has allowed him to drastically increase his sales from compared to when he only did farmers' markets.

Ray's video about his online store - https://www.lettuceclass.com/online1584552383046

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow Diego on IG https://instagram.com/diegofooter
Follow PaperpotCo on IG https://instagram.com/paperpot

Podcasts by Diego Footer:
Microgreens: https://apple.co/2m1QXmW
Vegetable Farming: https://apple.co/2lCuv3m
Livestock Farming: https://apple.co/2m75EVG
Large Scale Farming: https://apple.co/2kxj39i

Small Farm Tools https://www.paperpot.co/

What's your time worth as a farmer? How much should should you be charging yourself to do tasks on the farm?

That's an important metric to think about when you are a small operation. Because for a lot of farmers in this space, the labor force is a force of one, you. And you only have so many hours in a day to get everything done. Your time is very valuable. Knowing that, are you spending your valuable time on tasks that actually return a greater value than the time that you put in?

Today we talk about the way that Curtis used to do certain tasks and contrast that with how he does tasks now. And why he changed how he did things.

Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram:http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

Farmer Jay Tracy of The Cucumber Shop sheds light on the difference between cucumbers and melons grown as cucumbers: traits unique to each of them and which one to grow that best suits you.

Learn more about Jay Tracy and Cucumber Shop here.

 Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights! 

 Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower.

Follow Modern Grower:
 Instagram
 Instagram

Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network:
 Carrot Cashflow
 Farm Small Farm Smart
 Farm Small Farm Smart Daily
 The Growing Microgreens Podcast
 The Urban Farmer Podcast
 The Rookie Farmer Podcast
 In Search of Soil Podcast

Check out Diego's books:
 Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon 
 Ready Farmer One on Amazon

**** Modern Grower and Diego Footer participate in the Amazon Services LLC. Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Today is another episode where Curtis and I will be widening the scope, stepping back and zooming out from the tools and techniques and his 1/3 of an acre farm, to take a look at some of the macro issues surrounding agriculture. The focus today is on employees.

Curtis will take about his thoughts on hiring employees, and what he looks for in employees.

We'll also get into some of the complications that having employees bring to a business owner and what other options other than hiring someone are available.

Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram: http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

This episode is all about the art of farming.

Creating a framework, and understanding the overlying philosophy about why you do what you do, and leaving yourself some room to maneuver within that philosophy.

Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram:http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

In today's episode Curtis and I will take a look back at the season of this show and talk about what's in store for the future for Curtis and this show.

Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram:http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

Darren Vollmar of Ledgeview Gardens in Green Bay, Wisconsin joins me to talk about why they grow vegetables hydroponically and what it takes to do so.

Ledgeview Gardens:

Website - http://www.ledgeviewgardens.com/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ledgeview_gardens

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ledgeviewgardens/

Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram: http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

Today it's back to Kelowna and Green City Acres as Curtis and I take a look back at his experiences with inter-planting, planting multiple crops in the same space .

It's something that he's done for a few years now, and something that he's doing again this year with his tomatoes.

We first stated talking about this subject back in 2015 when we did an episode touching on the subject in Season One, then we hit on it again almost a year ago in Season Two.

Today we are going to take a look at what Curtis is doing now when it comes to inter-planting and how that's changed since we first started talking about it two years ago.

It's a technique that Curtis has a lot of experience with, but one that's continually evolving as he uses it more.

It's a technique that he uses, because it allows him to earn a lot more in the same space over a given year.

For are going example he made and additional $1100 last year, by inter-planting Salanova lettuce in with his tomatoes. That's an extra $1100 that most farmers wouldn't captured.

That's the benefit of inter-planting. Getting multiple yields out of the same space over the same time period.

But be aware going in, this technique isn't for everyone.

There's a lot of constraints and complications that come with inter-planting. And it's a technique that doesn't make sense if you have a lot of land.

None the less, it's a technique that can be a game changer for those of you who do feel like you have a limited amount of land.

For you all, this is just another way to get more crops and more money, without adding land.

Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram: http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

If you think you need a lot of land to grow cut flowers or that cut flowers aren't profitable, then you might be wrong.  Benny Pino, The Flower Grower, of Loblolly Farm joins me to talk about business opportunities growing cut flowers on small farms. 

Follow Loblolly at https://www.instagram.com/loblollyfarm/

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram: http://bit.ly/2B45VK

Blake Cowling and Austin Collins on Scintilla Farms in San Diego, California share their microgreens journey starting on a very small scale and expanding to growing in a warehouse to service over 30 restaurant customers. They also share why they chose to sell to restaurants, how they built their solid customer base, and their strategy for curating their crop offerings based on their customers' needs. Lastly, they also talk about their future plans to expand their microgreens business to include mushrooms. 

Get time and labor-saving farm tools and microgreen seeds at shop.modern grower.co

Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network:

• Farm Small, Farm Smart
• Farm Small, Farm Smart Daily
• The Growing Microgreens Podcast

Check out Diego's book Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Sell-Everything-You-Grow-Homestead-ebook/dp/B0CJC9NTZF

Chris's online course Growing Your Profitable Microgreens Business https://microgreens.teachable.com/courses

In Episode 5 of The Profitable Mini-Farm farmer Jodi Roebuck @roebuckfarm talks about market gardening and how viable it is as a career.

Learn more about Jodi:

https://www.roebuckfarm.com/

@roebuckfarm

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow Diego on IG https://instagram.com/diegofooter
Follow PaperpotCo on IG https://instagram.com/paperpot

Get high-quality farm tools in Australia and New Zealand at https://www.activevista.com.au/

In episode 1 of our new show - The Profitable Mini-Farm - farmer Jodi Roebuck @roebuckfarm talks about farm business - what his context is and how that's shaped his farm.

Learn more about Jodi:

https://www.roebuckfarm.com/

@roebuckfarm

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow Diego on IG https://instagram.com/diegofooter
Follow PaperpotCo on IG https://instagram.com/paperpot

Get high-quality farm tools in Australia and New Zealand at https://www.activevista.com.au/

Utilizing his experience as a chef Evan Chender has set out to produce niche crops for chefs such as edible flowers and more exotic cultivars and types of vegetables. It's this niche approach which has given him an edge in his market place. While a lot of other farmers just grow salad mix, Evan stands out because he produces crops that others don't. 

Today's episode was brought to you by Audible.  Sign up for Audible's 30 Day Trial and get a FREE audiobook download.

View the show notes for this episode and all previous Farm Small, Farm Smart episodes.

Learn how to start a microgreens business in Chris Thoreau's Build Your Microgreen Business Workshop.

Keep learning with these two great audiobooks:
The Market Gardener by JM Fortier
The Urban Farmer by Curtis Stone 

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter.

All of the guests for this episode are listeners of the show.  Listeners just like you.  

A few months ago I asked for feedback on the first season of the show, and I received a ton of it.

Today, I will share some of it with you.

If you submitted feedback for the show and gave me the OK to read it, thank you, this episode is yours.  

As humans I think we live in a guru culture.  A culture that puts people on a pedestal.  

And that can be dangerous because it creates limiting beliefs.  

Beliefs that we could never be like them.

Beliefs that we aren't good enough.  

Beliefs that we have some sort of unfair disadvantage.  

Beliefs that we can't do what they do.  

Because they are an expert, and we aren't.

A lot of people view Curtis as that expert and put him on that pedestal of knowledge.

They create limiting beliefs in their mind and tell themselves, I could never do what Curtis does.

I have sat in workshops with Curtis and heard it first hand, time and time again.  

And if you believe that, that you could never do what Curtis does, then Henry Ford said it best...

Whether you think you can, or think you can't - your right.  

This episode today is for the people who think they can.

If you ever feel stuck or stalled or find yourself struggling and wondering if you can actually do it, then here’s an episode for you.

An episode full of stories of “ordinary” people doing the hard work to go after what they want in life, and showing that it might not always be easy, but it is possible.

Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram:http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

In this episode, I try to cover some of the upcoming changes to the podcast.  I really hope you enjoy them.

In this episode, host Diego and farmer Alec talk about Alec's experience selling at their local farmer's market 10 weekends in. They also break down the potential reasons for the underwhelming sales in their market, as well as Alec's strategies to adapt and reach their sales goals. 

Get time and labor-saving farm tools at shop.modern grower.co

Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network:

• Farm Small, Farm Smart
• Farm Small, Farm Smart Daily
• The Growing Microgreens Podcast

Check out Diego's book, Sell Everything You Grow, which is only $0.99 on  Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Sell-Everything-You-Grow-Homestead-ebook/dp/B0CJC9NTZF

Welcome to the world of Farming Small and Farming Smart, it's The Urban Farmer.

When you are starting any new business it can be very overwhelming.

You have a lot to do all at once - building infrastructure, creating your brand, marketing, cultivating a customer base, customer service, and of course producing a product.

All essentially full-time jobs, but full-time jobs that need to be done all at once, by one person, you.

It can be very overwhelming.

Where do you start?

After all you can't just focus on producing good product without cultivating a customer base or you have no one to sell that product to. And you can't start producing product without having some way to clean and store that product.

Given that you really need to start everywhere, doing it all in parallel.

For a lot of new farmers this is where analysis paralysis sets in, and it's the topic of today's episode.

Here it is Conquering Analysis Paralysis By Starting a Whole Farm at Once in this episode of The Urban Farmer.

Learn more at www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart

Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support

This episode of Farm Small Farm Smart features Module 10 in the Sattin Hill Market Farming Course, where Josh Sattin discusses setting up irrigation. More on the course: https://www.paperpot.co/josh

Watch the Sattin Hill Farm Course: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIuQBEr4pd4

The last few episodes have focused on stuff. The tools of farming. Today we are talking about the flip side of tools, the opposite of the physical. The mental side of things, in particular hustle.

The best tools and the right stuff without the business sense, hustle, and effort won't mean anything. The tools make the job easier. Just owning them doesn't mean anything. You have to do the work.

And it's that hustle to do the work form preparation to production to sales that can give you the advantage over people who just have the money and the stuff.

As Stephen C Hogan said. "You can't have a million-dollar dream with a minimum-wage work ethic."

Because if you do, where's that going to get you. Left with an unsuccessful business and collection of expensive stuff.

A lot of success isn't quantifiable with a dollar sign, instead being measured in pure blood, sweat, and hard work. And the beauty of it is that none of this costs any thing and can be applied by literally every person on the planet regardless of their particular situation.

Today, we will get into the importance of the hustle, and the areas like sales and preparation, where hustle makes the difference between you and the person who isn't hustling as hard.

Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram:http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

In this episode, host Diego and farmer Alec take a look at how his first month at the farmer's market went after it kicked off well at opening week. Farmer Alec talks about how the following weeks went, his thoughts on the fluctuating sales, and what he plans to do next should he ever need to bolster sales for the farm. 

Get time and labor-saving farm tools at shop.modern grower.co

Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network:

• Farm Small, Farm Smart
• Farm Small, Farm Smart Daily
• The Growing Microgreens Podcast

Check out Diego's book, Sell Everything You Grow, which is only $0.99 on  Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Sell-Everything-You-Grow-Homestead-ebook/dp/B0CJC9NTZF

In episode 2 of The Profitable Mini-Farm farmer Jodi Roebuck @roebuckfarm discusses what to think about when selecting a farm site. 

Learn more about Jodi:

https://www.roebuckfarm.com/

@roebuckfarm

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow Diego on IG https://instagram.com/diegofooter
Follow PaperpotCo on IG https://instagram.com/paperpot

Get high-quality farm tools in Australia and New Zealand at https://www.activevista.com.au/

Entrepreneurship 101:

Why You Will Fail, Flail, and Falter & How You Can Succeed In Spite of It (A 25+ Part Series)

Episode #1:  Introduction and The Reality of Luck

Each week on 15 FOR LIFE I cover one simple business lesson to carry forward for life.  

When your business runs better and smoother, your life runs better and smoother.  I hope sharing my tips and experiences can help everyone in your life and your business benefit.  

The podcast is hosted by Diego Footer - a work-at-home, home-schooling dad trying to run a growing business and be the best teacher, father, and husband he can be.  Not always perfect, but always trying.

Follow Diego on IG https://instagram.com/diegofooter
Follow PaperpotCo on IG https://instagram.com/paperpot

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Troy Hinke of Living Roots Compost Tea talks about what compost extract is.  How to make it.  How it is different from compost tea.

Follow Troy on IG: https://www.instagram.com/livingrootscomposttea/

This episode was produced by Diego Footer. 

Follow Diego on IG https://instagram.com/diegofooter

Podcasts by Diego Footer:

Microgreens: https://apple.co/2m1QXmW

Vegetable Farming: https://apple.co/2lCuv3m

Livestock Farming: https://apple.co/2m75EVG

Large Scale Farming: https://apple.co/2kxj39i

In Search of Soil: http://bit.ly/soilpodcast

Small Farm Tools https://www.paperpot.co/

As farmers and business owners, it’s easy to get lost in productivity—the need to grow more, sell more, expand the farm, scale operations. 

This episode’s guest, Derek Amadi from Texas, is trying to spend more time with his family, enjoy the experiences of parenting, and pay attention to his farm just enough.

What about you? Spending time on the farm is inevitable, but it’s important to remember to take breaks every now and then and to be grateful for the things we have.

Follow Derek:

https://www.instagram.com/emadi_acres_farm

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow Diego on IG https://instagram.com/diegofooter
Follow PaperpotCo on IG https://instagram.com/paperpot

Podcasts by Diego Footer:
Microgreens: https://apple.co/2m1QXmW
Vegetable Farming: https://apple.co/2lCuv3m
Livestock Farming: https://apple.co/2m75EVG
Large Scale Farming: https://apple.co/2kxj39i

Small Farm Tools https://www.paperpot.co/

Buddha Browett joins me to talk about what it is like to run the first commercial urban farm in Sweden.  He discusses some of the challenges that he is facing from weather to cash flow to being a dad and balancing time.  

Connect with Buddha Browett:

Instagram: http://instagram.com/losperrosurbanfarming

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/losperrosurbanfarming/

Website: https://www.losperrosurbanfarming.com/

Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram: http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram: http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

When you start your farm business, one think that you need to think about is your business structure.

Sole proprietorships and LLCs are common ways to go, but there are also other options, like co-operatives...

That's how farmer Chris Thoreau of Food Pedalers structure his business, and that's the subject of today's show...

Today I'm going up to Vancouver to talk to microgreen farmer Chris Thoreau about a topic that you don't hear discussed a lot in small scale farming circles - how he organized his business..

Chris initially started his business as a sole proprietor, but as he began to grow, both in the size of the business and the amount of people working in the business, he realized he needed to change that.

After looking at all of the options, Chris decided that he wanted to do something different, something that went more against the status quo, and something that was equitable for everyone involved - so Chris organized his business as a co-operative.

It's an interesting business structure and it's one that most people wouldn't think of when organizing their business.

If your business is growing, or if you are thinking about expanding your team, then a coop structure might make sense for you...

Today Chris will talk about why he chose that structure, the advantages and disadvantages of it, and what it takes to have a successful member-owner business.

Use code is "SMART" to get 30% off any new magazine subscription! 

All the evidence shows we cannot improve on nature’s model. So how do we put into action ecological principles of soil care that are based on non-disturbance? This chapter, excerpted from my book The No-Till Organic Vegetable Farm, describes some of the techniques we employ to enhance the natural phenomena that protect and regenerate the soil.  Read the article: https://growingformarket.com/articles/cover-cropping-notill-systems

Learn more about Growing for Market: 

https://growingformarket.com/

Follow Growing for Market:

https://www.instagram.com/growingformarketmagazine

Jill Duncan introduces her small-scale urban farm, Loving Roots Urban Farm, located in Ferguson, Missouri. Operating on just an eighth of an acre, Jill discusses the practices she uses, such as no-till farming and focusing on high-value, quick-growing crops like salad mixes and cherry tomatoes.

Despite the limited space, she makes a living wage and shares insights into her methods for efficiency, problem-solving, and building a strong relationship-based customer base. 

Get time and labor-saving farm tools and microgreen seeds at shop.modern grower.co

Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network:

• Farm Small, Farm Smart
• Farm Small, Farm Smart Daily
• The Growing Microgreens Podcast

Check out Diego's book, Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Sell-Everything-You-Grow-Homestead-ebook/dp/B0CJC9NTZF

Seed farmer and author Dan Brisebois of Tourne-Sol Co-Operative Farm shares his expertise on seed-saving by ranking the top 3 easiest market garden crops to start saving seed from, how to process the seeds to use the next year, and how to tell when the seeds are ready to be harvested and processed. 🌱

Check out Dan's new book: The Seed Farmer: A Complete Guide to Growing, Using, and Selling Your Own Seeds

Click here to learn more about Dan Brisebois and his work. 

Interested in watching the series? Hop on over to our YouTube Channel! 

Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network:

• Farm Small, Farm Smart
• Farm Small, Farm Smart Daily
• The Growing Microgreens Podcast
• Carrot Cashflow Podcast
• In Search of Soil

When doing an initial layout design for your farm, how do you think about what goes where? What teacher-turned-farmer Chad Gard of Hole in the Woods Farm took into account during their initial planning phase were field blocks and crop rotation. Now, their field blocks are rotated in a 12-year cycle, intentionally switching out different crop families to promote diversity in their soils.

Learn more about Hole in the Woods Farm. 

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow Diego on IG https://instagram.com/diegofooter
Follow PaperpotCo on IG https://instagram.com/paperpot

So you want to grow your own cucumbers...but where do you even start? 

Farmer Jay Tracy of The Cucumber Shop walks us through the whole process of growing the best cucumbers, from choosing which cucumbers to grow, to how to start them, to the kind of soil to grow them in, to how to maintain your cucumber plants to keep them pumping out fruit for weeks and weeks!

Learn more about Jay Tracy and Cucumber Shop here.

Interested in watching the series? Hop on over to our YouTube Channel! 

Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network:

• Farm Small, Farm Smart
• Farm Small, Farm Smart Daily
• The Growing Microgreens Podcast
• Carrot Cashflow Podcast
• In Search of Soil

To be successful as an urban farmer you need to be able to quickly adapt and solve problems on the fly.

In this episode we talk about how Curtis has had to adapt in the past and how his system allows him to change his production quickly.

I also talk to Curtis about five mistakes that I see a lot of farmers make when they get into the farm business. Together we discuss these common mistakes and how you can avoid them. We will give you straightforward, honest, actinable advice that you can put into use today and hopefully keep you out of trouble and increase your chances of farming success.

It is week 14 of the urban farm season - June 16, 2015.

Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram:http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

Grower Chris Thoreau is guest hosting for Diego. Chris talks with Lily Evans of Short Roots Urban Farm in Kenosha, Wisconsin to share her experience of how she started her microgreens business by bootstrapping.

Learn more about Lily /https://www.instagram.com/shortrootsurbanfarm/

Seedleaf - Microgreen Crop Planning software: https://seedleaf.co/

Chris Thoreau's website: https://urbanmicro.ca/

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow Diego on IG https://instagram.com/diegofooter
Follow PaperpotCo on IG https://instagram.com/paperpot

Think about how much work you do on the farm now. How much of that work is actually being done efficiently and effectively?

Are you making the best use of your time by focusing on the 20% of the tasks that generate the most return?

Getting rid of crops can actually be a good thing. It allow you to work more efficiently and effectively by focusing on the task at hand instead of always trying to keep you head above water. It's very hard for any one person to do many things well, but each of us can do a few things really well. Crops are no different. And odds are you can grow a few crops a lot better than you can grow a lot of crops.

Take a look at your farm and the crops that you grow. Which crops generate 20% of your revenue? And how would your farm and life look if you just focused on those?

Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram:http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

Follow Loblolly Farm on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loblollyfarm/

Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram: http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

This episode of Farm Small Farm Smart features Module 15 in the Sattin Hill Market Farming Course, where Josh Sattin talks about his personal strategies to overcome pests on his farm, as well as some general principles and mindsets on pest management.. https://www.paperpot.co/josh

Watch the Sattin Hill Farm Course: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIuQBEr4pd4

Happy Thanksgiving.  This episode is a replay of an episode of Grassfed Life that aired earlier this week.  In this fun episode, livestock farmer Darby Simpson and I talk about how board games are a great way to use your downtime and connect with others.  

Learn more about Grassfed Life: http://bit.ly/2D5gRJX

Subscribe to the podcast: https://apple.co/2hayYod

Farm Business Essentials Online Course is here, and it's not just a piece of the puzzle. FBE is a complete step by step A to Z system to plan, market, and grow the farm enterprise that's right for you. Built by a farmer for farmers just like you -https://www.farmbusinessessentials.com

Instagram:
Follow Darby: http://bit.ly/2D6mlo7
Follow Diego: http://bit.ly/2B3vprJ

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/grassfedlifepodcast/

In this episode, farmer Alec and host Diego talk about running a farm business when something unexpected happens—maybe you get crazy weather events, maybe you get crop failure, or maybe your farmer's market shuts down on short notice. What do you do to minimize the losses in the business? Farmer Alec shares his experience pivoting from his farmer's market after they announced a cancelled weekend in less than 48 hours. 

Get time and labor-saving farm tools at shop.modern grower.co

Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network:

• Farm Small, Farm Smart
• Farm Small, Farm Smart Daily
• The Growing Microgreens Podcast

Check out Diego's book, Sell Everything You Grow, which is only $0.99 on  Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Sell-Everything-You-Grow-Homestead-ebook/dp/B0CJC9NTZF

Today we’re talking to John Findlay, who raises mushrooms on his farm in Ontario, Canada. He raises them locally to sell to farmer’s markets and chefs. He’s had a lot of success, and in this episode, he’s going to share what his journey has been like. From expenses to techniques, and even a discussion on what it would be like as a vegetable farmer to add mushrooms onto their operation, this far-ranging conversation will give you a full introduction to what it might look like to start growing mushrooms on your farm in 2020.

While more technical and costly to invest in upfront than veg, mushrooms can offer growers a potentially open market if there isn’t another producer in your region. If you want to learn more from John, you can find him on the web on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube at Findlay’s Fungus. If you are interested in hearing more about the topic of growing mushrooms on the podcast, you can reach out to me @DiegoFooter on Instagram and let me know your thoughts. 

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow Diego on IG https://instagram.com/diegofooter
Follow PaperpotCo on IG https://instagram.com/paperpot

Podcasts by Diego Footer:
Microgreens: https://apple.co/2m1QXmW
Vegetable Farming: https://apple.co/2lCuv3m
Livestock Farming: https://apple.co/2m75EVG
Large Scale Farming: https://apple.co/2kxj39i

Small Farm Tools https://www.paperpot.co/

Troy Hinke of Living Roots Compost Tea wraps up the tenth part of the series going beyond compost tea.  How can you build and maintain great soil with other soil management practices.

Follow Troy on IG: https://www.instagram.com/livingrootscomposttea/

This episode was produced by Diego Footer. 

Follow Diego on IG https://instagram.com/diegofooter

Podcasts by Diego Footer:

Microgreens: https://apple.co/2m1QXmW

Vegetable Farming: https://apple.co/2lCuv3m

Livestock Farming: https://apple.co/2m75EVG

Large Scale Farming: https://apple.co/2kxj39i

In Search of Soil: http://bit.ly/soilpodcast

Small Farm Tools https://www.paperpot.co/

Today I'm going to be talking to another small scale farmer who's greatly benefited by growing smaller, not larger.

A few years ago, farmer, Alex Bertsch started farming on half an acre. Not a ton of land, but enough to make it hard for one person to manage. Add in the fact that the half an acre was being farmed part-time, and that half an acre seems a little more daunting. Then place that half an acre 40 minutes from where Alex lived, and you now have a hard farm to manage for anyone. It was a situation that was further complicated by growing a large variety of crops.

Despite these first year challenges, Alex persevered and came out the first year ahead. Then he did something wise, he accessed the situation and he scaled back.

He cut his farm down from half an acre to just 500 square feet and some indoor growing space, and he moved the farm from the remote location to his back yard. Also, as part of his strategy, he dramatically reduced his crops selection down to just salad greens and micro greens.

It was a big change of going smaller and simpler that changed everything for Alex. It made his life and his farm more manageable, and it's one that he continues to grow today.

Growing Better by Growing Smaller - Going From Half an Acre to 500 Square Feet with Alex Bertsch of Epic by Nature Farm.

Stay tuned every Monday, for a new episode at www.permaculturevoices.com/grassfed

Support the show at www.permaculturevoices.com/support

It's June 2nd and the farm is in full production. As you heard last week a big part of that production comes from greens. Greens that are being cut and cut and cut.

That's resulting in a lot of product that is being sold to restaurants, distributors, and farmers market customers.

This week we get into sales, crop planning, planting density, and the ability to cut greens multiple times.

It is week 12 of the urban farm season - June 2, 2015.

Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram:http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

Today we interview Troy and Cindy Dickens of Tilth and Timber farm in MA. They are only a few months into their journey.

We discuss how they got into farming and what their challenges have been so far. What about their lifestyle changed when they dropped corporate income for farm income? And what is their vision of where they want their farm to go?

If you want to follow along with Cindy and Troy you can find them on Instagram @tilth_and_timber and on the web at https://www.tilthandtimber.com You can also find their journey in their converted bus on Instagram @whitewhaleskoolie.

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow Diego on IG https://instagram.com/diegofooter
Follow PaperpotCo on IG https://instagram.com/paperpot

Podcasts by Diego Footer:
Microgreens: https://apple.co/2m1QXmW
Vegetable Farming: https://apple.co/2lCuv3m
Livestock Farming: https://apple.co/2m75EVG
Large Scale Farming: https://apple.co/2kxj39i

Small Farm Tools https://www.paperpot.co/

In this episode, host Diego talks to farmer Alec as he reflects on his first year running Crop Culture Farm, with emphasis on dedicating ample time for farm buildout and infrastructure before diving into full-scale production. They also talk about the value of experimentation, staying true to oneself, and not taking things too seriously when entrepreneurial challenges arise—running a business is hard enough, so give yourself some room to laugh and be flexible so you can get back up again. 

Click here to check out farmer Alec and Crop Culture Farm.

Get time and labor-saving farm tools at shop.modern grower.co

Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network:

• Farm Small, Farm Smart
• Farm Small, Farm Smart Daily
• The Growing Microgreens Podcast
• Carrot Cashflow Podcast
• In Search of Soil

Check out Diego's book, Sell Everything You Gro

Entrepreneurship 101:

Why You Will Fail, Flail, and Falter & How You Can Succeed In Spite of It (A 25+ Part Series)

Episode #11: Failure to Keep Records

Each week on 15 FOR LIFE I cover one simple business lesson to carry forward for life.  

When your business runs better and smoother, your life runs better and smoother.  I hope sharing my tips and experiences can help everyone in your life and your business benefit.  

The podcast is hosted by Diego Footer - a work-at-home, home-schooling dad trying to run a growing business and be the best teacher, father, and husband he can be.  Not always perfect, but always trying.

Follow Diego on IG https://instagram.com/diegofooter
Follow PaperpotCo on IG https://instagram.com/paperpot

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

If you want to be better off in December 2016, then the planning for that starts now in December 2015.

The biggest leverage point which for the farm season next year is right there in front of you. You just need to tease it out. 

That's what today's show is about. Doing some End of Season Reflection - Thinking about How Things Went This Year, to Alter Course and Plan for Next Year.

I hope that you can use some of the information that we talk about in this episode to reflect on your 2015 farm season, so you can get better in 2016.

Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram:http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

In this episode, podcast host Diego interviews Alec Smith from Crop Culture Farm, a farmer starting his farm. Alec shares his experiences and challenges in balancing his farm startup with working part-time at another farm, the steps taken to set up his farm, improvements made over time, and their plans and expectations for their farm business. He also dives into the compromise between perfection and practicality in farm setup, constraints, and challenges such as time and resource
management, recent achievements, and positive feedback that motivate and validate Alec's efforts.

Get time and labor-saving farm tools at shop.modern grower.co

Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network:

• Farm Small, Farm Smart
• Farm Small, Farm Smart Daily
• The Growing Microgreens Podcast

Check out Diego's book, Sell Everything You Grow, which is only $0.99 on  Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Sell-Everything-You-Grow-Homestead-ebook/dp/B0CJC9NTZF

Farmer Ben Hartman talks about how lean principles turned their farm around. Learn more about Ben's courses: https://www.theleanfarmschool.com/

Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram: http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

Grower Chris Thoreau is guest hosting for Diego. Chris talks to longtime entrepreneur Pierre Marlow of Alberta, Canada to share his experience discovering microgreens and starting a microgreens business as a retirement plan.

Seedleaf - Microgreen Crop Planning software: https://seedleaf.co/

Chris Thoreau's website: https://urbanmicro.ca/

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow Diego on IG https://instagram.com/diegofooter
Follow PaperpotCo on IG https://instagram.com/paperpot

This episode of Farm Small Farm Smart features Module 11 in the Sattin Hill Market Farming Course, where Josh Sattin discusses seed starting and nursery mangement. More on the course: https://www.paperpot.co/josh

Watch the Sattin Hill Farm Course: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIuQBEr4pd4

If you are a single worker farm then you only have so much time and energy to spend on the farm. If you spend a massive amount of that working with weeds then that's time take away from other farm tasks or other non-farm tasks like spending time with your spouse or kids.

What are the weeds worth?

For most people, they aren't worth enough to deal with when you zoom out, and take all of the factors into account, and therefore the weeds get cut, literally.

That's the focus of today's show. Weed management, where we discuss various methods of preventing weeds from establishing themselves on the farm in the first place, and how to deal with them when they do.

Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram:http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

We all have this great chance to go great places.  Yet we all don't take it.  Today's episode is a look at the opportunity and why some people squander it, and why some people don't.

Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram:http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

In this episode, Diego and Alec break down Farmer Alec’s second farmer’s market of the season: the difference in the crowd of marketgoers between the first and second weeks, the adjustments Farmer Alec made in his products and bundles, and the sales he made that week. They also dive into his product offering in the coming weeks, as well as other changes he’ll be making moving forward.

Connect with Alec: https://www.instagram.com/cropculturefarm/

Get time and labor-saving farm tools at shop.modern grower.co

Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network:

• Farm Small, Farm Smart
• Farm Small, Farm Smart Daily
• The Growing Microgreens Podcast

Check out Diego's book, Sell Everything You Grow, which is only $0.99 on  Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Sell-Everything-You-Grow-Homestead-ebook/dp/B0CJC9NTZF

Farmer and Entrepreneur Chaz Daughtry (http://www.soulfitgrill.com/) joins me to discuss the two different online sales platforms he is using to sell his vegetables and his spice blends.  One platform is a very beginner, basic platform, and the other is more advanced.  Chaz also details why he got into creating spice blends and what running that business is like.

Follow Chaz https://www.instagram.com/sweetwaterfarmshtx

Follow Diego on IG https://instagram.com/diegofooter
Follow PaperpotCo on IG https://instagram.com/paperpot

Podcasts by Diego Footer:
Microgreens: https://apple.co/2m1QXmW
Vegetable Farming: https://apple.co/2lCuv3m
Livestock Farming: https://apple.co/2m75EVG
Large Scale Farming: https://apple.co/2kxj39i

Small Farm Tools https://www.paperpot.co/

"How does a REKO-ring work?
The ring is based on a closed Facebook group. The producer and consumer who want to take part apply for membership in the group he or she likes. Administrators, often a small group of consumers, approve the application from serious people and thereafter trade can begin. Normally delivery occurs every or every other week, depending on the size of the group. Delivery times are more often shorter than an hour, or producers congregate and the consumers can collect their orders from a number of producers at the same time. A producer writes a post about their product and availability on Facebook and the consumers make orders by comments directly under the post. The producers also write how they require payment." Source

You can connect or follow along with Buddha and Sofia of Los Perros Farm on Instagram @LosPerrosUrbanFarming and on the web at LosPerrosUrbanFarming.com.  Check out their recently opened cafe @FlaxMalmo.

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow Diego on IG https://instagram.com/diegofooter
Follow PaperpotCo on IG https://instagram.com/paperpot

Podcasts by Diego Footer:
Microgreens: https://apple.co/2m1QXmW
Vegetable Farming: https://apple.co/2lCuv3m
Livestock Farming: https://apple.co/2m75EVG
Large Scale Farming: https://apple.co/2kxj39i

Small Farm Tools https://www.paperpot.co/

In Episode 4 of The Profitable Mini-Farm farmer Jodi Roebuck @roebuckfarm talks about how to form beds on new farm land.

Learn more about Jodi:

https://www.roebuckfarm.com/

@roebuckfarm

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow Diego on IG https://instagram.com/diegofooter
Follow PaperpotCo on IG https://instagram.com/paperpot

Get high-quality farm tools in Australia and New Zealand at https://www.activevista.com.au/

Farmer Josh Sattin from Sattin Hill Farm joins me to talk about how he built up a farm following for his new farm pretty quickly - both online and in-person with local chefs.  He shares strategies for how he did that and how it has helped with sales. 

He also gets into the various ways he is building soil on-farm from his no-till methods to using wood chip mulch in his pathways to utilizing chickens to prepare new growing areas.

Follow Josh:

https://www.instagram.com/sattinhillfarm

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHynVrKVZtTXf3hndd2ZR4A 

No-Till Growers:

https://www.notillgrowers.com/

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow Diego on IG https://instagram.com/diegofooter
Follow PaperpotCo on IG https://instagram.com/paperpot

Podcasts by Diego Footer:
Microgreens: https://apple.co/2m1QXmW
Vegetable Farming: https://apple.co/2lCuv3m
Livestock Farming: https://apple.co/2m75EVG
Large Scale Farming: https://apple.co/2kxj39i

Small Farm Tools https://www.paperpot.co/

Farmer and Soil Consultant James Hutchinson joins me to talk about his method for building soils on his Tasmanian farm.  He utilizes minimum tillage alongside composting, cover cropping and biochar to build soil in his permabeds.  He will give advice on getting soils tests and making hot and cold compost.

Follow James:

https://www.instagram.com/longleyorganic

https://www.instagram.com/activevistagram/

James' online Farm Store:

https://www.activevista.com.au/

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow Diego on IG https://instagram.com/diegofooter
Follow PaperpotCo on IG https://instagram.com/paperpot

Podcasts by Diego Footer:
Microgreens: https://apple.co/2m1QXmW
Vegetable Farming: https://apple.co/2lCuv3m
Livestock Farming: https://apple.co/2m75EVG
Large Scale Farming: https://apple.co/2kxj39i

Small Farm Tools https://www.paperpot.co/

Microgreen grower Chris Thoreau joins me to talk about the importance of sourcing high quality, pathogen-free seed for a microgreens operation.   

Chris's online course Growing Your Profitable Microgreens Business https://microgreens.teachable.com/courses

Follow Diego on IG https://instagram.com/diegofooter
Follow PaperpotCo on IG https://instagram.com/paperpot

Podcasts by Diego Footer:
Microgreens: https://apple.co/2m1QXmW
Vegetable Farming: https://apple.co/2lCuv3m
Livestock Farming: https://apple.co/2m75EVG
Large Scale Farming: https://apple.co/2kxj39i

Small Farm Tools https://www.paperpot.co/

Farming, it truly is a lifestyle. And one that a lot of people seek out.

This leads people down the road of thinking about how can they start or transition into small scale farming.

And when they go down that path they inevitably run into issues. Because startup isn't always clear, or easy, and there are always unique challenges.

Today we will take take a look at one listeners plan to transition into farming and startup an urban farm of his own.

This is the story of Michael from LA, and Michael wants to be a farmer.

He has a lot of resources, constraints, and questions.

And that's what we'll be digging into today, in Season Two, Episode 19 of The Urban Farmer.

Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram:http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

In this episode, farmer Alec and host Diego talk about the finances behind two ways of starting a farm: when the farm starts out as a side hustle, and when the farm starts out as the main hustle. Farmer Alec talks about where he falls on that spectrum, as well as the challenges around navigating the financial landscape of running a first-year farm. 

Get time and labor-saving farm tools at shop.modern grower.co

Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network:

• Farm Small, Farm Smart
• Farm Small, Farm Smart Daily
• The Growing Microgreens Podcast

Check out Diego's book, Sell Everything You Grow, which is only $0.99 on  Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Sell-Everything-You-Grow-Homestead-ebook/dp/B0CJC9NTZF

Use code is "SMART" to get 30% off any new magazine subscription! 

It’s okay to say NO to your CSA members. If you are new to running a CSA, expanding to increase membership, or just trying to improve with every season, this advice is for you. You have my permission to be inflexible when it comes to members’ special requests. Read the article:

https://growingformarket.com/articles/set-boundaries-csa-members-and-set-yourself-up-success

Learn more about Growing for Market: 

https://growingformarket.com/

Follow Growing for Market:

https://www.instagram.com/growingformarketmagazine

Megan Neubauer from Pure Land Farm joins me to discuss her revolutionary you-pick farming model. The model is extremely profitable and gives her a lot of extra time each year to do things off the farm. Megan goes through her strategies for sales, marketing, and crop planning. You can learn more in Megan's book: Pick-Your-Own-Farming

Get time and labor-saving farm tools at shop.modern grower.co

Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network:

• Farm Small, Farm Smart
• Farm Small, Farm Smart Daily
• The Growing Microgreens Podcast

Check out Diego's book, Sell Everything You Grow, which is only $0.99 on  Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Sell-Everything-You-Grow-Homestead-ebook/dp/B0CJC9NTZF

Most people don't get into farming to get rich.

Does that mean that you can't get rich farming, no it doesn't. But if you only motivation to farm is to get rich, then you better buckle up because you have rocky road ahead.

Because when it comes to amassing monetary riches the road hasn't historically been paved by good soil and a tractor.

That's not to say that there aren't rich farmers, because there are, but it's not the norm.

If are getting into farming only for the money, to get rich, then you better think about how you are going to do that, and why you are going to do that.

If money isn't your only motivator for getting into farming, then you better think about why you are getting into it, and how you are going to do it.

Either way it won't be easy. But either way can make you rich, it all comes down to, how you define rich.

Today's episode is a look beyond the bank account. It's a look at all of the other benefits and reasons to be an entrepreneur and to be farmer.

This episode is us kicking around ideas and brainstorming to broaden the idea of what being rich, truly means.

It's a definition that’s different for everyone. And it's one that you need to define when you get into this. Because if you define it, it makes it a lot easier to become rich, and if you don't then it makes it a lot easier to stay poor.

Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram:http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

Seed farmer Dan Brisebois of Tourne-Sol Co-Operative Farm talks about the practicality of isolating plants when you're planning on saving seeds. Should you do it? Or can you get away with cramming as many plants as possible onto one bed to maximize production?

Check out Dan's new book: The Seed Farmer: A Complete Guide to Growing, Using, and Selling Your Own Seeds

Click here to learn more about Dan Brisebois and his work. 

Interested in watching the series? Hop on over to our YouTube Channel! 

 Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights! 

 Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower.

Follow Modern Grower:
 Instagram
 Instagram

Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network:
 Carrot Cashflow
 Farm Small Farm Smart
 Farm Small Farm Smart Daily
 The Growing Microgreens Podcast
 The Urban Farmer Podcast
 The Rookie Farmer Podcast
 In Search of Soil Podcast

Check out Diego's books:
 Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon 
 Ready Farmer One on Amazon

**** Modern Grower and Diego Footer participate in the Amazon Services LLC. Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Today I'm going to be talking to another small scale farming making a go of it as we go to Sebastopol, CA to talk to Caiti Hachmyer of Red H Farm.

Caiti's a farmer who started out her farming career on the advocacy side of things.  She was living the Bay Area advocating for farmers and looking to play her part in changing hte food system.  But after a while she felt something was missing.  And she felt like she needed to get on the ground and see what life was really like for some of the farmers that she was advocating for.  So she picked up her California roots and moved to Minnesota to spend some time working on a production farm.  

It was step that would change her life forever.  Giving her perspective of the on the ground side of things which helped her on the policy side, and one that would give her a nice experience ot have in her back pocket.

One that she would need to draw on when she moved back to California and needed work.  

Caiti's gone on to continue her work on the ground and policy side of things.  

It's the dual nature of her work that we focus on today.

Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram: http://bit.ly/2B45VKQ

Ben Hartman talks about building soil on a new farm or bringing new soil into production.  Topics include tillage, compost, and no-till.  

Ben's Online Course: 

https://www.theleanfarmschool.com

Follow Ben:

https://www.instagram.com/claybottomfarm

Listen to past episodes at: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast

Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment at https://www.paperpot.co/

Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram: http://bit.ly/2B45VK

James Grevious of Rebels in the Garden joins me to talk about the importance of farming for the community.  Farming inspires, provides hope, brings people together, and sets a positive example.  Our conversation goes beyond business to talk about ways farming can help change a culture and bring people together.

Follow James https://www.instagram.com/rebelsinthegarden/ 

Follow Diego on IG https://instagram.com/diegofooter
Follow PaperpotCo on IG https://instagram.com/paperpot

Podcasts by Diego Footer:
Microgreens: https://apple.co/2m1QXmW
Vegetable Farming: https://apple.co/2lCuv3m
Livestock Farming: https://apple.co/2m75EVG
Large Scale Farming: https://apple.co/2kxj39i

Small Farm Tools https://www.paperpot.co/