Farm Small Farm Smart

Hiring troubles?  Nervous about hiring?  Then this is the episode for you.  I am joined by Farmer and HR Specialist Jeremy Tolley of Red Thread Farm.  Jeremy has spent the past 20 years of his career in HR, recruiting and training. He's hired (directly or through my staff) literally thousands of people.  In this episode, he will share his experiences hiring and give tips and advice to help you wit...

Today's episode is a BEST OF episode, which is a replay of a previously aired episode.  Enjoy! Engineer and permie Rob Avis from Verge Permaculture talks about building and designing passive solar greenhouses. Key Takeaways:   It is very important to have thermal mass in the greenhouse. Thermal mass absorbs the surplus heat during the date and radiates it back out at night. Know what your goals ar...

Benny & Courtney Pino of Loblolly Farm talk about the challenges they are facing growing their flower farm with the resources that they have available - labor, markets, and capital.  How can they work through these challenges?  And when it comes to growth how big is big enough? Follow Loblolly: https://www.instagram.com/loblollyfarm/     Increase farm efficiency with the  Paperpot Transplanter and...

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/activevistag...

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

Scott Hebert and I talk about how Scott has created a functional balance in life between business and non-business.  He also talks about some of the changes he has made to improve his life on farm and off-farm including getting more fit so he can think and farm better. Connect with Scott: Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/flavourfulfarms YouTube:  https://bit.ly/2u3WxIW   Listen to past episod...

Benny and Courtney Pino from Loblolly Farm join me to talk about all of the different potential market streams for small scale cut flower growers.   From selling to distributors to florists to designers there are a lot of potential outlets to sell to as a grower.   We will discuss each model hitting on the pros and cons of each, so you can hopefully find a market stream that works for you.   The w...

Emma Hendel of Fair Share Farm gives us a look at the work that happens behind the scenes to support and enable field production.   She cover's what she does in the office on a weekly basis for their farm.   Tasks include bookkeeping, market, and communicating with customers.   In this episode, there are tips for increasing your time bandwidth and some thoughts about the upside of on-farm sales.  ...

Today farmer Ben Hartman of Clay Bottom Farm joins me to talk about choosing the right crops for your farm's context.  He goes through some of the most profitable small farm crops, and why you should consider growing them.  He also gets into choosing the right customers for those crops and how to make sure those crops are a fit for the customers. Ben's Online Course: www.theleanfarmschool.com Foll...

Justin Logeais joins me to talk about transitioning from full-time employment to full-time farming - how he did it, how it paid for it, and the balance that was required.  He also talks about balancing family with running a business and keeping family first. Connect with Justin: https://en-gb.facebook.com/compostguycsa/   Plant Fast, Live More... Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transpla...

Benny and Courtney Pino from Loblolly Farm join me to talk about the Top 10 Cool Season Flowers for Small Farms.  We talk about why you should consider these flowers, how to grow then, and how to use them in bouquets.  We also get into pest and disease pressure for each type of flower and the overall difficulty to grow them. Follow Loblolly at  https://www.instagram.com/loblollyfarm/ Increase farm...

Chris Thoreau joins me to discuss crop planning for a microgreens business using spreadsheets. We discuss timing crops for orders, using spreadsheets to plan and forecast income, and how to use spreadsheets for business planning. Get Chris's Crop Planner at:  https://urbanmicro.ca/crop-planner/   This show is brought to you by Paperpot Co .

John Paul Smajda joins me to talk about how he increased sales at their farmers' market by over 300%.  From display to customer interactions, to pricing, all of the tips in this one are practical ones anyone could implement. Connect with John: smajda@mac.com   This show is brought to you by Paperpot Co

Jordan MacPhee of Maple Bloom Farm joins how microgreens fit in with field crops on their farm.  They are also in expansion mode on the farm and talk hiring considerations, selling more, and maintaining quality.   Connect with Jordan: http://www.maplebloomfarm.ca Growing Your Microgreens Business Course with Chris Thoreau:  http://www.permaculturevoices.com/microgreens    Increase farm efficiency...

Ben Hartman talks about creating the optimum conditions for growing tomatoes.  He also touches on building soil in between crops and handling crop turnover. 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 Fa...

Kim Doughty-McCannon joins me to talk about being a mom and a farmer.  How does she balance both?  We get into topics such as time management and splitting time.  Kim also talks about her experiences running a cut flower CSA. Follow Kim: @bellurbanfarm https://www.bellurbanfarm.com/   Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment  at https://www.paperpot.co...

Depression is an issue that affects over 20 million Americans, and the farm space is not isolated from that.  Today Farmer Chris Gilbert joins me to talk about the topic of depression and some of his experiences with depression.   Follow Chris: https://www.instagram.com/gilbertsgrapesiowa/   Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment  at https://www.pape...

Benny and Courtney Pino from Loblolly Farm join me to talk about the Top 10 Warm Season Flowers for Small Farms.  We talk about why you should consider these flowers, how to grow then, and how to use them in bouquets.  We also get into pest and disease pressure for each type of flower and the overall difficulty to grow them. Follow Loblolly at  https://www.instagram.com/loblollyfarm/ Increase farm...

Emma Hendel and Elliot Seldner talk about being husband and wife along with business owners.  How do they make it work?  What does it take?  What is it really like?   Follow Fair Share Farm at  http://instagram.com/fair_share_farm https://www.fairsharefarm.net/ Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment  at https://www.paperpot.co/ Follow PaperpotCo on I...

Jordan MacPhee of Maple Bloom Farm joins me to talk about how they sell their organic veggie box in the small, but crowded marketplace on PEI in Canada.  We discuss strategies for marketing CSAs, getting people interested, and keeping them coming back year after year. Connect with Jordan: http://www.maplebloomfarm.ca http://www.waggon.ca   Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter an...

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  ...

Javan Bernakevitch and I talk about the need to decide what is truly important and why that, and only that, should be the focus in 2019.   Connect with Javan: All Points Land Design: http://allpointsdesign.ca/ All Points Life Design: http://allpointsdesign.ca/life-design/intro/   Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment  at https://www.paperpot.co/ Fol...

Yosef Camire of Ahavah Farm talks about his process for goal setting and yearly planning.  We cover both short and long-range goal setting.  Along with how to attack larger longer-term goals. Follow Yosef:  https://www.instagram.com/ahavahfarm/   Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment  at https://www.paperpot.co/ Follow PaperpotCo on Instagram:  http...

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 h...

Today I am asking the question - Can you farm business scale enough to matter?  If not, then why are you doing it or what can you change?  Can the business scale, do you have a business or a job, and can your markets handle enough sales volume?   Listen to past episodes: https://www.paperpot.co/podcast Increase farm efficiency with the Paperpot Transplanter and Other Small Farm Equipment  at https...