Farm Small Farm Smart Daily

Ben Falk from Whole Systems Design, LLC joins me talk about permaculture design and what he has learned on his research site over the years. He talks about how to break into the business as a designHe touches on cold climate infrastructure and heating with wood. And he goes into his thoughts on designing a property and why it's important to understand the land's capability and how you should relat...

Curtis Stone of Green City Acres joins me to talk about his experience as a SPIN Farmer. SPIN Farming is a methodology to grown a lot of produce on very little land. It provides you with a plan to get started now so you can get cash flow going, gain experience and skills. It breaks down the big barriers to farming, being owning land the access to capital. SPIN teaches you how to start farming with...

John Kitsteiner of Temperate Climate Permaculture joins me to discuss his series of blog posts, The Myth of the Perfect Job. So many of us are stuck in the rat race. We want to be farmers, homesteaders, or something else that involves working closer to home, and not for the man. But we never end up doing that. Why? I think people are either afraid to take a risk and start, or they don't know where...

Owen Hablutzel joins me to talk about patterns in permaculture and the power of setting a goal. Key Takeaways from this Episode: Patterns are the shorthand of nature. They take a large complex system of forces and processes and simplifies it down. What is the long term vision of the project? A lot of designs fall apart on the social impact side of the project. Take the time to set and write down a...

This is replay of the webinar that was recorded on December 5, 2013 with Rebecca Krassnoski. Attendees submitted their questions about raising hogs and Rebecca answered them. the b reels: episodes of the Permaculture Voices podcast that just weren't a fit for the main weekly show. This is content that I have that is worth sharing, but it will be a little more raw, unedited, and no show notes. The...

Joey Delia of Tipuana Farm joins me to talk about overstory trees in permaculture systems. We touch on species of overstory trees that grow in our area and the benefits of those trees to a system. Dealing with too much shade. Finding fast growing species and other thoughts that we have on the subject. the b reels: episodes of the Permaculture Voices podcast that just weren't a fit for the main wee...

Michael Pollan joins me to talk about GMOs, organic food, the industrial agriculture, and his new book Cooked. Points we hit on: What will it take to ultimately get GMOs labelled in the US? And what affect will that labeling have. Rewarding farmers for embracing sustainable practices. Getting changes in agriculture from the grassroots, corporate and government level. Getting representation for eat...

Joey Delia of EvokeHope.org joins me to recap the recent Darren Doherty Regrarian Open Consultancy, talk about the Dehesa system of Spain, and an upcoming PDC at the new PRI Tipuana Farm. Key Takeaways from this Episode: Don't focus on tactics. Slow down, observe and embrace a more passive approach to permaculture. Plant trees in the eroded gullies. Helps to control erosion while providing a valua...

Stefan Sebkowiak of Miracle Farms joins me to talk about the what's lacking in organic systems - biodiversity. And why organic is good, but creating a polyculture is a lot better. Stefan started out his journey purchasing a conventional non-organic orchard. He worked on converting it over to organic and realized that something wasn't right, something was missing. The system was lacking the biodive...

David Barmon of Fiddlehead Landscape Design joins me to talk about urban lumber. We discuss how we can start thinking about urban trees as not just a source of beauty, but as a valuable, sustainable resource. Most people don't really think about what happens to a tree in an urban setting. Most of the time it ends up as fireword, mulch, or goes to the landfill. David thinks that we could be sourcin...

Joel talks a lot about how young people can get into farming by establishing synergistic relationships with older farmers as he tries to dispel the big belief that you need land to farm. He touches on the farming business and how conventional farmers can start to transition to a perennial based agricultural system. Key Takeaways from this Episode: Convert a little bit of acres at a time, when conv...

What do you do with 350,000 gallons of rainwater runoff that enters your property with a high velocity causing erosion? One option is to harvest that water, slow it down, and take away the erosion by constructing some permaculture earthworks. Alden Hough of the Sky Mountain Institute joins me to talk about some earthworks that were constructed on his 7 acre property last March during a Paul Wheato...

Rebecca Krossnoski of Nature Delivered Farm joins me to talk about her passion for pigs. Rebecca left her job as a construction estimator 6 years ago to start pasture raising pigs. She realized that her old job wasn't going to be there forever so she began the transition into the farming business while she was still working at her old job. She had no prior farming experience when she embarked on t...

Darren Doherty of Heenan Doherty and Regrarians joins me from Australia to fill in some of the gaps surrounding Keyline design. While the whole Keyline design system is complex and way beyond the scope of this podcast. This episode should give you a brief introduction into what Keyline is, where it can be used, and what it can accomplish. Like all other design systems Keyline isn't the be all, end...

Joel Salatin of Polyface Farm joins me to talk about his new book Fields of Farmers which focuses on the next generation of farmers. How young people can work with existing farmers to transition into farming. He talks about young people can do today to take advantage of the huge opportunity that is out there. Topics range from leasing land to forming synergistic, non-competitive enterprises on exi...

John Backes of Circle B Ranch joins me to talk about raising pastured hogs on 90 acres in Missouri. John didn't come from a farming background. He transitioned into farming in 2009 with his wife Marina after leaving a career in mechanical contracting. They set out to produce high quality food while focusing on the welfare and humane treatment of their hogs. Key Takeaways from this Episode: -Be ste...

Darren Doherty of Heenan Doherty and Regrarians joins me from Australia to talk about the regrarian philosophy that he has put together and how it can be used to regenerate landscapes and farming enterprises. This is a system that borrows and includes tools from multiple disciplines like permaculture, keyline design, the transition movement, carbon farming, and the work of of people like Joel Sala...

Doniga Markegard of Markegard Family Grass-Fed comes on the show to talk about ranching, permaculture, and the regenerative power of rotational livestock grazing. She is a real life rancher, who is out there successfully doing things the right way. On her ranch she is using cattle, sheep, and pigs to build the soil and supply the San Fransisco Bay area with high quality food. Doniga discusses why...

What if you could gross $100,000 per acre in a small sustainable agriculture operation? You could make a good living and/or you could afford to pay someone a decent wage. If you can gross roughly $2.50 per square foot, per year, then that translates into a gross revenue of $100,000 per acre, per year. How can permaculture techniques be used to accomplish that goal? Chris Young of SoCal Shrooms and...

Cathy Payne of Broad River Pastures joins me to talk about heritage breed livestock and her journey into farming that began in her mid-50's. Cathy and her husband started changing their diet in their 50's. Their quest for nutrient dense food led them to local farmers, and a lot of visits to their farms. One day they decided, why don't we do this, and they began their journey into farming. They jum...

Joey D'Elia joins me in this episode to talk about why people are afraid of embracing the order that comes in the "disorder of nature." We also ask why should anyone even care about food forests. Along the way we touch on embracing the "messiness" of permaculture and the importance of over-stacking the system with pioneer species early on.  This saves time and adds resiliency. Are people afraid of...

Paul Greive of Primal Pastures joins me to talk about being a grass farming entrepreneur. He talks about how the thought of Primal Pastures went from an idea to a reality one weekend while sitting around with his in-laws. This small step was the catalyst that helped develop Primal Pastures into a thriving beyond-sustainable meat business. Today they are continuing to grow the farm, their community...

Sarah Aubrey of Prosperity Consulting joins me to talk about being an entrepreneur, starting a business, and her journey. Like many entrepreneurs she started her "career" in the corporate world and quickly realized that life wasn't for her. So she took her skills from the corporate world and applied them to a business that she could stand behind. Takeaways from this episode: When you start down th...

Want to be a farmer? Always dreamed about having your own farm? Lessons from a family farmer who has gone from grassroots to prosperity in 8 years. If you are young and thinking about starting your own farm, then this podcast is a must listen. P.S. It wasn’t easy and required A LOT of hard work and sacrifices, but it was done. And that means that you can do it too. Adam Klaus of Bella Farm joins m...

'Building a better world, one permaculture brick at a time.' The full and complete audio from Paul Wheaton's standing ovation keynote presentation at the Southern California Permaculture Convergence on March 9, 2013 in San Diego, CA. "Most folks that want change tell a dozen people how bad people should stop being bad.  Over a ten year span of time, they may have told 100 people about which bad pe...