The Grower & The Economist

We continue our conversation with Greta Zarro and Ben Tyler of Unadilla Community Farm. In this bonus episode we dive a little bit deeper into permaculture practices, how agroforestry helps environmental and economic sustainability, and what steps farmers can take to create closed-loop systems in their region. This quick conversation is informative, it touches on agronomic and economic factors, an...

Peter describes the work of Greta Zarro and Ben Tyler of Unadilla Community Farm as “noble work”.  In addition to having a beginning farming program, distributing a veggie box and growing over 230 different fruits, vegetables, herbs, and mushrooms, Unadilla is also conducting cutting edge research on dynamic accumulators . We learn that dynamic accumulators are plants that have higher uptake...

Decades ago, a professor told Peter to eat less meat and more plants. It might have taken 30 years, but now this message is coming from all different directions. On a recent trip to KFC, Peter tried their plant-based alternative-chicken products and mostly enjoyed it. There are more options today, but there are also more ways to grow crops today. Michelle and Peter explore opportunities for animal...

This week, Johann Buck is the Director of Technical Services & Innovation at BioAg joins The Grower and The Economist as our guest expert. BioAg offers biologicals that include soil amendments, biostimulants, and biologicals. Dr. Buck explains that we've gained a lot of knowledge about what soil is and how it is important to for the plants. Controlled environment agriculture (CEA) can be soill...

Today, we finish our discussion with guest expert Zachary Grant on his work as a Cook County Local Food Systems and Small Farms Educator. We explore the difference between low-capital and high-capital urban agriculture and how to convert the new farmers that take Zachary's classes into long-term producers. We dig into different ownership models, scalability, and aggregation. And we end the convers...

Guest expert, Zachary Grant join's The Grower and The Economist for this special two-part, 50th episode special on local food systems and small farms. Peter is always looking to increase the amount of local food communities eat. Zachary makes Peter's day when he shares that with urban agriculture cities like Detroit and Chicago could meet 75% of their produce needs by farming in the vacant lot inv...

Have you just recently found this podcast? This is a great episode to start with. Peter and Michelle talk about what they learned in 2021 and give a recap of the dozen or so amazing guests that joined the show. They also share the things they are looking forward to next year.  If you hear about an episode you like, please go back and have a listen.  If you like the podcast, please rate u...

This week, guest expert Chris Laughton joins The Grower and The Economist. Chris got is undergraduate degree in horticulture and his graduate degree in applied and resource economics, making him the perfect guest for our two-sided episode. Chris is the Director of Knowledge Exchange at Farm Credit East , where he writes and speaks on topics relating to the intersection of agriculture, economics an...

This week's guest expert is Dr. Maria Marshall. She is a professor at Purdue University and the James and Lois Ackerman Endowed Chair in Agricultural Economics. Dr. Marshall brings her expertise on rural business development to The Grower and The Economist. Many small businesses are family businesses, including the two businesses that your hosts grew up in. We all know that when things are going w...

Peter and I talk about the economics of farms donating excess. We cover the tax implications as well as the emotional value we get when we contribute to our communities. We touch on when it makes sense and when it might not make sense for a farm. As well as best practices. This episode is re-aired. It was produced before Thanksgiving 2020.

Michelle and Peter continue their discussion about a Washington Post article about food inflation . Today, they explore how small and medium size growers can adapt to a high inflation environment. Small businesses are agile and able to adopt quickly, giving them an advantage over bigger players that take longer to adjust. We focus specifically on growers can adjust to higher energy prices and supp...

The Washington Post recently had an article titled: Here’s why your food prices keep going up , that impacts all growers and consumers. Peter and Michelle take the next two episodes to breakdown this article paragraph by paragraph and tell you what it means to you and your business. Learn the basics about inflation and what's driving up food prices. 

Andrew Ogden is this week's guest expert. He is a plant breeder and a horticulturalist by training, but didn't grow up on a farm. For over a decade he has owned and operated a farm in Costa Rica. He went back to school because he wanted to empirically test many of the organic methods, which would ultimately help growers. This summer he completed his dissertation at University of New Hampshire. In...

This week guest expert, Daniel J Jacques Grower Service Manager from Sun Gro Horticulture. Dan provides an overview of how growers can use superior quality peat moss, peat-based and bark-based horticultural growing products. First, we dig into the differences between these products. Then we talk about industry trends including use in sustainable agriculture, organic production, and the impact of s...

Not every flower or vegetable that comes from the farm has equal value. The time of year, size of the fruit, and its grade factor into the value. With each item farmers calculate the crop's value and then decide what to do. Sometimes the best end up in the farmer's house. Other times, they choose to sell it for the highest profit. Other times, tomatoes make great ammo farm kids. We explore how far...

Michelle and Peter dig into resources that growers can depend on for up-to-date, verified information to grow and manage their businesses. We cover Land Grant Universities, Cooperative Extension, and Grower Associations. These tools and resources provide ongoing learning, cutting edge research, tools to improve your business, and networking opportunities. 

Guest Expert Michelle Jones of The Ohio State University explains biologicals and their role in improving plant quality during production and after harvest. The benefits for growers and consumers are large. We discuss the possibilities of lower fertilizer and water use as the federal government limits water withdrawals from the Colorado River Basin for the first time. Learn about this growing fiel...

This week guest expert Dr. Bridget Behe joins The Grower and The Economist. Dr. Behe is a horticultural market researcher, a speaker, and the host of Podcast Marketing Munchies . She shares her research on why consumers buy horticultural products and why demand increased during the pandemic. Dr. Behe also shares valuable insights on how garden centers can market high and low price items, the benef...

Farm and agricultural business constantly struggle to find unskilled labor. That's why over 250,000 visas are issued annually for farm work. While unskilled labor is a commonly discussed challenge within agriculture there might be a bigger issue that is not being discussed - the lack of skilled labor. This week, Peter and Michelle examine where skilled labor is needed on a farm, why it's hard to f...

This week's guest expert is Dan Miller, founder of Steward a is a private lending partner, financing the growth of regenerative farms and sustainable producers through simple, flexible business loans. Dan walks us through his connection to farming, how Steward works, and some recent success the company has experience. These loans help regenerative and sustainable producers unlock new potential and...

Guest expert Ariana Torres, Assistant Professor in the Departments Horticulture & Landscape Architecture and Agricultural Economics from Purdue University joins us to discuss diversification, marketplaces changes she's seen during COVID and non-traditional markets that producers can sell into. Ariana's expertise draws on her experience working on her family's farm, an internship in entomology,...

After a short break, The Grower and The Economist is back! This week, we welcome guest expert Lee Wonders, the National Sales Manager for Dosatron International . Lee shares his 20+ years of horticulture experience with our listeners. Before working at Dosatron he was a nursery grower, owner, and manager. Lee explains what water powered dosing technology is, how it works, and how to maximize the b...

This episode of features guest expert Professor Alicia L. Rihn of the University of Tennessee's Institute of Agriculture and her research into what consumers want and what they are willing to pay for. Consumer demographics as well as regional influences impact what consumers are looking for from producers and what they will pay for it. Alicia's background in horticulture as well as business has he...

Peter and Michelle check back in with Brian Coppom,  Executive Director of the Boulder County Farmers' Market. Nearly a year ago, the pandemic forced the market to reinvent itself. Farmers' markets are often a social outing where friends and families hangout outside, eat, and purchase local offerings. With COVID restrictions in place, Brian and his term transformed parts of the market into a...

Growing crops is a journey that requires continuous learning, flexibility, and a roadmap. Growers can be beginners or experts, hobbyist or business owners. Regardless of where you are, there is always a next level. To find that next level, you have to know what your next goal is. Rene shares his goal of getting the most out of his garden. To achieve that goal, Peter introduced him to "succession p...