Farm Small Farm Smart

In this episode, Diego and Alec delve into the winding journey of entrepreneurship. They touch on the excitement around starting a new business and the burnout that comes with crunching the startup phase. They also talk about Alec’s thoughts on the mental load of entrepreneurship, his hopes and expectations for the coming growing season, and his strategy for making adjustments on his farm in the future. Want to Venmo Farmer Alec so he could take a month off to work on his 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 this episode, Diego and Alec talk about balancing personal life and farm life, all while managing time and navigating a path toward full-time farming. They touch on potentials and hypotheticals for hiring out labor on the farm, whether or not to stay a part-time farm, as well as financial goals to be able to make the leap into full-time farming. Lastly, Diego and Alec delve into the motivation behind starting a farm as well as the personal fulfillment that comes from starting a business. 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 this episode, Diego and Alec talk about equipment challenges and crops. Farmer Alec first shares his experience dealing with wash-pack constraints while preparing a wholesale order. Afterward, Diego and Alec into selecting which crops to grow, which crops Alec is excited for and crops that did interestingly well at the market. Alec also talks about his experience growing different crops so far, as well as varieties he hopes will do well this farming season. 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 this episode, Diego and Alec delve into the thought process behind choosing a farm business model, going beyond and touching on market fit, other additional sales avenues, and pricing. Farmer Alec also talks about selling produce to a wholesaler for the first time, as well as his experience selling at his first farmers market of the season. 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 this episode, Diego talks to farmer Alec Smith about the budgeting aspect of building out a farm business. They go over time management when it comes to administrative tasks, budgeting for equipment and infrastructure, as well as the challenges of spending and investing wisely while operating within a limited budget. 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 this episode, Diego talks to farmer Alec Smith about how he planned the layout of his farm and built out his beds. Alec describes the initial state of the farm, including its flat terrain, low organic matter, and issues with weeds. Afterward, they go over the process of evaluating and adapting the property for market garden production, as well as the decisions Alec made on bed sizing, pathways, and layout, all while accommodating physical constraints. 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 this episode, Diego and Alec look back a year ago and compare Alec’s initial expectations of starting a farm versus the reality of actually starting a farm. Alec talks about the ups and downs of setting up a farm business, the successes and challenges, and the strategic decisions he had to make along the way. Alec also shares his future plans for the farm, the hurdles he anticipates, as well as his insights on how to approach farming as a business in order to farm full-time on his 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 this episode, Diego and Alec talk about the process Alec went through to find suitable land to set up his farm. They go through factors worth considering before choosing where to farm such as accessibility to water and power, the cost of the property, proximity to the market and the home, soil condition, existing infrastructure, and even the relationship with the landowner. Alec shares his personal experiences and the lessons he learned while looking for a good property to farm on, as well as getting his farm started. 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 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

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

Paul Dysinger, co-founder of Seedtime, joins me to talk about his journey to build the best farm and garden software ever. He shares lessons that have helped him manage time, prioritize tasks, and balance work and life. Learn more about Seedtime [Affiliate link] Shop all of our farm tools and equipment: https://shop.moderngrower.co/

(0:00) Thanksgiving food talk. Is the food better the next day? Top 5 sides. Pumpkin pie is gross. (0:31:56) Farmer Mark DeRespinis describes how he has built a very successful no-till farm raising high-quality vegetables and selling them to restaurants in the Boulder, CO area. (2:05:35) Drunk Ideas - The Michelin Star guide for produce. Mark's farm: https://www.instagram.com/esoterraculinary/ Check out our Black Friday Sale: https://shop.moderngrower.co/

(0:00) Be careful who you take an opinion from. (0:24:00) Farmer Ian Jerolmack talks about how they are crushing it on their farm and will do $500k in sales. (1:27:15) Listener Q&A - Cut expenses or grow revenue? (1:39:47) Drunk Ideas - The Auto Warner Check out my new book, Sell Everything You Grow - only $0.99 on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Sell-Everything-You-Grow-Homestead-ebook/dp/B0CJC9NTZF

Adding additional crop rotations is one way to increase profits without adding more land. You can add rotations by extending your season into the spring and fall. You can also add rotations by turning crops faster. Additional rotations bring in more income, keep your customer base engaged, and live roots in your soil for longer. 10:30 Farmer Jodi Roebuck @roebuckfarm discusses how he manages winter growing on his farm. Kwik Hoops are eligible for NRCS low-tunnel grants. Protect your valuable crop from rain, wind, cold, and insects using Kwik Hoops and InsectaNet. Learn more about Jodi: https://www.roebuckfarm.com/ @roebuckfarm

We often discourage ourselves by comparing our achievements against others to those we have no business comparing against. Set your own goals and measure against those, not others. 13:15 Farmer Jodi Roebuck @roebuckfarm discusses their steps to perfect growing beets on their farm. They now grow all beets using the paperpot transplanter, which gives them a higher success rate while reducing labor. Kwik Hoops are eligible for NRCS low-tunnel grants. Protect your valuable crop from rain, wind, cold, and insects using Kwik Hoops and InsectaNet. Learn more about Jodi: https://www.roebuckfarm.com/ @roebuckfarm

In the first part of the show I try to simplify farm accounting by giving you an easy way to measure the profit per bed: Total Revenue - $225 = Profit per 100-foot bed. If you used this formula on most of your low-labor crops (not tomatoes), your profit margin will be fairly accurate. 14:19 Farmer Jodi Roebuck @roebuckfarm talks about how they grow Salanova on their farm: direct seeding, soil preparation, amendments, and harvesting. Kwik Hoops are eligible for NRCS low-tunnel grants. Protect your valuable crop from rain, wind, cold, and insects using Kwik Hoops and InsectaNet. Learn more about Jodi: https://www.roebuckfarm.com/ @roebuckfarm

The metric Dollars Per Day (DPD) is a quick and easy way to determine if one crop is more profitable than another. DPD is the revenue generated by a single crop in a single bed divided by the total days that crop was in that bed. 17:30 Farmer Jodi Roebuck @roebuckfarm talks about how they grow amazing carrots on their farm: direct seeding, soil preparation, amendments, and harvesting. Kwik Hoops are eligible for NRCS low-tunnel grants. Protect your valuable crop from rain, wind, cold, and insects using Kwik Hoops and InsectaNet. Learn more about Jodi: https://www.roebuckfarm.com/ @roebuckfarm

In Episode 16 of The Profitable Mini-Farm, farmer Jodi Roebuck @roebuckfarm discusses how he uses the Jang seeder on his farm. He also brings up several mistakes people make when using it. Get the Jang Seeder: https://paperpot.co/product-category/jang/ Learn more about Jodi: https://www.roebuckfarm.com/ @roebuckfarm Protect your valuable crop from rain, wind, cold, and insects using Kwik Hoops and InsectaNet.

In Episode 15 of The Profitable Mini-Farm, farmer Jodi Roebuck @roebuckfarm talks about why potting mix is so important and how you can make your own. Learn more about Jodi: https://www.roebuckfarm.com/ @roebuckfarm Protect your valuable crop from rain, wind, cold, and insects using Kwik Hoops and InsectaNet.

In Episode 14 of The Profitable Mini-Farm, farmer Jodi Roebuck @roebuckfarm discusses how he makes and uses compost on his farm. Why farmers can get tricked into thinking there is only one great way to make or apply compost. And how the best results come from a lot of trial and error. Learn more about Jodi: https://www.roebuckfarm.com/ @roebuckfarm Protect your valuable crop from rain, wind, cold, and insects using Kwik Hoops and InsectaNet.