Farm Small Farm Smart Daily

Whether it's MMA or becoming a freelancer or business owner, the punches will be thrown, and they will hit you. But as Mike Tyson said, "Everybody has a plan until they punched in the face. Then, like a rat, they stop in fear and freeze." When life hits you in the face what are you going to do? Are you going to freeze like a rat, or are you going to come back like Mike Tyson and be that baddest man on the planet? The hard reality of that question, is that it truly is up to you to decide. What would you do? Let's find out what a former MMA fighter turned farmer did, and find out from out what's it's like to get punched into the face by life, and someone else... Read more at permaculturevoices.com/yourstory2 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support Music: www.purple-planet.com

Homesteader Justin Rhodes of AbundantPermaculture.com takes on the question - How much room do chickens actually need to roost? To learn more about Justin and see all of the ASK Justin episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/justin.

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support 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. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Farmer John Suscovich of Camps Road Farm and FarmMarketingSolutions.com answers the question - Why aren't you certified organic? To learn more about John and see all of the ASK John episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/john.

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/61 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support THIS EPISODE IS A REPLAY OF PREVIOUS PUBLISHED EPISODE. It is through the Global Village Construction Set that Marcin and OSE have set out to change the way that we build the communities of the future. Marcin has said "I'd like to be able to show that a full modern standard of living can be created from any parcel of land using only the local resources on site in a small fraction of time." A modern standard of living created using tools built locally, within the community. Tools built to last a lifetime, being easily repairable, and ever evolving as open source. This open source model is a powerful tool to help change the future. I see this as a way where a group of farmers could come together, build a piece of this equipment themselves, be able to repair it themselves, and be able to share it amongst themselves without being dependent upon big companies like John Deere and the debt that goes with them. It is this process that minimizes debts, builds strong communities and builds local resiliency, and that is a political shift. You shift the power from the big corporations to the communities and the individuals by empowering them to take back some control. Like Marcin said, "I think a lot of people are hungry to be productive and find that productivity within themselves." In a land of retail sales, why not empower people to innovate and produce, not consume, the future that they want in the factories of new, not of old? Why not make that dream of permaculture and polyculture based landscapes and farms more possible by providing blueprints for the equipment that you can build to do the work? Literally. If you want to build it, you can, because we are talking about a future where you hold the blueprints yourself. That is the future that OSE is creating and that is what we are talking about today with Marcin Jakubowski of Open Source Ecology… Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/61 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support THIS EPISODE IS A REPLAY OF PREVIOUS PUBLISHED EPISODE.

It is through the Global Village Construction Set that Marcin and OSE have set out to change the way that we build the communities of the future. Marcin has said "I'd like to be able to show that a full modern standard of living can be created from any parcel of land using only the local resources on site in a small fraction of time." A modern standard of living created using tools built locally, within the community. Tools built to last a lifetime, being easily repairable, and ever evolving as open source. This open source model is a powerful tool to help change the future. I see this as a way where a group of farmers could come together, build a piece of this equipment themselves, be able to repair it themselves, and be able to share it amongst themselves without being dependent upon big companies like John Deere and the debt that goes with them. It is this process that minimizes debts, builds strong communities and builds local resiliency, and that is a political shift. You shift the power from the big corporations to the communities and the individuals by empowering them to take back some control. Like Marcin said, "I think a lot of people are hungry to be productive and find that productivity within themselves." In a land of retail sales, why not empower people to innovate and produce, not consume, the future that they want in the factories of new, not of old? Why not make that dream of permaculture and polyculture based landscapes and farms more possible by providing blueprints for the equipment that you can build to do the work? Literally. If you want to build it, you can, because we are talking about a future where you hold the blueprints yourself. That is the future that OSE is creating and that is what we are talking about today with Marcin Jakubowski of Open Source Ecology… Show Notes: www.permaculturevoices.com/61

Mycologist and author Peter McCoy of RadicalMycology.com takes on the question - "I'm attempting your technique of decomposing cigarette butts with oysters. I have them growing on coffee grounds and I'm curious about using coffee as the substrate. I know it's probably not the best, but can I move to feeding it cigarette butts or would it be too much? And I'm also curious as to whether or not there's more research done that suggests that the mycelium can broke down all or some of the toxins from used cigarettes butts." To learn more about Peter and see all of the ASK Peter episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/peter. Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support.

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/b39 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support Today's episode is a replay of the presentation that Peter Allen gave at PV2 in March 2015.. The presentation is titled Grazing the Savanna: Lessons from New Forest and Mastodon Valley Farms. In this talk Peter will share the lessons he learned establishing and managing multi-species rotational grazing operations in a well-established permaculture setting at Mark Shepard's New Forest Farm, and now in a newly emerging setting, at Mastodon Valley, where he is planting tree crops, grazing a suite of animals, thinning forest, constructing an off-grid homestead, and building a broad-acre permaculture farm. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/b39 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Homesteader Justin Rhodes of AbundantPermaculture.com takes on the question - I notice you give your chickens fermented or soaked grains each morning. Can you give us the recipe on what grains you use? And the process? To learn more about Justin and see all of the ASK Justin episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/justin. Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support.

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support 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. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Permaculture focuses on trees as the coming food source for the world. And- the Florida citrus industry is collapsing (again). An Evolutionary Ecologist who has bred trees for 40 years explains why YOU need to understand some genetics; why the word "hybrid" means 4 different things, or nothing at all; shows examples from his 3 tree crops; why the most expensive thing you can do is plant cheap trees; discusses how small growers can work to maintain, and improve, genetic diversity (without setting invasive species loose...), and how YOU can bring new species into the food crop mix. Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/34 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support THIS EPISODE IS A REPLAY OF PREVIOUS PUBLISHED EPISODE. Grant Schultz joins me to talk about developing a perennial polyculture in the middle of row-crop corn and soy country Iowa. He discusses a lot of the innovation and developments taking place on his farm, including some really innovative ways of doing GPS keyline design. We spend a lot of time talking about the business of farming. The importance of monitoring cash flows and being cash flow positive. And how Grant is using USDA funds to help pay for pieces of his system and getting moving in the right direction. Key Takeaways: Importance of making your operation cashflow the whole time. Expenses will pile up so start getting cashflow and a customer base early. Consider buying rootstock and graft it over later. It is much cheaper to go that route and grafting isn't that hard. Get plant systems going early on. It is fairly inexpensive and gets the system starting to advance. Have a plan but evolve as you go. Having an end in mind gives you a goal and a direction to head in, but things will change along the way as you learn the intricacies of the system. Plant the earliest maturing fruit trees downslope. That way when you are browsing them the manure runs downhill. How do you want your system to look at maturity and what are the action items to get you there? Then the thing to do is the one with the most impact. What has the earliest yield to get you to the move to the next impact item. Do not underestimate the importance of monitoring and planing out cashflows. When you are farming on broad acres you have the same advantages that conventional farmers have. Crop insurance. Consider using a nurse crop that also cash flows. Grant's example of raising oats for cover crop seed. Consider the balance of high value versus high labor. Is the value worth the labor? There is a huge need for more local genetic permaculture plant material. Recognize the importance of planting dense. Buy trees in mass. It gets cheap and doesn't cost you more to plant at high density. You take advantage of genetic selection and protect yourself against losses. Irrigate your trees if possible - think keyline, swales. Growth rates of trees that are irrigated versus those that aren't is huge when the trees have consistent water availability. Consider the economic impact of the yield with water versus no water. The work now can make you a lot more money down the line. Take advantage of all available resources: USDA, NRCS, EQIP. When starting out pre-sell as much as you can. Build a local customer base from Day 1. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/34 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support THIS EPISODE IS A REPLAY OF PREVIOUS PUBLISHED EPISODE.

Mycologist and author Peter McCoy of RadicalMycology.com takes on the question - If I wanted to get into mushroom cultivation, what are some of the easiest species to start with? To learn more about Peter and see all of the ASK Peter episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/peter. Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support.

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/b38 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support Today's episode is a replay of the presentation that Peter Allen gave at PV2 in March 2015.. The presentation is titled Savanna Gardens: Regenerating the Ultimate Human Ecosystem. Why Savannas? Savannas were some of the most complex, diverse, and productive ecosystems in North America and provide an excellent model for permaculture – integrating woody perennial crops with grazing and browsing livestock. However, managing the complexity of these ecosystems requires approaches and skill sets that are in many ways opposed to those of conventional land management, especially agriculture. Given the importance of savannas, this presentation will help you understand its ecology and evolution and what we can do to embrace the complexity and restore the ecosystems most capable of cooling our planet and feeding our communities. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/b38 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Homesteader Justin Rhodes of AbundantPermaculture.com takes on the question - Cutting your grocery bill, by raising your own food - what gives you the most bang for your buck? To learn more about Justin and see all of the ASK Justin episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/justin. Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support.

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support This is Part 2 of that series and today we specifically focus on the pro's and cons of selling to restaurants taking into account high maintenance versus low maintenance. Given that this is Part 2 it probably makes more sense to listen to Part 1 first, Episode 17 - All Customers ARE NOT worth Selling To, An In-Depth Look at High Maintenance versus Low Maintenance Customers. But you won't be totally lost in this one if you haven't heard that episode. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Farmer John Suscovich of Camps Road Farm and FarmMarketingSolutions.com answers the question - How do you time your broilers and pigs to meet your CSA demand? To learn more about John and see all of the ASK John episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/john.

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/71 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support THIS EPISODE IS A REPLAY OF PREVIOUS PUBLISHED EPISODE. As my guest today David Pagan Butler of OrganicPools.co.uk says, "If you want really healthy water, you want it full of life; not devoid of life." That is what today's show is about. Creating the conditions for life to happen within the water in natural swimming pools. Natural swimming pools unlike their chemical counterparts use no chemicals. The pool water is cleaned biologically by plants and organisms within the water. No smells, no chemicals, no pathogens, biology creating water so clean you can drink it. David has developed a system of building natural pools that is both cost effective and ecologically enhancing. Natural pools that utilize natural biological processes to keep the water clean. The classic case of nature doing something equal to or better than some chemical made in a factory - clean, pathogen free drinking water, in swimmable form. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/71 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/javan1 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support As Joseph Campbell, the originator of the follow your bliss concept stated... "if you do follow your bliss you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in your field of bliss, and they open doors to you. I say, follow your bliss and don't be afraid, and doors will open where you didn't know they were going to be.' When you do learn to recognize it and when you do find it, Campbell contents that it put's your life on a different track…" The Power of Myth Should you walk into the unknown following your bliss with the hope that it will lead to open doors? In many ways yes and in many ways, no... Because your bliss gets you started on the journey, but that journey may or may not lead to livelihood and opportunity... Bliss is just one part of the journey, one tool to use along the way... Given that, should you simply follow your bliss, and is that the best advice in the world or is it the worst advice in the world? One of the many ideas that I'll explore in today's show with Javan Bernakevitch. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/javan1 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Homesteader Justin Rhodes of AbundantPermaculture.com takes on the question - I am thinking want to leave my job and start a homestead, what are my options for cash flowing it? To learn more about Justin and see all of the ASK Justin episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/justin. Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support.

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support "Put another way, you are more upset about losing $50 than you are happy about gaining $50," the paper states. In addition, bad events wear off more slowly than good ones." Hopefully know this can help you do a few things. Try to force yourself to really think about the positive things more and have more gratitude for them, bounce off of the negative situations quicker, and rid yourself of the negative relationships that produce negative emotions. That's the focus of today's episode as we explore the differences between high maintenance customers and low maintenance customers. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Farmer John Suscovich of Camps Road Farm and FarmMarketingSolutions.com answers the question - Why are your broiler chickens naked, what happened? To learn more about John and see all of the ASK John episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/john.

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/b016 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support THIS EPISODE IS A REPLAY OF PREVIOUS PUBLISHED EPISODE. What do you do if you have a passion and there is no one out there offering you a job to fulfill that passion? One option is to just work any job, foregtting what you are actually passionate about. And that is what many people do, and I think that those people can attest to the fact that that option sucks. Another option is to find the intersection between your passions and your strengths and problems that need solving and solve those problems by starting a business. This podcast is about that. this is the audio from Rob Avis's presentation from PV1. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/b016 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

When the world is changing around you, the only world that you have ever known, what would you do? And what would you do if you didn't think that those changes were right? Let's find out from someone who lived through that exact situation. An 83 year old farmer in Ohio, a fourth generation farmer, who began his farming career in 1950 when the world was changing around him. Read more at permaculturevoices.com/yourstory1 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support Music: http://www.purple-planet.com

Homesteader Justin Rhodes of AbundantPermaculture.com takes on the question - I am a homesteader, but I don't have a blog or VLOG. Should I, and why? To learn more about Justin and see all of the ASK Justin episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/justin. Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support.

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support Heat causes issues on the farm. Not just with the farmer, but with the crops. Crops bolt quickly, pest pressure increases, water usage goes up, seeds dry up, transplants fry. How do you deal with those issues? How do you raise the crops that your customers want in a way that works and gets you a saleable product, and in a way that doesn't cause you to burn out? There are a whole bunch of active and passive strategies that you can employ to From harvesting early in the morning to harvesting and late in the day, there are options, and this episode is all about dealing with the heat on the farm for the farmer and for the crops... Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Farmer John Suscovich of Camps Road Farm and FarmMarketingSolutions.com answers the question - Have you ever supplemented your chickens diet with black solider fly larvae? Why or why not? To learn more about John and see all of the ASK John episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/john.

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/66 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support THIS EPISODE IS A REPLAY OF PREVIOUS PUBLISHED EPISODE. "Instead of trying to support 1000's of people, let's get really good at supporting 150 people and we'll duplicate it." Once we do that we will have models that we can refer back to. Models that can be used to train people to go start other small impact zones. Then we start getting more and more impact zones, and suddenly the picture looks a lot brighter. But that will take time, and it's early in the journey, but the conditions are ripe for change. We just need to kick start it, by incubating innovation.Creating the conditions for success and sustainability to happen, something that I learned from Larry. In fact it's one of the many things that I have learned from Larry. Larry has a wealth of knowledge and the experience to back it up. He's a permaculture pioneer having involved with permaculture since the 80s. He has traveled with Bill Mollison. He's worked on countless projects in the country, the city, and other countries. He gets it. And in Southern California when you mention permaculture, there is one name that comes to mind. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/66 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/132 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support It's fungal intelligence that I will be exploring today with the brilliant Peter McCoy. Peter is self-taught mycologist with 15 years of accumulated study and experience, Peter is an original founder of Radical Mycology, a grassroots organization and movement that teaches the skills needed to work with mushrooms and other fungi for personal, societal, and ecological resilience Peter is also author of the book Radical Mycology, an in depth and comprehensive look at mycology and mushroom cultivation. This book is a beast, it's nearly 700 pages, and covers a variety of topics related to mycology, some common, so not so common. There's a ton of interest concepts and ideas in that book, a few of which we will be exploring today. In this episode, we get into a wide variety of subject matter related to mycology from Remediation, importance of mycorrhizal fungi, fungi with annual crops, future of medicinal mushrooms and medicine, marketing versus effectiveness in some mushroom based products, and future of psilocybin mushrooms in medicine. The reason that we are able to get into all this subjects isn't because of me. It's because of Peter. Peter's brilliant. There's a lot here, enjoy it. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/132 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Homesteader Justin Rhodes of AbundantPermaculture.com takes on the idea of I don't know enough to be an expert on a subject. How do you deal with the idea of the expert myth? To learn more about Justin and see all of the ASK Justin episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/justin. Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support.

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support Today's show is all about farmers markets. And a big part of the conversation is dedicated to free samples. Are the beneficial or are they a waste? Do samples work in every case, with every product? No, but they are one way of tackling issues that every product has. Highlighting product quality, unique product attributes, getting feedback, and telling your story are all things that you need to figure out to do somehow. Free samples are just one of the ways to do it. Samples aren't without their negatives either. They cost money, they take up time, they get in the way of doing transactions, and they may require additional levels of compliance if you are handling food. But like anything and everything, it comes down to do the positives out weight the negatives for your particular context. If they do then free samples might be the way to do. And as you will hear today, for some farmers market vendors samples work really well and they are one of the many tools in the salesman's toolbox to help you sit back and count the money. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Farmer John Suscovich of Camps Road Farm and FarmMarketingSolutions.com answers the question - What kind of feeder do you use for your the chickens that you are free ranging? To learn more about John and see all of the ASK John episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/john.

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/46 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support THIS EPISODE IS A REPLAY OF PREVIOUS PUBLISHED EPISODE. Today's story is one about a unique focus. Someone who has dedicated a whole lot of time on mastering one subject. One subject that is dually quite simple yet extremely complex: water. Today I am talking to watershed restoration expert Craig Sponholtz. Craig has made a career of consulting on water related issues - everything from water harvesting to stream restoration to watershed management. He has worked in drylands and temperate regions and everything in between. Studying techniques from native peoples to the latest in fluid dynamics; simple, yet complex. Water has the ability to transfform landscapes, both for the better and the worse.These changes can take place rapidly when a lot of water shows up in one place. Maybe the landscape is ready for it, maybe it isn't. Regardless that water will leave its mark on the landscape. Craig said it best, 'flowing water has energy to spend and it's going to spend it on something.' "If you take the time to learn what is going on and if you understand the problems and opportunities of a given site you can come up with some really elegant solutions that blend seamlessly into the landscape and they turn out naturally beautiful. And one of the outcomes of that beauty and that process of getting there is that they work really well." Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/46 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Starting a new business can be daunting, especially when considering potential overhead and risk required. In this talk, Mark Oberle will discuss how he was able to utilize a contact from PV2 with Frank Golbeck of Golden Coast Mead to create a mutually beneficial arrangement and launch his own mead label while reducing startup cost and risk. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/a5

Homesteader Justin Rhodes of AbundantPermaculture.com talks about his journey creating Permaculture Chickens. To learn more about Justin and see all of the ASK Justin episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/justin. Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support.

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support 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. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Following up on his appearance on The Urban Farmer - Week 21 ("Transitioning Into Farming from the Corporate World...), Rob Kaiser will be expanding on the idea of transition. Transcending the idea of becoming a farmer on account of romantic ideology, Rob will discuss knowledge and skills specific to *you* and their application towards your end goal. Combined with discussion about the focus on living a values based live vs. a life based on the traditional corporate model, this five minute talk will provide you with much food for thought on what you need to do next as you continue making your own transition to living a more designed, purposeful, and deliberate life. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/a5

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/80 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support THIS EPISODE IS A REPLAY OF PREVIOUS PUBLISHED EPISODE. An interview with Peter McCoy of Radical Mycology. Radical Mycology is a movement and social philosophy based on accessibly teaching the importance of mushrooms and other fungi for personal, societal, and ecological health. Radical Mycology differs from classical mycology in that classical mycology generally focuses on taxonomy, identification, mycophagy (eating mushrooms), and the more personal benefits of working with fungi while Radical Mycology is about using fungi for the benefit of larger communities and the world. As a concept, Radical Mycology is based on the belief that the lifecycles of fungi and their interactions in nature serve as powerful learning tools for how humans can best relate to each other and steward the world they live in. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/80 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/131 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support Today's episode is a replay of Jack's presentation from PV3 in March 2016. In that presentation he asked and explored the question, how do you take regenerative agriculture to the forward into the future, to the mainstream. He presents an argument that's based on the idea that you can't drag anyone where you want them to go. You need to get them to want to get there. Everyone might not agree on everything, and that's OK, because as Jack says, "let the politics end, where the soil begins." Because we literally need both sides to do this. We need all hands on deck with everyone helping in their own way. Hopefully this episode inspires you to do your part in what Jack explains isn't a revolution, but instead an insurrection. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/131 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Homesteader Justin Rhodes of AbundantPermaculture.com takes on the question: What are some criteria to consider when selecting a homestead site? To learn more about Justin and see all of the ASK Justin episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/justin.

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support Think about an established farmers market with an established customer base. Everyone shopping at that market has their preferred vendors. They buy lettuce from this guy and they buy tomatoes from that girl week after week. They don't switch it up. If you then enter that market as a new vendor, how do you knock someone out of the preferred vendor spot in a customer's mind? How do you get the customer to switch to buying lettuce or tomatoes from you instead of that guy or that girl? Because that's really what you need to do. Either you need to get existing customers to switch or you need to pick up market share from new customers. The bad news is that once a person commits to a particular product or brand in their mind it's very hard to get them to switch. Look no further than you own habits. How often do you go to different grocery stores or gas stations by your house or how often do you change brands of laundry detergent or ketchup? Probably not very often. You made a decision long ago, and as long as things do change, why switch. Given that, how do you compete in a crowded farmers market? Why is a farmer's market customer going to choose your booth versus the booth that they always shop at? You have to be unique.. Again, look at the landscape of the market, if there are already 5 vegetable vendors at your market more or less growing what you grow, and they are established, then you either have to be unique enough to go in and compete with them hand try to knock one of them out of the top 5 in terms of market share, which is hard, or you have to be unique enough so you don't actually have to compete against them. Instead positioning yourself in the customers mind as the preferred choice. How do you do that, make yourself unique? One way is to specialize in something. Part of that specialization might mean differentiating your product so you position yourself as the category leader; a category that you own; one that you create. For example, say a lot of vendors are selling loose leaf lettuce. There's already an established hierarchy there in terms of market share for the category of loose leaf lettuce. How do you compete? You don't, avoid competition, and you create your own category. Maybe that category is head lettuce or romaine. Or maybe it's organic lettuce. Or living lettuce with the roots still attached. You differentiate your product just enough to move it to its own category. Then you become first to market in that category and have an competitive advantage. That's a far cry from going into a competitive market and competing on price. And when you think about it it wasn't really that hard. You didn't have to create or invent anything new. You just supplied an in demand product to a market that wanted it, but didn't have anyone to buy it from. That's one of the many benefits of specializing in a product. And it's that benefit and the many others that we will be talking about today, on The Urban Farmer. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Farmer John Suscovich of Camps Road Farm and FarmMarketingSolutions.com answers the question - How do you protect yourself from getting sued? To learn more about John and see all of the ASK John episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/john.

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/11 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support THIS EPISODE IS A REPLAY OF PREVIOUS PUBLISHED EPISODE. 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 Closing the Loop joins me to talk about just that. His goal is to show that you can gross that $100k so you can hire one person to work an acre of land and pay them a good wage to work it. He aims to achieve this by reducing input costs and stacking revenue generators, all while improving the quality of the land and producing a high quality product. Key Takeaways from this Episode: -Oyster mushrooms have a nice advantage of having a quick turn around. They can start creating cash-flow in 4 to 6 weeks. Similar to selling sprouts and micro-greens which have a 2 to 3 week turnaround. -If possible tap into an existing distribution network. This gets you contacts right out of the gate. -Get more out of the same amount of land. Property taxes will go up the future, water costs will go up in the future, and more and more land is being developed away from farmland. So try to be more productive on the same amount of land while improving the quality of that land. -Consider the cost of your own time in the business. And pay yourself. -You have to do the real numbers for you business.Don't fudge them. The numbers won't lie. If something isn't working, then look at the numbers and see where you can start making changes to make the numbers work. When you have exhausted all possibilities, then it is time to move on. -Start broad and control your risk at the beginning. Then look at the numbers and refine down overtime to optimize each system or business. -Celebrate the small victories. There is a lot of drudgery that goes along with business and farming, so enjoy the good times. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/11 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/130 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support Today I am talking to someone who tried to change the world at a young age, when her world was changed right underneath her. The her is Hannah Eckberg. She's an entrepreneur and one of the founders of the new Permaculture Magazine North America. And like some of the other entrepreneurs that I've had on the show, think Erik Ohlsen, she as entrepreneur, whose past was heavily shaped as activist. Hannah was essentially born into an activist role. It's almost as though activism chose her, versus her choosing it. Because at an early age an oil and gas pipeline was constructed through the ranch where her family lived. A pipeline that carried toxic chemicals. And it was dropped on them. At young age she got to see firsthand the fight between David and goliath. The big corporate interest versus the small landowners. Her parents opposed the pipeline, It wasn't something that they wanted, but that didn't matter at the end of the day because the pipeline went in. That experience would shape Hannah's future as from learning to read at city council meetings where her parents opposed the pipeline to becoming president of the oldest grassroots environmental organization in the country, Get Oil Out, at age 19. She's been an activist for most of her life getting behind several causes. And she has learned a lot along the way. Today we will be talking about what she has learned. Not just related to the field of activism, but also to how her experiences have translated to business, because she recently took on a new business venture as one of the founders of the new Permaculture Magazine North America. In this episode we get into a lot. We cover her experience being an activist, so you can be a better activist, if that's your thing. And we get into some of the takeaways form her career as an activist and how that's helped her as an entrepreneur. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/130 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Homesteader Justin Rhodes of AbundantPermaculture.com takes on the question: I want to produce most of my own food. Is that crazy talk? To learn more about Justin and see all of the ASK Justin episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/justin. Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support.

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support Today we will be looking at 17 different things that you think you might need or might need when you start your business. Even though we will be looking at each of the items on this list through the lens of someone in their first 6 months of farming, this information extends to established business owners. Maybe you have been in business for a while and you are thinking about redesigning your website. Should you? And does that matter? Our analysis and methodology for breaking down each of these items can be applied to many aspects of business at any time, regardless of how old the business. There are a lot of distractions that come into play when you are running a small business, hopefully this episode will help you focus on the distractions that matter, and forget the ones that don't. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/theurbanfarmer Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Farmer John Suscovich of Camps Road Farm and FarmMarketingSolutions.com answers the question - How do you transport your chickens to the processor? To learn more about John and see all of the ASK John episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/john.

The Yachats Farmstore – Building connections between local farms, our ecosystem, community. Presented by Nathan Bernard at PV3 in March 2016. Hear more A5 talks at permaculturevoices.com/a5.

Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/129 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support Today's story is about someone on a journey to become a farmer. It's a great story, but it's not the typical story that we hear about in today's world. The world today loves the magazine headline of the successful person that seemingly got there overnight. Today we'll zoom in on that overnight success and take a look at what it takes to be successful – the process of becoming successful. It's the story of farmer Seth Stallings, from Tecumseh, OK - a town with a population of just $6000 people. It's a town where Seth is starting up a pastured poultry business. Which by the way is in a state with no USDA approved slaughterhouses and no sources of organic or non-gmo feed. Not your ideal market to start a farm based business in. But it's one where Seth is making it work. He's found a niche, and making a go of it. Like he said, "No one can teach you how you are going to do it when you get to your unique scenario, you just got to do it and figure it out." In a world that loves to come up with reasons why something won't work, here's the story of someone who's said, I'm going to make it work. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/129 Support the show at permaculturevoices.com/support

Homesteader Justin Rhodes of AbundantPermaculture.com shares 7 Challenges and Concerns of Homesteading with Kids. To learn more about Justin and see all of the ASK Justin episodes visit permaculturevoices.com/justin.