Farm Small Farm Smart Daily

Welcome to The Urban Farmer show. It is week 6 of the urban farm season and it is April 22, 2015. The weather is beautiful in Kelowona, BC and urban farmer Curtis Stone is setting the farm up for the forth coming season. In this episode we talk a lot about nursery, transplanting into the field, and the concept of inter-planting. Currently on the farm transplants are going in, irrigation systems are being setup, and the end is in sight for the setup phase. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/tuf6

In the last regular show episode 107 with Bill Bean I referenced an upcoming webinar. This episode is a replay of that webinar - Building Quick, Convincing Business Plans That Deliver Confidence, Capital, Market Share & More was recorded on April 30, 2015. In the presentation Bill introduced proven tips, tools and techniques to help you quickly organize your thoughts into a succinct storyline that explain: - Why your initiative is needed in the market place. - What makes your approach unique and valuable to your clients? - How you will introduce your concept successfully and grow it for impact and profitability? This episode is a recording of the full webinar. The presentation part of the webinar lasted about 45 minutes and was followed by 30 minutes of questions. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/107

Many veggie and fruit growers are quick to write off home delivery as inefficient without considering the value it can add to their farm produce. For small-scale farmers whose customer base is urban, a well-structured CSA with home delivery can be more profitable and efficient than selling at the farmers’ market, and more appealing than drop-off points. In this short talk, veggie grower Jordan Marr will discuss the operation of his home-delivered CSA, and how to structure such a program to maximize the benefits to your farm. This talk was presented at PV2 in March 2015 by Jordan Marr. Jordan podcasts at theruminant.ca Listen to more at permaculturevoices.com/podcast

It is week 5 of the urban farm season - April 14, 2015. The setting for this show is Kelowona, BC, Canada. Urban Farmer Curtis Stone is going gangbusters in what he calls the setup phase on his farm - getting all of the major things done on the farm plots before the season gets underway. Things like preparing the soil, starting plants in the nursery, putting down weed control measures, and getting infrastructure in place. Part of that infrastructure involves getting your irrigation systems in order. This we talk about setting up irrigation systems, poly low tunnels, and trying out new crops. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/tuf5

Permaculture is a framework that can be integrated into any interest and passion. It helps us use and value patterns from a sophisticated long-term, systems-thinking approach to solve problems. Through it we can re-invent and re-design what it means to learn, educate, and be educated. Putting in a swale or planting a tree alone is not going to be a long-term solution to our problems. To have a long-term impact we need a culture that understands, values, and utilizes the ethical design science principles of permaculture. We must bring permaculture thinking mainstream and make it a thriving movement that shapes this world. This must occur both locally and globally. To accomplish this we must get our youngest problem solvers, our children, to use the permaculture methodology to start asking and finding answers to problems. This talk was presented at PV2 in March 2015 by Jen Mendez of permiekids.com. Listen to more at permaculturevoices.com/podcast

In business there is no such thing as new business, there is only other people's business. That's the subject of today's show. Strategically planning your business so you can capture a share of the business. Doing that planning ahead of time, so you don't end up spending a lot of money, time and energy going in the wrong direction selling something that people don't want or can't pay for. Most people don't do that "The problem is, most people don't spend as much time thinking about it as they should. They just try and go do something that they think is exciting, and they don't really test it as much as they should." The goal of this show is to get you thinking. Testing your ideas and thinking them through to determine is the concept really worth the time, energy and money involved? Let's tackle that subject today with Bill Bean. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/107

It is now April 8 and we are another week into the Urban Farm season with Curtis. What's happened on the farm so far. At this point in the season Curtis has prepared most of the growing beds on his various plots for the upcoming farm season and that includes switching a lot of his production methods over to more of no-till style. He has been spending a few hours each day on farm related activities. This season is just getting underway and this year he isn't doing it alone. He is doing it with the help of a new full-time employee. A move that Curtis hopes will allow him to work more on the business, not in the business. This week we will be talking about his new employee and how the onboarding and training process is going. We will also talk about the financial impacts of hiring someone - when do the additional costs make sense? In this episode we will talk a lot about pricing and how Curtis prices his products. He has found a pricing system that works and has kept his prices consistent since he started farming a few years ago. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/tuf4

The United States Greatest Permaculture Challenge? There are enormous challenges and contrasting opportunities inherent on Indian Reservations today. One one hand you have sovereign nations inside the US which are in a state more depleted than most third world nations but, on the other hand, they have opportunity to lead in a way they never have before. Permaculture abundance in the setting of a typical reservation can be so dramatic because of the endemic scarcity. In particular, The Navajo Nation could be the most dramatic demonstration in the US of what is possible with Permaculture.. The fact that the Navajo Nation is the largest reservation in the US and also happens to be the largest brown spot on the map of the US should give anyone who really believes in Permaculture an insatiable desire to show its restorative powers. If Geoff Lawton can turn heads with 10 acres in Jordon what could the attendees of PV2 do with 17 million acres in the middle of our country? Can Permaculture afford not to take a serious look at such projects? Come spend 5 minutes listening to a challenge that may engage you in the most restorative project our nation has ever seen. For more information on Grant's project visit: https://www.facebook.com/PermacultureProvisionProject This talk was presented at PV2 in March 2015 by Grant Curry. Listen to more at permaculturevoices.com/podcast

This episode is a presentation given by Erik Ohlsen at PV2 in March 2015. Learn real world tools for design and implementation of Permaculture based contracting businesses. Permaculture principles applied to business design. Use the ethics of permaculture as triple bottom line. Create a marketing plan that has a social impact. Imagine being able to make a career out of your passion for Permaculture. Create a business that catches millions of gallons of water, builds soil on hundreds of acres, plants hundreds of useful trees every year, restores native habit, redesigns our cites our schools and new developments. Join Erik Ohlsen, Principal of Permaculture Artisans and Executive Director of The Permaculture Skills Center as he shares tangibles recipes for economically, ecologically and socially just businesses. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/106

Week 3: It's Tuesday, March 31st, and the first farmers market is coming up in four days. What's Curtis up to? In this episode we are talking about how Curtis maximizes his efforts on the farm by staying organized. And how he is switching his beds over this year to a no-till strategy. This show is the story of urban farmer Curtis Stone. Curtis is an urban farmer who farms on 15,000 sq.ft. in Canada. He has been farming in an urban setting profitably for 5 years. We are going to follow Curtis on a journey through a full farm season, taking you behind the scenes each week to see what being an urban farmer is really like. It isn't always glorious, but it's real. Stay tuned, and enjoy the journey. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/tuf3

Nature’s been using biochar to replenish soil carbon for millennia. Taking our cue from her, we’ll unravel what biochar is and how it works to build long-term soil health. We’ll explore techniques of making your own biochar simply and affordably regardless of where you live. This talk was presented at PV2 in March 2015 by Gloria Flora. Listen to more at permaculturevoices.com/podcast

My guest today is Cherrie Nolden a Masters and Ph.D candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She says "If animals are not managed to maintain vegetation, they are going to destroy the vegetation." Cherrie is an absolute wealth of knowledge when it comes to goats. She combines a lot of academic research with years of practical on the ground experiences with goats. She is going to provide an different view on this often misunderstood species. This episode is very specific, and it is going to be an indepth look at goats and how we can manage them in a way that actually helps, not hurts the land. You will learn a lot about goats in this episode. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/105

Week 2: It's mid-March and the farm is now in what Curtis calls the setup phase. He has started selling some overwintered crops and he is adding to his restaurant customer base. This show is the story of urban farmer Curtis Stone. Curtis is an urban farmer who farms on 15,000 sq.ft. in Canada. He has been farming in an urban setting profitably for 5 years. We are going to follow Curtis on a journey through a full farm season, taking you behind the scenes each week to see what being an urban farmer is really like. It isn't always glorious, but it's real. Stay tuned, and enjoy the journey. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/tuf2

Community food forests are rapidly emerging as part of a new trend in the local food movement to promote food literacy and build community. This talk will discuss what community food forests are and the motivations that are propelling their establishment in urban areas across the United States. The social dimensions of partnerships and management processes that can help them succeed will be highlighted along with who some of the key players typically are. These projects are an example of how permaculture can be scaled-up to the community level. Come found out about the many reasons they are important. This talk was presented at PV2 in March 2015 by Catherine Bukowski. Listen to more at permaculturevoices.com/podcast

What if you had all the time, money and energy in the world? What would you do? Frank’s wife asked him that question 5 years ago, and he realized he needed to get out of the Navy, make mead and share it with people. Hear how connecting with his passion to do good for people and planet through mead making has inspired a ton of personal growth and now a successful business that is shifting paradigms in the markets it serves. This talk was presented at PV2 in March 2015 by Frank Golbeck of Golden Coast Mead. Listen to more at permaculturevoices.com/podcast

Week 1: It's mid-February and the farm season is just beginning. Most of the work on the farm is preparing for the warmer months ahead. A lot of time is spent planning and preparing for the year ahead. This show is the story of urban farmer Curtis Stone. Curtis is an urban farmer who farms on 15,000 sq.ft. in Canada. He has been farming in an urban setting profitably for 5 years. We are going to follow Curtis on a journey through a full farm season, taking you behind the scenes each week to see what being an urban farmer is really like. It isn't always glorious, but it's real. Stay tuned, and enjoy the journey. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/tuf1

This episode is a recording of Luke Callahan's presenation at PV2. Want to start your business, but don’t know where to begin? Does starting your business feel scary and overwhelming? In this session, you’ll learn the seven surprisingly simple steps to easily start any business. We’ll analyze a few successful permaculture businesses through this step by step framework so you can see exactly how it works in the real world. At the end of this session, you will have a step by step plan to start your business. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/104 For all of the audio presentations from PV2 visit: permaculturevoices.com/audio/

We are experiencing the end of an era as a new era in human civilization is beginning. It is a time of great risk but also a time of great potential. We now know that it is possible to restore large-scale damaged ecosystems. It is possible to sequester carbon and re-regulate the hydrological system. It is possible to restore natural fertility and to remove toxicity from contaminated soils and water. We are required to do this so that future generations will live in peace and abundance. For humanity to further evolve it is necessary to transition from a society dedicated to consumption to a society dedicated to ecological function. Although sometimes obscured by the collapse of the old order this heralds a time of full employment, equality, purpose and fulfillment. This is THE GREAT WORK OF OUR TIME and we are called to understand and participate in it. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/103 PV2 Audio: permaculturevoices.com/pv2audio

In this episode, the second part of a multi-part series, we at some of the critiques of permaculture. And the focus is on an article written by permie Peter Harper in 2003. This series takes a critical look at permaculture itself. The good, the bad, and the ugly. As I sit here today I wonder if the same permaculture that got us here, is the same permaculture that we need to ultimately effect change into the future. The times are different, the people are different, technology is different. I am not simply saying let's rewrite the designers manual with new updates. I am saying let's take a critical look at what is in the manual and tear it apart. What works and what doesn't, and cut out what doesn't. Because if we think that everything in that manual works, we are telling ourselves a lie. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/102

In this episode, the first part of a multi-part series, we look at what permaculture is. Is it a design science or is it a movement? This series takes a critical look at permaculture itself. The good, the bad, and the ugly. As I sit here today I wonder if the same permaculture that got us here, is the same permaculture that we need to ultimately effect change into the future. The times are different, the people are different, technology is different. I am not simply saying let's rewrite the designers manual with new updates. I am saying let's take a critical look at what is in the manual and tear it apart. What works and what doesn't, and cut out what doesn't. Because if we think that everything in that manual works, we are telling ourselves a lie. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/101

Toby Hemenway joins me to talk about his upcoming talk at PV2 titled Liberation Permaculture. Permaculture offers more than a path to a sustainable and just food system. It can move entire segments of our society off the radar screens of state oppressors and help return equality, abundance, and justice to people while restoring healthy ecosystems. This talk, being premiered at Permaculture Voices, will tell you how. If you’ve appreciated Toby’s series on permaculture and civilization, you’ll want to see this significant new chapter. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/100

John talks about the workshop that he will be giving on Sketchup at PV2. This workshop will give the student a crash course in using Trimble SketchUp, followed by a tutorial on landscape modeling and analysis, earthworks and plantings design using freely available tools and templates. 3D modeling is a powerful tool to aid the Permaculture Designer in analyzing and designing water catchment, zones, sectors, earthworks, and plantings. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/pv2shorts John's Page: johnackley.com/sketchup

Grant Schultz presents on trees from VersaLand in Iowa City, Iowa. This presentation focuses on the propagation of trees to be used in tree crop style systems. There is a lot of information on tree buying, grafting, nurseries, and rootstocks. Grant touches on things like the cost versus time trade off of grafting trees versus buying pre-grafted trees and how trees prefer fungal environments and how you can create those environments. This is the recording of a presentation that Grant Schultz gave at a workshop at VersaLand in October 2014. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/b019 Information on Grant: VersaLand.com

This interview with Michael centers around his upcoming workshop at PV2, There's Not Just Honey In That Hive. Michael describes the talk as, "I want to tell you my first hand experiences with bees, from the loss of not knowing how to be a good keeper of the bees, to making an inner city home stead centered around the little girls super profitable. How to grow a small hobby Apiary, or back yard hive into a money making company. I want to show you how to take your starting products to the people, and how to develop new ideas in this art of bee keeping. That it is not being the millionaire, but being able to turn your hobbies, no matter what they are, into your job, and your job more into a hobby." Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/pv2shorts

This episode is a short PV2 episode with PV2 speaker and multiple time guest on this show Javan Bernakevitch. This is an episode about person journeys. How many people, including myself, are in this place, Island A, and we want to go to that place that we dream about Island B. In this episode we take an in depth look at the journey that many people are on. Like many people out there I am on this journey to change my life in a way that I do work that I am passionate about and that I believe in, call it work that matters. But I know first hand that it is easy to say, but hard to make that a reality. Especially when you need that work to cash flow, think kids, mortgage, living expenses. Living the permaculture dream isn't easy. I get it. This episode get's pretty real and pretty passionate for me. As a result, this episode has some swearing in it. Not much, but some. So if you can't handle it, don't listen. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/b018

Texas farmer and design consultant Ben Tyler comes on the show to talk about restoring native tall grass prairie. He is using the natural destructiveness of hogs to remove invasive species and clear the way for tall grass prairie. He is integrating the prairie restoration into a tree crop system that provides yields in the form of nuts and woody forage. Ben is someone who is out there managing the landscape to restore it to the way that it was while generating some yields in the process. Ben knows A LOT about plants and discusses a variety of woody forage plants and tree crops. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/b017

Mark Shepard and Kevin Muno come on to talk about an upcoming Restoration Agriculture workshop in San Diego. In this episode they touch on how Mark uses keyline design, how most properties could benefit from keyline practices, designing for high value niche crops, and designing for Mediterranean tree crop systems. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/pv2mark

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. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/b016

Troy Martz of Off Grid Pro talks about what is gasification and what is the difference between wood gasification and charcoal gasification? And he touches on his talk topic at PV2 - choosing the right alternative energy technologies for your climate, biome, and context. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/pv2shorts

On this show Adam and I talk about an early trip that he made to the Acres USA Conference and how he benefitted from that experience, stating "I was just at a point where I realized that for me to make the next step forward with the farm, I had to make a big step." We also touch on one of his worst experiences on the farm and how he recovered and moved past it. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/pv2shorts

Talking to PV2 speaker Luke Callahan of Seedwise. We touch on the value of learning with others who have more experience than you and creating connections and relationships with high quality people. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/pv2shorts For more information on PV2 you can visit: permaculturevoices.com/pv2

In this presentation Curtis will walk you through the process in which a 2100 square foot lawn can be converted to a productive mini farm. He’ll discuss the technical process of conversion, and the economics of production. This talk will be useful for anyone who is curious about how much food can be harvested from an average lawn space or anyone who is interested in commercial urban farming. Curtis will demonstrate that your average lawn can be a considerable source of revenue, generating $18,000, or a significant source of food for the community. The Workshop: permaculturevoices.com/urbanfarming Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/b015

Talking to Stefan Sobkowiak of The Permaculture Orchard. We touch on why he decided to speak at PV2, what he would do differently if he had to start over, and the value of networking and sharing ideas with others. For more information on PV2 you can visit: permaculturevoices.com/pv2

Zach Weiss of Holzer AgroEcology discusses his experiences working on projects designed by Sepp Holzer. He also gets into Sepp's ideas and design philosophy. This is the recording of a presentation that Zach gave at a workshop at VersaLand in October 2014. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/b014

Zach Weiss of Holzer AgroEcology discusses his experiences working on projects designed by Sepp Holzer. He also gets into Sepp's ideas and design philosophy. This is the recording of a presentation that Zach gave at a workshop at VersaLand in October 2014. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/b013

Taylor Walker from Green Dreams Florida joins me. In this episode we talk being a designer, propagating and selling plants, and we get into specific plant species. Some of these are zone specific; some are more universal, like Mulberry. Towards the end of the episode Taylor goes in depth about 5 not so common plant species that make up a nice permaculture plant guild. He’s growing these plants in Zone 9 in Florida, but maybe you can find some microclimates in your own climate zone to take advantage of some of these species. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/99

Neil Bertrando joins me to talk about the broadacre and farmscale permaculture design workshop we both attended at Grant Schultz's Versaland, Darren Doherty of Regrarians, our thoughts on both of those guys and broadacre design, and Neil's design experiences in the high desert of Nevada. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/98

Kevin Hauser of Kuffel Creek Nursery in Riverside, CA joins me to talk about growing apples in warm, dry climates. Despite popular myths many varieties actually do really well and thrive in these types of climates. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/97

This episode is a replay of Dr. Elaine Ingham’s keynote talk, Building Soil Health, from PV1. To introduce the talk, Dr. Elaine Ingham says… A revolution in our understanding of soil has been taking place. “Conventional” agriculture requires ever-increasing inputs and energy into the system to maintain production, while natural systems reduce the disturbances in the system, while increasing production. Historically, soil science ignored or dismissed soil life as important, in large part because the methods used to study organisms in soil were mis-leading, inaccurate and missed about 99% or more of the species present in soil. With the advent of microscope methods and genetic assessment of soil life, we are beginning to unravel the mysteries of the soil. Understanding soil life is critical if we want to be sustainable; we need to work with nature, instead of waging war on natural laws as we do in our agricultural systems, to the detriment of people and the planet. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/96

If you are doing the life that everyone expects of you, what are you doing to explore that. Everyone has the capacity to really make the choice to really live life, to be engaged, and live a life of vitality. It's never too late to start living. That’s what Matthew Abrams of Mycelium and I are exploring today. Creating the conditions for pull learning, learning about what you are interested in, doing work that you love, finding out about what brings you alive and living your life. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/95 PV2 Info @ permaculturevoices.com/pv2

Steve Gabriel author of Farming the Woods joins me to talk about forest farming. Growing agriculture crops within the forest, beneath the already existing tree canopy. We could grow things like mushrooms, ginseng, medicinal herbs, berries, all while harvesting nuts and tree saps. Economic yields coming out an already established perennial system, no plowing required. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/94 PV2 Info: permaculturevoices.com/pv2

This episode with John Pugliano is meant to get you to start thinking in a different way and to plant some seeds in your head. I think that everyone can benefit by starting thinking more like an entrepreneur. We will touch on business idea generation and John will cover some value add type businesses that anyone can start with low capital. They aren’t directly permaculture, but they are related. The theme being like start where you are, take a step in that direction. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/93 PV2 Info: permaculturevoices.com/pv2

Maddy and her partner Tim started the magazine back in 1992 out of their home office. At that time the readership was tiny. But they had a vision for something bigger. A vision of world where permaculture could provide solutions to some of the problems that the world was facing. But in order to make that vision a reality, they had to help get the word out there. Literally. And going from the home office with a readership in the hundreds to the hundred thousands took some work. As Maddy says, "I'm not going to pretend it was easy. It was really, really tough." But she put the work in with her team and today they are a working model of a 22 year old permaculture business, one that looks at the business through a whole systems lens, minding the triple bottom line, not just the single bottom line. Let’s get into it and see what’s possible when you mix business with permaculture.. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/92 PV2 Info: permaculturevoices.com/pv2

This show is a conversation that I had with Mark Shepard about the process of starting up his farm, New Forest Farm, in Viola, Wisconsin. How did he start? What was the process like - both on the land and off? What were the real life financial struggles and challenges that he went through and faced? Hint... It wasn't easy. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/91 PV2: permaculturevoices.com/pv2

How can we start to broaden the reach of permaculture and start to involve areas outside of permaculture in the greater movement of permaculture? How can we use the permaculture toolkit to make more effective use of resources in other areas? How can we start to include willing, able, and highly skilled individuals and groups that don’t’ have a land focus and have previously felt excluded from the permaculture conversation in the conversation. I am joined by Jessica Schilike and Nick Wooten to talk social permaculture. They both have done a lot of work on the social side of things and are actively involved in bringing more groups into the permaculture conversation. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/90 PV2: permaculturevoices.com/pv2

Joel Salatin's talk on Stacking Fiefdoms from PV1. "The whole idea is to create customized fiefdoms so that people are autonomous and have the authority to run their own fiefdom within your own umbrella, and you can't believe how many things you can get done that way." Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/89

Engineer and permie Rob Avis from Verge Permaculture talks about building and designing passive solar greenhouses. Key Takeaways: Orientation. In Northern hemisphere orient it South or within 45 degrees of South. Higher the glazing transmisivity is, the better it is for the plants. Don't underestimate the value of good insulation in the walls of the greenhouse. Rob uses R-20 in Calgary. Keep in mind insulation doesn't stop heat loss, it just slows it down. In lower light conditions look to plants that are adapted to growing in lower light conditions. A hoop house may be a viable alternative in lower light conditions. 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 are for the greenhouse. Why are you building it? You can't over-vent a greenhouse. Thermal curtains can cut heat loss drastically through the glazing. Show Notes: www.permaculturevoices.com/88

Luke Callahan author of The Complete Guide to Growing and Selling Microgreens and the co-founder of Seedwise joins me to talk about starting and running a microgreens business. It’s a business that can make some serious money when you are selling the product of that business for $50 to $150 per pound. With those prices, and selling at scale we are talking about the very realistic possibility to generate $1000 to $2000 a week in sales. This isn’t conjecture, these are real numbers. The real sales numbers that my guest today, Luke Callahan was taking in running his microgreens business. It was a very successful business that generated some good revenue. The prices that he was getting per pound for his product, $50 to $150, and the $1000 to $2000 are a week are attainable. It isn’t some get rich quick scheme. You are going to have to go out there put in the time and grind, it does take hard work. It does take a lot of relationship building and pounding the pavement. But it’s doable. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/87

While American Guinea Hogs are suited to a wide variety of environments and will do better than most breeds on low grade forage, they prefer lush pastures with clover along with access to minerals, kitchen scraps, quality hay in winter, clean water to drink, access to a muddy wallow, minimal shelter from precipitation and wind, dry bedding, and perhaps a small amount of grain. They thrive where ranging and grazing is a constant activity giving them plenty of exercise. They are minimal rooters when good grazing and adequate feed is available. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/86

This is the very real story of Chad Stamps and his unromantic journey into farming. It's the reality of life that makes this story unromantic, versus the common romantic notions that you hear when someone speaks about going into farming. Long hours, driving, and hard work are par for the course. Entry into farming is often a grind. But it is that grind that has become some people's destiny. People like Chad. Chad has gone from no farming experience to now full time farmer. He looked for land for 6 years and started with just 4 feeder pigs and the rest is history. As Chad says in this episode, "The perfect time will never come. Start before you are ready. If you wait, you'll never get there." And, oh yeah... This episode was recorded 4 days after Chad quit his job to farm full time. This is as real as it gets. Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/85