Creative Destruction - Honest Conversations About Farming, Business, And Life

At the end of the day, month, year, decade or your life, the amount of #shityougotdone isn’t going to matter.  It’s the Quality of Life you’ve reached and maintained. It’s the relationships with your family and friends, the connection you have to your clients and land, the feeling you get when you go to sleep that matters. It’s the amount of personal work you’ve done to pull yourself out of negative thinking and mindsets of scarcity that you’ll appreciate the most.   It’s not the number of new crops you tried, cider batches, or projects developed… it’s how you lived that will mean the most. Getting shit done for the sake of #getshitdone can be a trap. It could very well become today’s equivalent to what pursuing “retirement” meant 20 years ago, or the ever-expanding idea of “more” and being rich: when is enough, enough? When is enough shit done, enough done? And are some activities completed more important than others? If those activities support a life that’s truly well-lived, then, yes: you’ve succeeded w

"They weren't just buying the product; they were buying the whole package." That's how Chris Thoreau was able to go to a farmer's market selling one crop.  Just one.  Sunflower shoots.  He was able to go to market with just one crop because he was selling a product that had a great story.  It was a product that was produced hyper-locally and one that was delivered to market via pedal power on a bike. Since Chris started his microgreen business nearly 10 years ago he has grown the business into one that has multiple employees and one that will do over $200,000 in sales in 2016. If you want grow microgreens commercially, listen to today's episode.  You'll see how important it is to systematize your production and constantly record and analyze your results.   It's the constant testing, analyze and adaptation that has made Chris' business hugely successful.   I think that you will really get a lot out of this interview. You'll learn how Chris introduced a brand new crop to his market.  How he priced that product.

Scott Hebert started farming in June 2015 when his family business shut down. At that time he didn’t have anything to fall back on. But he had always had an interest in farming, and within a few days of getting the income shock warning his wheels had been put in motion and he was putting a plan into place to transition into a career as a farmer. He contacted Curtis to visit his farm, so he could start leveraging Curtis’ experience to plan his farm and his future. Because he knew wanted to farm, but didn't want to be broke, therefore, he had to make money at it, and that meant he had to have a plan and a strategic approach. And it’s that approach that we will be talking about in today’s show. It’s currently February 2016 and this episode was recorded with new farmer Scott Hebert a couple of months ago in December 2015. Let’s get into it and see what a transition into small scale farming is really like... Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/tuf42

Erik Ohlsen will be one of the speakers at PV3 in March 2016.Learn more about PV3 at permaculturevoices.com/pv3. My guest today Erik Ohlsen took a risk when he started his business. And it's a risk that paid off because he has grown that business into a design firm that grosses over $1M a year. But his business, Permaculture Artisans, is one that started small. It started with a $15 an hour job that Erik used as a leverage point to build on. In this episode Erik is going to talk about what it takes to be successful including the importance of being patient, the importance of having a good attitude, and knowing that your work becomes your resume and can open doors. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/erik.

Ethan Soloviev will be one of the speakers at PV3 in March 2016.Learn more about PV3 at permaculturevoices.com/pv3. In today's show I'm joined by Ethan Roland Soloviev.  Ethan is an international expert on sustainable agriculture, permaculture, and eco-social entrepreneurship, and as co-founder of Terra Genesis International he consults on these topics for individuals, organizations and corporations internationally. In our conversation we'll utilize Ethan's experience to explore this concept of what is regeneration.  But don't worry it's not all theory, and there is some useable and applicable information in here. As you will find out Ethan view's regeneration as a process.  One that's always trying to improve.  And for many of us that's essential what our lives are.  An ongoing process where we try to improve the web of all things that is us.  It's a process that involves a lot of trial and error, successes and failures, and like a lot of you, and me, Ethan is someone who has said yes to a lot of things in

While Curtis and I were on tour we made a stop at Singing Frogs Farm in Sebastopol to visit with farmers Paul & Elizabeth Kaiser. It's a pretty remarkable farm. The Kaisers are farming just over 2 acres and grossing over $100,000 an acre. They come from an agroforestry background and approach farming systematically as a business. This episode is some of our thoughts from our visit. To learn more visit the show notes at permaculturevoices.com/tuf41.

Greg Judy will be one of the speakers at PV3 in March 2016.Learn more about PV3 at permaculturevoices.com/pv3. In the late 90's Greg was down to $9 in the bank. The way that he was farming, wasn't working. Greg was grazing cattle using conventional methods at the time. And the costs were killing him, or should I say the debt was killing him. Cattle loans, equipment loans, feed costs, seed costs, and other input costs drawing too much away from his top line, thereby shrinking his bottom line. With an unprofitable farming operation and $9 left in the bank, Greg had two choices, roll over and quite, or try something new and effectively start over. With gritty determination, a passion for cattle, and a need to grow more grass, Greg dropped all of his conventional ways and began grazing cattle that he didn't own, on land that he didn't own, and with less inputs. The transition was nothing less than remarkable. Within a few years Greg had paid off all of his debt including his farm. He was adding new leases to hi

Gregory Landau will be one of the speakers at PV3 in March 2016.Learn more about PV3 at permaculturevoices.com/pv3.If the current current method of business isn't working, then something more regenerative would be better right?Then it's up to us to design it.Only we can't.Because a truly regenerative web is a living whole systems awareness of all of the decision makers.  Something that's a process.  An awareness that grows over time.  It's not something that happens overnight, and it's not something that we can design.We can only start to put the connections in place.  Then it's up to all of the decision makers in the process to take the ball and run with it.  Working together towards a common goal knowing that it isn't instant change, it's a common goal that they are all working towards.But seeding those connections can be tough.  Because sometimes the input producers like farmers, can't get a seat at the table with some of the decision makers who make the end product.   And that's where firms like Terra Gen

"You have to be willing to fail. You have to be OK with failure." That's what entrepreneur Jack Spirko told me. He's built a variety of businesses in his career. Some of which have been very successful and some of which have failed. One of his successes has been the hugely popular Survival Podcast. You can learn a lot of Jack. Jack is a permaculturist, small scale farmer, and he knows a lot about running and marketing businesses. If you want to run a farm based business, listen to today's episode. You'll see how important it is to take risks and put in a lot of hard work knowing that you could fail and it could all be for naught. A big part of success really is that simple. Eight years ago Jack started his podcast recording it in his car on his way to work. He didn't have grand plans of it being a business at the beginning. He just needed to figure out how this podcasting thing worked for a client. So he figured he would give it a shot and see what came of it.. He focused on content that he was interested in.

Mary Johnson will be one of the speakers at PV3 in March 2016. Learn more about PV3 at permaculturevoices.com/pv3. What does success mean to you? Hopefully you know, because if you don't you might be chasing the wrong things. Success is different for everyone. For some people it's money and fame and for some people it's freedom of time and freedom of place. How do you define it? Once you define it and get what it means to you, you can then start to create a system to achieve success as quickly and happily as possible. That's what I am talking about today on the show with my guest Mary Johnson. Mary is a consultant and coach who has worked with hundreds of famers and entrepreneurs to try to help them improve their business, and their lifestyle. And one way that she does that is through the use of holistic management goal setting. Basically asking what makes you happy and is your business supporting that? Because for many people it isn't, especially farmers who don't think of it farming as a business and then e

Mary Beth Storjohann will be one of the speakers at PV3 in March 2016. Learn more about PV3 at permaculturevoices.com/pv3. My guest today, Mary Beth Storjohann, is a certified financial planner and is the Founder of Workable Wealth, specializing in financial planning for Gen Y. She works as a writer, speaker and financial coach with individuals and couples in their 20s and 30s across the country to help them to make smart, educated decisions with their money. I brought her on today to talk about financial planning, when it comes entrepreneurship. Something she knows a lot about as both financial planner, and an entrepreneur herself. Like many of you, she is young, married, and has a daughter, and she start her business on the side. In other words, she gets it. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/marybeth

If you want to be better off in December 2016, then the planning for that starts now in December 2015. The biggest leverage point which for the farm season next year is right there in front of you. You just need to tease it out. That's what today's show is about. Doing some End of Season Reflection - Thinking about How Things Went This Year, to Alter Course and Plan for Next Year I hope that you can use some of the information that we talk about in this episode to reflect on your 2015 farm season, so you can get better in 2016. With the end of the year, comes the end of this show. This is Episode 40 of The Urban Farmer, the last episode of the show. Good luck with everything in 2016 and beyond. Keep growing, keep pushing forward, and keep getting after it. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/tuf40

In today's episode Curtis and I will take a look back at the season of this show and talk about what's in store for the future for Curtis and this show. In regards to the future, you listening to this hold a bit of control on that in your hands. Because we want to hear what your thoughts are on this show - The Urban Farmer. This season what's resonated with you? What do you want to hear more about? And how has this show affected what you are doing? I don't beg a lot, but this is one case where I will, I am begging you, please send us your feedback on the show. Has it helped what do you want to hear more about, and are you using this information as a home grower versus a commercial farm? Please take a few minutes to let us know what you think. You can do so via email diego@permaculturevoices.com and/or leave a comment in the show notes for this episode at permaculturevoices.com/tuf39. Thanks for listening to the show and supporting us this year. It means a lot to me. This show has been outlet for me, and a way

On today's show I am talking to Rob Kippel. Rob's not your typical permie. He's a paramedic, a real estate investor, and he owns a profitable franchise business that has nothing to do with farming, but his values align with the values that permaculture supports. And Rob likes the idea of regenerative agriculture, but he doesn't want to be the farmer. And when you hear this interview, I think you will probably agree, that Rob's skills are best suited for the other fields which he is already excelling at. Because he has accomplished a lot, and is doing a lot, and he's done it by age 31. I hope that this episode gets you thinking. Because the permaculture path might not be for everyone, and some people might be better off supporting Your Permaculture Goals with a Career Outside of Permaculture.... Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/cd9

How much work should you put into something before it gets to the point where it isn't worth it? At what point does the money, the effort, and the headache justify not doing it? With everything in business and farming, there is always a trade off, an opportunity cost. If you are doing one, thing, then it's at the expense of something else. Because you can't do it all, and regardless of the return, sometimes it's just not worth it. In this episode we spend a lot of time looking at how to decide if customers and crops are worth the effort. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/tuf38.

If you are going to succeed in any business then you need to be able to tell a good story. Your skill, services, and product are only going to get you so far. You need to be able to tell the stories that get people to get behind you and pay for your products and services. If you can't do that, then you won't succeed. This is where marketing comes in. And for right or for wrong, marketing has a sleezy image. Because at the core of everything, marketers are propagandists. They are using information to manipulate you and get you to do something that you may or may not realize that you actually want to do. And as my guest today, Hilary Bromberg, will say, is the propaganda for somethign good or for something less than good. Because even the most noble causes need propadana to get people to pay attention. This episodes is all about marketing and story telling. And it's a beast. There's a ton of great advice in here from Hilary. But the advice and tips are subtle. This isn't go make this type of post on Facebook ev

In this episode, I want to talk about this idea of growing wings and flying. Not limiting ourselves from becoming who we are and maximizing our true potential. Because we live in a society where everything is comfortable, too comfortable. Where you more or less just plug into the system and get pulled along with it from grade school to college to job to social security... A society where today, if you have a full time job, and you tell someone that you are leaving your job, their likely first reaction is going to be what are you going to do for money. That’s what my parents feared in 1998 when I wanted to transition from a lucrative career with sure employment to a field that was saturated. And that’s the first question they asked when I told them I was likely leaving my job now. It’s part of our culture. The job. And we are all trained to be employees and we are believed to be dependent on that thing... the job. That’s our future and it’s with the company. And that guy, the the guy in the other room. That's

All in Curtis produced about 17,500lbs of product off of his farm this year. That's a lot of food coming from a small space. Remember Curtis is only farming off of 15,000 sq.ft. which is spread out over 5 plots. And this year he made the most of it producing over 17,000lbs of produce on those 5 plots. And we aren't talking corn and potatoes here. For the most part many of the crops which he produced really aren't that heavy, he simply produced a lot of product. 3000lbs of tomatoes, 2500 lbs of radishes, 2500 lbs of spring mix, 2000lbs of turnips. Big numbers for a small farm. Curtis has grown better throughout the years and grown a lot of crops in the past. At one time he grew over 90 differnet crops. Ultimatley that easn't affective for Curtis and he learned to focus on the crops that paid, dropping the ones that didnt'. Now in 2015 he produced about 23 differnet products off of the farm this year. But even with only 23 different crops, not all crops are created equal. Because his top 5 crops account for ove

Dan Brisebois will be one of the speakers at PV3 in March 2016. Learn more about PV3 at permaculturevoices.com/pv3. Today’s episode takes us to Quebec, where farmer Dan Brisebois is doing some amazing things at the Tourne-Sol farm…. Dan Brisebois started out like a lot of other small scale growers, growing market vegetables intensively to sell to CSA customers. But unlike most other growers, Dan also had another plan in mind as he started his farm. A plan that would really distinguish him from many other small scale growers. Because from the beginning Dan’s plan was to integrate seed production into his small farm's operation. Seed which could be used on the farm, and seeds which could be sold. Dan's now about 10 years into the seed growing and selling business, and things are going well and he's producing a lot of seeds. Seeds that he uses in three ways. He's selling seeds which are being sold to through his own seed company and seeds which are being sold to seed retailers, and seed which is being used on hi

Christian Shearer will be one of the speakers at PV3 in March 2016. Learn more about PV3 at permaculturevoices.com/pv3. Hopefully this episode will help shed some light on the long term design process, so you can approach you own long term project with the right mindset, expectations, and goals. Christian as has a lot of experience working on projects that have taken years to complete and evolve. For the past 10 plus years he has been the managing director of the Panya Project in Thailand, and he has taken on numerous long term projects as one of the founding members of Terra Genesis International. Through his work with Terra Genesis Christian has taken the lead on reforestation projects in the Philippines, regenerative farming practices in northeastern Thailand, and the broad regeneration of a sand quarry in Barbados. He's worked aroudn the world on a varitey of project over the past ten years, and he's gathered a lot of wisdom along the way. Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/christian