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

Today I am talking with David Sachs. David is working outside of the farming world and is trying to transition to working within the farming world. His family owns and operates a farm in Virginia; his dad runs the farm and David sees a future where he takes over the farm. David is a big believer in permaculture and sees his future on the farm involving more permaculture design incorporated into the farm's operations. But it is easier said than done within a family dynamic. Because within the family they are trying to balance the running of the farm and paying the bills with potentially incorporating more permaculture strategies. Not an easy to make decision. Add in the fact that the family is relatively new to farming and getting all sorts of advice from everyone out there - neighbors to the agriculture extension offices - challenging to say the least. Never the less they are progressing ahead with the farm and doing some great things. In an area that grows a lot of corn, they are now the only organic wheat

As my guest today Akiva Silver will explain, you can start a small scale nursery with very little space. Putting a lot of plants on really tight spacings;I mean A LOT of trees on REALLY tight spacings. When you hear it intuitively your first thought is probably, that's way too close. The trees will suffer and the roots will tangle up. But that is not the results that Akiva Silver has had. Akiva has a small nursery business where he grows over 1000 trees on a half an acre. Thousands of trees plant tightly together in loose, friable soil. Very tight spacings that force trees to grow tall and straight in competition with their neighbors resulting in a lot of nursery stock that can be sold in the first year.How many people out there have some extra space where they could grow a few hundred trees? Trees to use in the development of your own property or to sell. If you sold each tree for $5 or $10, then we are talking about some significant money given the amount of space it takes.It is simple, but it does take tim

This episode today isn't just applicable to farming. Ronan's story and what he is talking about is a metaphor. These ideas are applicable to everything under the permaculture umbrella and beyond. It all comes down to starting something small, making some mistakes, and learning and adapting along the way.Ronan' story is so simple, so common, yet uniquely inspiring; IT IS GREAT.This is a real story from a real person. Starting with 75 chicks eight years ago and growing that to over 10,000 today. Going from the corporate world to full time farmer; Ronan didn't start as a farmer, he became a farmer.In a world of negativity there are a lot of people out there doing absolutely great things. People just like you. People that listen to this show. Ronan is one of them. These are the stories that inspire me to keep doing what I do and give me hope in a better future. The change is happening out there. You might not see it yet, but it's happening.. Show Notes: www.permaculturevoices.com/62

This episode is actually the audio from Jack Spirko’s talk titled just that, Building a Profitable Permaculture Business from PV1. This is his actual talk, verbatim.In this presentation Jack gives a lot of great insight into creating the framework for a profitable, meaning sustainable, business. He touches on different traits that a successful business should have including a well-defined mission statement and a well-defined revenue model.Jack also throws out some ideas for building a business around permaculture.Whether you are a farmer, a consultant, or someone looking to take all of that permaculture knowledge that you have up in your brain out to the world, then this episode is for you.This episode is full of real world, practical advice that you can apply today. It is advice that can make you money. It is advice that can hopefully help get you thinking about that career in permaculture that you are always thinking about. And that is a lot of what I am about, getting people thinking about taking permacult

How can both people in the relationship fit both of their dreams into one life together?We explore some of these ideas in this episode. We both draw from our own experiences of having relationships while going after our own permaculture dreams. We take a honest look at these issues, it is is very real.Maybe your relationship is OK. Maybe things are fine. But that's now. The big question is - how fine are things going to be down the line when the pressure is applied? Is your relationship anti-fragile? As my guest for this episode Joey Delia says, "it's not until s*** breaks loose that we start to scramble." But sometimes it is too late.That is what we are talking about in this episode. Putting the work in ahead of time, and all of the time, to help increase the resiliency and make relationships anti-fragile. We aren't therapists and we aren't suggesting specific techniques or steps, but what we are suggesting is that you should consider doing something. Maintaining clear communication and goals on an ongoing b

An interview with Phil Rutter of Badgersett Research Corporation. We talk about why perennial based woody agriculture is important and how chestnuts and hazelnuts fit into that. We also talk a lot about plant breed and using mass selection to find genotypes that have the traits that you are looking for. This episode is pretty dense and has a ton of information in it for anyone looking to breed plants. Phil is brilliant and I think I learned more about plant breeding my conversations with him than I ever have anywhere else. Given how much information is in this episode and how long this episode is, I have split it into two parts. This is part 2 of 2.With the first part as episode 57. Take it all in, enjoy it, and most importantly do something with this information. Show Notes: www.permaculturevoices.com/58

An interview with Phil Rutter of Badgersett Research Corporation. We talk about why perennial based woody agriculture is important and how chestnuts and hazelnuts fit into that. We also talk a lot about plant breed and using mass selection to find genotypes that have the traits that you are looking for. This episode is pretty dense and has a ton of information in it for anyone looking to breed plants. Phil is brilliant and I think I learned more about plant breeding my conversations with him than I ever have anywhere else. Given how much information is in this epsidoe and how long this episode is, I have split it into two parts. This is part 1 of 2.With the second part dropping this Friday, July 11 as episode 58. Take it all in, enjoy it, and most imporantly do something with this information. Show Notes: www.permaculturevoices.com/57

On April 11, 2009 there was the shock heard around the world, when a women from Blackburn, West Lothian, Scotland walked on stage to sing. Just prior to singing she was asked "What's the dream?""I'm trying to be a professional singer?" she replied."And why hasn't it worked out so far Susan?""I've never been given a chance before, but here's hoping that it will change."With that she went on to sing her version of I Dreamed a Dream and suddenly the world new who Susan Boyle was. She became an overnight success and YouTube sensation and her debut I Dreamed a Dream album went on to sell over 9 million copies. A truly remarkable story. And one that could have easily never been told had she not taken those steps to make it happen and have her voice heard. It all came down to putting it out there and seeing what would happen; in her words "I've never been given a chance before, but here's hoping that it will change."And that is what today's show is about, getting something out there because you never know who is goi

My guest today was persecuted and ridiculed for his ideas for over 50 years. In his words, "people have often asked me how I have been able to put up with so much abuse, ridicule, and damage... attempts to destroy me financially and so on, and it comes down to in my case - caring enough. If you care enough about your something then it's not casual, you will do whatever you have to do, even if give up your life for that cause." Fortunately he didn't have to give up his life for the cause, but he did have to keep pushing forward with his ideas and beliefs year, after year, after year, while few people listened..That all changed in Longbeach, California in 2013. At the age of 77 after 50 plus years of ridicule, it would all change in 20 minutes. It was then and there that Allan Savory went on to deliver his epic TED talk that would go on to captivate the world. Now he was a hero. Suddenly everyone was interested in hearing what Allan Savory had to say.Persistence and his belief in what he stood for had paid off.

Today I am talking to two people who are changing the model of the modern farm. They are operating within the current system of rules and regulations, but approaching farm development and operation with a different model, a model they call PermaEthos.Jack Spirko and Josiah Wallingford join me to talk about the launch of their flagship farm Elisa's Spring and the PermaEthos concept. PermaEthos is a permaculture farm model that is built and designed around permaculture principles and community. The goals are to design, implement and operate profitable farms while creating educational opportunities and provide opportunities for entrepreneurs to empower themselves by establishing on farm businesses. The model gives people a chance to help out and participate in changing their future, and the future of the food system. Like Jack says in this episode, "there's so many people that would put in a full days work if they just had something meaningful to do." PermaEthos is now officially underway and there are a lot of

My guest today is a self proclaimed plant nerd that is really into trees. He has worked with Geoff Lawton and Darren Doherty, and now he runs his own design firm in Australia, Oak Tree Designs. My guest today is Byron Joel.In addition to being a plant nerd, Byron is what I would call a permaculture realist. Realizing the potential of permaculture, while not over promising on results and truly being aware of the newness of the permaculture movement.In this episode of we talk about the newness of the permaculture movement and how it is evolving. And of course, we talk a lot about trees.A view of the permaculture of today and tomorrow, Plants and the Evolution of Permaculture with Byron Joel.. Show Notes: www.permaculturevoices.com/53

I welcome Frank Golbeck of Golden Coast Mead on the show today. Frank story is a great example of someone who went after their dreams in a smart and systematic way. He isn’t any different than any of us. He didn’t start with a huge some of money or some other advantage. But the difference between Frank and a lot of people is that took on the scary unknown, the hard part starting.Fast forward ahead a few years and the dream has become a reality. Things still aren’t easy, but they are very real and Frank is enjoying every moment of it.No matter where you are at in your life, I think Frank’s story is inspirational and highly copyable. Hopefully something in here will resonate with you and will inspire you to start that thing that you always wanted to do. Show Notes: www.permaculturevoices.com/52

Today I am talking to someone who killing it farming 1.5 acres. He is doing over $140k in sales on that 1.5 acres, supporting himself and his family in the process. Of that $140k 40% is profit. Compare that to corn and soybeans which net about $280 an acre. And he is grossing that $140k working 9 months a year and average length works days. We aren't talking about burnout workload here. Think about that. $800 per acre versus $90000. I am happy to welcome Jean Martin Fortier, the author of The Market Gardener to the show.Jean Martin is a great example of someone who is out there maximizing efficiency and productivity on a small piece of land. His whole grow bigger, not better philosophy echoes this. Jean Martin focuses on growing biointensive and the use of appropriate technology to work with his permanent raised beds. And he designed the farm with the intent of keeping it manageable for the scale that he was at. He maximizes productivity and quality of life.For anyone that wants to get into farming, but is ha

What really matters most to you? Have you ever thought about it? As in thought about it serious enough to say if you stripped away a lot of the facade from your life then this is what is left, this is what truly matters. Show Notes: www.permaculturevoices.com/50

This is the one year anniversary of the first episode of this podcast which was published on June 5, 2013 - Gasification and Wood Gas. Since then 60 other episodes have been published. Thanks for a year of support. There is a lot more to come. In this episode I highlight the top 10 episodes that were most impactful to me. Going forward... What do you want to hear more about? Who would you like to hear from and what subject matter and content really help you? Let me know and I will try to work that into the podcast schedule. "It is easy to focus on what you don't have and how much something costs. What you need to do instead is focus on what have and what you can do to make it work. People undervalue what they have, and overvalue what they don't have or want." Show Notes: www.permaculturevoices.com/49

Every story has a beginning. Including our own. So many of us want to live out our own story and go from A to B. But where do you start and how do you prepare for that journey.I am happy to welcome Bill Bean from GreenPlanningAndCoaching.com to the show today.Bill is going to talk about business plans and planning for business. As Bill defines it figuring out a way to go from point A to point B using organized common sense. It is about thinking about things ahead of time. Focusing on things in a rational way so when problems hit you don't react emotionally because you've thought it through - you have a plan. Part of the planning process is also about understanding the magnitude of change you want to take place. Do you want a big change, or a small change. Where do you want to be in three years? Figure that out and now you have a direction to head in. Then you just have to build a plan to get there.This is not an episode about creating pro-forma financials or filling in a template or boiler plate plan. This is

Darren Doherty discusses Holistic Management planned grazing, energy, and farm marketing.This is the sixth podcast that takes you to one of Darren's open consultancies. The consultancies themselves are workshops that center around a real world farm planning and development process. The hosts and Darren open up the process so you can learn from a real world application of theory.This audio was recorded at Darren Doherty's Regarian Open Consultancy at Markegard Family Farm on October 22 and 23, 2013. The workshop was open source, so thanks to Darren for allowing me to share this with you all.Topics covered in this episode:Grazing plans. The Holistic Management Bullseye Energy Systems: veggie oil and wood. Marketing. Show Notes: www.permaculturevoices.com/b012

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 op

How many people want to be a homesteader?Living off the land, off the grid, working for themselves, and around their family - The Good Life, just like Helen and Scott Nearing described so many years ago.A lot, or at least some version of it, so I think. Well not many people actually do when it comes to put the boots on the ground and head out to the woods. Today I am talking to someone who has. It's Cliff Davis from Spiral Ridge Permaculture.Cliff is currently living off grid in Tennessee with his family. He doesn't work for the man, he works for himself as a farmer, a teacher, and a consultant. Along the way I think he has acquired an absolute ton of knowledge about the land, and about life. He is a wise dude that loves the life he lives and what he does, something I think that will be obvious when you hear him talk.If you've ever considered homesteading or starting a permaculture farm, consider taking a trip out to Tennessee and Cliff's farm. I am sure you will learn a lot from Cliff, not just what he teach

Darren Doherty discusses his farm setup and various broadacre topics - perennial grasses, silvopasture.This is the fifth podcast that takes you to one of Darren's open consultancies. The consultancies themselves are workshops that center around a real world farm planning and development process. The hosts and Darren open up the process so you can learn from a real world application of theory.This audio was recorded at Darren Doherty's Regarian Open Consultancy at Markegard Family Farm on October 22 and 23, 2013. The workshop was open source, so thanks to Darren for allowing me to share this with you all.