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

This is the full presentation from one of Greg Judy's talks from PV1. Greg and his wife Jan are farmers from Rucker, Missouri. On their farm, Green Pastures Farm, they raise cattle, sheep, horses, goats, pigs, and chickens on grass pasture in balance with nature. They don't use any antibiotics, no hormone implants, and no grain. The livestock graze rich pasture 100% of their lives. They use rotational grazing on their farm, which means they are constantly moving the livestock to fresh rested pasture to graze and let the previous grazed pasture rest so that it can grow back undisturbed. Their pastures are rich in clovers and many species of natural grasses. They don't use any chemical fertilizers or herbicides on any of the pastures. Large populations of birds, ants, worms, butterflies, spiders & bees build soil and control pests. Show Notes: www.permaculturevoices.com/45

Chad Sentman of Action House Productions joins me to about video, permaculture, and business. Chad is the videographer that filmed PV1. He is also an permie entrepreneur who started his own video production company. Now he is using those skills to get more involved in permaculture. In the podcast we talk about the idea of permaculture looking at itself more holistically - getting more people from other fields involved in permaculture. Lawyers, financiers, real estate agents, etc. - not just permaculture designers and agriculture related fields. Chad will talk about filming video and give you some tips on producing good video. And we will finish up the podcast talking business. "Instead of focusing on why something isn't possible, focusing how you can make it happen." Show Notes: www.permaculturevoices.com/44

Shannon Jones, a young farmer from River Hebert, Nova Scotia joins me to talk about what it is like to be a young farmer on her farm, Broadfork Farm. She started the farm with her partner Bryan Dyck in 2011.Both Shannon and Bryan farmed on other farms for many years before they started their own farm. The lived simply and knew what they could get by without. That made the transition to farming a lot easier. Their path of frugality is one path into farming. But like Shannon said, find what works for you and don't just copy what someone else did.At the end of the day it is very clear that Shannon loves what she does. Living her dream, working her dream job, as part of the next generation of farmers. Show Notes: www.permaculturevoices.com/43

Michael Jordan, The Bee Whisperer, joins me to talk about bees and bee keeping.Michael is a holistic bee keeper who is doing beekeeping the right way. He has worked tirelessly to promote sustainable bee keeping, that respects, not exploits the bees, and gets the youth involved. You can find out more about Michael via A Bee Friendly Company.I tried to keep this episode on the positive side. How can we work beneficially with bees in a way that is sustainable? There is so much talk out there about bad bee practices, I really wanted to try to focus on the positive side of things, instead of just talking about the problems that are out there. BEEcause the way I see it if did things the right way in the first place then we wouldn't be having all of these problems with the bees. Show Notes: www.permaculturevoices.com/42

John Pugliano of Investable Wealth joins me to talk about navigating the fear of leaving one job and starting a fresh career.One key theme that I hear from a lot of people is that they want to transition from their job doing X into doing Y (something related to permaculture). But that desire to make the transition is often overshadowed by fear, fear of the the unknown.Common fears include:How can I afford my mortgage, insurance, food for my kids, etc.What if my business fails. I will be financially ruined. I have too much debt, so I can't afford to quit my job.These are some of the many reasons that John and I have heard from people when it comes from giving up income 'certainty' for the unknown income volatility that comes with being self employed. These reasons, may or may not be justified. Often times these are just quick excuses that someone comes up with for why they really don't want to do do what they say they are going to do.That's all totally fine. Follow your own path But if things really seem scary

Ben Falk and Grant Schultz join me to talk about permaculture as a survival preparedness strategy. How can we use whole systems design to create systems that work passively to increase our resiliency. In our modern day world we are quick to throw money at technological, mechanical systems that are complicated and brittle. In an emergency situation you could have a generator, but if that breaks or you run out of fuel, you are out of luck. If you have a wood fuel based system, it is going to work no matter what, it's bulletproof.Ben and Grant are both a wealth of knowledge when it comes to homestead technology, both simple and complex. They are living the lifestyle. Using and building the systems that they talk about. They are both builders and tinkerers, therefor they understand how these systems work, and can break down. You will learn how important it is to buy high quality tool that will last a lifetime (and the tools to service the tools); often times those tools were built 80 years ago and can be bought o

Mark Shepard of Forest Agriculture Enterprises joins me to talk about the future of agriculture. Mark has a pretty clear view on how he thinks the future of agriculture could be.. restoration agriculture style farms dotting the landscape with animals roaming through grasslands dappled with trees, a perennial polyculture system that builds soil instead of destroying it, a system that sequesters carbon instead of volatilizing it, a system that utilizes all of the water that falls on a piece of land, a system restores the land, and importantly a system provides nutrient dense food on scale - bulk calories and makes money doing it allowing a farmer to earn a decent living in the process. These systems could restore the land and rural America. I think it is totally possible, and when you hear Mark speak I think you will feel the same way. This is the future of agriculture. This is probably one of those episodes that you will need to listen to a few times to get every little juicy nugget out of it. Whether you want

Bob Hamberg of Omega-Alpha Recycling Systems and Dragon Husbandry joins me to talk about anaerobic digestion and biogas. How we can use "waste" to close the loop and get beneficial by-products in the process. The anaerobic digesters can be integrated into permaculture and homestead systems by incorporating them within greenhouses and tying them into pond systems. As for "waste disposal," we've got two mis-defined terms resulting in an abominable oxymoron. In nature there is no such thing as waste. All residues serve as resources for further growth - there is nothing to be disposed of. Nothing is thrown away. Indeed, there is no "away". Everything must go somewhere. The misconception of waste disposal must be superseded by the concept of residue management. Show Notes:  www.permaculturevoices.com/38

I am talking to my friend Tall Paul who helped out at registration with PV1. In this episode we talk about why I did what I did when I planned out the conference and what my goals are for the future. Specific issues we touch on include: Why weren't there more women speakers? Why the heck was it at a casino? Why was it so expensive? What is a professional permaculture confernece? I talk about all of these issues and where the conference is headed. We have already started planning for PV2 which will be held in San Diego, CA in March 2015.

Toby Hemenway joins me to talk permaculture - how permaculture has changed and how we can work more permaculture into our lives.Toby also talks about being one of instructors for the new Ecological Landscaper Immersion Program that is being put on by the Erik Ohlsen and the Permaculture Skills Center. Key TakeawaysIt really benefits anyone in almost any field to be able to think in whole systems. Someone who embraces permaculture can do a lot more than teach and design property. Apply permaculture techniques and principles to what you do. Find good mentors. Many people want to help others. You just have to ask.Some standard economic training is good. You can get a great toolkit and then apply it however you want. Standard training is a tool, a means to an end if you goal is ecological design. Catch kids while thinking in whole systems. Before they are trained out of it into compartmentalized thinking.Starting with soil fertility and building organic matter is a good idea. It is almost a universal panacea alon

Darren Doherty discusses soil mineralization, value adding on farms, and farm water systems.This is the fourth 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.

Darren Doherty walks Doniga and Eric Markegard through some basic farm design. Working with contour maps. Where to hold water in the landscape. Various uses for tree systems on the farm.This is the third 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.

Dave Whitinger of All Things Plants joins me for a to chat about different [permaculture] plants that he grows. Most of these plants are class permaculture plants. They are plants that perform multiple functions within a system. Many of these are sadly considered weeds - comfrey, lambs quarter, dandelion, yarrow, mint, and more. Dave talks about his experiences with each of the plants, what functions they perform, and some of the ways that he is using the plants in hi system. Dave also talks about potato growing and how he uses plants to feed his chickens in a paddock shift system on his Texas homesite. Show Notes: www.permaculturevoices.com/b007

Kevin Muno is on the show talking about his new start-up restoration agriculture style farm, Montado Farms. Kevin talks about why he is doing what he is doing against a lot of heavy odds - highland prices, limited water in Southern California, and he doesn't come from a farming background. He touches on all of the big issues like how do you fund a $1M farm as start-up. Kevin is approaching the farm as a business and we address everything that goes along with that - the farm business structure, raising capital, and cash flows. If you don't think anyone besides Mark Shepard is farming these types of systems, you are mistaken. These systems are starting to come on line and Kevin is one of the ones leading the ay. There are a hundred reasons that you could give Kevin on why he shouldn’t do what he is doing and why it might not work. But, I don’t think he cares about why it can’t be done, because he is focusing on getting it done. That’s what makes his story different. He doesn’t have that farming background that

Rob Avis of Verge Permaculture joins me to talk about the business of permaculture - a right livelihood.We live in a world where we are surrounded by environmental liabilities that have a real economic impact. So why not solve those problems and earn a living in the process?Rob talks a lot about approaching permaculture as a profession. What opportunities are out there. What works in permaculture based business and what doesn't. And how we in the permaculture community should embrace business, charge an appropriate price for our services while we solve the world's problems.This episode should dismiss the myth of the pauper and permaculture. There are legitimate large scale problems that need to be solved. And permaculture provides a matrix of solutions to solve those problems. There are a huge number of business opportunities out there do what you love to do, earn a living, and make a better world. The hardest part? Just getting started.Show Notes: www.permaculturevoices.com/35

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

Patricia Foreman the author of City Chicks joins me to talk about backyard chickens, chicken tractors, and general chickenery.We will talk about all of the great things that chickens can add to a permaculture homestead - fertilizer, pest management, food, disturbance, baby sitters.  :)Pat will touch on soil building using chickens in composting systems and chickens tractors.  And how chickens can be used to close the loop on our waste stream... and in some case even save tax payers money. Show Notes: www.permaculturevoices.com/33

Darren Doherty walks Doniga and Eric Markegard through the Holistic Design process. This is the second 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.

Javan Bernakevitch of Permaculture BC joins me today to talk about finding your niche in permaculture.Javan will take you through some of the insight he has for finding your niche.Javan is a permaculture teacher and designer who has worked with countless students helping them sift through the everything that is permaculture to help them figure out what really fires them up, and what’s just OK.If you want to turn permaculture, or anything, into a career, just having the knowledge isn’t enough. You need to really think about where you fit into it all. Where do you want to go and what will give you a the fulfilled life you want? One key piece of figuring that out is discovering where opportunity and your passion overlap. Show Notes: www.permaculturevoices.com/32

Geoff Lawton joins me today to talk about permaculture. Geoff talks about his early days in permaculture, where we are in permaculture today, and where we need to go in the future. He touches on what he has learned along the way and what he finds most valuable.Geoff then goes on to answer a lot of audience questions about tree systems, water harvesting, his new chicken tractor for composting, and his upcoming online PDC.Key Takeaways:Consider starting a community group. They provide a whole lot of support to keep things moving in the right direction.Realize the ability of pioneer plants and succession to work for you. One of Geoff's early mistakes was not allowing plants to work more for him. Later he embraced and accepted plant rampancy.Don't just do things in patterns for the sake of patterns. Rationalize and legitimize every placement and connection you make.So many people are stuck in the matrix. They know things, they just don't do anything. Permaculture needs to focus on feeding people in urban and peri