Farm Small Farm Smart Daily

Want to be a farmer? Always dreamed about having your own farm? Lessons from a family farmer who has gone from grassroots to prosperity in 8 years. If you are young and thinking about starting your own farm, then this podcast is a must listen.


P.S. It wasn’t easy and required A LOT of hard work and sacrifices, but it was done. And that means that you can do it too.

Adam Klaus of Bella Farm joins me in this episode to talk about his journey into the small farm business. Learn how he bought an abandoned apple orchard with his wife at age 25, and in 8 years they have turned 12 acres into a thriving small family farm that raises dairy cattle, a market garden, chickens, and multiple tree crops.

Adam definitely brings it in this episode. It is absolutely jammed with knowledge and tidbits that you can use to improve your existing farm or plan your journey into the world of small farming. He keeps it real, and he might shatter some people’s romanticized views of farming with his emphasis on how much work it will require and the possibility of a big change in lifestyle. But he might also motivate some people to change their lives. It is hard to not feel the happiness when he talks about his farm and his lifestyle. I think that a lot of people will listen to this and think “I don’t talk about my job that way. What he is doing sounds pretty awesome. I want to live more like that.” And we all can by just focusing more on really matters the most to each of us.

At the heart of Adam’s story is the biggest benefit of running a small family farm, his family and going through life with them. He is a living a life that he wants to live, working his land with his wife and kids, and to him that is what being rich is all about.
Adam talks about what worked and what didn’t work along the way; and he doesn’t sugar coat it. He will get people thinking. His story is educational and inspiring, and it proof that if you have a plan and put a lot of hard work and thinking behind it, then you can succeed at farming.

If you enjoy this podcast with Adam, you can see more of him next year at the Permaculture Voices Conference. Adam will be giving two talks, one on small farm dairy and one on biodynamic farming.

Visit http://www.permaculturevoices.com/6 for show notes.

Direct download: PVP006-07182013.mp3
Category:permaculture -- posted at: 8:32am PDT

'Building a better world, one permaculture brick at a time.'

The full and complete audio from Paul Wheaton's standing ovation keynote presentation at the Southern California Permaculture Convergence on March 9, 2013 in San Diego, CA.

"Most folks that want change tell a dozen people how bad people should stop being bad.  Over a ten year span of time, they may have told 100 people about which bad people to be angry at.

I believe that conflict come from difference of knowledge set.

I play the long game:  hundreds of tidbits of knowledge spread out over many years

If I say “permaculture” after each tidbit, then eventually a person might think “I keep hearing this word associated with cool things” and then search for more permaculture stuff on their own.

This is my strategy for world domination." Paul Wheaton

Paul presents 72 different permaculture based strategies for changing the world.  Some of these strategies are big and some are small.  Some can be done very quickly, some will require a significant amount of time.  Odds are that some of the permaculture strategies will resonate with everyone.  If each person just does a few of them, then we are all changing the world.  "Rather than being angry at bad guys, I want to share a thousand bricks for building a better world." Paul Wheaton

Visit http://www.permaculturevoices.com/5 for show notes. 

Direct download: PVP005-07132013.mp3
Category:permaculture -- posted at: 11:49pm PDT

How do we get more food forests into suburban yards? We can start by planting a legume anytime that plant a fruit tree.

Then what?

Joey D'Elia joins me in this episode to discuss just that. How can people start down the path of building their own food forest in their suburban backyard.

What are some easy ways to identify trees that will work in your system?

How to not get caught up in the design phase forever and start planting now.

This will be the first episode in a multi-part series about permaculture food forests. In this episode of the podcast we ask - If food forests are the coolest thing in permaculture, why aren't there more of them? And what strategies could anyone do to start planning their food forest today.

Visit http://www.permaculturevoices.com/4 for show notes.

Direct download: PVP004-07112013.mp3
Category:permaculture -- posted at: 6:32am PDT

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