Farm Small Farm Smart Daily

Joey D'Elia joins me in this episode to talk about why people are afraid of embracing the order that comes in the "disorder of nature." We also ask why should anyone even care about food forests. Along the way we touch on embracing the "messiness" of permaculture and the importance of over-stacking the system with pioneer species early on.  This saves time and adds resiliency.

Are people afraid of order? I know I can be. I tend to think in terms of straight lines and right angles, so embracing a swervy, zig zaggy permaculture system can be hard for me. I am sure other people encounter this as well. So how can a straight line thinker adapt to a permaculture system that wants to have the system follow nature's not so straight lines.

The messiness of permaculture. Geoff Lawton has talked about this. In the beginning a lot of permaculture systems look messy. That can be hard for people to accept. Yet, that is the way that nature systems evolve. They aren't clean and tidy.Again, this is another challenge that some people have to overcome.

Visit http://www.permaculturevoices.com/9 for show notes.

Direct download: PVP009-08302013.mp3
Category:permaculture -- posted at: 1:53pm PDT

Paul Greive of Primal Pastures joins me to talk about being a grass farming entrepreneur. He talks about how the thought of Primal Pastures went from an idea to a reality one weekend while sitting around with his in-laws. This small step was the catalyst that helped develop Primal Pastures into a thriving beyond-sustainable meat business. Today they are continuing to grow the farm, their community, and the soil, but this isn't without its challenges. Paul discusses these challenges, and successes that he encounters on a daily basis as new farmer entrepreneur. He stresses the importance of connecting with your customer via Social Media, the advantages to starting out in the pastured poultry business, and the big advantages of leasing land over purchasing it.

Episode Takeaways:

-Don't undervalue and underestimate the value of connecting with your customers.
-Stop focusing on the why it won't work, and go out and actually do something.
-You can establish a profitable sustainable agriculture business with a small amount of land and a small amount of initial seed capital.
-Learn as you go and learn from your mistakes.
-Take advantage of direct marketing.Sell product and take payment online and deliver to drop points.
-Looking into leasing land instead of buying it. It is much cheaper, so it it opens up a lot of land that was previously unattainable. Provide utility to the land owner.

Visit www.permaculturevoices.com/8 for show notes.

Direct download: PVP008-08232013.mp3
Category:permaculture -- posted at: 8:39am PDT

Sarah Aubrey of Prosperity Consulting joins me to talk about being an entrepreneur, starting a business, and her journey. Like many entrepreneurs she started her "career" in the corporate world and quickly realized that life wasn't for her. So she took her skills from the corporate world and applied them to a business that she could stand behind.


Takeaways from this episode:

  • When you start down the road of forming a business do a lot of research on why a business would or would not work, the costs involved, the benefits to the customer, the risks involved. Most people don't do enough front end research.
  • Be unique and differentiate yourself from your competition.

 

Visit http://www.permaculturevoices.com/7 for show notes.  H

Direct download: PVP007-08052013.mp3
Category:permaculture -- posted at: 6:09am PDT

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