This week’s farm essay is a reflection on an email I received from a farmer about their Season Review. “On my farm, we’re a 7 person team: 5 workers, my wife and me. I’ve been doing season reviews for the last 2 years. Both as individual and in group meetings (I haven’t tried a survey … More What to do with a difficult farm season review
I made the front cover of Growing For Market with my article about running a Team Season review. We do a team season review every September at Tourne-Sol Co-operative Farm. It is one of the most significant ways we’ve figured out how to improve farm operations. In the article I break down how we run … More Running a team season review
And so it’s time for the big questions. You’ve reviewed the farm and the sales and the clients. Now it is time to review YOU. Jonathan Bruderlein is next week’s Season Review Guide. And he’s here to make sure you take a moment to think about what you personally want from your life growing and … More Review your Farm Quality Of Life
Does it matter how much you can grow if you can’t sell it all? If you’re trying to make a living from your farm then you probably want to sell most of your crops. But I bet you didn’t choose to start farming because you wanted to be out there selling your product. That your … More
Next Tuesday, I’m having Julia Shanks over to my virtual living room and you’re invited to join us! We’ll be talking about whether you’re selling your crops in a way that makes you money. If we could have this in person, we would have tea and treats for all of you. (And I bet they … More Are Your Sales Channels The Right Sales Channels?
Here’s the official Season Review Challenge schedule Tues Sept 21 – Review with your team (Dan Brisebois, Farmer Spreadsheet Academy – that’s me!) Tues Sept 28 – Review the opportunity cost of your sales channels (Julia Shanks, The Farmer’s Office) Mon Oct 4 – Review your client’s experience to better market your farm (Corinna Bench, My … More The 2021 Season Review Challenge
This sunflower came from a seed that escaped from the bird feeder. It survived squirrels, and chickadees, and lawn mower to grow tall then and then even taller. And when it bloomed it was covered in branches and then in so many flowers. Now, the flowers are putting on seeds and have hung their heads … More Sunflowers, chickadees, and lawn mowers
I know you know that it is a good idea to stop and reflect on the past growing season to make sure you learn all the lessons you’re supposed to learn. And from year one at Tourne-Sol, where I farm, we always made a point of doing a season review every fall. But it wasn’t until year … More The Farm Season Review Challenge