FFC004: Lightbulbs

/

Topics covered in this farm podcast:

  1. John & Scott do not like Skype

  2. Windows 10 might reinvent how we look at garbage

  3. John’s going on vacation, Scott too has gone on vacation

  4. Is there valor in working long hours?

  5. Hours Tracker App on iPhone for logging work hours

  6. Accepting that things will not be perfect

  7. How many things would fix themselves if I did not touch them?

  8. John uses an iPhone 6+ to shoot, edit, and upload videos

  9. Lower polish and increased iteration

  10. Adjusting what you grow to suit your needs and the needs of your market

  11. John goes camping in Canada

  12. Why take time off in the summer?

  13. Things are going to go wrong, and that is OK!

  14. John speaks nonsense…

  15. Mabel is the 4th generation going to this camp ground in the Suscovich family

  16. Sugar Island of the American Canoe Association

  17. Does camping losing its’ novelty when you live on a farm?

  18. Scott loves to take trees out of the ground, very exciting.

  19. Flame weeders are not sophisticated

  20. Work-life blend vs. work-life balance

  21. Finding work that you love makes everything easier (surprise)

  22. Four lightbulb theory: family, friends, work, health

  23. Getting to the core of why John & Scott work together

  24. John strokes his ego and thinks he’s super-human

  25. How easy is it to “check out” and quiet the chatter in your brain?

  26. The E-Myth Revisited

  27. Diego and Curtis on The Urban Farmer: Systems

  28. John recaps the Farm Crawl, it was a success

FFC003: Talking Nonsense

/

Topics covered in this farm podcast:

  1. Scott’s microphone is marginally improved, though slightly robotic

  2. John’s feelin’ good post-meltdown and the farm’s running smoothly

  3. Bears! A bear on the farm

  4. There are B.S. artists out there. Dr. Oz is one. The Food Babe is another

  5. The Food Babe makes some pretty outrageous claims

  6. John gets questions about “chicken hormones” at the market

  7. Among other things, worrying about food trends (e.g. uh oh, eggs are bad for you again) encouraged John to pay closer attention to food

  8. John read a book about how information spreads on the internet, Trust Me I’m Lying by Ryan Holiday

  9. Generating ad revenue from content tends to dilute credibility

  10. A portion of the internet runs on “Google University”

  11. John started Food Cyclist Farm as a result of reading about how approachable and profitable farming can be

  12. We think Joel Salatin is great…

  13. Poultry farming was tough, but it resulted in an opportunity to manage Camps Road Farm

  14. The “farming is easy” content seems to mostly homesteading-skewed

  15. Young people getting into farming use the blog posts and books as a means to convince them it’s easily achievable

  16. Call to action: share your story. Share your insights with the farming community

  17. YouTube has become the great source for how-to; a major change from 10 years ago

  18. Hacking/remix culture has been a great way to iteratively improve methods over time

FFC002: I Call Shenanigans

/

Topics covered in this farm podcast:

  1. Scott traveled to Iceland and Denmark

  2. John tailoring FMS to different situations than New England farming

  3. John disliking possessions/responsibilities as it relates to travel

  4. Scott taking stock of possessions while moving, realizing there’s very little

  5. Micromanagement and preventive measures to extend the life of possessions

  6. Having “your name on something” resulting in high standards

  7. Soylent follow-up: John had Soylent, Scott might not rebuy, case closed

  8. John’s getting a root canal, Scott hadn’t been to a dentist in a long while, Dr. Oppenheimer

  9. Mini excavators versus regular ones

  10. Dr. Oppenheimer wants some chickens

  11. We’re not yet very good at segues

  12. John’s still post-meltdown

  13. Recycling doesn’t matter? Sustainable farming doesn’t matter?

  14. Chipotle is great. Scott even had it three meals in a row

 Right click here to download the MP3

FFC001: Farm Fantasy Camp

/

The Growing Farms Podcast was started to share my journey into agriculture. Like most journeys this one has been made more enjoyable by sharing it with others. One of the people I share my agriculture experiences with is my good friend and business partner Scott.

In this every other week podcast series we talk about the kind of things that come up when one friend lives in the City and the other in the Country. Scott works in advertising in New York City and I manage a 52 acre farm in Connecticut. The dichotomy of our lifestyles is married with our shared values for a better world.

This is an experiment for us without a clear ending. We are counting on you, the listening audience, to provide feedback, share your stories, and if nothing else enjoy being a fly on the wall for a conversation between two good friends who are trying to make sense of what it all means.

If you have opinions about the show or would like us to cover a specific topic please let us know in the comment section below.

Links mentioned in this podcast: