The Math Nobody Does Before Starting a Farm

Last time, Diego made the case for starting debt-free. This is the other half: the specific, testable situations where borrowing isn't reckless, it's strategic. Five tests to run before you take on a dollar of debt. Watch the video version over on our YT Channel!  Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights!   Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower:  Instagram  Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network:  Carrot Cashflow  Farm Small Farm Smart  Farm Small Farm Smart Daily  The Growing Microgreens Podcast  The Urban Farmer Podcast  The Rookie Farmer Podcast  In Search of Soil Podcast Check out Diego's books:  Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon   Ready Farmer One on Amazon **** Modern Grower and Diego Footer participate in the Amazon Services LLC. Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

For years, Diego's answer was the same: kill all debt, pay cash, operate lean. But then he interviewed a farmer who did exactly that: zero debt, minimal overhead, cash for everything...and it might be part of why he still can't pay himself seven years in. Diego rethinks the debt question and lays out a two-phase framework for when staying debt-free protects you, and when it's quietly holding you back.  Watch the video version over on our YT Channel!  Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights!   Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower:  Instagram  Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network:  Carrot Cashflow  Farm Small Farm Smart  Farm Small Farm Smart Daily  The Growing Microgreens Podcast  The Urban Farmer Podcast  The Rookie Farmer Podcast  In Search of Soil Podcast Check out Diego's books:  Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon   Ready Farmer One on Amazon **** Modern Grower and Diego Footer participate in the Amazon Services LLC. Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Almost every new farmer does the bed math: yield per row foot, CSA shares to break even. Almost nobody does the life math: what your household actually needs, what happens when you can't do the work alone, and how few real selling days you actually have. Through the honest story of one farmer seven years in, Diego walks through the five questions to answer before you start. Watch the video version over on our YT Channel!  Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights!   Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower:  Instagram  Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network:  Carrot Cashflow  Farm Small Farm Smart  Farm Small Farm Smart Daily  The Growing Microgreens Podcast  The Urban Farmer Podcast  The Rookie Farmer Podcast  In Search of Soil Podcast Check out Diego's books:  Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon   Ready Farmer One on Amazon **** Modern Grower and Diego Footer participate in the Amazon Services LLC. Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

What's the most common advice when a farm isn't making money? Sell more. Find more customers. Add a market. Get into wholesale. And if demand is your problem, that's the right advice. But what if demand isn't your problem? Click here to learn more about farmer Troy and Tilth and Timber Farm! Watch the video version over on our YT Channel!  Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights!   Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower:  Instagram  Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network:  Carrot Cashflow  Farm Small Farm Smart  Farm Small Farm Smart Daily  The Growing Microgreens Podcast  The Urban Farmer Podcast  The Rookie Farmer Podcast  In Search of Soil Podcast Check out Diego's books:  Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon   Ready Farmer One on Amazon **** Modern Grower and Diego Footer participate in the Amazon Services LLC. Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Back in 2019, Troy and Cindy Dickens quit their jobs, sold their house, paid off every dollar of debt, and started farming half an acre while living in a school bus off-grid. One caterpillar tunnel, 23 CSA members, a good week was $1,000 at the market, and they weren't paying themselves. Seven years later, everything has grown. Click here to learn more about farmer Troy and Tilth and Timber Farm! Watch the video version over on our YT Channel!  Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights!   Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower:  Instagram  Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network:  Carrot Cashflow  Farm Small Farm Smart  Farm Small Farm Smart Daily  The Growing Microgreens Podcast  The Urban Farmer Podcast  The Rookie Farmer Podcast  In Search of Soil Podcast Check out Diego's books:  Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon   Ready Farmer One on Amazon **** Modern Grower and Diego Footer participate in the Amazon Services LLC. Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

A farmer told me something that stopped me cold: "I don't think we ever designed the farm well enough around having children." Seven years in, two kids, and that sentence had never been said out loud until I asked. Almost nobody designs their farm for their kids. They design it for the version of themselves that exists right now. Then the kids arrive, and everything breaks. Click here to learn more about farmer Troy and Tilth and Timber Farm! Watch the video version over on our YT Channel!  Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights!   Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower:  Instagram  Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network:  Carrot Cashflow  Farm Small Farm Smart  Farm Small Farm Smart Daily  The Growing Microgreens Podcast  The Urban Farmer Podcast  The Rookie Farmer Podcast  In Search of Soil Podcast Check out Diego's books:  Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon   Ready Farmer One on Amazon **** Modern Grower and Diego Footer participate in the Amazon Services LLC. Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Ar

The last time Troy Dickens and Diego talked was 2020: no kids, a farm in Massachusetts, and Troy living in a converted school bus. Five years later, Troy and Cindy run Tilth and Timber on about three-quarters of an acre in Castine, Maine, with a five-year-old and a three-year-old on the farm every single day. As Troy puts it: "I must've had all the time in the world back then." Click here to learn more about Troy and Tilth and Timber Farm. Watch the episode here! Interested in watching the series? Hop on over to our YouTube Channel!   Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights!   Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower:  Instagram  Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network:  Carrot Cashflow  Farm Small Farm Smart  Farm Small Farm Smart Daily  The Growing Microgreens Podcast  The Urban Farmer Podcast  The Rookie Farmer Podcast  In Search of Soil Podcast Check out Diego's books:  Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon   Ready Farmer One on Amazon **** Modern Grower and Diego Footer participate in the Amazon Services LLC. Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

There's a place on the market farming map where most farms go to die. It's not the ones that are too big or too small...it's the ones in the middle. Five acres, ten acres, mixed vegetables, a farmers market plus a couple of restaurants and a CSA. After a decade of interviewing farmers, that pattern shows up so often it's almost predictable. Click here to learn more about Aslan Organics! Watch the video version over on our YT Channel!  Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights!   Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower:  Instagram  Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network:  Carrot Cashflow  Farm Small Farm Smart  Farm Small Farm Smart Daily  The Growing Microgreens Podcast  The Urban Farmer Podcast  The Rookie Farmer Podcast  In Search of Soil Podcast Check out Diego's books:  Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon   Ready Farmer One on Amazon **** Modern Grower and Diego Footer participate in the Amazon Services LLC. Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

There's a place on the market farming map where most farms go to die. It's not the ones that are too big or too small...it's the ones in the middle. Five acres, ten acres, mixed vegetables, a farmers market plus a couple of restaurants and a CSA. After a decade of interviewing farmers, that pattern shows up so often it's almost predictable. Watch the video version over on our YT Channel!  Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights!   Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower:  Instagram  Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network:  Carrot Cashflow  Farm Small Farm Smart  Farm Small Farm Smart Daily  The Growing Microgreens Podcast  The Urban Farmer Podcast  The Rookie Farmer Podcast  In Search of Soil Podcast Check out Diego's books:  Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon   Ready Farmer One on Amazon **** Modern Grower and Diego Footer participate in the Amazon Services LLC. Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

The romantic story goes: quit the soul-crushing job, buy some land, start a farm, never look back. Here's what actually happens: most people who do that fail within a few years because they run out of money before the farm can support them. Meanwhile, the un-sexy group who kept their jobs and farmed on evenings and weekends? Three to five years later, they're the ones still farming. Watch the video version over on our YT Channel!  Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights!   Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower:  Instagram  Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network:  Carrot Cashflow  Farm Small Farm Smart  Farm Small Farm Smart Daily  The Growing Microgreens Podcast  The Urban Farmer Podcast  The Rookie Farmer Podcast  In Search of Soil Podcast Check out Diego's books:  Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon   Ready Farmer One on Amazon **** Modern Grower and Diego Footer participate in the Amazon Services LLC. Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.