He Thought Farming Would Be Easier in 5 Years (He Was Wrong)

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.

Most farmers plan their season by opening a seed catalog and picking what's pretty, what's new, and what their friends are growing. The best farmers open a one-page sheet, sit down with a customer, and ask three questions. Learn more about farmer Ben Hartman and Clay Bottom Farm here. 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.

"Every bed here should generate $1,000 of value." That's Ben Hartman, standing on 15,000 square feet...a third of an acre. Twenty years ago, he started on a 1,000-acre corn and soybean operation, then market gardened on two acres. Today, he farms less land than he ever has, and his profit margin is the highest it's ever been. Learn more about farmer Ben Hartman and Clay Bottom Farm here. 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.

Ben Hartman wrote The Lean Farm in 2015 and changed how a generation of market gardeners thinks about systems and waste. Twenty growing seasons in, he farms just 15,000 square feet—about a third of an acre—and his margins are the highest they've ever been. Click here to learn more about Learn Farmer Ben Hartman and Clay Bottom 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.

The hardest part of farming isn't starting. It's what happens when things start working: when customers show up, when market days get bigger, when you need more beds, more hands, more of everything. That's when the foundation cracks. 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.