Farmers : Ben Hartman and Rachel HershbergerLocation : Goshen , Ind. Specialty : Organic , in - time of year vegetables
Ben Hartman and Rachel Hershberger’sClay Bottom Farmin northern Indiana is basically an archetypical hobby - farm success account . Starting in 2006 with just 1/4 Accho of rented land and 10 CSA customers , the operation finally broadened to farm possession in 2008 , which also set aside them to impart their existing nine - to - five job to grow full - time . Still grow on less than 1 acre of soil , the duet uses an unbelievably lean farm - direction system , growing predominantly in four greenhouses , which keeps their output area small-scale but efficiently managed .
Both Hartman and Hershberger have agriculture in their lineage : He grew up on a corn whiskey and soybean farm , and her family kept a large garden and frequently preserved the bounteousness . Now , the pair focuses mainly on the desires of their CSA and marketplace customers when deciding what to grow .
“ We grow a lot of super acid and tomato because those items are always democratic with our client , ” Hartman say . “ We were also emotional about our fig harvest home : Four years ago , we planted three Libyan Islamic Group tree in a nursery , and they produced well this class . ”
In addition to growing for their customers , Hartman and Hershberger have also started to grow mental testing crops for local university .
“ This year , we are working with Purdue University [ in West Lafayette , Ind. ] on a study of winter greens like Tokyo Bekana , Red Russian kale and tatsoi to determine which ones mature best in our area in unwarmed nursery , ” Hartman say . “ We ’re activated to see which crops will be the winners . ”
Clay Bottom Farm
For more information on Clay Bottom Farm and how its unequalled farm - management system allow them to increase their profits with less work , check out Hartman ’s Holy Scripture , The Lean Farm(Chelsea Green Publishing , 2015).Clay Bottom Farm
Biggest Success
We have a potent commitment to local food , and 90 percent of the food we raise ends up on plate within 10 miles of the farm .
Biggest Challenge
We sell a lot to eatery , but the eating place industry is volatile ; there ’s a wad of stave dollar volume , menus variety and restaurants ofttimes snug . We are constantly searching for ways to stay compromising and alter what we do to keep up and stay relevant .
Firsthand Advice
There are many ways to grow a commercial enterprise . The typical framework is to rise through never-ending expanding upon : Acquire more land , buy more tractors , grow more solid food , forage up more client , etc . But you may also grow by persist small and cutting out your waste — in other words , by doing what you already do well . On our farm , we streamlined our tasks to remove wasted question , we break growing crop with broken margins , we got free of half of our tools , and we took extra step to give our client on the nose what they need when they want it . Because of these changes , we now pull in a well-heeled living on less than an acre of acres while working fairish hr .
This article earlier run in the January / February 2016 issue ofHobby Farms .
Clay Bottom Farm
