Chris Blanchard, one of the leading lights of the organic farming world, passed away on October 28 from cancer. He leaves an impressive body of work that will help market farmers far into the future.

This is the true story of an urban farm started in New Orleans, Louisiana, on land abandoned after hurricane Katrina, as told by its resident goat to the author. There are lots of practical details and good ideas for farms both in cities and in the country, so read on.

Most people don’t think much to see a goat munching grass off in the corner. Oh sure everyone wants to pet and coo over an adorable baby goat, but an old bearded goat, they’ll look at for a moment and then move on. Well, one good thing about being old is having learned how to take the bad with the good. And when nobody thinks much of you it sure is easy to observe what is going on. And that is just what I have been doing from my pen in the back corner of Paradigm Gardens for the last four years.

In 2013, Cameron and Audrey Pedersen relocated Bending Bridge Farm to twelve acres of land they purchased near Chambersburg, PA. Given their new land had been in continuous conventional corn production for decades, the soil was in dire shape. The first spring working that ground they could not even get a chisel plow to break the surface because the soil was so compacted and crusted.

Florists and consumers are seeking out local, seasonal flowers, and weekend shoppers at farmers markets find stalls stocked with flowers as well as produce. Meanwhile, many hometown brick and mortar flower shops are being forced to evolve and innovate as they face increasing competition from online companies and grocery floral departments, which have become one of the fastest growing sectors in the industry. While most chain stores still rely heavily on imported blooms, many are now actively seeking to source locally-grown flowers, providing new sales outlets for growers. One of the most widely requested items from floral departments is mixed bouquets. The key to making mixed or market bouquets profitable is planning and extreme efficiency.

Blue House Farm is a two-location operation with both farms being leased, one from a family trust, and the other from a land trust. The “home” farm is 15 minutes away in Pescadero, which is where Ryan lives, and where the farms’ wash/pack facility stands, and where the market trucks leave from on any given day. It’s warmer there and much less foggy, and Ryan leases a little apple and pear orchard adjacent to the property.

At the risk of taking the romance and wonder out of our profession, I think that farming can be boiled down to two important tasks: figuring out how to make money, and figuring out how to spend money. It might appear oversimplified, but when farmers decide which crops to grow, where to sell them, what techniques to use in growing them, how and when to harvest, and so on through the production cycle, we are just deciding how to make money and how to spend money; or, in a word, how to manage cash flow.

It’s a wondrous, if slow, drive from Asheville, NC northeast along the eastern edge of the Appalachian Mountains. That’s because it’s snowing pretty hard, making the roads both a little iffy, and strangely empty. School is cancelled, and the world sits still to see how much wet white stuff will land on this mid-March Monday. As I get closer to the farm, the roads are getting smaller and windier. Finally, I cross Tumbling Shoals Creek, and know that my destination must be near! The last narrow gravel road brings me to a picturesque view of a tidy small farm across the creek, dotted with fields and multiple plastic covered growing structures.

Excessive phosphorous is a problem on many farms that rely solely or primarily on compost as a source of fertility. One way to manage the issue is to apply only enough compost to meet the potassium needs of the crop, and rely on other fertilizers to meet the remaining nutrient needs. For a more detailed analysis of the issue, read on. This the first installment in a series of articles about the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) Soil Health Benchmark Study, a citizen-science project begun in 2016.

There has been incredible progress — locally and nationally — to connect small farms with people who are struggling financially. The USDA linked the two groups by allowing people to spend federal food assistance dollars at farmers markets and then for CSA shares and at farms directly. Momentum built when organizations like Wholesome Wave (co-founded by Gus Schumacher, see GFM Nov.-Dec. 2017) supported matching dollar programs around the country. Without the matching dollars, surveys show, most SNAP participants wouldn’t shop at farmers markets.

Our expectations as farmers are way out of whack. We wear a dozen different hats in a single day: tractor mechanic, HR professional, educator, parent and so many more. Why are we asking ourselves to be our own financial advisors too? The most common message is that, with a bit of focus during the off season, a few tweaks to our daily routine, and a three-hour workshop we will be an expert in QuickBooks and able to set up and run our business’ financial recordkeeping with ease. This is simply not true for most business owners.

In the previous two articles of this series, I have advocated that farmers work with professional advisors to help manage the financial aspects of their operations. It’s no different than your relationship with a farming mentor or your region’s university extension agent. In the May 2018 GFM I discussed the role of a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in the success of your business and how to find the right person for the job. I only briefly mentioned a different type of financial professional, the bookkeeper.