Despite the risk of pivoting their business, Lindsay Steele of Garden Fort in Dexter, Michigan (outside of Ann arbor), chose to switch from farmers markets to direct-to-retail sales and ended up reaping unexpected rewards - from more time with his family to increased profitability.

In this episode, Alex Ball of Old City Acres and Lindsay dig deep into successfully shifting from farmers markets to direct-to-retail sales, selecting profitable crops for year-round production, how clever packaging and branding set their products apart, scaling-up and effectively managing farm labor, and how all of those things contributed to a better work/family balance while farming.

Also mentioned in this episode...

• Follow Garden Fort on Instagram.
• They use Rimol Greenhouses Nor'Easter series for year-round greens production.
• Consider focusing more on high-profit-margin crops like salad greens for year-round production and potential wholesale opportunities.
• Evaluate your farm's workflow (i.e. wash/pack) and systems (i.e. tarping, reduced tillage) to increase efficiency for a better work/life balance.
• Consider the benefits of incentivising well-trained and returning farm workers and how that can contribute to the overall success of your farm.

The Rough Draft Farmstead No-Till Farm Tour!

Folks who make the show possible...

RIMOL Greenhouses quality greenhouses and high-tunnels.

Tilth Soil amazing compost-based living potting soils and soil blends.

Orisha for wireless greenhouse+ automation, get 15% off with code "No Till Grower"

Real Organic Project for a whole farm certification program to distinguish crops grown in health soils.

... and, as always, our work is powered by the folks who support us every month over at patreon.com/notillgrowers, you can pick up a copy of The Living Soil Handbook if you don't have one already, as well as a No-Till Growers hat, and you can ask you questions or share your insights into ecological market gardening on our brand new forum at notillgrowers.community.chat