This BEST OF episode is a replay of a previous episode of the Grassfed Life Podcast - https://apple.co/2m75EVG

Grassfed Life Courses:

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While American Guinea Hogs are suited to a wide variety of environments and will do better than most breeds on low-grade forage, they prefer lush pastures with clover along with access to minerals, kitchen scraps, quality hay in winter, clean water to drink, access to a muddy wallow, minimal shelter from precipitation and wind, dry bedding, and perhaps a small amount of grain. They thrive where ranging and grazing is a constant activity giving them plenty of exercise. They are minimal rooters when good grazing and adequate feed is available.

Learn more at https://www.grassfedlife.co

This BEST OF GFL episode is a replay of a previous episode.

Grassfed Life Courses:

https://farm-business-essentials.teachable.com/courses

Ronan' story is so simple, so common, yet uniquely inspiring; IT IS GREAT.This is a real story from a real person. Starting with 75 chicks eight years ago and growing that to over 10,000 today. Going from the corporate world to full-time farmer; Ronan didn't start as a farmer, he became a farmer.In a world of negativity, there are a lot of people out there doing absolutely great things. People just like you. People that listen to this show. Ronan is one of them. These are the stories that inspire me to keep doing what I do and give me hope in a better future. The change is happening out there. You might not see it yet, but it's happening.

Grassfed Life Courses:

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Luke Groce and Darby discuss some of the changes that Luke has made on his farm in 2019 - why he made them, how they will affect the farm into the future, and how things continue to evolve.  

Join Darby and Luke for the Advanced Livestock Marketing Workshop https://farm-business-essentials.teachable.com/p/advanced-livestock

Follow Luke:

http://www.GroceFamilyFarm.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grocefamilyfarm/

Interested in starting your own farm?  

Not sure where to start?

Want to take your farm to the next level?

Check out some of the resources we have to offer at https://www.grassfedlife.co

Grassfed Life Courses:

https://farm-business-essentials.teachable.com/courses

This BEST OF GFL episode is a replay of a previous episode.

Grassfed Life Courses:

https://farm-business-essentials.teachable.com/courses

Luke Groce and I discuss what makes his small family farm work from grazing to economics.

Follow Luke:

http://www.GroceFamilyFarm.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grocefamilyfarm/

Grassfed Life Courses:

https://farm-business-essentials.teachable.com/courses

This BEST OF GFL episode is a replay of a previous episode.

Grassfed Life Courses:

https://farm-business-essentials.teachable.com/courses

Today we'll be going to Louisville, Kentucky to talk to farmer Luke Groce of Groce Family Farm.

Luke and his wife Katherine started their farming career in 2009 as a vegetable farm.  An operation that had its successes and its failures.  

As Luke said...

“I've got a few war stories from the deep trap of doing too many things at the beginning of farming a piece of land with no experience, and then not doing any of it well enough. After treading water, and trying to keep up with all of it for six years, I've decided that CSA farming is a team sport. And I can't be good at, and stay on top of, growing 30-40 things by myself (plus keep up with 40+ pigs). It’s a kind of humbling thing to say, ‘I can't do this well.’ “

It was through some of the failures and struggles with the vegetable operation that led Luke down the path of raising pigs.  Another path that's full of war stories... having tried a bunch over the years from keeping pigs behind two strands of hot wire to experimenting with a unique bulk pork sales program, two things he will talk about today.  Not everything has worked, but some of it has and he's learned along the way continuing to grow his pork operation.  

The move to pork was one that might not have happened, but it did, and it was a move that he wouldn't regret because it was a move would bring his family together living on the farm, and one that would save his farm.

Grassfed Life Courses:

https://farm-business-essentials.teachable.com/courses

This BEST OF GFL episode is a replay of a previous episode.

Grassfed Life Courses:

https://farm-business-essentials.teachable.com/courses

Mark Shepard of Forest Agriculture Enterprises joins me to talk about the future of agriculture. Mark has a pretty clear view on how he thinks the future of agriculture could be.. restoration agriculture style farms dotting the landscape with animals roaming through grasslands dappled with trees, a perennial polyculture system that builds soil instead of destroying it, a system that sequesters carbon instead of volatilizing it, a system that utilizes all of the water that falls on a piece of land, a system restores the land, and importantly a system provides nutrient dense food on scale - bulk calories and makes money doing it allowing a farmer to earn a decent living in the process. These systems could restore the land and rural America. I think it is totally possible, and when you hear Mark speak I think you will feel the same way. This is the future of agriculture. This is probably one of those episodes that you will need to listen to a few times to get every little juicy nugget out of it. Whether you want to farm broadacre or not, this episode is busting at the seams with knowledge and wisdom.

Grassfed Life Courses:

https://farm-business-essentials.teachable.com/courses

This BEST OF GFL episode is a replay of a previous episode.

Grassfed Life Courses:

https://farm-business-essentials.teachable.com/courses

Running a profitable pig enterprise on just 1 acre, is it possible, and if so, what is possible? What’s that operation going to look like, what are the trade-offs and the costs, and how much could you make? It's an operation which could bring some nice cash flow into a homestead or diversify a farms revenue streams, and the time inputs and profits will surprise you. Because a lot is possible on just one acre.

Grassfed Life Courses:

https://farm-business-essentials.teachable.com/courses

This BEST OF GFL episode is a replay of a previous episode.

Grassfed Life Courses:

https://farm-business-essentials.teachable.com/courses

500 baby chicks have arrived at Darby's farm thus beginning the cycle of raising broilers for the season.  With the chicks on farm, we will talk about what the next steps are.

We also discuss the importance of choosing the right hatcheries and breed.  Not just to make sure that you receive quality birds, but also to make sure that you receive quality birds in the shortest shipping time possible. 

Darby will talk about introducing the birds to pasture and how started with the Salatin style chicken tractor and then evolved away from that.   And we talk about how Darby plans his successions of broilers.

There is a lot of good advice in this one for those just starting out and those with experience.

Grassfed Life Courses:

https://farm-business-essentials.teachable.com/courses

This BEST OF GFL episode is a replay of a previous episode.

Darren Doherty of Heenan Doherty and Regrarians joins me from Australia to talk about the Regrarian philosophy that he has put together and how it can be used to regenerate landscapes and farming enterprises.The system deals with everything from the work done on the land to how you can synergistically stack multiple enterprises in the same system, and ultimately how to market and distribute those products to the people that actually want them. The system emphasizes participating in all 4 legs of the farm income stool - production, processing, marketing, and distribution. This allows you to be a market price setter, not a price receiver.

John Paul Smajda joins me to talk about how he increased sales at their farmers' market by over 300%.  From display to customer interactions, to pricing, all of the tips in this one are practical ones anyone could implement.

Connect with John: [email protected]

Learn more about the Grassfed Life Insider: https://www.grassfedlife.co/insider