Michelle and Peter sit down with Andrew Brooks from Priva to discuss global trends that are impacting the small and medium sized grower. Larger growers can manage temperatures to the 1/10 degree but you can only get to 1 degree. What does that mean as you compete in the global market space?

Food systems are complicated. On The Grower & The Economist, we talk to and about small producers and local food systems. However, as many of you know, Michelle has a background in international trade. Today, Michelle and Peter discuss Michelle's research and how global trade allows for cheap food, year-round. Learn how trade keeps people fed while the northeast is snowed in.

Check out Michelle's Book: The Demise of Free Trade 

Have you started planning your seed order for the spring? Peter and Michelle are too! We love talking about crop scheduling. This episode starts with some new thoughts about ordering seeds and planning your crop schedule 2024 and also goes back to one of our first episodes on crop scheduling back in 2020.

Here at The Grower & The Economist we are experiencing our first snowstorm in two years. Winter is usually considered the slow season for small to medium vegetable growers but there is still work to be done. Greenhouses allow us to extend our season but they require maintance and planning. Listen to Michelle and Peter discuss the "off season."

We all know there are so many apps and software out there that could help grow our business but are they right for the small and medium size grower? This week's episode interviews Aaron Allison, co-founder of SBI software, to see what his company's software can tell our growers and how they can incorporate into their business. Will you make the transition from pen and paper to digital? 

Happy New Year! We think marketing your business is a really important topic for small growers. Last week we aired an episode with Myrna Greenfield of Good Egg Marketing. We think it was a great episode.

Here's a clip. If you missed it, go back to last week and catch the whole episode.

Here's the link to Myrna's book.

Are you struggling with your marketing? Are you focusing on tactics but don't have a strategy? Hear from Good Egg Marketing's Myrna Greenfield about ways to focus your marketing efforts and grow your business. Peter and Michelle delve into why this area is a challenge and how farmers can work with consultants to break down the roadblocks!

As land grant extension agents have become further and further stretched, private consultants with company affiliations have been on the rise. Andy Peterson was recently interviewed to discuss his role as a consultant that also educates farmers. His career path has put him in contact with many small and medium sized growers that had questions that he answered and/or tried to assist with! 

The Grower & The Economist is officially kicking off Season 2 of our podcast! As we closed in on 100 episodes, we've realized that the show has grown and evolved since 2020. This episode gives a preview of the amazing material we have schedule for 2024!

Thanks for listening and Happy New Years.

-Peter & Michelle

Dr. Peter Konjoian questions Michelle Klieger on what is ROI (Return on Investment) and why she thinks there are limitations on this model of decision making. Michelle shared her concerns with ROI during prep calls for their #Cultivate2023 workshop. Looking for more tools to enhance your decision making process... this episode has them!