This week guest expert Dr. Bridget Behe joins The Grower and The Economist. Dr. Behe is a horticultural market researcher, a speaker, and the host of Podcast Marketing Munchies. She shares her research on why consumers buy horticultural products and why demand increased during the pandemic. Dr. Behe also shares valuable insights on how garden centers can market high and low price items, the benefits of social media, and why our industry is so special. But most importantly, she reminds us that plants provide emotional, health, and environmental benefits and the industry does not tell consumers about these benefits nearly enough! 

Farm and agricultural business constantly struggle to find unskilled labor. That's why over 250,000 visas are issued annually for farm work. While unskilled labor is a commonly discussed challenge within agriculture there might be a bigger issue that is not being discussed - the lack of skilled labor. This week, Peter and Michelle examine where skilled labor is needed on a farm, why it's hard to find, and where some solutions might come from. This episode is the result of conversations we've had with guest experts including: Bartlett Instruments, Dosatron International, Steward Investments, the Boulder County Farmers' Market, and Purdue University. 

This week's guest expert is Dan Miller, founder of Steward a is a private lending partner, financing the growth of regenerative farms and sustainable producers through simple, flexible business loans. Dan walks us through his connection to farming, how Steward works, and some recent success the company has experience. These loans help regenerative and sustainable producers unlock new potential and scale their businesses. 

Guest expert Ariana Torres, Assistant Professor in the Departments Horticulture & Landscape Architecture and Agricultural Economics from Purdue University joins us to discuss diversification, marketplaces changes she's seen during COVID and non-traditional markets that producers can sell into. Ariana's expertise draws on her experience working on her family's farm, an internship in entomology, a master's project in lighting and her current research as an agricultural economist. This week we talk about everything from market segmentation to community resilience to the future of farming.

After a short break, The Grower and The Economist is back! This week, we welcome guest expert Lee Wonders, the National Sales Manager for Dosatron International. Lee shares his 20+ years of horticulture experience with our listeners. Before working at Dosatron he was a nursery grower, owner, and manager. Lee explains what water powered dosing technology is, how it works, and how to maximize the benefits on your farm. This episode is not only a crash course in automation, but also reminds growers to consider their own on-farm time investment. 

This episode of features guest expert Professor Alicia L. Rihn of the University of Tennessee's Institute of Agriculture and her research into what consumers want and what they are willing to pay for. Consumer demographics as well as regional influences impact what consumers are looking for from producers and what they will pay for it. Alicia's background in horticulture as well as business has helped her discover insight into the complex equation that leads to producer profitably. We discuss her research into adaptability and how small growers are able to adapt quickly, in part because they are better able to communicate these features and changes to their customers. And how these growers evolved during the pandemic to take advantage of shifting conditions and consumer preferences. 

Peter and Michelle check back in with Brian Coppom,  Executive Director of the Boulder County Farmers' Market. Nearly a year ago, the pandemic forced the market to reinvent itself. Farmers' markets are often a social outing where friends and families hangout outside, eat, and purchase local offerings. With COVID restrictions in place, Brian and his term transformed parts of the market into a distribution center and later a food hub. While sharing the market's journey, Brian also shares a lot of insight on consumer education and how food hubs can help small and medium-sized producers expand their offering and be profitable. 

It's a long episode, but a good one!  

Growing crops is a journey that requires continuous learning, flexibility, and a roadmap. Growers can be beginners or experts, hobbyist or business owners. Regardless of where you are, there is always a next level. To find that next level, you have to know what your next goal is. Rene shares his goal of getting the most out of his garden. To achieve that goal, Peter introduced him to "succession planning". With this framework, Rene is able to plan out his seasons on post-its in his basement. He can model his season and move the post-it notes around to ensure he has the right rotation of crops around his garden that maximizes output, soil health, and still meets the demands of his hungry family!

The Grower & The Economist welcomes Rene Rawhouser back for a two-part conversation about preparing for the 2021 season. Rene covers topics everything from crop scheduling, excitement around the newest seed catalogue, to his basement germination room. You will see that from home gardeners to commercial growers the tools are the same (a schedule is a schedule is a schedule), the excitement is the same, and challenges are the same but the scale or the number of zeros at the end of the numbers vary. 

Growing and selling crops is a complex equation. Horticulture and business must combine to make a profitable business. Crop marketing means different things to different people, but in the industry all the terms are often combined. Michelle breaks down the different meanings of crop marketing and then dives into how growers can drive success by applying the principle of cost-business analysis everyday.