Podcasts about u pick

In this episode of the Flower Farmer Forum podcast, Liz delves into various business models for flower farming, including farm stands, subscriptions, cut flower garden kits, stem bars, U-Pick farms, and nursing home sponsorships. Each model is explored in terms of its benefits, challenges, and suitability for different types of flower farmers. The episode emphasizes the importance of understanding one's own business needs and community connections when choosing the right offerings.TakeawaysAssess your time, money, and infrastructure before starting.Farm stands are a low-barrier entry point for sales.Subscriptions provide predictable income and loyal customers.Cut flower garden kits can engage new gardeners effectively.Stem bars create interactive experiences for customers.U-Pick farms require careful planning and staffing.Nursing home sponsorships can enhance community connections.Pricing strategies are crucial for sustainability.Understanding customer expectations is key to success.Evolving your offerings is part of business growth.

Imagine launching a brand-new U-Pick strawberry business... with only a few months to get everything in place. No website. No email list. No customer base. That's exactly the challenge David Heeks faced this spring—and in this episode, you'll hear how we mapped out his entire sales funnel during a live Farm Marketing School coaching call. David had just completed the Farm Marketing School (FMS) project on "Auditing Your Sales Funnel," and came prepared to share his homework. We walked through every stage of the customer value journey, from building awareness and engagement all the way to repeat buying—and we identified the key gaps he needed to fill fast.

On today's episode of the Destination Marketing Podcast, Adam sits down with Andrew Miller, the founder, farmer and CEO of Tulip Valley Farms in Washington State. Andrew discusses his varied background that took him worldwide via the military and what led him to settle down and become a tulip farmer. The conversation then shifts to an in-depth look at how he markets his farm to visitors and the thought process behind his innovative marketing strategies, like having nighttime events at his farm and turning the farm into a U-Pick tulip field. Andrew treats Tulip Valley Farms like a destination and highlights how his farm's success helps the community around him and drives economic development. Tulip Valley Farms Subscribe to our newsletter! The Destination Marketing Podcast is a part of the Destination Marketing Podcast Network. It is hosted by Adam Stoker and produced by Brand Revolt. If you are interested in any of Brand Revolt's services, please email adam@thebrandrevolt.com or visit www.thebrandrevolt.com. To learn more about the Destination Marketing Podcast network and to listen to our other shows, please visit www.thedmpn.com. If you are interested in joining the network, please email adam@thebrandrevolt.com.

Recorded by Danusha Laméris for Poem-a-Day, a series produced by the Academy of American Poets. Published on March 14, 2025. www.poets.org

Ever wish you could sit in on a strategy session with a group of farmers and hear how they brainstorm marketing plans? In this week's episode, I'm giving you a rare behind-the-scenes look at one of my live Zoom call meetups inside the Farm Marketing School membership. These monthly meetups are where the magic happens—where farmers come together to problem-solve, strategize, and dream big about their businesses. This time, we're putting a farmer in the hot seat to help him figure out how to successfully launch his first-ever Strawberry U-Pick farm. If you've ever wondered what goes into creating a marketing plan for a U-Pick operation—or even if you just want to sharpen your own farm marketing skills—this episode is packed with insights you can't afford to miss. You'll get a peek into the questions we ask to help shape this farmer's vision, including: How to build buzz and get eyes on your brand before opening day. Creative ways to grow an email list fast—and why it matters. Ideas for crafting U-Pick packages and offers that attract more customers and increase spending. The importance of Google SEO and what topics to focus on in weekly emails. How to leverage value-added products and a product ladder to turn a single visit into repeat sales. Whether you're a seasoned farmer looking to refine your marketing game, or you're brand new to selling direct-to-consumer, this episode will spark new ideas for how to approach your own promotions, no matter what you grow or sell. And if you're curious about what it's like to be part of a community like Farm Marketing School—where farmers share real-world advice and cheer each other on—this episode is your invitation to experience it for yourself. Don't miss this candid conversation that could change how you think about your farm marketing strategy. Podcast Sponsor: This podcast was sponsored by Local Line, my preferred e-commerce platform for farmers. Are you looking for a new solution for your farm? I can't recommend it enough. Easy to use inventory management, great customer service, continuous improvement, and a culture dedicated to equipping farmers with marketing expertise, Local Line should definitely be one of the e-commerce solutions you consider as you switch.  Local Line is offering a free premium feature for free for one year on top of your paid subscription. Claim your discount by signing up for a Local Line account today and using the coupon code: MDF2024. Head to my special affiliate link to get started: www.mydigitalfarmer.com/localline Some of the resources mentioned in this episode: Join my free email list! I have a great "Crash Course in farm marketing" that will guide you through the marketing jungle over the course of several months. Each week, you'll get a new email with suggestions and tips to make your marketing better. Subscribe at https://www.mydigitalfarmer.com/subscribe Farm Marketing School - my monthly online marketing school membership just for farmers. Farm Marketing School is an on-demand library of marketing workshops and project plans that will help you build some of the most important parts of your marketing system: building a promotion calendar, setting up your Google Business Profile, auditing your sales funnel, updating your home page of your website, building your first email nurture sequence, acquiring and deploying testimonials, writing great weekly email promotions, nurture emails, onboarding emails, and practicing different types of offers. You get to chose what you want to study and build each month. These projects are designed to be completed in under 30 days, so that you slowly build your marketing system piece by piece. Use the step by step project planner and resource folder to help you jumpstart your work. Take advantage of my new marketing crash course inside or take the onboarding assessment tool to help you identify where your funnel is broken and what project to do first. To see what courses are currently inside of FMS, or to try out Farm Marketing School for a month at mydigitalfarmer.com/fms  Start and cancel your membership anytime.

These small business ventures bring the public and its produce closer together – but they started as a way to save crops from going to waste. Anney and Lauren explore the history of u-pick farms.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Let us know what you thought of this episode and any other comments you may have. In 1973, Wayne's parents, Bill and Sandy Bishop planted the first pumpkins and invited local schools to come visit the farm. Soon after that Sandy and her friends started baking pies in her kitchen to sell to guests when they came to visit. Since then the Bishop's built a full scale bakery where they still bake scratch made pumpkin pie from pumpkins grown on the farm along with other delicious treats. Over the years they added  fun farm rides and attractions and they have become the largest U-Pick pumpkin field in the world welcoming 275,000 guests each year. Wayne now runs the farm with his wife and two sons and he talks about growing up with his house always smelling of fresh pie, the benefits and struggles of working with his parents and now his sons and how doing a SWOT analysis for the business (strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats) drastically improved how they operate. Visit Bishop's Pumpkin Farm websiteVisit the Capital Region Family Business Center hereVisit River City Bank HERE

What does it take to run a top Michigan Apple Cider Destination? Meet Allan Robinette of Robinette's Apple Haus and Winery. Allan shares insights into the time sacrifices and challenges of managing a farm and business, the history of his family's farm since 1911, and the diversification strategies that have helped the business thrive, including adding a winery and various agritourism activities.Links:Robinette's Website: https://robinettes.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Robinettes/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robinettesapplehaus/Address:3142 4 Mile Rd NEGrand Rapids, MI 49525Subscribe to our Email Newsletter: https://totalmichigan.com/join/Find us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/totalmichiganWatch on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@totalmichiganShow Notes:00:00 Introduction01:00 Meet Allan Robinette02:38 The History of Robinette's Apple Haus07:01 Challenges of Farming and Business Management08:27 Retail Transformation and Diversification10:21 Year-Round Operations and Customer Engagement17:54 Expanding Offerings: Wine, Hard Cider, and More20:23 U-Pick and Seasonal Activities27:58 Conclusion and Contact Information

Bob talks to Thad Brown about the Bills big win, Bob talks about Jerome's U Pick, an electrical fire at a nuclear plant near Syracuse, the closing of the last full size Kmart, Bob gives a family update, and talks about absenteeism in schools.

How has organized religion changed since we were kids? And how do those shifts impact its role in family life and society as a whole? To help us unpack all of this is Pastor Scott Chrostek. Rev. Scott Chrostek is the Executive Pastor of Ministries and Programs at Resurrection, a United Methodist Church with six locations in the Kansas City area. We discuss the difference between faith and religion, statistical trends of organized religion and why people have left over the past decade, and what needs to change for these groups to continue to exist.  Meet Scott Chrostek Rev. Scott Chrostek is the Executive Pastor of Ministries and Programs at Resurrection, a United Methodist Church with six locations in the Kansas City area.  Before taking on this churchwide leadership role, Scott was responsible for launching the Downtown location in December of 2009 which grew from 9 individuals to over 1000 adults in weekly worship attendance. Resurrection Downtown began as a mobile start-up, and grew to include two sites: one a former bar and concert venue located between a tattoo parlor and strip club and two a city block that gave rise to the first new church building in downtown KC in over 80 years. It continues to grow today as one of the few downtown United Methodist churches growing in an urban area across the country.   Scott is married to Rev. Wendy Lyons Chrostek, his wife of 19 years and together they have served in ministry in North Carolina, Michigan, Kansas and Missouri.  They are the proud parents of two kids. What We're Loving In Kansas City Tricks and Treats at Worlds of Fun Check out Worlds of Fun Tricks and Treats Saturdays and Sundays September 14 through October 27! This is their all-new, family friendly Halloween event. Celebrate the season with mischievous tricks, tasty treats, and so much more. Come dressed in your finest Halloween attire for our Halloween costume contest. Enjoy seasonal treats, drinks and, of course, candy. Johnson Farms Sarah and her family love going to Johnson Farms for apple picking and more. They opt for the family pass to get the most bang for their buck. The farm is currently offering U-Pick apples and pumpkins, as well as U-Cut sunflowers and zinnias. Connect with Megan and Sarah We would love to hear from you! Send us an e-mail or find us on Instagram or Facebook!

Sitting in for Gregory today is Jim Babcock from Coast 236 Restaurant and Bar and Isabel's, and his co-host is Julie Zieman from the Star of Saugatuck.  Together they talk about thje goings on in the Saugatuck/Douglas area.  Show guests today include: Robert Hagger from Craqn's Pie Pantry Restaurant and Winery and Trevor from Crane Orchard's U-Pick and Corn Maze; Katie Fris from happystance; Terry Walker from Lulu Cadieux; and Mike Tischleder from Amazwi Contemorary Art.  Happy Sunday Funday!  9-1-24See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Raspberry season is just around the corner and at Wright Locke Farm in Winchester, they made some changes. The farm decided not to open its 'U-Pick Raspberry' this year. For more,ask Alexa to play WBZ NewsRadio on #iHeartRadio.

I sit down with fellow grower and Youtuber, Tara from Wild Bird Farm to talk about her small scale U Pick and how she's been moving stems over her 4 year flower farming journey. I think you'll find this discussion particularly inspiring as Tara grows in a relatively small space but yet is able to pump out so many blooms!   You can find Tara at @WildBirdFarm both over at Instagram & YouTube! --- Link to my free newsletter! Get timely and relevant business tips and insights every other Wednesday. https://bit.ly/3yitpiI Want to support me in making more videos like this? Join my Patreon! For less than a fancy cup of coffee a month ($5), you'll also unlock access to gated articles for even more valuable content. www.patreon.com/bareflowerfarm Preorder spring 2025 tulips! Here are our offerings: https://www.bareflowerfarm.com/shop/tulip-bulbs  Looking for a reliable, rugged, and remarkable focal that you can succession plant throughout the season? Lilies are the perfect crop. I'm selling lily, roselily, & callas in 25 and 50x on www.bareflowerfarm.com/shop/lily-bulbs 

Jeanne Armstrong stopped by Sunset U-Pick to talk to Jaeson Waygood. He and his wife Coady Waygood have taken over running the beloved Fredericton U-Pick.

U-Pick events are underway in southern Wisconsin as everyone flocks to those June strawberries. Scott Skelly of Skelly's Farm Market in Janesville is feeling good now that we have several dry days ahead of us. As we talked, people were picking strawberries and the bakery on the farm just got done with a batch of strawberry donuts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the rich agricultural region of southeast Wisconsin, you'll come across a unique specialty crop with an unmistakable fragrance. Lavender. You may think of lavender as an ingredient in soaps, sachets, or perfumes. But the field we're visiting today is full of lavender for you to consume. At Lavender Near Me in Whitewater, Amy Curtis describes what culinary lavender is used for and how it's grown. She says the schedule for this year's crop is unusual compared to past years. Harvest will be about two weeks early. That means the public U-Pick event is early, beginning Father's Day Weekend -- June 15. Amy and her family manage about 1,300 plants and five varieties of culinary lavender. What doesn't get harvested by the public, they clean and package for sale to those interested in culinary lavender. Plan your visit: https://lavendernearme.org/. This podcast series is brought to you courtesy of Specialty Crop Block Grant 23-10. Learn more about how to engage with Wisconsin's agricultural tourism industry at https://gowiagtourism.com/.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sam Hall's family has deep roots in York County Agriculture. His farm has been in their family for over 150 years and Bush-N-Vine Farm has been a staple of the community since 1979 when his father opened their first market at the farm. Since then, they've grown into multiple farm stands across the county, and attracted folks to their farm with their Farm Cafe, CSA, U-PICK, and other agritourism opportunities. Sam joins the podcast to talk about life on a multi-generational farm, their participation in the South Carolina Ag + Art Tour, how they're growing strawberries 40 weeks out of the year. Some of the questions we chat about: What advice does he have for young farmers who are making the transition to working full time on their family's farm, inheriting their farm and/or starting their own agribusiness?  What are some of the differentiators of Bush-N-Vine? How do they set themselves apart from other farms in our area? What different activities are they offering at the South Carolina Ag + Art Tour this year?  What advice does he have for other farmers participating in Ag + Art as to how to make it a successful experience for visitors and for their farm?  What advice can he share for visitors as they prepare to spend time at Bush-N-Vine during Ag + Art? How has agritourism impacted the other areas of their business?  What is one thing he wishes more consumers knew about farming or running an Ag business like Bush-N-Vine?  What does the preservation of our farmland and continued investment in rural communities mean to Sam?  What's on the Bush-N-Vine Marketing Plan for 2024?  Subscribe: Spotify | Apple Podcasts Mentioned in this episode: https://www.bushnvinefarm.com/ https://www.instagram.com/bushnvine/ https://www.agandarttour.com/york https://www.visityorkcounty.com/ Episode Sponsors: Visit York County - The South Carolina Ag + Art Tour is back in York County, SC! Join us for this FREE, family-friendly event—a self-guided tour showcasing 25 farms with artisans at every stop. Experience first-hand where your food comes from, witness and shop from artisans in action, enjoy local musicians, and learn about the importance of supporting our local farms! You don't want to miss this unique event, so mark your calendars for June 8th-9th! Visit agandarttour.com/york to learn more.

Vic Verchereau welcomes Monica Schafer, who is the Owner of Schafer Raspberries and Ingham County Commissioner. Lessons learned as a parent showing the kids the value of work while serving the community are the results of a small dream that has helped one of her children make it to Harvard. Monica Schafer joins Vic Verchereau on this edition of the Leadership Lowdown. Monica and her husband Jim, a physician for over 30 years, are the proud owners of Schafer Raspberries. This family-friendly U-Pick farm is located in Williamston, MI. Growing and developing Schafer Raspberries has been a labor of love for the past seven years. Through this business venture, Monica and Jim have taught their children the value of working hard to accomplish a goal together. The small business is a great example of Agritourism and it has benefited the local economy as well. Monica shares her story and takes us picking raspberries and leadership tips on this show! Listen in and join the fun! » Visit MBN website: www.michiganbusinessnetwork.com/ » Subscribe to MBN's YouTube: www.youtube.com/@MichiganbusinessnetworkMBN » Like MBN: www.facebook.com/mibiznetwork » Follow MBN: twitter.com/MIBizNetwork/ » MBN Instagram: www.instagram.com/mibiznetwork/

Lyndsay and Shannon interview Loretta Ball, owner of The Never Ending Flower Farm. They discuss the unique aspects of running a u-pick flower farm, including customer experiences, operational challenges, and creative solutions. Loretta shares her journey from starting with a small patch to expanding her farm, and the hosts exchange stories about the quirks of agritourism. They also touch on the importance of marketing, customer engagement, and adapting the business to keep valuable employees. The conversation highlights the joys and hurdles of flower farming and agritourism.If you want to dive in deeper with us each month, join our membership group - The Dirt on Flowers Insiders! So if you love the podcast and want to dig deeper with us, head over to www.thedirtonflowers.com/membership to join now. Did you love today's episode? Take a screenshot and share it in your IG stories. Don't forget to tag @dirtonflowers!Leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts!Head to www.thedirtonflowers.com to sign up for our newsletter and become a Dirt on Flowers insider!Want to learn more about your hosts? Follow us on Instagram!Lyndsay @wildroot_flowercoShannon @bloomhillfarm

Everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day, and Erie loves to celebrate this holiday. On Thursday, we talked to John Melody, owner of the U Pick 6 establishments, about the importance of St. Patrick's Day for local restaurants and taverns. We also heard about Melody's work with his new charity Success by Sport.

When the owners of a popular U-Pick farm in Fredericton announced their retirement last year, the future of the leased land in Sunset Acres was uncertain. Jeanne Armstrong spoke to the new u-pick operator, Jaeson Waygood. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/sunset-u-pick-fredericton-strawberry-1.7129501

How to be happy, free, and effective. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fernando-m-de-oca/support

Jesus says pick up! The keys to life's joyful actions, choices and results. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fernando-montes-de-oca/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fernando-montes-de-oca/support

Ever thought about shifting your farm to a U-Pick model?  On this episode of the Thriving Farmer Podcast, Michael is diving into the world of agritourism with Megan Neubauer of Pure Land Farm located in McKinney, Texas. Megan literally wrote the book on pick-your-own farming and her farming journey offers invaluable insights into transforming local agriculture into a profitable, community-driven experience. Tune in to hear about Megan's thriving U-Pick operation and her new book!   You'll hear: How Megan got into farming 0:52 What led Megan to shift her farm to Upick 4:52 What the average customer expects when participating in U-pick 10:37 How their crops are priced 11:42 About how they package their berries for U-Pick customers 15:08 What software Megan uses for booking 21:23 About how they deal with “problem people” 25:00 About their marketing focus 30:19 What Megan's advice is for newer farmers or farmers looking to change things up 38:04   About the Guest: Megan Neubauer is a farmer in North Texas. She graduated with a BS in Biology from Boston University in 2004 and after several years working in biotech and scientific research, Megan and her father created Pure Land Farm in McKinney, TX in 2012. Pure Land Farm uses regenerative growing methods on three acres of thornless blackberries and two acres of diversified fruits and vegetables, exclusively marketing their products using agritourism. Her new book on Pick-Your-Own-Farming releases December 4th, 2023.    Resources: Website - www.purelandorganic.com Megan's Book - Pick-Your-Own Farming - available NOW Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PureLandFarm Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/purelandfarm TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@purelandfarm     The Thriving Farmer Podcast Team would like to thank our amazing sponsor! MyDigitalFarmer.com was created by CSA farmer and marketing specialist Corinna Bench to help farmers learn the marketing fundamentals — so you can stop feeling uncertain, frustrated, guilty, or inadequate when it comes to selling your products. In the My Digital Farmer podcast, you'll be exposed to the fundamentals of marketing theory and practice so you can apply them to your own farm and business. She'll cover marketing funnels, copywriting, website messaging, CSA marketing, lead generation, brand building, social media, customer retention, Facebook ads, sales pages, Facebook groups, YouTube, Instagram, email marketing, and stellar customer service. She also interviews other farmers to find out what's working (and not working) in farm marketing so you can feel more confident in your ability to convert leads, increase sales, and build a strong brand for your farm. Subscribe to her show at https://www.mydigitalfarmer.com/podcast  

Kindergarteners, pumpkins, a school bus, and... more dirt.  The usual October trip to one of the Farms here in Colorado. Driving distractions include, onions, rutabagas, carrots, potatoes and the enterprise of U-PICK of big veggies by small people.   Impressive.   

KGMI's Dianna Hawryluk talks to Bellewood Farms CEO and co-owner Eric Abel about the start of U-Pick apple season.

We meet the "Zucchini Ladies", two recent immigrants to Cape Breton behind a blossoming farm business in Big Bras d'Or.

It's episode #150!! In honor of the achievement, it's a monster-sized episode! On this week's (month's? quarter's?) show, the boys pick up where they left off and talk way too much wrestling for everyone but Nick, Indiana Jones 5, U-Pick fruits, Canadian Geese (the bastards) and the Dungeons and Dragons movie. They also spend a little time just catching up and chatting about what's been happening since we checked in with you all last.

Rolls-Royce North America in Indianapolis...just part of Hoosier military might. The impact of Indiana's multi-million-dollar defense industry...the perspective from northeast Indiana.  Plus the state's role in tackling stroke treatment...See how Indiana healthcare workers are working to help stroke victims move forward. And...tis the season for flowers. Yelp's Brittany Smith crisscrosses the state to check out the best U-Pick farms.

Farms throughout Clark County are opening soon, including some on Saturday, to offer U-Pick opportunities for their customers as blueberry season is upon us. https://tinyurl.com/mt3cy3db #UPick #Blueberries #Farms #LocalBusiness #SmallFarms #VancouverWa #BrushPrairieWa #CamasWa #WoodlandWa #BattleGroundWa #ClarkCountyWa #SmallBusinesses #ClarkCountyNews #ClarkCountyToday #Blueberries

For many households across the nation, summertime means a house full of kids excited…

JOIN US ON DISCORD! INTRO (1:40) Another Part 2! ATCA! Sharpe's career night(s) (3:43) AND WE WON!? Another one The list keeps going Elite company for a rook The most important game is when he played bad How good is Sharpe among his rookie class? Longterm? How much have we NOT seen yet from him? TC'S AMA! (15:50) Favorite John Wick movie? (17:08) Storytelling in videogames Flamethrowers are not lasers New segment on Draft Prospects? New segment on Draft Prospects! (22:40) Not Keith's forte Everything sounds better in Olde-Timey English Who would we trade Shaedon for? (24:52) When is holding on to Sharpe TOO far? Why it's harder to build around Dame than Giannis What's the big swing this summer? (34:48) "Instant contenders"? Cronin's Plan of Patience How far off are we from competing still Assessing Simons' value (43:50) What does Penny + FRP get us? Worried if our 4th best player is Nas? How much Prime Dame do we have left? Would it still be Dame's team if we land Joel? Favorite Chants (53:27) Why won't Giphy work on mobile? (57:38) U-Pick: 76ers vs Heat (1:00:21) Jimmy vs Harden? Would you trade Sharpe... for Spo? Knox for 3M or Cam for 5M? Setting a line for remaining wins... Chances they're a Blazer next fall... (1:06:14) Watford Sharpe Little Nurkic Simons OUTTRO (1:11:10) Reach out! Email!  DISCORD! JOIN US ON DISCORD! OUR NETWORK CLOSED DOWN & INSTEAD OF LOOKING FOR ANOTHER, WE'RE SEEKING LOCAL SPONSORS! IF YOU HAVE A BUSINESS THAT WE COULD PROMOTE, PLEASE EMAIL TRAILCASTERS@GMAIL.COM Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a few years of being away from the valley and pursuing corporate life, Andrew Miller returns to the Skagit Valley in the PNW to pursue his entrepreneurial endeavors! After a few years of running tulip farms, he decided to bring to life a new farm, called Tulip Valley, and add a few twists and unique opportunities that the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival has not yet seen including Tea Time, U-Pick, Night Bloom, and more! After all, he did describe himself as "CONSTRUCTIVELY DISCONTENT..."Join us in this conversation with Andrew as we dive into the topics of entrepreneurship, taking a new approach, challenging the status quo, and making things happen!To see what Andrew is working on, you can visit Tulip Valley or you can email him here - andrew@tulipvalley.com ___________________BOOK A CALL WITH JAY to find out how we serve entrepreneurs JUST LIKE YOU and learn more about how we can help your business reach the next level! Or, SEND JAY AN EMAIL if that's more your speed!Questions and/or "AH-HA" moments? Send us an email at aha@marketingbreakthrough.coFollow the Marketing Breakthrough Podcast for future episodes designed to strengthen your marketing. For more information about what we offer and to access our other resources, visit our website at marketingbreakthrough.co

Everything is Right Side Up at Calico The logo of Calico Cidery might be an upside down apple drawn to look like an apple tree, but the setting, the people, orchard and the cider is all right side up and slamming it! Located in the high desert region of San Diego to the east of the county is a lone road that brings you up to Julian California which is a bustling apple town. Calico sits at 38oo feet while Julian is up at 4200 feet, making it a high desert region where apples and the people are living the good life in what feels like a bit of an oasis after driving through the rough scrabble land of the desert below. Mural by the road out front of Calico Cidery   In this Chat Ian Wright is the head cidermaker and brings us through a compliment of ciders while we chat about the history of the orchard. Planted in 1920 - the orchard is long stem trees At one time it was mainly a U-Pick orchard Now owned by a family who is also making cider in Paso Robles California What is dry farming apples Ian Wright Ciders tasted in during this Chat Field Blend Jona Gold & Winesap  (9.0%) Devil's Punch Bowl (8.0%) a blend of apples, pears, persimmon and guavas Wild ferments with no sulfites added Always 4 Calico Ciders on tap Everything made is sold on tap Destination cidery and region Single Varietals made at Calico Winesap Northern Spy Jona Gold Ida Red Hanging with the after hours Cider and Calvados Crew at Calico When visiting Calico and Julian Take a cider and walk about the orchard at Calico Make sure to have enough time to also hang at the bar and take in the slow life. Say hi to Eric the bartender Stay at the Julian Hotel Grab a soup and half sandwich for lunch at Soups and Such Cafe Nead a hefty dinner? Try Romano's Restaurant Bring pie to the family or friends back home from the many apple pie bakeries in town Visit the other local cideries Storum Ranch Cider and Wine Julian Hard Cider Contact info for Calico Cidery Website: http://www.calicocidery.com/ Mentions in this Chat CiderCon 2023 - February 1-3, 2023 sign up now for the January 30th Chicago Cider Tours New York International Cider Competition February 19, 2023- use promo code: Chat23 for $10 off your entry submission. Episodes 340: Eric Bordelet on Pairing Cider with Food  Episode 340 was the early morning recording after a wonderful visit the night before Subscribe to eCiderNews Help Support Cider Chat Please donate today. Help keep the chat thriving! Find this episode and all episodes at the page for Cider Chat's podcasts. Listen also at iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher (for Android), iHeartRadio , Spotify and wherever you love to listen to podcasts. Follow on Cider Chat's blog, social media and podcast Twitter @ciderchat Instagram: @ciderchatciderville Cider Chat FaceBook Page Cider Chat YouTube  

Today I'm chatting with Meg from Pure Land Farm on her family's U-Pick farm and how its popularity has exploded! www.purelandorganic.com www.facebook.com/purelandfarm www.instagram.com/purelandfarm Learn more at our website: https://thefarmtraveler.com/ Subscribe to the Five Minute Friday Newsletter https://hustling-architect-5130.ck.page/2eb0faebe0 And be sure to follow us on social media! https://www.instagram.com/farm_traveler/ https://www.facebook.com/TheFarmTraveler https://www.youtube.com/farmtraveler https://twitter.com/TheFarmTraveler https://www.carbontv.com/podcasts/farm-traveler/ Subscribe here: https://podkite.link/FarmTraveler Farm Traveler is part of the Waypoint Outdoor Collective, the Podcast Network for the Outdoors-man. Check out all of the Waypoint Outdoor Collective Podcasts HERE. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today Natalie sits down with Wayne Bishop of Bishop's Pumpkin Farm. In 1973, Wayne's parents, Bill and Sandy Bishop planted the first pumpkins and invited local schools to come visit the farm. Soon after that Sandy and her friends started baking pies in her kitchen to sell to guests when they came to visit. Since then the Bishop's built a full scale bakery where they still bake scratch made pumpkin pie from pumpkins grown on the farm along with other delicious treats. Over the years they added  fun farm rides and attractions and they have become the largest U-Pick pumpkin field in the world welcoming 275,000 guests each year. Wayne now runs the farm with his wife and two sons and he talks about growing up with his house always smelling of fresh pie, the benefits and struggles of working with his parents and now his sons and how doing a SWOT analysis for the business (strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats) drastically improved how they operate. Visit Bishop's Pumpkin Farm websiteVisit the Capital Region Family Business Center here

Lovely Hollow Farm is U-Pick flower and pumpkin farm located near the Sunnyslope Wine Trail on the famous Chicken Dinner Road. An agritourism farm, they are open seasonally for visitors to come pick a bucket of flowers, pumpkins and attend other special events throughout the season. Owner Nikki Van Lith shares the story of the farm’s beginnings and what makes it so unique.

What do you do when you don't have a tractor, your van lights on fire, and it rains 68 inches a year?! You can learn from today's guests how to find the humor in it all and persevere! Today, we're happy to be hosting Ellen Scheffer and Ashley Wilson, Founders of Frisky Girl Farm, located in North Bend, Washington. Ellen and Ashley joined forces in 2016 to run City Grown Seattle, and now these two are growing big with Frisky Girl Farm. Frisky Girl Farm believes in growing healthy food to build healthy bodies. They strive to bring the freshest sustainable produce to all of their members and want everyone to enjoy eating tasty food grown with the earth in mind. Join us today to hear all about how Ellen and Ashley run a thriving farm and have a great time doing it! You'll hear: How Ashley and Ellen get started in farming 1:42 How they come up with the name for the farm 4:58 How Frisky Girl Farm goes about marketing 5:45 What they do to ensure the survival of the farm's tunnels 18:14 How they found the property to farm on 23:49 Frisky Girl Farm salad fest 28:47 Growing and selling flowers at Frisky Girl Farm 38:31 How Ellen and Ashley divide roles on the farm 42:12 Why 2020 was a rough start for Frisky Girl 50:19 Ellen and Ashley's favorite farming tools 52:35 Ashley and Ellen's advice to aspiring or newer farmers 54:51 About the Guests: Frisky Girl Farm is an 8-acre, woman owned/operated vegetable and flower farm in North Bend, WA entering its 4th growing season. They use sustainable growing practices to grow fresh, healthy food for their community. Farmers Ellen and Ashley, along with a small but mighty team, grow over 40 varieties of vegetables and 20 varieties of flowers for their 200-member CSA, restaurants, the North Bend Farmers Market and their roadside farm stand. They believe in growing food that is good for people and the planet; never use any synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers, and practice organic techniques such as composting, crop rotation and cover cropping. This season, they are adding an additional three acres of growing space where they plan to operate a U-Pick sunflower patch and pumpkin patch. Resources: Website: https://www.friskygirlfarm.com/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FriskyGirlFarm  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friskygirlfarm/    The Thriving Farmer Podcast Team would like to thank our amazing sponsor! At AgriGro, we know that, in today's modern agriculture, our efforts can deplete life or add life. When you look for ways to add life, it is sustainable and makes everything work better. As a result, you will experience enhanced plant and soil health for crops, gardens, and turf, as well as improved animal health and environment for livestock and wildlife. Our products are all-natural, easy to use, and friendly to the soil and the plant, as well as the grower. AgriGro's® formulations deliver essential plant nutrition along with an advanced prebiotic concentrate, which significantly increases the multitude of beneficial native microbial species already residing in the production environment. Through these environmentally sound technologies, we're adding life to crop production, livestock, home, turf, and wildlife markets. You don't have to be dependent on crop production efforts that deplete life… Just Add Life with AgriGro®.

On this episode of The Chris and Amanda Show, we each share 3 new songs for each other to react to and rate! Chris shared some 80's metal classics by Iron Maiden, Motorhead, and Dio with Amanda this week. Amanda shared some music from the Down Under in the way of Australia's Tori Forsyth, Martha Marlow, and Indigenous Australian, Emily Wurramara. Chris's List Iron Maiden - Number of the Beast Dio - We Rock Motörhead - Ace of Spades Amanda's List Emily Wurramara - Black Boy Tori Forsyth - In the Morning Martha Marlow - Don't Want to Grow Up Give us a call, leave us a voicemail +1 973 506 8009  Want to commission an episode on the show? Use this link and U-Pick! https://www.buymeacoffee.com/tcas/e/65540 

On this episode of The Chris and Amanda Show, we're going back into the upside-down!  You asked for it and you got it - we're diving back in to discuss more of our favorite songs featured in Stranger Things.  We'll be sharing our short list of tunes that have been featured across all seasons of Stranger Things and why we like them. So get ready to listen on your walkman and run up the hill as we go back to the ruins of Starcourt Mall in our Hellfire Club T-Shirts.  Amanda's Pics: Travelin' Man by Ricky Nelson Dream a Little Dream of Me by Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald Every breath your take by The Police Chris's Picks: Master of Puppets by Metallica Psycho Killer by Talking Heads Hazy Shade of Winter by The Bangles Let us know what some of your favorite Stranger Things songs are. Give us a call, leave us a voicemail +1 973 506 8009  ✅ This episode is sponsored by Ironick Media - https://ironickmedia.com/   Want to commission an episode on the show? Use this link and U-Pick! https://www.buymeacoffee.com/tcas/e/65540 

On this episode of The Chris and Amanda Show, we share some of our favorite songs featured in Disney films. So put on your Mickey ears and get ready to be our guest as we discuss some of our favorite songs from many of the most iconic films in Disney history. To Infinity and Beyond! Do you agree or disagree with our lists? Watch or Listen NOW! First Place A-Part Of Your World (The Little Mermaid) C-You've Got A Friend In Me (Toy Story) Second Place A-You'll Be In My Heart (Tarzan) C-Under The Sea (Little Mermaid) Third Place A- Bare Necessities (The Jungle Book) C-When You Wish Upon A Star (Pinocchio)   ☎️ Let your voice be heard! Give us a call, leave us a voicemail +1 973 506 8009    ✅ This episode is sponsored by Ironick Media - https://ironickmedia.com/    Want to commission an episode on the show? Use this link and U-Pick! https://www.buymeacoffee.com/tcas/e/65540    Listen to The Chris and Amanda Show 2022 Playlist - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7z01XtclcvvP2zc3u508M8?si=062f7dc4b85e4a5c    Connect with us at - https://campsite.bio/thechrisandamandashow   

Today on the Thriving Farmer Podcast Michael is joined by his wife, Savannah, to discuss their first season of offering u-pick strawberries at The Farm on Central. The Farm on Central is a small family farm located in Carlisle, Ohio and provides the community with a wide array of vegetables, mushrooms, and horticultural products. In this episode, Michael and Savannah talk about the benefits of offering a premium product and running a profitable value-added program. They also go over how they manage their fields of annual bed strawberries, their ticket system for scheduling u-pick, things that worked well, and lessons learned for next season. Join us today to hear how Michael and the team ran a successful first year of u-pick strawberries!  You'll hear: How many strawberry plants they planted this year 1:50 How their strawberry growing system differs from others 2:09 What type of ticketing system they used to sell slots for u-pick 5:24 The options people had at u-pick 6:49 How they created a buzz 11:28 U-pick management and organization 14:02 The rules they set for customers 17:16 Learning opportunities from the season 23:51, 26:26 Field Management 27:13 Products used: 28:29 How they spaced their sections 29:39 A huge takeaway 31:48 How many people came to the farm for u-pick in just three weeks 34:15 About the Guest: Growing Farmers is led by Michael Kilpatrick, a farmer, educator, and inventor who lives in Ohio. He is the host of the top-rated Thriving Farmer Podcast and Thriving Farmer Summit series, which has been viewed by over 50,000 farmers. He has managed large farms and businesses, consulted for industry experts around the world, and spoken at dozens of conferences. Michael believes that anyone can farm by following the simple business and management skills that he teaches in Small Farm University, a community he founded for thriving farmers. Together with his wife, Savannah, they are raising their three young children at The Farm on Central.   Resources: Website: https://www.growingfarmers.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/growingfarmerswithmichael Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/growingfarmers The Thriving Farmer Podcast Team would like to thank our amazing sponsor! At Agrigro, we know that in today's modern agriculture, our efforts can deplete life or add life. When you look for ways to add life, it's sustainable and makes everything work better. The result is enhanced plant and soil health for crops, gardens, and turf, as well as improved animal health and environment for livestock and wildlife. Our products are all-natural, easy to use, and friendly to the soil, the plant, as well as the grower. AgriGro's® formulations deliver essential plant nutrition along with an advanced prebiotic concentrate, which significantly increases the multitude of beneficial native microbial species already residing in the production environment. Through these environmentally sound technologies, we're adding life to crop production, livestock, home, turf, and wildlife markets. You don't have to be dependent on crop production efforts that deplete life…Just Add Life with AgriGro®.

In this week's episode, Stephanie is joined by  Ellen Scheffer and Ashley Wilson of Frisky Girl Farm. Frisky Girl Farm is a 5 acre, woman owned/operated vegetable and flower farm in North Bend entering our 4th growing season. We use sustainable growing practices to grow fresh, healthy food for our community. Farmers Ellen and Ashley along with a small but mighty team grow over 40 varieties of vegetables and 20 varieties of flowers for our 200 member CSA, restaurants, the North Bend Farmers Market and our roadside farm stand. We believe in growing food that is good for people and the planet; we never use any synthetic pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers and practice organic techniques such as composting, crop rotation and cover cropping. This season we are adding an additional 3 acres of growing space where we plan to operate a U-Pick sunflower patch and pumpkin patch. Follow Frisky Girl Farm on Instagram @friskygirlfarmLearn more about Frisky Girl Farm on their website: https://www.friskygirlfarm.com/ Follow Scoop on social media:@scoopintelligence@scoopmarketplaceIf you're located in the Seattle area you can visit our zero waste grocery store in Kirkland, WA. We provide carbon-neutral shipping nationwide: scoopmarketplace.com

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Brooke Hill of Southern Hill Farms in Clermont, Florida. Hill was a panelist on the USHBC's https://ushbc.blueberry.org/webinars/best-practices-for-u-pick-blueberries-in-2020/ (“Best Practices for U-Pick Blueberries”) webinar presented in 2020.   “We leaned heavily on (the community) and they were there for us. I mean, we were floored. It brought tears to my eyes how supportive people were. They wanted to do anything they could to support their local farm.” - Brooke Hill “Diversification for us was the best thing we ever did. However diversification looks for you, no matter what, you can't go wrong with it as long as it's done with intention, it's well thought out and it makes sense for what your end goal is. …I think where the true value for us came in is it led the future of the farm in a completely different direction than where we thought we were headed.” – Brooke Hill Topics covered include: Hill's background and experience, and the story of Southern Hill Farms. How launching a U-pick operation can be a tool for blueberry farm diversification. The importance of developing a close connection to the local community. What to consider before you start a U-pick operation.   Crop Report The Blueberry Crop Report is an update on crop conditions and markets throughout North and South America. In this episode, you'll hear from Elizabeth Carranza in California, Ken Patterson in Florida, Brandon Wade in Georgia, and Neil Moore in North Carolina. This was recorded on May 11, 2022. Marketing Boost Grab a Boost of Blue is the industry's call to action to motivate consumers to make blueberries a part of their everyday lifestyles. Use this messaging to encourage your audience to Grab a Boost of Blue through content on your website, in social media captions, in newsletters and in other communications. You'll find a wealth of resources at http://www.ushbc.org/boostofblue (USHBC.org/boostofblue), and you can get licensed at http://www.ushbc.org/license (USHBC.org/license).

Joy Beghtel and her husband Greg wanted more for their family so they bought a strawberry farm that they've transitioned to a larger asparagus operation. Enjoy the story and deep-dive into all things asparagus!   Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (00:00): Joy Beghtel joins me today to discuss hand snapping an acre and a quarter of asparagus spears with her family on their farm, Fields of Joy, in Anderson, Indiana. Enjoy this conversation as we dive deep into all things farming with this perennial crop and their transition away from strawberries. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (00:22): Welcome to More Than A Mile, a local food podcast from Market Wagon, focused on connecting you to local food through farmer stories from across America. I'm Nick Carter, your host, a farmer and CEO and co-founder of Market Wagon. We are your online farmers market with a mission to enable food producers to thrive in their local and regional markets. Food is so much more than just nutrients and calories. It's actually the fabric that holds us together. And I look forward to crafting a generational quilt of farmer stories and experiences, the victories and challenges of individuals, families, and teams doing their part to help democratize food in America. Thanks for joining me for this episode of More Than A Mile, and thank you for buying local food. It's one critical step in making an investment in food for future generations. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (01:11): My guest today is Joy Beghtel from Anderson, Indiana. Not very far from Indy, just a few miles up the road from where we farm and where the Market Wagon headquarters is at. Joy, thanks for being with us today. Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (01:22): Yeah. Thanks for having us, Nick. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (01:24): So you grow one edible crop--and one only that I know of, right? Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (01:31): Yes. . Well, one only that we sell on Market Wagon. Yeah. We do grow other things, but primarily just for our farm stand the rest of the year. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (01:38): So you've got a farm stand where you grow some other produce for, but what do you sell on Market Wagon? Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (01:43): We sell a lot of asparagus. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (01:46): How much, how many acres? Is it measured in acres or row feed? How much asparagus do you have over there. Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (01:51): It is measured in acres. We actually grow that much. So I always laugh and say, isn't it every little girl's dream to grow up and own an asparagus farm. We right now have about an acre and a quarter of asparagus. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (02:06): Wow. Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (02:07): Yeah, that's a lot. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (02:09): Okay. That's a lot of asparagus and this is--for our listeners who don't know--this is a permaculture, right? So it's perennial. Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (02:18): Correct. It has a 15 to 25 year lifespan on it. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (02:22): Oh, wow. That long. Okay. Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (02:23): Yeah. It just depends on the variety and I think kind of the weather and that sort of things, but we should get at least 15 years, we're hoping for somewhere around 20 on the plants that we put in. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (02:35): And so when did you start this farm? Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (02:37): Yeah, so we actually bought the farm in 2013. When we purchased it, it was a U-Pick strawberry farm. We kind of just stumbled onto it--kind of a long story. I grew up on a, what would probably be considered a small hobby farm. Probably not far from where you grew up, Nick. I grew up in Northern Grant County, so... Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (02:58): Yeah, I actually showed dairy calves in Grant County. Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (03:02): Okay. I thought you said on one of your podcasts, that you were a Howard County boy and I was like... Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (03:05): I'm a Howard County boy, but there was no other dairy farms in all of Howard County so I got special permission to drive to the next county over and show my Four-H dairy calves. Yep. Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (03:15): Very fun. Very fun. Yeah. So I grew up in Northern Grant County. We had probably what would be considered a hobby farm. You know, we did like a third of an acre of garden and had goats and chickens and rabbits and all of that kind of stuff. And so I didn't think much about it. I really had just an idyllic childhood looking back on it. It was all of that good stuff that you get living out in the country. And then I grew up and went to college, got a couple degrees in social work and Greg and I got married and started living the good life... Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (03:46): Two degrees. Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (03:46): Two degrees in social work. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (03:47): Because if you're gonna get one degree in social work, you may as well get multiple. Right? Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (03:51): I mean, you might as well. And then end up growing asparagus. Right? I mean, why not? Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (03:54): So it's a great application of that. Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (03:56): Yeah, perfect. My parents were thrilled. No, my parents actually are thrilled. I should say that they love what we are doing and how we're living our lives. So yeah, so Greg and I were just really happy living in Fishers, had a couple of girls and adopted our son from Ethiopia. And then as you do, when you have kids, I think probably Nick, you realize you get that itch to give your kids what you had growing up. And... Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (04:19): That is exactly why we started our farm. I mean like, verbatim. I can't, I know that you can grow up to be a functioning adult without growing up as a farm kid, but I don't know how to make it happen because it hasn't happened to me. So... Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (04:34): I don't know either. And I kind of, I told Greg I was getting panicked because I thought they don't, they don't have animals. Like cats and dogs to me aren't animals. I'm like goats, chickens. We have alpacas. We have, you know, I was just getting real nervous that the kids were not having the experience that I had growing up. So we started looking for a small farm and spent a couple years with a realtor, trying to nail something down when somebody at church casually mentioned like, 'Hey, I picked strawberries up at this strawberry farm in Anderson. And the guy said, he's putting his farm up for sale.' So I literally that day got in my van, loaded my kids up and drove up here. And I remember calling Greg from the field and just saying, I think I have found our spot. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (05:19): Pack your bags, hubby, we're moving. Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (05:21): Yeah. We threw our house on the market. It was sold in two weeks. We closed on this place and we told ourselves, I remember my dad saying, 'you know, strawberries are not an easy crop to grow.' We grew them as kids. Right. You know, everybody grows a patch of strawberries, but this was... Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (05:36): So you promptly ripped them out of the ground and went to asparagus. Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (05:40): No, I let myself suffer for three solid years. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (05:43): Three solid years. Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (05:44): Oh yeah. Well we promised ourselves, you know, it was a business that we were purchasing. Not only was it a house that was as large as our house in Fishers, but we got five acres with it and it had a functioning business. So we didn't wanna just toss that out. You know, we're like I remember saying, we'll give this three years and see what happens. And I think what we didn't realize is when you grow large scale, I mean, three acres of strawberries is large scale. When you do that in central Indiana, where there's a lot of water, a lot of late frost, it's a real risky product and it's extremely weather sensitive. And it requires a fairly significant amount of chemicals that we didn't realize we were getting into. And so after three seasons where every season we had a four and a half to five inch rain--in a day--during that season. Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (06:37): I remember literally the third year walking into the house and saying to Greg, 'I don't care what you do, but I'm not growing strawberries anymore.' Like I'm done with this crop. And we had a real serious conversation after that season and really had to pivot and say what works for our family? What is not going to cause us a lot of stress and anxiety weather-wise what will still produce a good income and not consume our whole summer. And I remember laying in bed talking about this one night and Greg said, 'I think we go for asparagus.' Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (07:17): How did he--had he ever grown asparagus before? Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (07:19): So the farm when we bought it, in addition to the three acres of strawberries, had just kind of a lot of little stuff. Like there was about 300 feet of established asparagus. There was 40 fruit trees. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (07:30): So you were also growing asparagus in addition to the nightmare of the strawberries. Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (07:35): Right. 300 feet. It wasn't a huge amount. I mean, I grew up with this asparagus patch as a kid. I remember it was the worst place to get chiggers in the whole world. You know, it, it was what it was. And so he said, 'I really think it's a perennial crop. It requires no chemicals. And asparagus is such a smart crop--when it is cold, it stays underground. When it is hot and sunny, it comes up. So you kind of--you're at the mercy of the crop and the weather, but it does not ruin your crop in the way that strawberries are so weather sensitive. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (08:15): And are there natural predators to the--the strawberry issue is that the bugs that live in Indiana really love our strawberries. Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (08:24): Yeah. That and the fungus. Yeah. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (08:25): Uhhuh. Yeah. What, what do you have, what do you have that threatens the asparagus? Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (08:30): There's an asparagus beetle that sometimes we fight. But to be honest, we really haven't had a lot of issues. I've kind of attributed that to we don't have a ton of bug pressure on our farm. And I think part of that is we're in the middle of conventional fields. So whether I want to be organic or not. I don't have that luxury because I butt up to conventional farm fields. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (08:53): So they're using chemicals that are actually--you're not spraying them on your field, but they're keeping the beetles away. Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (08:59): Right, right, right. And we're on the Indiana Drift Watch Program and we have a good relationship with the farmers close to us. We had a struggle with the farmer that was right next to us, but he sold that field and the other farmers are very conscientious. They've come, they've looked at what we're growing. They call us before they spray. So we've had a good experience. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (09:21): Good. Now I have a similar experience. We grow a lot of sweet corn but we are nowhere near conventional ag. We're in the middle of Indianapolis. So there's not a cornfield for miles and miles around. So there's this moth that lays a larvae. If you've ever peeled sweet corn and you've got that one worm in there, it's actually a larva of a moth. And we thought that that was gonna be a big challenge. I've never seen a single one of them on our farm in four years because there's no other habitat for that moth anywhere around. Well the beetles that you're dealing with, can you deal with those with D.E.? Can we say that word? How do we say that word? Diet-tenacious... Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (10:04): Diatomaceous earth. Yeah. We used it a lot for our chickens and all kinds of stuff. You know what though? The issue that we've really run into, which has been great is the asparagus beetle does not tend to cause a problem when we're harvesting. They tend to come out after we've already let it fern out. So at the end, when we're done picking. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (10:24): They're damaging next year's crop. Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (10:26): They're damaging next year's crop. But to be honest, there is so much asparagus out there that they're not really doing too much damage. So... Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (10:36): It's a welcomed population control. Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (10:38): Yeah. We've just been really grateful. We've not had to spray for anything. We fertilize once a year and that is it on the field. That's the only treatment that we do. Yeah. Other than, you know, mowing it off at the end of the season and a little top tilling at the beginning of the season. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (10:53): So I was going to ask you because--and you brought it up. I know you mentioned that you are chemical free, so you don't use any chemicals. So what kind of--but you've said fertilizers--so what kind of feeding does asparagus need? Is it a heavy nitrogen feeder? Like tomatoes? Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (11:07): It's a real heavy nitrogen feeder. Yeah. it's not straight urea but it's like a 35 or 30 dash zero dash five something. So it's a real heavy nitrogen. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (11:17): Heavy nitrogen. Got it. Do you have chickens? Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (11:20): We have chickens. Yep. We have chickens. We don't have enough chickens that we could fertilize this whole field. We have alpacas and we use every ounce of their fertilizer. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (11:29): Is alpaca manure high in nitrogen too? Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (11:31): It's fabulous. It's not high in nitrogen. It's actually kind of like similar to a rabbit manure. So you can put it straight on. No aging. I put it on all my flower beds, rhubarb, all that kind of stuff. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (11:42): We have goats--goats and horses and we put their manure straight on in the fall after everything's out. And then just under and let it know it's aging out in the field. But we have we have 400 laying hens. And so we get a decent amount of nitrogen. I gotta tell you. Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (12:02): Maybe you should bring your nitrogen up here for my field. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (12:05): Oh, I'm using--I'm hoarding it. Sorry. No sharing of the nitrogen. Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (12:09): We're that way with our goat and alpaca poop. We sometimes get requests for alpaca fertilizer and I'm like, 'Nope.' I use it on everything. Yes. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (12:18): So it's a heavy nitrogen feeder. What is, I should know this, but I don't. What technically is asparagus? Is it a broad leaf? Is it a grass? What is it? You want me to edit this one out so that we both sound smarter? Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (12:33): No, edit this one out. No. So asparagus is a crown. I don't know if you've ever seen what it looks like to plant it. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (12:38): Oh, of course. Yeah. Yeah. Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (12:39): For sure. So when we decided to put in--in 2016 we put in 5,000 crowns. The next year we put in 5,000 additional crowns. So in addition to the 300 feet plus a little more, we had added to, we added 10,000 crowns of asparagus. And we're really lucky. I don't know if most folks would know that Michigan is a really good supplier of asparagus. That's where a lot of our asparagus comes from. When you get more kind of local asparagus. So there are a couple of different asparagus farms that sell crowns. So we were able to drive up to Southwest Michigan and right in front of us, they dug up the crowns. We brought 'em home, put 'em in fresh. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (13:21): Oh, so you got to go get them. You dug them up yourself. Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (13:24): Yeah. They dug them right there for us, packaged them up and we brought them right home and got them directly in the ground. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (13:29): So we've never gone into asparagus. I, and before buying our farm, we did we attempted a failed attempt at a small asparagus patch. The crowns just never took. And I may, maybe I didn't fertilize him. Right. Interesting. Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (13:42): Yeah. You've got a trench really far down. It's about 14 inches that you trench way down into the ground. And then it's a pretty laborious process to plant 5,000 grounds. I'm pretty sure we should have hired that out. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (13:54): But you only have to do it once every 20 years. Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (13:56): That's right. Right. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (13:57): Once every 20 years, Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (13:59): Trust me, I will not be doing it in another 20 years. Somebody else will be doing the labor on that. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (14:04): You will not be doing it in 20 more years. So you you've decided that you've got a cap to how long you want to be an asparagus farmer. Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (14:13): Well, I think yeah, In 20 years Greg and I will be pushing retirement age for sure. I think that's, what's so great about this farm--us buying it--was, although I would love to have inherited, you know, an old family property that I could have kept the legacy going. The really great thing about this property is we've been able to make it what we want to and transition it to what works well for our family. So I think in another 15 years you know, our kids will all be grown--if one of them wants to come back and put in the next round of asparagus or grow flowers. Great. If they don't and they wanna put in something else or, you know, if they wanna go and do something else, that's great too. I don't want to put any requirements on what they choose. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (14:57): Until they get that anxiety that, oh my gosh, I'm not raising my kids with animals. Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (15:02): Well, you know, teenagers, I've got three teenagers right now. And of course they're all like, oh, we're moving to the city. We're gonna eat processed food all day long. You know, they're at that stage of life. And I think, yeah, maybe, and that'll be fine. And if not, we'd love to have them back and love to see them raising our grandkids out here. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (15:19): Yeah. Well Anderson's not that far. Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (15:23): No, no. Anderson's a great community. You know, we've really had a good experience here. A lot of people kinda looked at us strange when we left Hamilton County and said really Madison County, but it has been a really great fit for our family. The community's been really welcoming and we love it up here. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (15:39): Talk to me a little bit more about the family. So your family's involved in the farm. Are your kids--they are out there cutting asparagus and bundling it and bringing it to Market Wagon? Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (15:50): Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Our kids don't have much of an option. It's all hands on deck during asparagus season. They know that kind of late April to the beginning of June that's just what our family does. We kind of sign off from friends and family, say we'll see you in about four weeks. And we hit it hard as a family, so the kids harvest and then two of my kids harvest with Greg and then my middle daughter and I kind of trim it up and bundle it, weigh it all out and get it ready in the kitchen. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (16:19): Wow. That's so great. Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (16:19): Yeah. And it'll be interesting. We don't know how much the crop will yield every year. That's the other thing that's unique about asparagus because it comes up from the ground, kind of like little fingers cropping out of the ground. We know what an acre of asparagus should produce when it is fully mature, but we're just now hitting that full maturity with our crop because it takes about three years for an asparagus patch to really produce fully. So, you know, last year we picked, well over 2000 pounds, we think this year we'll pick over 3000 and then we should level off somewhere in the next couple of years, somewhere between four and 6,000 pounds off of that acre. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (17:01): Wow. Wow. Where, where all does it go? Do you sell that much on Market Wagon or do you sell most of it at your own farm stand? Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (17:11): Yeah, we've got several different outlets. So of course the farm stand is always the first place that it's out because we can put it out here in our front yard, on our big cart and, and it is a little temperamental when it's cold and, and cloudy, the crop doesn't come up. We have to wait for a hot sunny day to get it going. Once that gets rolling and we're a little later in the season, we'll be at the Pendleton Farmers Market. We have a couple of different little grocery stores that we sell to. And then we're excited to hopefully do both Tuesday and Thursday on Market Wagon this year. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (17:44): Yeah, yeah. You should. Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (17:46): We're thrilled. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (17:47): Yeah. That's great. So, all right. We've kind of talked about it. We can, people can find you at Pendleton Farmers Market, on Market Wagon.com. You have a farm stand, right? So people can drive out to your place. How else can customers learn about you online or otherwise? Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (18:05): Yeah, so we have our Facebook page and our Instagram, Fields of Joy produce. And then we should have asparagus this year at R&R Market in Pendleton and downtown Anderson at Collective Roots and then Wildwood Market downtown Indy. We sold with them for a long time. So we're excited to be in all those locations. Yeah. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (18:26): Awesome. Now I don't know, Ross may cut this off, but I just wanna have fun learning a little bit more about asparagus and what you could do. So, and maybe this, will be the fun addendum to the end of the podcast. You said top tilling. So you have to go out and, and break the surface for the asparagus Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (18:42): To come through. Yeah. Just helps to, to allow the asparagus to come up through the ground a little bit easier. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (18:47): Do you use a disc or a rototiller for that? Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (18:49): A rototiller. Yep. We just go slightly over the top of all of those rows. Our struggle sometimes is weed control and weed pressure. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (18:56): That's my next question, right? Yeah. You can't because this stuff, it spreads underground. Right. So you cannot use a weed block of any kind. Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (19:03): Correct. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (19:04): So what's the weed pressure like, does it eventually win? Like does it... Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (19:09): Well, we hope not. We're hoping it doesn't eventually win. The good thing is that by the time we are done harvesting, that's really when you have your heavy weed pressure coming on. Right. So that kind of late May, we've already really harvested by the time heavy weed pressure comes on. And at that point, you let your whole field go to fern, that fern shades out those weeds, and they really don't get established. So other than thistle, we, you know, if we find thistle we go out and try to deal with that. Horse weeds, we had a horrible problem with horse weeds when we first--what we call horse weeds. Digging those things out, you know, making sure you're staying on top of seeds, all of that. But people ask us that all the time, do you weed your asparagus? I'm like, oh, there's no way I could weed this patch. And it's really okay. It doesn't bother me that there's weeds out there. Because we can pick around all of that. And then that fernage just kind of shades it out. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (20:09): Yeah. So that's what I meant when I said, does it win? I meant does the asparagus eventually win? Cause I know that happens like corn. It will it'll canopy eventually. So you just need to keep ahead of the weeds until the canopy. But I hadn't thought about the fact that yeah, the weed pressure, you know, I always feel like I'm a big victorious vegetable farmer until like the first week of June. And that's when I'm like, oh man, , it's like a tortoise and hare race. And I'm the hare in the first month and a half of produce season and then the tortoise always catches up. All of those weeds become overwhelming. So what does harvest look like? How do you, how do you have to is it's not by hand, is it you're not cutting every spear? Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (20:51): Every snap. We are, we are actually hand snapping every spear. So we've found it's just the best way, you know, there's certainly methods. People can use a tractor and you can lay on your belly and kind of pick it that way. We just, I know-- Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (21:06): I just picture myself telling my daughter, no, it's gonna be fine. You just lay under the tractor like this. Yeah. Daddy won't I won't roll over your legs. It's gonna be fine. Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (21:13): No, it's totally fine. If you look on YouTube, I'm sure you could find a whole bunch of creative inventive ways. At this point we are still hand harvesting it. You know, when we get to that four, 5,000 pounds, we may decide to, to invest in something different. But for us right now with our kids, we've hired a young boy to come and help us harvest. It is what it is. And that's what we say makes our asparagus different. It's not machine harvested where, you know, they set a height on the asparagus and it all gets knocked. At the same point, we are running our hand from the bottom of that spear up. We're finding that tender spot. We're popping it off there. And then it, it gets brought in. We sort all of our asparagus into four different sizes so that your full pound of hand snapped asparagus--not only can you eat the entire stalk because the entire stalk is tender , but it's all sized appropriately so that you can cook it in the same way and have a good success. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (22:13): Because that is something that happens with store bought asparagus--you can't eat the bottom of it. Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (22:19): No, it's usually... Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (22:20): Do they? Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (22:20): We basically tell people it's not the same product. If you buy something in the store. It might all be sized similarly, similarly, similarly, but lemme get that word out. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (22:30): Diatamatious earth... Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (22:33): Diatamatious. Let's just call that DE. You're definitely going to cut the bottom third off to get to your tender spot where we've already hit that tender spot for you. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (22:43): And is it a true cut and come back? Like you're gonna get another spear out of that same plant or it's just different spears are coming up. Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (22:50): Different spears. Yeah. So if you think about that asparagus, crown, that little crown that you plant with one little spear coming up, it will build every year. So off of that crown, you will have buds all of those buds then produce spears coming up off of the ground. And that's really where you get your different sizes. I think people sometimes think that the real thick ones are real Woody and you can't eat those. Those are just as tender. It's just an older bud off of that crown. So every year we should get more and more of the thin spears because new buds produce thin spears, but as they age, they get bigger. So yeah, so always we have lots and lots of different sizes coming up out of the ground. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (23:39): One of the others--we talked about strawberries being a headache. One of the other headaches about strawberries is if you intend to grow anything else, you also have to be murdering strawberry plants every year because they want to, they want to invade and take over. Does asparagus do the same thing? Is it difficult to keep in place? Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (23:55): No, we've actually we designed all of our field so that the asparagus has plenty of room to spread. That's what we wanted to do. So our older patches are you know, a foot and a half wide. Well, they're probably more like three feet wide at this point. And then when you plant your new patch, when we planted all of those 10,000 crowns, they were of course in a one little single row. And every year when you go out that wide, that road just keeps getting wider and wider. So we've left plenty of room between all of those rows, not only to mow, to keep a good walking path down, but to allow that one little crown to just take off over the next 20 years and start widening out and develop lots of different buds coming off of it. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (24:42): Very fascinating. Thank you for the asparagus farming tutorial that most of our listeners would've turned off about five minutes ago, but this was great. Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (24:51): I'm not sure I should be proud of myself that I know quite so much about asparagus . Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (24:56): You know, if it takes two social [work] degrees in order to know this much about asparagus, I guess... Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (25:00): That's right. That's right. Well, I can do other things too. I can do other things too. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (25:06): Oh. Joy, this has been great. I really appreciate you sharing your story and letting people know a little bit more about where their food comes from and how difficult and challenging it is to raise good, both strawberries and asparagus, and everything else because it just engenders, a greater appreciation for what you do and where our food comes from. So thanks for joining me. Joy Beghtel (Fields of Joy) (25:27): Hey, thanks for having me, Nick. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (25:34): Thanks for listening to this episode of More Than A Mile. Be sure to sign up for Market Wagon at MarketWagon.com or after downloading the Market Wagon app for iOS or Android. Follow us @MarketWagon on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook for stories, recipes, special announcements, news, and just digital handshakes from our friendly farming community. If you enjoyed More Than A Mile, please rate the podcast and write a review on iTunes, CastBox, PodChaser, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcast. Thank you for continuing to support local food.  

Imagine CSA customers coming to your farm every week to harvest their own share from your vegetable beds.  Yes. That's the concept behind a U-Pick CSA model. In this episode, I interview Kristen Muehlhauser of Raindance Organic Farm, who has built a profitable farm business off this CSA operation. She shares the pro's and con's of getting this kind of program off the ground.  Sign up for my seminar "The Beginner's Guide to CSA Add-On Shares" at www.mydigitalfarmer.com/addonshares

On this week's episode of The Rural Woman Podcast you will meet, Kerri Giesbrecht. From stilettos to rubber boots; Kerri was born and raised as a city girl that has turned a whole lot country thanks to her husband. Her farm is everything high maintenance (as her husband likes to call it). Kerri has all the animals (sheep, chickens and horses), she runs a U-Pick veggie garden in the summer, make livestock feed for not only her farm but other farms as well, runs a farm market in the summer months and on-farm events. And in her not so much downtime she helps her husband with his grain farm operation. According to Kerri she doesn't sleep much,  drinks far too much coffee, but she loves what she does and even on the hard days it's better than going to her old 9-4 job in downtown Edmonton. This week's sponsor: At https://the-rural-woman-podcast.captivate.fm/revolution-wool-co (Revolution Wool Company) our goal is to connect you to authentic Canadian wool products and the story behind them. Our wool is simple and straight from the source. We don't add or take anything away - the wool you enjoy is in its purest form. As a result, our wool products will offer you the purest comfort, warmth and durability that will last for generations. Grown and milled in Canada. Starting at our family sheep farm in Ontario caring for the sheep and harvesting the wool and then working with Canadian processors we are proud to offer a range of products; wool yarns, bedding, blankets, pillows, felted items and handmade goods. Listeners of The Rural Woman Podcast can save 10% off their purchase with promo code RURAL at checkout.    For full show notes including links in today's show, head on over to WildRoseFarmer.com https://wildrosefarmer.com/131 (https://wildrosefarmer.com/131) Join The Rural Woman Podcast Community on Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/groups/theruralwomanpodcast (Here) Get Patron-Only Extended Content & Bonus Episodes |https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/2908106 ( Listen Here) Support my work on Patreon | https://wildrosefarmer.com/the-rural-woman-podcast/patreon/ (Learn More) Patreon Executive Producer | Sarah R. | https://happinessbytheacre.ca/ (Happiness by The Acre) Editing | Max Hofer |https://www.instagram.com/mixbaer_studio/ ( MixBär Studio) Shop our Show Sponsors | https://wildrosefarmer.com/2020/05/21/show-sponsors/ (Here) Before You Buy The Mic | Podcast Coaching | https://wildrosefarmer.com/before-you-buy-the-mic-podcast-coaching/ (Learn More) Positively Farming Media | a hub for creators in the food & agriculture space | https://www.subscribepage.com/positivelyfarmingmedia (Learn More)

My guests today are Thomas Addison II and Jeff Manley from Red, White, and Blue Farms in Willison, Florida. Links mentioned in the show: https://redwhiteandbluesfarm.com/ https://www.facebook.com/RedWhiteAndBlueFarms https://handafarms.com/ Learn more at our website: https://thefarmtraveler.com/ And be sure to follow us on social media! https://www.instagram.com/farm_traveler/ https://www.facebook.com/TheFarmTraveler https://www.youtube.com/farmtraveler Subscribe here: https://podkite.link/FarmTraveler Farm Traveler is part of the Waypoint Outdoor Collective, the Podcast Network for the Outdoors-man. Check out all of the Waypoint Outdoor Collective Podcasts HERE. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we're joined by Brittany and Bonnie, who together form Peters Family Farms. These ladies started out with a U-Pick strawberry venture which has morphed into a fully fledged diversified vegetable and cut flower operation. They talk about how they got started, challenges they've overcome in four seasons, and what's next for them. They share how their families are an integral part of their operation, and how it's important to do things even if you're scared. Great conversation with some awesome guests! Tune in this week.