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PODCAST

Farm Small Farm Smart

The Modern Grower Podcast Network

Insights for vegetable farmers and market gardeners who earn, or want to earn, a living growing vegetables profitably. In each episode, I talk with a beginning or experienced farmer, diving deep into their story to find out what makes their market farm successful. I focus on in-the-field farming. Soil preparation, weed management, post-harvest processing, appropriate technology, farm tools and equipment, and growing crops. Hosted and produced by Diego Footer"s Modern Grower Podcast Network.

science natural sciences

All Episodes

15:52

7 Money Mistakes That Kill New Farms Before They Start

Farm Small Farm Smart ·

2026/08/10

More than half of new farms fail in their first five years. In almost every case, it's not a growing problem...it's a money problem. After a decade interviewing hundreds of farmers and running a farm supply business serving thousands of customers, the same financial mistakes show up again and again. Watch the episode here! Interested in watching the series? Hop on over to our YouTube Channel! Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights! Get

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08:44

Multiplying Microbes and Their Regionality -...

Farm Small Farm Smart ·

2026/08/09

In this episode, Dr. Jane Fife of 3Bar Biologics talks about how to multiply microbial populations and how different types may multiply better in different regions. Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights! Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower: Instagram Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network: Carrot Cashflow Farm Small Farm Smart Farm Small Farm Smart Daily

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09:36

Making Over 230k in Year 2 of Farming (MFB 55)

Farm Small Farm Smart ·

2026/08/06

Vincent Cuneo started his microgreens business with zero growing experience. Year two revenue: $230K. But money was tight, stress was crushing, and crop failures meant lost revenue. His advice now? Get good before going pro. Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights! Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower: Instagram Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network: Carrot

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13:32

How the Smartest Farmers I Know Stopped Competing and...

Farm Small Farm Smart ·

2026/08/05

A farmer I interviewed was doing everything right — certified organic, quality product, good prices, showing up every week. Three years in, the farm was cash-neutral. Not losing money, not making it. Then he moved towns. Same farmer, same crops, same methods. First market day in the new town: $247. By peak season: $1,500 days. Within five years: over $200,000 gross. Nothing about his farming changed. Everything about his positioning did. Watch the episode here! Interested in watching the series? Hop

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16:16

Finished & Unfinished Compost - Gardening Beyond...

Farm Small Farm Smart ·

2026/08/02

In this episode, Malibu Compost Founder Randy Ritchie talks about the many differences between using finished and unfinished compost. Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights! Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower: Instagram Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network: Carrot Cashflow Farm Small Farm Smart Farm Small Farm Smart Daily The Growing Microgreens

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15:36

Build a Plan that Fits Your Farm (MFB 54)

Farm Small Farm Smart ·

2026/07/30

What does your farm have to do for you? Does it need to net you a livable income? Or does it just need to supplement your current income? Plan out your farm based on what you need to do lest you overreach and stretch yourself too thin. Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights! Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower: Instagram Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast

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16:44

Why Trying to Sell to Everyone Is Killing Your Business

Farm Small Farm Smart ·

2026/07/27

When you try to be everything to everyone, you become nothing to anyone. The farm selling "fresh local vegetables" to whoever walks by is invisible. The farm known for the best salad mix in the county, or the only source of specialty greens for high-end restaurants, is the one people seek out and pay more for. Watch the episode here! Interested in watching the series? Hop on over to our YouTube Channel! Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights!

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20:48

Tillage and Carbon in the Soil - Gardening Beyond...

Farm Small Farm Smart ·

2026/07/26

In this episode, Dr. Bruno Basso of CIBO Technologies discusses the effects of tillage on the carbon in the soil. Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights! Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower: Instagram Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network: Carrot Cashflow Farm Small Farm Smart Farm Small Farm Smart Daily The Growing Microgreens Podcast The Urban Farmer

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14:32

Making a Living Farming (MFB 53)

Farm Small Farm Smart ·

2026/07/23

Is small-scale farming a viable source of income? It definitely could be! But there's no free lunch: it's something you're going to have to put work into. Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights! Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower: Instagram Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network: Carrot Cashflow Farm Small Farm Smart Farm Small Farm Smart Daily The

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13:56

Potential Cons to Cover Cropping - Gardening Beyond...

Farm Small Farm Smart ·

2026/07/19

In this episode, Research Associate Professor Dr. Buz Kloot of Soil Health Labs talks about the potential reasons why farmers would choose not to cover crop. Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights! Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower: Instagram Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network: Carrot Cashflow Farm Small Farm Smart Farm Small Farm Smart Daily The

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43:36

Farmers Markets vs CSAs (MFB 52)

Farm Small Farm Smart ·

2026/07/16

Which should you sell to, farmer's markets, or CSAs? The answer: it depends. Can you grow consistently? Can you deliver on your weekly orders? Have you already built a solid customer base? Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights! Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower: Instagram Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network: Carrot Cashflow Farm Small Farm Smart

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13:07

5 Variables That Turn an Underperforming Crop Into a...

Farm Small Farm Smart ·

2026/07/13

Jodi Robuck's first beet harvest: one bunch. Maybe $3. Twelve months later, the same bed produces over $850. Not luck — he changed one variable at a time until the math worked. Click here to watch the full episode on our YouTube Channel! Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights! Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower: Instagram Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast

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25:15

Plant-Fungi Relationships - Gardening Beyond Basics 78

Farm Small Farm Smart ·

2026/07/12

In this episode, author and educator Peter McCoy of Mycologos sheds light on the symbiotic relationship between plants and fungi. Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights! Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower: Instagram Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network: Carrot Cashflow Farm Small Farm Smart Farm Small Farm Smart Daily The Growing Microgreens Podcast

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20:12

DIY Costs More Than You Think (MFB 51)

Farm Small Farm Smart ·

2026/07/09

Sometimes, you can cheap out and MacGyver your way to get your farm business going...but not always. Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights! Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower: Instagram Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network: Carrot Cashflow Farm Small Farm Smart Farm Small Farm Smart Daily The Growing Microgreens Podcast The Urban Farmer Podcast The

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13:42

Mature Compost is Better Quality - Gardening Beyond...

Farm Small Farm Smart ·

2026/07/05

In this episode, compost specialist and owner of Living Roots Compost Tea Troy Hinke explains the importance of allowing compost to take its time maturing before application. Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights! Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower: Instagram Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network: Carrot Cashflow Farm Small Farm Smart Farm Small Farm

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25:38

Farms that Fail, Farms that Thrive (MFB 50)

Farm Small Farm Smart ·

2026/07/02

In this episode, Diego talks about the small differences that make up the difference between farms that make it...and farms that don't. Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights! Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower: Instagram Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network: Carrot Cashflow Farm Small Farm Smart Farm Small Farm Smart Daily The Growing Microgreens

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23:30

5 Common Farm Purchases vs. the $10,000 Question

Farm Small Farm Smart ·

2026/06/29

5 purchases, one filter. Every year farmers spend thousands on equipment they're told they need. Almost nobody asks one question before swiping the card: Will this generate or save me $10,000 in the next 12 months? Click here to watch the full episode on our YouTube Channel! Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights! Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower: Instagram Instagram Listen to other

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09:13

Assessing Soil Health and Quality - Gardening Beyond...

Farm Small Farm Smart ·

2026/06/28

In this episode, microbiologist and co-creator of the Johnson-Su bioreactor, Dr. David Johnson, schools us on how to tell if a soil is healthy and of good quality. Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights! Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower: Instagram Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network: Carrot Cashflow Farm Small Farm Smart Farm Small Farm Smart Daily

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27:00

The Real Reason Why Farmers Quit (MFB 49)

Farm Small Farm Smart ·

2026/06/25

Diego has identified what breaks farm business owners. It's not the physical work: it's everything else. And the difference between farmers who barely survive and those who thrive? Systems. Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights! Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower: Instagram Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network: Carrot Cashflow Farm Small Farm Smart

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17:35

The Most Profitable Crops for a Market Garden

Farm Small Farm Smart ·

2026/06/22

Search "most profitable crops" on YouTube and you'll get saffron, ginseng, cannabis. After interviewing 200+ small-scale farmers over a decade and running a farm supply company, I can tell you almost nobody is making real money on anything from those lists. Click here to watch the full episode on our YouTube Channel! Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights! Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower:

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