Coaching and Advising
Do you need advice on how to reduce your feed costs? Or are you struggling to know if you should hire employees? Do you feel your systems on your farm could use a tune-up? Are you looking to scale your vegetable operation and don’t know where to start? Work with one of our seasoned field experts to answer your questions with real, tested answers. Remember, we’re not trying to sell you a system or product, we’re trying to help you farm smarter, not harder.
Click one of the main areas we work with below.
Vegetables
Vegetables, berries, production systems, food safety and more
Poultry
Pastured Poultry, Broilers, Layers, Ducks, Turkeys and more!
Dairy
Developing niche dairy opportunities
Pigs
Raising and farrowing pastured and forest pork
Beef
Pasture-based beef production systems
Other Enterprises
Looking for other enterprises that are not listed here?
Vegetable and Fruit production
We have worked with operations from ½ an acre all the way to 200 acres and beyond. Whether you are trying to urban farm or grow 40 acres of carrots, we have the expertise to help you grow your business and have a great work/life balance. From figuring out market needs, to planning your production, to the correct tools, supplies and technology, we understand what it takes to build a successful horticultural business. Areas we can help with:
- Farm layout and crop planning
- Market assessment and trends
- Propagation systems and energy efficiency
- Berry and bramble installation and management
- High tunnel and greenhouse production
- Season extension and deep-winter production
- Microgreen production and sales
- Storage facility design and parameters
- Water storage and irrigation systems
- Fertility management and weed control
- Mechanicalization and systems development
Post-harvest handling and washing shed design
- Facility design and ergonomics
- Lean and Constraints testing and implementation
- Food safety and FSMA compliance
- Wash/pack machinery recommendation and training
- Cold storage design and best practices
Food safety compliance and training
Is the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) stressing you out? Are you worried about being compliant to the new regulations that are right around the corner? Or are you just looking for confidence that your operation is feeding your community safely? We can help. We have years of experience and many hours of training in what the new regulations require and how to get you there without breaking the bank. Let us show you how implementing food safety on your farm can be easy and probably save you money and time in your systems.
Pastured poultry (broilers, layers, turkeys, ducks)
Poultry can be an incredible profit flywheel for any farm. However, making it truly profitable comes with mastering the basics and designing a system that fits your farm. From ration design and brooding, to processing efficiencies and labeling, all of these can be roadblocks to profit. We can help you with:
- Understanding breed selection
- Brooder design and management
- Weight variation and performance issues
- Ration design and soy, corn and gluten-free rations
- Finding the right pasturing systems and pen design
- Predator control and guard animals
- How to determine cause of death and adjusting
Processing facilities, licensing and food safety plans
- Processing facility design, construction, set-up and ergonomics
- How to double or even triple your processing speed
- Developing your food safety plan and understanding labeling laws
- Poor carcass quality or lack of consistency in processing
- Dealing with inspectors, responding to non-compliance issues, understanding regulations and learning what they actually mean
- Value-adding your products to magnify your profits
Dairy
Dairy has fallen on hard times the last few years but is still full of potential for those who are interested operating in a niche market. We can help you transition from a conventional system to an identified niche market. We can help you with:
- Determining which niche market will work best for you
- Financially planning your transition
- Plan and build a rotational grazing plan that works with your current production model
- Make the transition to operating without chemicals in your cropping and pasture systems
- Identify crops that will be easier to grow in a chemical-less cropping system
- Organic crop production
- Organic herd health
- Exploring direct marketing opportunities and raw milk production
- 100% grass-fed dairy production
- Switch to a low-input pasture intensive management system
- Address production issues and possible solutions
- Diversifying enterprises within dairy
Beef
Grassfed beef is growing rapidly and so are those wanting to enter the industry. While public demand is strong, the industry has struggled with high-end cut quality and the vulnerability of the cattle market. Properly managed grassfed beef can be profitable and delicious! We can help you with your beef program, whether it’s a finishing or cow-calf operation. Areas we can help you:
- Rotational grazing planning and implementation
- Increasing the forage quality and quantity of your homegrown and stored feeds
- Paddock design and pastured water systems
- Profitability and cash flow planning
- Value-adding and marketing
- Cattle selection and culling decisions
- Identifying niche markets
- 100% grassfed production and finishing
- Identifying profitability bottlenecks
- Working with processors and wholesale market outlets
Pasture & Forest Pork Production
Few enterprises offer the flexibility and profit potential as Pastured Pork. With strong market demand for ethically raised pork, the relative ease of pastured pork production offers a solid segway to added profits in your operation. We work closely with our partner Jordan Green on Pork production.
Areas we can help you in:
INFRASTRUCTURE
- Setting up a property for outdoor pork production.
- Integrating hogs into multi-species systems.
- Designing a mobility based system for leased property optimization.
OPERATIONAL
- On site training for farrow to finish systems.
- Reducing ground impact and tree damage.
- Seasonality factors in pork production.
- Waste stream feeding systems.
MANAGEMENT
- Maximizing carcass yield and product presentation.
- Cost management and profitability assessments.
- Selecting breeds compatible with outdoor production models.
- Determining whether to purchase feeder pigs or develop your own breeding program.
What about Mushrooms, Cider Apples, or Medicinal Herbs?
Looking for advice in a crop we don’t list? Want to know more about mushroom production, cider apple opportunities, or if an aquaponic watercress situation is right for you? Contact us. Chances are if we don’t know about it, we know someone who does. In our years of traveling, we have made contacts from all types of farmers and are more than happy to pass those connections on to you.