Farm Small Farm Smart: the podcast for market gardeners and small farms
Real farmers, real numbers, and the decisions behind profitable small farms. Host Diego Footer talks with market gardeners, urban farmers and small-scale growers about how they grow, sell and run their farms, so you can build yours with fewer mistakes.
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Wherever you are in your farming journey
Starting a farm
How to find land (or farm without owning it), pick your first crops, land your first customers, and know when to go full-time.
Growing your farm business
Pricing, sales channels, hiring, efficiency, and ways to grow revenue without just growing more. Experienced market farmers share what actually worked.
Thinking about farming
Curious what it’s really like to grow and sell vegetables for a living? Hear the day-to-day stories behind the farm photos before you make the leap.
The business, the field, and the life
Farm business
- Pricing your crops so the farm makes money
- Choosing your market: farmers markets, CSA, restaurants, wholesale
- Marketing your farm and keeping customers
- Tracking your numbers and crop profitability
In the field
- Soil building and no-till market gardening
- Weed management, crop planning and succession planting
- Tools and equipment that fit your farm’s scale
- Faster harvest, wash and pack
Farm life
- Avoiding burnout and protecting your time
- Balancing the farm with family and health
- Building a farm you actually want to run
- Lessons from farmers years into the work
Diego Footer
Diego Footer has interviewed hundreds of small-scale farmers about what makes their farms work. Farm Small Farm Smart is one of the longest-running market gardening podcasts, with more than 600 episodes in the archive. Every interview digs into one farmer’s context (land, climate, market, customers) to pull out lessons you can use on your own farm.
The show is part of Modern Grower, which also makes the tools many of these farmers use, including the Paperpot Transplanter and Jang seeders.
From farmers who listen
“Listen and learn from real farmers. Diego’s questions extract useful answers.”
Jennifer Jaeger
“As an aspiring small scale farmer, Diego’s work is invaluable. All episodes I have listened to have been exceptional in all aspects from sound quality to question quality.”
Will
“As a new farmer I love listening to this podcast as I am going about harvesting vegetables, planting, or making deliveries. I always learn something from his conversations with guests.”
Listener review
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About the podcast
What is Farm Small Farm Smart about?
It’s a farm podcast about running a small, profitable vegetable farm. Episodes cover market gardening techniques, farm business and marketing, and the realities of farm life, told by farmers who are doing it.
Who is it for?
Market gardeners, urban farmers, and small-scale vegetable growers at every stage, from people still planning a first season to farmers with years in the field.
How often do new episodes come out?
New episodes are released every Monday.
Where can I listen?
On Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and most podcast apps. Search “Farm Small Farm Smart.” Video versions are on the Modern Grower YouTube channel.
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Practical takeaways for small farms, plus new episodes and guides, straight from Diego.
Want more? Diego also hosts Farm Small Farm Smart Daily, short episodes for your morning routine. Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Growing with a Paperpot? See the free Paperpot crop guides.