The third installment of the Purdue Extension Beginning Farmer Tours and Workshop was held last Thursday at Clay Bottom Farm near Goshen. The farm uses intensive growing methods to support a CSA program as well as provide area restaurants with vegetables all on less than an acre of land. Farmer Ben Hartman discussed with the group "lean farming" and how he and his wife, Rachel, got their start.
The Beginning Farmer tours are part of a grant Purdue received in order to put these events on. The tour runs through October. Tamara Benjamin, assistant program leader for the Diversified Farming and Food Systems out of Purdue Extension, explained the program and the grant and how it got started.
"We thought the most important thing was to highlight farmers in the state that were doing really unique and good farming practices that we could emulate and bring beginner farmers to their farm to learn directly from them," Benjamin said. The program is designed to take veteran farmers to teach newcomers how to get a farm started and hints on how to help their farm get off the ground.
Ben and Rachel Hartman own Clay Bottom Farm and they have been farming together for the last decade and started "lean farming" in 2011. The pair is currently in the process of moving their farm, but still have four greenhouses plus a large garden that holds various vegetables. While the farm sits on five acres of land, less than one acre is used for production. The lean farming production produces between 3,000 to 4,000 pounds of produce a year.
Lean farming was an idea that was given to the couple from a friend that was using the idea of "lean" in his factory. He wanted to see if it could work on a farm and asked the Hartmans if he could observe them and implement some lean farming on the property. Hartman described lean farming as a two-sided coin.
"On the one side is cutting out waste from your production so that every activity you're doing counts. The other side is precisely identifying what the customer is about," said Hartman.
Hartman said asking the customer what they want is one of the most important aspects so that they can deliver on the answers. From there, the couple has continued to lean farm and have stayed all within one acre of land.
During the presentation, Hartman explained to participants "a farm is like a 2 year old. Demanding and unruly and you have to set boundaries." He said that farmers want to grow each year, but it is okay to stay small and not over commit on what they can handle. He also explained the "5 S" system: sort, set in order, shine, standardize and sustain how to set up buildings and put tools in place where they will be used rather than all in one area.
In addition to being a successful farmer, Hartman has also written a book about lean farming and has another one coming out this fall. His book "The Lean Farm" came out two years and his field guide companion to "The Lean Farm" called "The Lean Farm Guide to Vegetable Growing" will be out in October. That book will be available on Amazon.
The Beginning Farmer Tours and Workshops run through October. To register visit www.purdue.edu.