I Ain't Got No Steps

“I’ve got a dance, I ain’t got no steps, no
I’m gonna let the music move me around
I’ve got a dance, I ain’t got no steps
I’m gonna let the music move me around
 
Will it go round in circles
Will it fly high like a bird up in the sky
Will it go round in circles
Will it fly high like a bird up in the sky"
-sung by Billy Preston-

Who said spinach has to be flat?

The PV3 conference and A3 make me dance, but I definitely ain't got no steps.  I'm gonna let the music created by these farmers and my coaches move me around.  This is how I roll anyway.  When the music is right, I can't stop my feet and body from moving.  Organic farming is right and I can't stop myself from jumping in to boogie woogie!  So I'm gonna use what I just learned at this conference to turn things upside down.  At PV3, Stone Coop was considered a giant farm!  That was a head spinner.  We are going to rethink everything we are doing.  Lots of things will change, but lots will stay the same.  I wasn't kidding last week when I said my head was exploding.

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Here are the dance moves I learned in the last 7 days.
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• Videos, photos, links, and key words will make your website pop to the top – Noam Kostucki, my A3 coach
• Tiny Farms can tap into high yields and profits – Jean-Martin Fortier & Curtis Stone
• Evaluating total farm revenues can be translated into an easy line dance that anyone can follow – Daniel Brisebois
• Holistic Context can help you move to your groove – Javan Kerby Bernakevitch
• Social Capital (Relationships) can create a flash mob of business opportunities for you and your employees - Erik Ohlsen

 
I will be using these moves to re-invent what we are doing at Stone Coop Farm.

Recommended Viewing:  Here is the next installment of our Stone Coop Farm YouTube series!  Watch how Farmer Beth explains our hydrant system and how to connect and disconnect the hoses. Watering is the most crucial thing we do at Stone Coop.  

Did You Know that to increase farm revenues it is important to keep some basic principals in mind?  I gleaned these concepts from the amazing farmers mentioned above.

• Grow crops that have short maturity days, ideally 60 days or less.  Radishes mature in 25-35 days, baby greens in 21-28 days, lettuce heads in 60-65 days.
• Double crop beds whenever possible.  Plant 2 rows of lettuce heads in outside rows and put tomatoes in the center row so you have the lettuce to harvest in 60 days and the tomatoes will be ready 30 days later.
• Determine the top 20% of your crops that make a profit and make them 80% of your growing plan.
• Figure out what you need to cover all your costs AND your salary first!  Then figure out how much you need to grow to make it happen. Translate that number to how many pounds, pints, heads, etc. that you need to harvest in an hour to achieve that goal. Use your top 20% of your crops to figure this out.  Adjust your prices if you can’t reach your harvest goals or evaluate if you should still be growing that crop.

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