What’s Decimating New Farmers
It’s a plague that shows up every year. Here’s the simple RX.
Burnout always plagues farm startups. Pioneering urban farmer Wally Satzewich says, “ Every year I see new farmers at market get off to a good start only to see them burn out by season’s end. They don’t come back the following year. It’s often related to unsustainable work flows.”
Many are starting to feel it about now. Maybe it’s creeping you on you too. It usually comes on about a month or two into your farmers market. You may be even more susceptible if you’re going to more than one, or selling through multiple sales channels. Missing a planting. Losing crops to bad weather. Crops wasting in the field because they can’t be harvested. All of them are the money-draining consequences of not using your own labor effectively.
What’s the remedy? A stop watch. “Time yourself on key tasks and fit that rate into a management framework,” Wally says. “An accurate read on the time it takes to do tasks is the only way your planning will amount to anything.” The point behind planning is to control labor because, not only does that alleviate burnout, it is also the single biggest expense in any farm operation. Control labor. Increase profit. Simple as that, he says. Having a realistic idea of how much time tasks should take also helps in the decision of whether or not you can do it all yourself, or if you need to bring in outside labor, and knowing you are getting your money’s worth when you do.
A key component of Wally’s training is work flow. “Work flow is scheduling all the tasks so that no one task ever becomes overwhelming. “If your days become consumed by just one or two tasks, you’re headed for trouble.” Instead, your days should flow smoothly among 5 or more tasks that are accomplished in short, individual work sessions. The optimal length of each is 1–3 hours. Some tasks need to be broken down into separate steps or even spread out over several days.
Burnout is one of the few things about farming that can be predicted, and it is possible to avoid. Understanding work flow helps you get the important work done without crisis and conflict, and using it can conserve your most most valuable resource —yourself.
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SPIN stands for s-mall p-lot in-tensive.
SPIN Farming is a commercial production system designed specifically for growing spaces under an acre in size. It was developed in the mid-90’s by Canadian farmer Wally Satzewich. Those who practice it use gardens, community plots and vacant land to start and operate moneymaking farm businesses that serve the needs of local communities.
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