BellCast: Profitable Urban Farming

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This morning I received a message on Instagram from Scott Hebert asking me when Michael Bell from Half Acre Farm was going to be back on the podcast.  It has been a while since the first BellCast (Season 3 Episode 5) in January, and a lot has happened!  Fortunately for all of us, Micheal Bell returns to the Small Scale Life Podcast to discuss progress at his urban farm in Dallas, Texas. Michael and I discuss a number of topics including the great weather in Texas right now (and the crappy weather in Minnesota), what he has planted and some of his profitable urban farming strategies.

Michael is using some really interesting and simple marketing techniques to develop business opportunities and increase his urban farming operation.  As you will hear, he is employing techniques with great success! Michael feels that there are a lot of growth opportunities for profitable urban farming in the future, and he provides some positive encouragement to those who might be considering an urban farm as a side business.

Topics Discussed on the BellCast: Profitable Urban Farming

Micheal Bell and I discussed the following topics in this podcast:

Welcome Back to the Show

1. Texas weather
2. Minnesota weather

What’s Growing on the Farm?

1. Tomato varieties
2. Peppers
3. Squash and zucchini
4. Greens
5. Onions
6. Radish
7. Beets

Tomato Tips

1. Septoria Leaf Spot
2. Pruning Tomatoes
3. Watering – low and slow

Marketing and Customers for Profitable Urban Farming

1. Instagram Strategy
2. Telling the story
3. How to sell a superior product
4. Vegan Body Builder – YouTube Video
5. Try to get restaurants for the Summer
6. Start Profitable Urban Farming: 100 families = $100,000

Community Building

1. Other farms are starting in the area, but there is a big market
   • Rose Creek Farm
   • Singing Frogs Farm
   • Scott Hebert at Flavourful Farms
2. Opportunities to collaborate and work together
3. Diego Footer’s Farm Small; Farm Smart Podcast
4. Connect with Michael Bell on Instagram

Putting It All Together

As Michael stated, you can start profitable urban farming using simple techniques: connecting with people who are looking for great tasting, fresh produce in your area using Instagram.

By starting small, you can focus on your client’s needs and share you story as you sell your produce.  As Curtis Stone has said on many occasions, your customers want to share your story with others, and once you sell your produce, customers will share their experience with others.  Michael experienced that very thing with the ladies who spent time at the farm and essentially sold his product to the whole office!

You can do this, and there are people out there that can help!  We will continue to explore these topics with Michael in future BellCasts!

Friends of Small Scale Life

We appreciate the following Friends of Small Scale Life!

Great news everyone!  It is time to start planning for spring.  Interested in growing a food forest or homestead orchard full of nuts, fruits, berries or medicinals?  Greg Burns from Nature’s Image Farm has a variety of plants that they have planted at their farmstead that they absolutely love! He has Comfrey Bocking 4 and Bocking 14 cuttings for you, and if you are looking for trees, Nature’s Image Farm has several fruit and nut bundles for you, so check out the site at naturesimagefarm.com.

Remember to use code “SSL” for Small Scale Life for 10% off and free shipping, and let Greg Burns know that you heard about Nature’s Image Farm on Small Scale Life. Also, when you make a purchase from Nature’s Image Farm, you are supporting a small scale family farmstead and some really nice folks.

Thank you to our friends of Small Scale Life.  Remember: if you have a product or a service that you would like to be discussed on Small Scale Life, contact me at realsmallscalelife at gmail dot com or use the Contact Us page on smallscalelife.com.