YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED (audio) – 030819

If any of you are interested in joining my microgreens course, here is a $200 off discount.

Jake Purcell 04:52

I have been trying to figure out something that I was hoping you could help me out with.

To give you some background on what I am working on; I am considering a partnership/co-ownership with someone that has an established microgreen business in Houston Texas where I live. Initially, I was going to simply do a summer internship with his company to get some real-world experience. After the initial conversation, it transitioned into me working for him full time. I considered it and I thought about it for a while and realized that I have been working really hard for the last three years to start my own company and grow. So I made a counter offer of partnering up with him in a different capacity as a business partner/co-owner. Not knowing what that looked like I told him I would try to work out the details and make a proposal. I am going with the thought that I will run the mushroom division and he can run the microgreens while we help each other through challenges as we grow. I do not have a lot of capital to invest in his company and would be simply presenting myself and my experience as a value proposition. My question is how would I present my partnership to the owner in a way that would make it possible for me to actually become part-owner as opposed to simply working for him?

Additionally, we are seeking investment to expand the company and trying to get a valuation of the company. It is a difficult number to figure out. What would you say a microgreen company with 20k in monthly sales is worth in an acquisition type of scenario? I need to know what comparable companies that have been bought should be worth to speak with an investor about since this is a key metric they are interested in when considering an investment. Have you worked with any farms that have purchased smaller farms or microgreen operations? If so what do they typically purchase the company for? (2x, 3x, 4x yearly sales volume) This information will really help me to decide on? a couple of things. First, if the company I am considering to be a part owner, is it worth my time and money Secondly, when I speak with investors what is the potential for the company to be bought out in the future based on comparable models in the marketplace?

I really appreciate you helping me figure this all out. I want to ask you a ton of questions and I hope we will still get a chance to meet up on July 1st? I know you are crazy busy and I really appreciate your time.

Hope all is well.

Sincerely,

Jake

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Hi Curtis,

I have a question about a marketing plan I have in mind, If you prefer to answer it in a video, just tell me a will wait for the video !

We are new to our region (2nd year). Last year we grew only for restaurant and it was a “test” year. This year we want to step up, and sell in our village and villages close.

Since no body really knows us in the region I thought about a marketing plan.

We are young parents and are concerned about what children eats, So I thought about a kind of “young family” card who offers a 10% off of every vegetable on the whole season, for parents with children under 5 years old. And the same will be offer to private daycares.

What do yo think about it ? Is is a good idea? is 10% too much or too low? Any advise about it? What do you think as a parent/farmer/consultant?

Thank you very much for this website, It has the value of a masterclass but for a fraction of the price.

Antoine

Fernando 18:46

Hi Curtis, thanks for your efford, your membership site is improving every week.

I would like to ask you a few things related with marketing. First one: how much does it cost to you guys to participate in farmers market in Canada and/or north America in general?

I know that this depends on the location, but say for example we talk about a middle size city or a big city. I find that farmers markets here in Madrid are not cheap at all, but I have nothing really to compare with. I made my debut at farmers market on december, and I made 400€ per day, but I had to pay 100€ per day for the market stall. I know i can make much more than that since I was new at the market, but does it make sense to pay 25% of your sales just for covering the market stall? It would be fantastic to here your thoughts about this.

The other question has to do with the distances between your operation and shops and restaurants that you are saling to. How close are your saling points from your operation? Have you ever charged for delivery?

Thanks again.

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Aaron Bush 25:03

Message: Hello, My name is Aaron Bush.

I have followed you on you-tube for much of your farming journey and find you to be incredibly inspiring and like minded. As I am sure you are aware of from your recent visit to Central Florida, (sorry I missed you I was traveling to Texas that week) that farm to table dining, farmers markets and local farms are gaining momentum here in Florida. I was wondering what your thoughts were on a Collective Farm with a shared HUB for processing, coolers, packaging, tools storage ect. I have the business structure for a 5 to 10 acre vegetable farm that utilizes leased turn key farming plots (with metered irrigation) ready for a dedicated farmer to plant into. It may be one solution for scaling up proven small scale farming in the right markets.

I want to offer these pre-formed on ground raised beds to flower growers, farm to table restaurants, market growers (entrepreneurs) even local goods makers ect.

The closest business model I have been able to find like this would be Clara Colemans ARC Farm but without the huge land plots needed for animal producing. What are your thoughts on a business model of this type?

I have quite a bit more information I can share with you if you are interested on discussing this more.

Thank you in advance and keep up the great work you are doing.

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Daniel from Happy Hills Farm 35:17

Hello again Curtis,

This is Daniel from Happy Hills Farm in Rossland BC. We had corresponded regarding Black Diamond compost. Thanks for the info! After doing some market research, we have decided there is a high enough demand locally from backyard gardeners for compost that we will order 60 cubic yards for the spring. We will be selling 30 yards and keeping 30 yards. The compost we are selling will more than cover the cost of the whole shipment!

On a different note, I am wondering about gardening on slopes and thinking some others may be interested as well. I am aware that JM has the beds sloped downhill at FQT to allow drainage  and so that the beds clear of snow sooner. However I am also aware that it can be advantageous to have beds on contour to capture water (for drier climates), as well as a means of preventing soil erosion on steeper slopes. I doubt GCA had plots that were sloped given the urban setting, but perhaps you have insights to share about pros and cons to each. And perhaps some different examples of applications of various principals. I am sure that It all comes back to context of each individual site, but maybe there are some big no no’s or yes yes’ top conider when designing a market garden on a slope.

These are our specific site specs (should you be interested in our specific context and the decisions we are faced with you can read below).

We are leasing 6.5 acre thistle and quack grass. The orientation is southeast and the slope ranges from 5 degrees to 20 degrees. There is an abundance of ground water, and a few natural seasonal “springs” or extremely wet spots. We used these wettest zones as a starting point for huklekulture Swales that are slightly off contour as a means of slowly draining the water through the landscape while providing strips for edible wildlife supporting hedgerows ( very similar to FQT’s experimental hedgerows). With the Swales in place we are left with two options for building our beds. The first option (which is the way we have built our beds) is to run them north south on contour (or close to) and have blocks of 10 beds that are 45 feet long. This option has the beds running Parallel to the Swales. The second option would be to have beds that are 35 feet long in blocks of 15 beds going east west and that are running down the slope, and are perpendicular to the Swales.

There is so much to consider from irrigation layout, to effects of crops shading other crops and soil erosion, to using materials efficiently, to the most efficient planting, cultivating, and harvesting methods with each layout. This year (our second farming) will see us applying compost and beginning our low till principles, so I want to be sure that we are making the best decision for our context before fully committing to the permanent bed layout; and purchasing irrigation, season extension materials, greenhouses, crop planning volumes, and applying amendments and compost; even considering our market demand and the crop out yields of each bed and which will be better suited to our market streams is an important consideration.

Anyway, it would be great to hear your thoughts on the topic, although I understand if there isn’t enough demand for the topic to warrant your time commitment to addressing it.

Cheers, and thanks again for all of your contributions to market gardening!

Daniel

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Chris Polk 47:13

I’m building 3,600 sq ft greenhouse and I’m looking to incorporate field microgreens into my production. Do you know anyone mechanizing harvest successfully?

Details: I’d like to allocate about 4 50ft beds to field microgreens, but I would like to spare my back as much as I can in harvesting. From your videos, it looks like hand harvesting is fairly unavoidable, but I’m wondering if I could tinker with an attachment for the greens harvester to add wheels/skids or anything that can allow me to set an even height, in conjunction with leveling and grading my beds with high precision. Do you think there is potential there?